Page 21 of Leon
"If you don't, I'll never forgive you."
Laughing softly, she opened the double doors and simply stood there staring at him. He had his head bent over what looked like a weighty folder. His candy pink shirt was folded at the elbows, and his thick blonde hair was mussed as if he had dragged his fingers through the strands.
"David, I need--" He looked up and stared in stunned surprise.
Pushing back the chair, he sprang to his feet and rushed over. Lifting her clear off the carpeted floor, he wrapped his arms tight around her. She held onto him, closing her eyes as she inhaled his scent. Six months away was too much. The familiarity of home settled over her as she hugged him back.
Putting her down, he took her hand and slammed the doors shut before guiding her to the sofa tucked under the window overlooking the city.
"When?" he demanded.
"Just now. I should be home soaking in a long, fragrant bath, but I could not wait to see you." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her cheek. "We went straight from Madagascar to the Philippines and then to South Korea. Then Haiti."
"Does dad know you're here?"
"No." She gave a wry grimace. "After the phone call we had a few months ago when I told him we were on our way to South Korea, we haven't spoken. He accused Anthony of dragging me off to all those 'godforsaken places.'"
"As if anyone could drag you anywhere," Leon said dryly.
"Precisely." She grinned. "Darling, I'm sorry the correspondences between us have been so sketchy."
"I understand." He lifted her hand to his lips. She was two years his senior, but they had always been very close. They had grown closer when the scandal wracked the family and turned everything inside out. Leon admired his sister for taking matters into her own hands and doing precisely what she wanted.
"How are you?" Her eyes searched his face.
"Busy."
"Talk to me, or I'm going to have to use my needles." The determined glint in eyes so much like his told him that she was not going to settle for half-truths.
"Dinner," he decided. "Unless you and Anthony have plans."
"My sweetheart is going to see his mother, and you know how much I get along with her."
He laughed at the pained look on her exquisite face. "She's his mother."
"And she thinks he walks on water. I love my husband, but I can do without her constant interference. The six months we've been away, I have no idea how she managed. 'My son needs a proper wife who can cook him a meal.'"
"Don't tell me you haven't learned the fine art of putting a meal together." His eyes glinted wickedly.
"Nope, and it's too late for me now. I did learn how to work an old-fashioned range while in the middle of nowhere." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "So tonight, you'll tell me what's going on with you."
"I promise."
"Now, let me get out of your hair." She rose and drew him up with her. Wrapping her arms around him, she held on for a spell before letting go. He watched her walk toward the door, smiling when she turned to give him a wave.
*****
"You always did have an overactive imagination. I'm surprised you're not a writer."
Kadian slid her a wry glance before pouring more wine into both glasses. It had been a long and exhausting day with her running the various programs and seeing to her father's wellbeing. Leon had called and told her that his sister was back, and they were having dinner tonight.
"Extending an invitation to you would not make any sense. I know you will not come."
She had made noises about it being too soon. The conversation had been stilted afterward, and he had hung up. Without saying he loved her.
"You should have heard the way he spoke to me. That cool, arrogant tone that sent shivers up and down my spine."
"Isn't his sister some kind of doctor?"
