by Renée Dahlia
Zoe grinned and winked at him. The cut above his left eye, caused when he’d headbutted Andersen, was almost fixed. It would scar, and Kiet was right, it was damned sexy.
‘He did bring us together.’
‘No. I would never dare tell you what to do. But no. You can’t name your car after him.’
She giggled. ‘I just might have to …’
‘Anything but that. Can’t we just move on and forget that bastard?’
‘Lindsey?’
‘No. Damn it.’
‘I’m teasing. I rather thought this car looked like a “Roxy”.’
He leaned back against his seat. ‘Roxy … I like it. Let’s get back to the farm.’
She drove Roxy along the now-familiar road with its hills and turns and twists, and the amazing view over the river mouth. She sighed as they went past old Mr Thomas’s driveway. When she’d first told the police how Andersen had randomly pulled over, right after his rant about killing her and making it look like Kiet had done it, they hadn’t believed her. She would never know why Mr Andersen didn’t pull the trigger—hopefully the lessons in church about sin had done the trick, or maybe it was simply self-preservation. Being jailed for fraud was quite a different thing to murder. Luckily her phone had recorded the whole incident, and while it was muffled, the recording was clear enough to prove her right.
Dark clouds rolled in over the river mouth—they’d get another storm tonight—as she drove down the hill towards their driveway. She smiled. The farm felt like home now, even though it was only early days in her relationship with Kiet.
‘Pull over by the packing shed. I have something I want to show you.’
She glanced over at him. ‘Always with the commands …’
‘You like them in bed.’
‘Kiet!’
‘It’s true.’ His grin, with that gorgeous dimple, sent a warm fuzzy feeling spreading through her torso. He was right—she loved it when he took charge in bed. And she knew that his desire grew whenever she was brave enough to state what she wanted. She’d grown up suppressing her desires. Now, she revelled in them with Kiet. Her hero. She parked Roxy beside the packing shed and turned off the engine.
‘Now what?’
‘Come on.’
He jumped out of the car and waited for her. She loved how he didn’t assist her—she didn’t want gentlemanly manners, she wanted independence. She’d grown up with men who used manners to suppress and control women, and she loved that Kiet understood that. With a beaming smile, she stepped out of Roxy and walked towards him.
‘What ghost did I please to deserve you? Come with me.’ He reached out to hold her hand, and together they walked around the shed. The afternoon sun shimmered off the calm waters.
‘The farm and the water look so pretty. It’s amazing to think they can look so inviting when you look at the sky.’
Kiet glanced up at the sky and his mouth quirked up in a big grin. His dimple deepened in his cheek, and Zoe wanted to press her thumb into the gorgeous indentation. ‘I’m scared of storms. You’ll have to cuddle me tonight.’
She laughed. ‘You are not. You just want to touch me.’
‘Always.’ He sucked in a deep breath, and his handsome smile disappeared. ‘I need to apologise.’
‘For?’ Zoe frowned, her mouth going dry.
‘I’m sorry I doubted your help. The whole thing with the money, and the timing with Elizabeth leaving, really messed with my head.’
‘But you don’t doubt me now?’ Zoe’s chest tightened. Had she misread their time together?
‘Of course I don’t. I love you, and because I love you, I have to be honest about everything. I would’ve fallen for you sooner, except I doubted everyone. And I’m sorry.’
She shook her head as her smile grew. ‘Kiet. You beautiful, caring, ridiculous man. Your doubt was perfectly natural in the circumstances. Without this scam, and your determination, we wouldn’t have met. I wouldn’t have driven you home on Christmas Day if I didn’t trust that you’d keep me safe. You might have doubted everyone, but I never doubted you.’
He ran his hand through his hair. ‘Doesn’t that make it worse? I should’ve trusted you.’
‘And if I’d been part of the scam, you’d never have forgiven yourself. I understand why you had to doubt me. It was just part of the process.’
‘Well. That might make logical sense, but I don’t like it.’
She stepped forward and laid her cheek against his chest. ‘I love you, Kiet, and I accept your apology.’
