Page 52 of Perfect Pursuit

Ethan:

Enjoy your night with your mother, witch.

Ethan:

We’ll catch up later.

Fallon:

How many days is it until you’re here?

Ethan:

Two weeks.

Ethan:

Hand to god, I can’t wait until we’re in the same room together.

Fallon:

Me neither.

Satisfied with that, I leave Fallon to spend time with her mother since I plan on consuming every inch of her body, mind, and soul the minute my plane touches down in North Carolina.

I just hope Fallon’s ready to leave every thought behind because I don’t plan on letting her think about anything but us.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SEVEN VIRTUES, NORTH CAROLINA

I recently received an email. I so rarely answer them, but felt this was important. “Where can I get fashionable clothes for a friend who is having a mastectomy?”

Try AnaOno. Founder and CEO, Dana Donofree knows exactly what a post-surgical patient needs.

—Eva Henn, Fashion Blogger

There’s no way I’m hearing her correctly. “Mama, you want me to go away for the weekend with Ethan?”

Dr. Lam—Clarabel, as she ordered me to call her after our initial meeting—just left my mother’s room after relieving my heart. “Your mother’s on a definite upswing. With luck, since the surgery went so well, she should be ready to be discharged early to mid next week, Fallon.”

But none of that explains my mother trying to get me away from the hospital. She grasps my hand and entwines our fingers. “Fallon, you’ve done everything possible to ensure I’m comfortable. You’ve been here every available moment.”

“Mama, I’d give up everything for you.” It’s no less than the truth. Fortunately, the team I work with at the Biltmore found a way for me to catalog some data only requiring me to take minimal time off. Grateful, I’ve barely had to leave her side since the doctors went in and removed her uterus.

“I don’t expect you to.” Her voice is firm. Before I can counter her words with reassurance, she goes on. “That being said, the exact same is true. I’d do anything for you, baby.”

My facial muscles relax. “You already have. You’ve always loved me.”

“I always will, Fallon. Still, you’ve barely left my side.”

The relief that sweeps through me, cleansing away the pervasive fear is tremendous. I’m about to suggest we celebrate when she beats me to the punch. “You heard Dr. Lam; I’m not going anywhere. Go meet up with Ethan.”

Guilt wars with my own need to be held and have my heart healed. It comes out as a huff. “I need to be here for you.”

“To hover over me as I watch a Peter Freeman marathon on Food Network? No,” she concludes before I can speak. “You need to pursue wherever your heart leads you, Fallon. Especially now.”

Especially now. I lean forward and lay my head against her stomach. “Mama?”

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