Kandy Shepherd – The Tycoon And I: Safe in the Tycoon's Arms / The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner / Swept Away by the Tycoon (страница 21)
“Surely you have something to say for yourself.” Her tone was hard and sharp.
He didn’t like being pushed around. His ex-wife had known his vulnerabilities and used them for her own benefit. He wouldn’t allow someone else to take advantage of him again.
Kate could push and shove as hard as she wanted, but he wouldn’t give in...not until he was ready.
“I’m tired. And I still have reports to go over. There’s Chinese takeout on the counter if you want some. And just so you know, I am truly sorry.”
He turned away from the confused look in her eyes, telling himself that he didn’t care. This woman meant absolutely nothing to him.
Nothing. At. All.
But if that was the case, why as he yanked the door shut behind him did he feel like a total heel? And why did he want a chance to make things right with her?
HE’D TOTALLY OVERREACTED.
So what if he’d lost his mind for a moment and kissed her again? It didn’t mean he was falling for her big brown eyes or her cherry lips. The whole lack of judgment thing could be written off to a few restless nights and the stress of not bringing in enough money to cover the overages regarding the San Francisco expansion.
Days passed and with each day that went by, Lucas noticed that they were falling back into an easy routine. Pretending they hadn’t shared yet another even more intense lip-lock seemed to work during the day, but at night, when he should be sleeping, images of Kate and her tempting kisses filled his thoughts.
“Sorry I’m late.” She rushed into the kitchen after returning from her visit to the hospital. “You didn’t have to wait to eat. In fact, I’m not really hungry.”
“I have plans for us tonight. Instead of the food coming to you, you are going to the food.”
She shook her head before sinking down onto a kitchen chair. “I’m sorry. I’m too tired to go anywhere.”
Dark shadows under her eyes sent up warning flares. Maybe asking her to work on the house was too much for her.
He realized that in his attempt to avoid his unwanted attraction to her, he’d failed to do his duty as her boss—and, dare he admit it, as her friend. He’d let her work herself into the ground while he’d been busy at the office. He had to fix this, but how?
“No problem. When you get your appetite back, I’ll get you whatever you want.” He sat down next to her. “Your wish is my command.”
With her elbows propped on the table, she rested her chin on her upturned palms. Was it exhaustion that had her so down? Or did she have bigger things on her mind? Was it Molly? Had her health taken a turn for the worse? His chest tightened.
“How’s Molly today?”
Kate’s eyes widened. “How did you know that’s what I had on my mind?”
“What else would you be thinking about?” Unlike him, she probably hadn’t fantasized the afternoon away, imagining the temptation of another kiss.
“Molly’s refusing the surgery.”
This news set him back. “What do you mean refusing?”
“Well, she didn’t put it in those terms. But she’s moody and depressed. She’s insisting on going home and I can’t blame her. She’s been poked, prodded and examined for months now.”
He’d have a hard time dealing with that and he was an adult. He didn’t know how a child could put up with visiting doctor after doctor. Children were supposed to be outside, running around in the fresh air playing dodgeball or jumping rope, whatever it was that little girls liked to do.
“I’m sorry. That can’t be easy for either of you. Did you tell her that it won’t be much longer?”
Kate nodded. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “What am I going to do? They say with tricky surgeries that the patient’s attitude plays a huge role in the recovery.”
He didn’t have any experience with sick people or surgeries. He’d been a kid when his grandparents passed on. And his father died of a massive coronary at his desk at the Carrington offices. So all he could do was try to remember what it felt like to be a kid. And his favorite memories were of the times when he’d been with his aunt.
A thought sprang to mind. “Why don’t you give Molly something to look forward to?”
Kate narrowed her gaze on him. “Don’t you think that’s what I’ve been trying to do?”
“You aren’t understanding me. What if you give her something to dream about? A plan for when she gets out of the hospital?”
“I’m running low on brilliant ideas. And by the time Molly is out of the hospital, I won’t have two pennies to rub together much less money for a trip to Disneyland.”
