Fallon matches my walking pace when I slow down to listen to the birds chattering from high branches. The distinctive criesof blue jays and the sharp screech of a squirrel sound the alarm to our presence.
“How many acres is the Montgomery estate?”
“You haven’t Googled it?”
Using our joined hands, I lightly punch his chest. “No, smartass.”
He brings our hands to his lips and lightly bites my middle knuckle. “Behave.”
That one small nip sends a punch of lust straight to my core, and it flusters the hell out of me.
“It’s about fifty-two thousand acres,” Fallon says.
I stumble to a halt, my brain having trouble doing the math. “How many square miles is that?”
He glances to the left. “About three by three.”
One acre is an eighth of a mile by an eighth of a mile.
“Jordan’s place in Texas is about seventeen times bigger,” Fallon says about his younger half brother.
The scope is boggling. I’m a simple small-town girl at heart, and I still find it hard to comprehend the wealth that Fallon and Jordan grew up in.
“Harper gave me an open invitation to visit anytime. Maybe Charlotte and Christopher would like to take a trip to Texas before school starts.”
“They’d love to see you.”
Harper, her husband Bennett, and their children live on Jordan’s family’s estate in the Lone Star State. Jordan’s grandfather made his fortune in oil. Jordan transitioned the company to renewable energy when he inherited it, but like Aurora, he now devotes his time toward Fallon’s nonprofit. Jordan and Aurora oversee the charitable projects in the States, while Fallon does his thing internationally. That’s something we should talk about soon. Fallon said he’s not going anywhere, but surely he’ll have to travel for work and be gone for long periodsof time. Building hospitals and women’s shelters doesn’t happen overnight.
Speaking of things we need to discuss…
“You know that we need to talk about that letter.”
Fallon releases a quiet sigh. “I’m pretty sure two orgasms prove otherwise.”
My face goes up in flames because they werereallygood orgasms. “I’m being serious,” I splutter.
“So am I. Or do I need to prove my point again?”
God, yes.
I put a leash on that debauched thought. “I forgot how difficult you are to have a conversation with sometimes.”
“Because what you’re wanting to discuss is a non sequitur.”
“I think it’s very relevant. I don’t like secrets.”
Fallon pirouettes me around and crowds me up against the thick trunk of a longleaf pine. His thumb finds my chin, then lightly sweeps over my bottom lip. It’s both reverent and seductive at the same time.
“Kitten, the way I want you has never been a secret. And not to sound disrespectful, but I sure as hell don’t need Ry’s permission to do anything.”
I search his face for answers to questions I’m too afraid to ask before settling on an easy one. “Then why did you wait so long to come back?”
“Because you weren’t ready.”
I’m not sure that I’m ready now, but I want to try. With him.
“I’m willing to table the discussion?—”
