Destiny by Carly Phillips

getting an update on Richard’s condition, but Kelly already had preconceived notions of him and Annie as a couple.
    So far he hadn’t done anything to ease her mind or dispel that idea.
    Little did Kelly know the only woman he could think of was her. He’d driven to the mansion, so distracted by thoughts of Kelly and how he’d handle dinner tonight with her and Tess that he’d nearly run a light that had turned red.
    Then Annie had called, catching him halfway to Ethan’s house. In a shaky, breathless voice, she’d told him about Richard and asked him to come see her father before his surgery.
    His palms immediately grew damp and he’d broken into a sweat, a familiar gnawing fear overtaking him. Since his own parents’ sudden deaths, emergency calls panicked him, taking him back in time. Once he reached that place, everything in the present disappeared.
    Annie stopped them outside Richard’s room. “Wait here. I want to make sure he’s decent before I let you in.”
    He and Kelly nodded.
    Annie knocked, waited for an okay, then pushed open the door and walked inside.
    Nash knew he had limited time so he turned to Kelly. “Talk to me. You’re angry. What you saw with Annie—”
    “Is none of my business. But Tess is and you stood her up. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the emergency. But you should have called her.”
    He ducked his head. Of course he should have called. He’d just been so thrown by the news about Richard and then his past had crashed in on him. He’d forgotten, plain and simple. The reasons didn’t matter or excuse his behavior.
    Still, Nash noticed she hadn’t mentioned being stood up too. She was making this all about Tess, distancing herself and her feelings. That he’d deal with later.
    “You’re right. You and Tess deserved better and I’m sorry.”
    “I wasn’t upset for me, I was upset for Tess.”
    “Maybe you should have been upset for yourself. Or at least admit that it bothered you too.” He braced one hand on the wall behind her and leaned in close. He inhaled her now-familiar, intoxicating scent and wanted her to let him in.
    A pink flush stained her cheeks and she straightened her spine. “Now isn’t the time for this.”
    “I agree. But the subject’s not closed,” he warned her.
    “You know Tess isn’t going to make it easy for you to apologize,” Kelly shot, changing the subject.
    He nodded. “I already have my work cut out for me with Tess.” Apparently with Kelly as well. “What’s one more roadblock?” he asked only half sarcastically.
    “You can come in,” Annie called out.
    At the same time a nurse walked out the door and paused. “Be quick and don’t agitate him. He needs to stay calm until his surgery.”
    At the mention of surgery and the thought of entering the hospital room, Nash’s fear and anxiety immediately returned. His feelings for Richard were complex, his emotions invested much more than if he were just an ex-in-law. Nash respected his legal abilities, loved Richard like a father, and most important, owed him for stepping up and handling Barron family matters when Nash had been a teenager, unable to control either his destiny or his brother Dare’s.
    Richard had done the best he could, and some debts could never be repaid. Still, Nash would sure as hell like many more years with the man in order to give it a try.
    Kelly walked into the room, and her gaze settled on Richard. He lay in the hospital bed, his salt-and-pepper hair messed, his face pale. Used to seeing the older man in a suit and tie, she was upset at the sight of him in a hospital gown awaiting surgery. Though she’d only worked for him for a few weeks, she’d grown to like him enormously in a short time. And he’d been good to her in the past, which had bonded her to him in some small way.
    “What’s the matter? You weren’t getting enough attention at home?” Nash stepped closer, a forced smile on his face adding to his fake, light tone of voice.
    Taking