I got out of bed and checked my cell on the bedside table. Ten in the morning.
Holy cow. I had slept more than twelve hours.
My hair reeked of old water, but worse, I had no pants. I wore only a T-shirt. Lee’s shirt?
I began texting Abby, but I called her instead, seeing that I had several missed calls. Lee must have turned off my phone.
“Are you okay?” Abby asked.
I plopped on the bed and ran my fingers through my tangled hair. “It’s a long story.”
“I know. Lee called me.”
I heard Tyler in the background. “He did?” I recalled asking him to call Abby. Then why was I still here?
“Yes. He told me how you got airsick and that you wouldn’t be home. I offered to come pick you up, but he said he had it all under control and that you just needed to sleep. He was very sweet about it. See, this is what a real man—a man with a good heart—does. Do you remember when you got sick on the boat with Jayden?”
I sighed sharply. “Yes, I do. You don’t need to bring it up. I get it.” I didn’t need a second mother.
“Okay, fine, but are you okay? Are you coming home or do you need to watch Bridget? Do you need my help?”
Abby hadn’t given me a chance to respond, but I couldn’t say much, anyway. I was still shocked by what I was wearing.
“I’m wearing his T-shirt.” I sniffed the fabric—pine. “It smells like Lee—sweet and fresh laundry.”
“What? What happened?” I could picture my sister’s shocked face.
I laid back in bed, glancing up at the recessed lighting. “Nothing happened. I’m just making a comment. I’ll let you know if I’m coming home. I’ll call you later.”
I bit my bottom lip, contemplating if I should put on yesterday’s clothes. Surely they were dried by now. I got out of bed and searched the bathroom, then on top of the dresser. Where could they be?
Lee must have them if I was wearing his shirt. Had I taken off my clothes in front of him? At least I had my bra and panties on.
There was only one way to find out. Brave it and leave the room to find him.
I inhaled a deep breath and opened the door. Well, I didn’t need to find him. Lee stood in front of me with my clothes neatly folded.
“Hi?” My greeting came off like a question.
He gave me a once over and produced a devilish grin, and then with a straight face, he handed me my clothes. “I hope you don’t mind but I washed them except for your”—he cleared his throat—“undergarments. You didn’t take them off.”
Heat flushed through me. I rubbed the side of my face. “Did I ... did I take my clothes off in front of you?”
“Yes,” he said.
My eyes widened, shock rendering me speechless. No hesitation there.
His cheeks turned color. “Oh. I meant, you did, but I turned around. I didn’t see you. I would never take advantage of you. I hope you don’t think—”
I exhaled with relief. “No, no, no. I don’t think that. I’m just grateful, that’s all.”
Lee’s chest rose and fell with a long sigh. “I’m glad we cleared that up. Anyway, you must be starving. I have breakfast ready. After you change, please join us.”
“Sure. Thank you, but let me take a quick shower.”
“Of course.” He took a step, but then turned. “Before I forget to tell you, I need you to come back tomorrow morning about eight. I’ll be gone the rest of the week, but I’ll be home Friday afternoon.”
“Sure. No problem.” I gave a wobbly smile.
When he turned, I gently laid my hand on his shoulder, recalling that day he had done the same to me in the cab. Life was strange. I couldn’t believe I was working for the man who had given his taxi to me, whom I’d thought I would never see again.
“Lee?” My heart fluttered in my stomach.
“Yes.” His voice was tender and hypnotic, like his eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to take care of me. I’m so embarrassed. This is so unprofessional. I hope you don’t think less of me or that I’m incapable of watching Bridget, and—”
He brought a finger to my lips, parting them.
I sucked in air as something warm grew in the center of my belly.
Lee lowered his darkened eyes to my mouth, then met my gaze with intensity. His voice became rough and deeper. “I don’t think that at all, Kate. If you knew what I was thinking at this moment, you would think I wasn’t being professional.”
I had no idea how to process that as I watched him walk away.
Chapter Twenty-Six — Painting Room
Lee never failed to call twice a day during his business trips—in the morning before Bridget went to school and then before she went to bed. He also texted me daily, asking if I needed anything.
Sometimes, our conversations were about his work, and sometimes he would send me random paintings he saw at the hotel or at the restaurants and ask my opinion. We were acting like a couple.
Four days passed and Lee came home Friday, like he’d said he would. He had asked me to keep Bridget home from school, so I arranged a lesson with her swimming teacher. I’d thought it was a good idea to get her back into the water as soon as possible.
From where I stood by the pool, I could see Lee through the double glass doors, sitting at the dining table with his laptop open. Occasionally, he would look out toward us.
The swimming lesson had ended about half an hour ago, but Bridget wanted to stay in the water longer. When I thought she had enough, I wrapped a towel around her, and we walked back inside.
“Kate, can you stay tonight?” Lee kept his eyes on the computer screen, moving his fingers along the keyboard and continuing without a glance my way. “I have a meeting after dinner and I’m not sure what time I’ll be home.”
“Yes. I can stay.”
Lee closed his laptop and rose. “Great. I ordered pizza from World’s Best Pizza. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Yah. I love their pizza. It’s the world’s best.” Bridget clapped, her pool towel slipping off her shoulders.
I covered her up again. “Before pizza, you need to take a shower.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you in my bathroom,” she said and ran off.
Lee followed her halfway and watched her climb up the stairs. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I could assume.
“She’s fine, Lee.” I stroked his arm to get his attention. “Kids bounce back faster than adults. You can talk to her about it if you want, but the swimming instructor did a good job helping her feel comfortable swimming again. I bet she’s busy thinking about the pizza and not what had happened at the waterfall.”
Lee pressed his lips together, nodding, his eyes soft and vulnerable. I understood his concern. Being a parent wasn’t easy. Abby had talked to me often about Tyler. She regularly tied herself in knots worrying that she was doing too much or too little of everything.
“Thank you. I needed to hear that,” he said, meeting my gaze.
“Good.” I pointed my finger upward. “I need to go and help her.”
“Of course.”
After Bridget washed up, we gathered at the dining table. While Lee passed out the plates of pizza, I gazed at the lit Christmas tree and the lights dangling around the room. It gave a warm and cozy feel—a reminder Christmas was soon.