This was a small way he could help Kate. “You don’t have to spend a lot to make your little girl happy. And you don’t have to visit Sleeping Beauty Castle either.”
Kate jerked upright. “How would a bachelor like yourself know about Sleeping Beauty Castle?”
He wasn’t about to tell her that he too had a little girl and when he used to read her bedtime stories, he’d promised to take her there when she got a little older.
“Who doesn’t know about the castle?” he bluffed. “It’s in almost every Disney commercial. But what I was trying to say is that you don’t need that. You could plan a whole vacation right here in New York City.”
“You may not notice the cost, but dinners out and show tickets add up quickly.”
“But there are other options.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “If you are going to tell me to take Molly window-shopping, save your breath. That will never fly. She’ll want everything she sees.”
“I can assure you that good times don’t have to cost a fortune.”
“And what would you know about it? You probably grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in your mouth.”
“You might be surprised to know that my childhood didn’t have as many silver spoons as you’d imagine.”
She paused and eyed him up. “There’s no way you’re going to convince me that your family sent you out into the world to earn bread money.”
Her words pricked his good mood, deflating it. “Money isn’t everything. Sometimes I think it would have been better to be born into a different family, one who didn’t worry so much about money and appearances. Maybe then my parents wouldn’t have...”
“Wouldn’t have what?”
He glanced up to find genuine concern in her eyes. He hadn’t meant to open this door to his past. Some things were best unsaid. But in this one particular case, his past might show Kate just how good she and her daughter have it.
He sighed. This still wasn’t going to be easy. “Maybe without Carrington Gems and the status that came with it, my parents wouldn’t have gotten divorced. But even after they got divorced, things didn’t get much better. They still fought, mostly over me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Not about to get into how they’d turned him into a spy for each of them, he continued, “It was during this period that my aunt would whisk me away. She could see that I wasn’t happy. So she’d take me on day trips around the city.”
Kate waved away his idea. “I’m sure it was nice. But if I want to distract Molly and give her something to look forward to, it’s got to be better than a walk in the park and a push on the swings. Besides, when she gets out of the hospital, we’ll be heading back to Pennsylvania. This job is great, but it’ll be over soon. I have to think about either getting my old position back or finding a new one.”
He frowned at the thought that one day soon Kate would be gone. He was getting used to having her around. Not that he was getting attached to her or anything. He just liked having someone at home with whom to share a meal and make conversation.
Still, he’d like to see that Kate and her daughter had good memories to take home with them. His idea would take some convincing. However, seeing something with one’s own eyes was always more persuasive than a sales pitch.
Yes, that’s what he’d do—show Kate a good time.
* * *
The next morning, Kate was back working in the library, mulling over how to cheer up Molly. She liked that Lucas had been there pitching helpful ideas. Most of all, she liked that he’d opened up some about his childhood. Things must have been bad if his aunt felt she had to get him out of the house. Her heart went out to that little boy who’d been in such an unhappy situation.
“Let’s go.”
Her head jerked up at the sound of Lucas’s voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to pick you up.”
She straightened, not recalling that they’d had any plans. Yet he was standing there midmorning in a dark pair of jeans, which accented his athletic legs, and he’d unbuttoned his blue collared shirt and rolled up the sleeves. What in the world had gotten into him? And why did she find herself staring at him like some starstruck high-schooler? Probably because it should be against the law to look that good.
His blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Well, are you just going to stand there smearing paint everywhere?”
She glanced down, finding the paint stick she’d been using to stir the white paint for the trim dripping all over the drop cloth. She hurried to set it aside and put the lid back on the can. Something told her that she wouldn’t be doing any painting until Lucas left, not if she wanted to get the paint on the walls and not the floor.
That was one thing about this project that she really enjoyed, being able to work with her hands. At her old job she’d done the sketches, consulted with the owners and supervised the transformation. But she hadn’t rolled up her sleeves and dived in with the detail work. When she finished with this project, it truly would be the crowning accomplishment in her portfolio. First, though, she had to get it finished. Too many things were riding on her bringing this project in on schedule.