He wrapped his arms around her, and she breathed in his salty ocean perfume. ‘I always want to be honest with you.’
‘Thank you. Honesty seems like a good foundation for a relationship.’ Zoe hadn’t known her core criteria would be so simple. As she glanced back over her parents’ relationship—based on public persona—a satisfying warmth spread through her limbs. She didn’t have to be like them, she could have honesty with Kiet. Her own family built on her own beliefs.
‘We’ve survived a villain, we’ll survive anything.’ Kiet kissed her forehead and she raised her gaze to stare deep into his dark brown eyes.
‘I don’t know what possessed him to stop the car, but at least he was as unfit as me. What a ridiculous sight we must have made, two overweight accountants running …’
‘Zoe. Please don’t joke. He had no intention of running. He had a gun.’
‘Yes. And I’m glad he couldn’t make himself shoot me. He might be a thief, but he had enough morality not to cross the ultimate line and murder me.’
‘Thank God for that.’
Zoe rolled her eyes. ‘Nice irony. My theory is that he didn’t shoot me because he wanted to be caught. His statement to the police was rambling and often nonsense, and I really want to know where your money went. I think he was being blackmailed. His ego drove him to this crime, simply to uphold his position of seniority in the town.’
‘Makes sense.’ Kiet hugged her tight. ‘We survived. And I have a little gift for you.’ He stepped away from their hug and opened a storage unit beside the jetty. Was he going to give her a rope? Or perhaps some tools? Oh. As he straightened up, he held out a brand new straw hat complete with joyful yellow ribbon.
‘Just like the one I lost that day on the sea.’ She threw herself into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth. He lifted his head.
‘The day we first kissed. And now, I plan to enjoy the rest of my life with you.’ Kiet paused, and she could feel the way nervous tension pervaded his body.
‘With more of those fantastic kisses? That sounds marvellous. Let’s go home.’ Zoe kissed Kiet on the cheek, his stubble rough under her lips. He tasted like the sea, and home, right where she belonged—with him.
‘Home?’
‘Yes.’ Zoe smiled. ‘I’ve stayed at your cottage almost every night since Christmas Day. It feels like home because you are there.’
‘To our home. I love you, Zoe.’
‘Show me how much,’ she teased. He bent his head and kissed her. He tasted like her forever, and she kissed him back with all the love in her heart.
Author Notes
Asking someone where they come from is a very common racist microaggression, and I hope I’ve shown how someone can come to understand how this is problematic and how they can learn from their mistake.
Surnames were only introduced in Thailand in 1913, and over eighty per cent of names are unique. Kiet’s family is named after the Thai politician, Mechai Viravaidya, who was affectionately nicknamed Mr Condom, thanks to his work in reducing the birth rate among Thai women and teaching sexual safety during the AIDS epidemic. Read more in the book by Thomas D’Agnes, From condoms to cabbages: An authorized biography of Mechai Viravaidya.
Thai culture has a rich fascination with ghosts. Many trees in Thailand are draped in colourful cloths to protect the ghosts living inside. Most Thai people believe in Buddhism, as well as animism, which is the belief that all things possess a spiritual e
ssence, in particular plants, animals, objects, and in some cases, even words and human creativity.
The Thai names Nok, Kiet and Sam are spelt phonetically and are the most common Anglicised versions for the chosen names (I discussed this with a Thai speaker to help make sure I selected something appropriate).
An Australian Government Department of Health 2012 study estimated the proportion of LGBTQI people to be 11% of the population; however, the Australian Human Rights Commission also states this may be an underestimate as many people hide their LGBTQI identities to avoid homophobic abuse.
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Thanks for reading His Christmas Pearl. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you liked this book, here are my other titles: Merindah Park, Making Her Mark, Two Hearts Healing, To Charm a Bluestocking, In Pursuit of a Bluestocking and The Heart of a Bluestocking.
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ISBN: 9781489296870
Title: His Christmas Pearl
Copyright © 2019 by RENÉE DAHLIA
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