Free His Perfect Match by Elaine Overton Page B

he’d surprised her with his denial, explaining he already had a hotel reservation and car rental scheduled. She’d offered to reimburse him for his costs, but he had been insistent in his refusal. And most shocking of all, he’d been a perfect gentleman the whole while, never giving any reminders or indication of their agreement even on those rare occasions when they found themselves alone.
    Movement at the door caused them both to turn. Liz took a deep breath as Marc’s surgeon, Dr. Feinstein, came into the room. The young doctor’s face spread in a wide grin. “I have good news.”
    That was all Liz heard before the buzzing in her ears took over. She felt her legs go weak and reached for the nearest chair. Darius and Dee had both crowded around the doctor to hear the rest of his report. But for Liz the doctor’s good news released the floodgates of stress and pressure built up over the past several years.
    She leaned forward, resting her forehead in her hands. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “Hey? You sure you okay?” a deep voice whispered near her ear.
    Liz shook her head and let the tears flow freely through her fingers. She’d cried more in the past month than she had in the past three years, but having so much of the heaviness that had weighed on her heart and mind for so long seemingly lifted all at once, the emotional impact caught her completely unprepared.
    Accepting her nod, Darius continued. “The doctor wants to schedule the surgery for next Tuesday. You okay with that?”
    She nodded again, knowing any statement she tried to form giving her current state would probably only concern him more.
    â€œAll right, I’ll make the arrangements. Then we’ll get Marc and Dee and we’ll all go out to celebrate—sound good?” She nodded again and felt him move away.
    An hour later, Liz followed slowly behind the group of new best buds in front of her as they worked their way through the crowded mall. Darius had instantly won over her aunt and son, and over the past couple of weeks the threesome had become almost inseparable. Withthem he was the old Darius, all charm and sweetness, and she couldn’t help wondering where the surly man from Tairua was.
    These two had no idea that man even existed, but she did. She couldn’t afford to forget, and she didn’t particularly trust this little metamorphosis of his either.
    During the day, while Marc and she were in school, he ran errands with Dee. In the evenings he showed up for dinner and a nightly game of chess with Marc, in which the two worthy opponents were equal in the number of games won and lost. And even on those rare occasions when they found themselves alone, he gave her nothing more than an occasional wink and a smile.
    Now she watched his broad back as he walked along chattering with her aunt and son, all three hand-in-hand. No, she didn’t trust him. After all, this was still the man who demanded a high price for his precious kidney, and she wasn’t foolish enough to believe he wouldn’t collect.
    As if sensing her thoughts, Darius glanced back over his shoulder at her. “Better pick up the pace, Liz, or we’re gonna be late for the movie.”
    Following his lead, Marc looked back as well. “Yeah, Mom, hurry up! We’re gonna be late!”
    She smiled and moved closed to the group, but still kept a little distance, enough to see every facial expression when Darius looked at her son. And she watched him like a mother hawk protecting her chick. Always she watched, whenever they were together, looking for even the vaguest sign of recognition.
    Of course, she had no idea what she would do if Darius ever did take notice of the fact that their profiles were exactly the same. Or that her son’s exotic features reflected his Asian heritage. Darius’s grandmother was Vietnamese.
    Logic told her he had probably already noted these things and