Episode 7: Hopeful Beginnings

When Ryú finally left Nari’s office and the clinic, nearly every staff member descended on her office like emotionally starved gossip vultures.

“SPILL,” one of the nurses demanded immediately. “Who was that man and why is he illegally attractive?”

“That,” another nurse announced dramatically, “is the guy who has been wooing her all week.”

“Wait. THAT’S flower billionaire guy?!”

“Oh my God, he’s gorgeous.”

“Does he have a younger brother?”

“Or an older brother?”

“Or a cousin?”

Nari buried her face briefly in her hands.

“Tessa,” she said without looking up, “why are you letting this happen?” Tessa leaned casually against the doorframe.

“Because this is the best thing that’s happened in this clinic in six months.” The room erupted into agreement.

Eventually, after several more invasive questions and one truly unnecessary reenactment of Ryú’s “smoldering gaze,” Nari finally managed to shove everyone out of her office so she could finish charting.

By the time she finally left the clinic at six, she was exhausted.

But somehow, she felt lighter.

And she knew exactly why.

Ryú.

The sudden realization startled her enough that she nearly missed the sight of her brother pacing anxiously beside her truck.

Kai looked up immediately when he saw her.

Relief flashed quickly across his face as he tried to cover it with exaggerated casualness.

Not good enough that she didn’t see through him.

“SIS!” he called immediately. “Hey! Hi! How are you? Thought maybe we could grab dinner? My treat,” he said, flashing one of his most charming smiles.

It didn’t work on Nari. She knew her brother’s every nuance.

Not letting him off the hook yet, Nari stopped several feet away and narrowed her eyes at him.

“And why,” she asked calmly, “would I go anywhere with you, Kai St. Claire?”

Kai froze.

Still angry.

That was fair.

At least she hadn’t used his full name. Maybe she was relenting.

“Look, Sis,” he said quickly. “I know. I know I should’ve told you. I just wanted you to meet him first. The actual man, not the status. Ryú really is a good guy.”

“Whether he’s a good guy or not is irrelevant,” she said firmly. “You lied to me.”

“No.” She pointed directly at him. “Do not try to spin this into ‘omitting information.’ You lied, Kai.”

He looked genuinely contrite.

“And worse,” she continued, “you took away my right to choose for myself. You know how much I hate that.”

Kai’s shoulders slumped completely.

“Sis, I know. And I’m really sorry. I, I never meant to hurt you.”

After several long moments of glaring at him, Nari finally relented slightly.

“If you EVER do something like this again…” she warned quietly, “I will skin you alive.” Kai nodded immediately.

“There will be NO coming back from it. Do you understand me?” “I understand,” he answered without hesitation.

Then finally…

Nari smiled softly and opened her arms.

Kai made a broken sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob before launching himself into her arms, just as he had when he was a child.

“I’m so sorry, Sis,” he choked out against her shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Nari held him tightly, the way she always had when he’d been frightened as a child.

“It’s okay,” she whispered finally.

“You are ABSOLUTELY taking me to dinner,” she informed him. “And somewhere offensively expensive.”

“The hottest restaurant in town,” he promised immediately. “You’re worth every penny, Sis.

Every single penny.”

After leaving the clinic, Ryú honestly had no idea what to do with himself.

This was by no means a victory.

Nothing was guaranteed.

Nari had not declared undying love.

Had not fallen into his arms.

Hell, she had barely forgiven him.

And she certainly hadn’t forgotten that he’d hurt her.

And yet…

God help him…

he felt like he had just landed the single biggest acquisition of his life.

Before he fully realized where he was going, Ryú found himself parked outside Arjun and Lakshmi’s house.

Because, if he was being honest with himself,

Who else could he possibly share this with?

He needed to talk to someone before he exploded.

The moment Arjun opened the door, Ryú immediately schooled his expression back into something resembling composure.

Arjun took one look at him and snorted.

“Uh huh.”

Ryú frowned slightly. “What?”

“You’re smiling like a man who either singlehandedly closed a three-billion-dollar contract or committed tax fraud and got away with it.”

Ryú rolled his eyes as Arjun stepped aside to let him in.

“Well?” Arjun demanded the second the door closed behind them. “What happened? Did she accept the apology?”

Ryú attempted to maintain some dignity.

“I suppose it went… reasonably well.”

Then the grin escaped.

Completely unstoppable.

Huge.

Bright.

Catastrophically happy.

Arjun let out a loud whoop and slapped him hard across the back.

“I KNEW IT! Who could resist the Alexander charm!”

The commotion immediately summoned Lakshmi from deeper inside the house.

She appeared around the corner holding a cup of tea, eyes narrowing suspiciously between the two men.

“What happened?”

Arjun pointed dramatically at Ryú.

“He’s smiling.”

Lakshmi gasped theatrically.

“Oh. My. God. The woman actually likes you back?”

Ryú glared at both of them while failing spectacularly at trying to stop smiling.

“Stop standing in the doorway,” Lakshmi ordered immediately. “Come sit down and tell us everything. Arjun has been like an expectant father all afternoon waiting for updates.”

“I have not.”

“You reorganized the spice cabinet alphabetically.”

“Then grouped them by level of spice…”

“…That is unrelated.”

Lakshmi rolled her eyes and ignored him completely as she grabbed Ryú by the arm, pulling him fully into the living room.

Ryú finally gave up pretending calm was a possibility.

“She said she’d give me another chance.”

Both Arjun and Lakshmi immediately lit up.

“And,” Ryú added, unable to stop the softness entering his voice, “she accepted the dragon.”

