Tempting The Heiress. Martha Kennerson

turned toward the sound of Felicia’s name.

      “Dr. Blake?” a deep voice called out. A tall, handsome man with umber-colored skin, wearing a black Armani tuxedo, approached with an extended hand and a wide smile. “Dr. Felicia Blake, I can’t believe it’s you. Wow, you’re as beautiful as ever.” The man’s gaze roamed her body before landing on Farrah. “Oh, my, I forgot, there are three of you. Well, you’re both striking creatures.”

      Farrah rolled her eyes skyward.

      “Dr. David Price,” Felicia said, accepting the man’s large hand and watching as hers disappeared into his. “This is my sister, Farrah Blake Gold.”

      “Pleased to meet you,” Farrah said, offering a quick nod as she measured up the doctor with a quick once-over.

      “Dr. Blake, I haven’t seen you since... I don’t even know. How long has it been?” Price asked with a seductive grin.

      “A little over two years,” she replied as her mind brought forward the memory. “We were attending the Boston conference.” Felicia turned to her sister and said, “Dr. Price was giving a lecture on cellular microorganisms. He’s an expert in the field.”

      “Sounds...fascinating. Excuse me for a moment.” Farrah walked toward a woman wearing a hotel name tag.

      “Medicine’s not really her thing. She’s a lawyer,” Felicia explained, wanting to strangle her sister for being so rude.

      He laughed. “If I remember correctly, you were living in Texas. What brings you to Atlanta? Are you up for one of those new positions at the CDC? I hear the new executive director came in and cleaned house.”

      “We’re here to visit some old friends,” Farrah offered, making a reappearance. “Please excuse us. We’re running late.”

      “Yes, of course,” he said, eyeing both women. He pulled out a business card from the breast pocket of his suit and handed it to Felicia. “Please, give me a call sometime. I’d love to catch up.”

      Felicia smiled and tucked it away in her crystal-encrusted clutch. “It was nice seeing you again.”

      “You, too,” Price replied as he turned and made his way down the hall.

      “The party’s right upstairs on the second floor in the Oriental ballroom.” Farrah intertwined their arms, pulling her sister toward the escalator, but not before looking over her shoulder at Dr. Price’s disappearing form.

      “He won’t be the only doctor we may encounter,” Felicia whispered, trying to slow her sister’s pace to no avail.

      “True, but there’s only one doctor here that you need to see. So no distractions allowed.”

      The sisters took the escalator to the second floor and, with each slow progression, Felicia felt as though the small butterflies in her stomach were growing and if she opened her mouth, they’d make their escape in grand fashion.

      “I can’t do this,” Felicia declared the moment the escalator placed her feet back on solid ground. She gripped her sister’s arm and froze, then watched a large crowd of elegantly dressed men and women mill about. She turned and faced her sister, who snatched a glass of wine from a passing waiter. “Farrah, let’s get out of here.”

      “What the hell’s wrong with you?” Farrah said before taking a sip of her wine. “You work for the CIA doing God knows what. Dad trained all of us to handle all types of weapons, to fight, and you’ve even won a few karate matches against both of your sisters, for goodness’ sake.” Farrah scrunched her face as though her nose had just encountered a vile smell. “Why are you acting like you’ve never been in a clutch situation before?”

      “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because all the training in the world hasn’t prepared me to tell someone I haven’t really seen in years, excluding a ten-minute conversation in an airport weeks ago—a man that I’ve never so much as shared a real kiss with, a man that I just might still be in love with, which is pretty pathetic if you think about it—that we have a child.”