For a second, all he could do was grin helplessly to himself.

Arjun stared at him in disbelief.

“Man… you have got it BAD, Ry.”

Ryú didn’t even deny it.

“You’re acting worse than when we acquired Turner Group,” Arjun continued laughing. “And then sold it five years later for three hundred million dollars.”

Ryú leaned back against the couch slowly, still looking slightly stunned by his own happiness.

“This honestly feels bigger than that.”

Lakshmi and Arjun exchanged a look.

“And all she agreed to was friendship,” Ryú admitted.

Lakshmi nearly choked on her tea.

“Oh, you are absolutely doomed.”

Arjun and Lakshmi teased him mercilessly, but honestly?

He didn’t care.

“I haven’t felt this genuinely excited about anyone since my college days,” Ryú admitted quietly.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“And even then…” He paused, considering it. “This feels different.”

Lakshmi studied him over the rim of her cup.

“Different how?”

Ryú looked down for a moment before answering.

“More substantial.” His smile deepened slightly. “More dangerous.”

Arjun laughed.

“Dangerous?  To who?”

Ryú ignored him.

“I don’t know how to explain it.” He exhaled softly. “She changes with every emotion.”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“If you could see her when she smiles…” he said, his voice softening despite himself. “Her whole face lights up and somehow its warmth just caresses you.”

His expression shifted, amused by the memory.

“And when she’s angry…” He shook his head slowly. “Her eyes… look like molten gold.”

Arjun stared at him.

Lakshmi slowly lowered her cup.

“You’ve been studying her,” Arjun said.

Ryú gave him a dry look.

“I notice things.”

Lakshmi shook her head slowly, studying him with growing fascination.

“I HAVE got to meet this woman.” She pointed directly at him. “Even Rei Ling didn’t get this kind of reaction out of you.”

The second the name left her mouth, Lakshmi visibly regretted it.

Arjun winced instantly.

The room quieted slightly.

But to both their surprise…

Ryú didn’t shut down.

Didn’t tense.

Didn’t retreat behind that cold mask he usually wore whenever his ex was mentioned.

Instead, he looked down quietly again for a moment before speaking.

“That’s because what I felt for Rei Ling…” He paused thoughtfully. “Didn’t feel like this.”

The simplicity of the admission landed harder than any dramatic declaration could have.

“I honestly thought I was never going to become seriously involved with anyone again.”

Then the grin spread across his face again.

“But whatever I felt before?” He shook his head slowly. “That felt like a schoolboy crush compared to this.”

Arjun and Lakshmi exchanged a look.

“Oh, we absolutely have to meet this woman,” Arjun said.

“She’s turned my best friend into a poet.”

Ryú gave him a dry look.

“Hardly.”

Lakshmi snorted.

“You just compared her smile to caress and her eyes to molten gold…”

Ryú paused.

“…That does sound a little concerning,” he muttered to himself.

“It sounds terminal,” Arjun immediately corrected.

Ryú ignored him.

Then he leaned back, thinking.

“Assuming she agrees to dinner, where do I think I should take her?”

Arjun stared at him.

“You haven’t even asked her yet?”

“No,” Ryú said calmly. “But I intend to.”

“And you’re already planning the date?”

Ryú’s expression remained perfectly composed.

“Preparation is not a character flaw.”

That did it.

Arjun nearly choked laughing.

“I don’t know which version is worse,” he managed. “Love-struck Ryú or strategic-romance Ryú.”

Kai followed Nari home afterwards, wanting to make sure she got there safely.

Watching her smile and laugh through dinner had been worth every painful hit to his bank account.

“Okay, Ryú,” he muttered to himself as he shifted the car into drive. “You got her to let us back in.”

His expression softened.

“You better not screw this up.”

Nari stepped inside her townhouse and breathed a sigh of relief.  She was finally alone with her thoughts.

She carried the golden dragon carefully into her bedroom and placed it reverently on her bedside table.

Moonlight spilled softly across the delicate gold glass.

“Am I doing the right thing?” she whispered softly.

Then suddenly, his smile flashed in her head.  Her heart did a flip.

“Damn,” she muttered helplessly. “That man is dangerous.”

“That smile should honestly be classified. Top Secret/SCI at minimum.”

“You got it bad, girl,” she informed herself firmly. “And you absolutely cannot let him know that.” Then she suddenly froze.

“Oh my God. Is he really going to call tomorrow?” Immediately her brain spiraled.

What should she wear?

Then she stopped…

“…Why are you worried about what you’re wearing for a damn phone call?” 

Nari burst out laughing at herself.

“Get it together, Nari.”

She turned off the lamp and watched the dragon gleam softly in the moonlight.

Much later that night, Ryú lay stretched across the massive bed in his master bedroom staring up at the ceiling in the darkness.

Every single time he closed his eyes, he saw her smile.

And the way she said his name.

“Nope,” he muttered to himself into the darkness. “She’s mine.” A slow grin spread across his face again.

“Come hell or high water… she’s going to be mine.”

Somehow, something about Nari had awakened a fiercely protective side of him.

He wanted to shield her.

Take care of her.

Stand between her and anything capable of hurting her.

Especially after Lakshmi had spent the last several hours enthusiastically throwing date ideas at him.

Drives along the coast.

Quiet restaurants.

Bookstores.

Picnics.

Ryú closed his eyes again, unable to stop the images forming in his head.

Nari beside him in the passenger seat.

Wind moving through her hair.

Those warm eyes fixed on him.

For the first time in years, Ryú fell asleep smiling.

And even in his dreams…

he couldn’t stop.