Chapter Seven
Kinsley stretched her back as she surveyed the freshly painted room. The white walls and glossy white trim made the area sparkle.
Not too shabby. Amazing what a single coat of paint could do. A thousand times better than the previous gold and red colors the room had sported since the seventies.
Mr. Knotts and the other workers had left over an hour ago and promised to be back on Friday to finish the trim and put on another coat. The ballroom floor could still use refinishing, but overall, the room now looked airy and updated. A place she was sure Arden would be willing to show her clients as a reception choice. She couldn’t wait for her and Damon to see the end result.
Speaking of Damon…
She hadn’t seen him all day. It wasn’t like him. He usually floated in and out of her office at will with various questions and paperwork. Was he even still here? She thought for sure he would have wanted to check on the painting progress. Maybe he wasn’t really as interested in helping her make the hotel a success as she’d thought. That was depressing. After all, he’d been the one to extend the olive branch and ask to become friends. Maybe that was just pretense, too, to throw her off guard and keep the employees toeing the line. She knew firsthand that business and money made people act funny.
Another reason not to get involved with anyone you worked with.
Not that Damon was even remotely interested in getting involved with her. He looked the type to have various women waiting in the wings in the city for him. Probably some swanky model types. Not a jilted hotel manager bookworm. “Friends” was all he wanted from Kinsley. And now she even had her doubts about that.
She checked her watch. It was almost six o’clock, and the thought of going back to her empty duplex depressed her. She had a better plan. She’d grab her purse from her office and see if Elena wanted to get something to eat. Hopefully she didn’t already have plans with her fiancé, Scott.
On the way to her office, Kinsley noticed the light in Damon’s office was still on. Wasting energy. Again, not like him. Ha, he wasn’t so perfect after all. If it was her duty to pick up after him, so be it. She stuck her arm through the door to reach the light panel then froze at the sight of Damon slumped over his desk.
“Damon!” She rushed over to him, heart in her throat.
Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead. She had read about these kinds of things happening at work all the time. Seemingly healthy men in their thirties, found dead of a heart attack at their desks. She just never imagined someone as young and virile as Damon becoming part of that statistic.
Kinsley ran a hand over his head. It was warm—quite hot, actually—and he moaned under her touch.
Thank you, God. She let out a long relieved breath and tried to calm her nerves. Not dead and definitely not the result of allergies. If she had to guess, she’d say flu or some other sort of virus. He looked even worse than this morning. She rubbed his muscular back, trying to get his attention. Gosh, he felt nice. All warm and masculine. Even through his shirt, she felt the rich outlines of his athletic physique.
Was it wrong that an itty-bitty part of her enjoyed touching him like this?
She cleared her throat and tried to focus. “Damon,” she said again.
His head rolled to the side. As he peered at her, his lips curved up a little. “Hey.”
She gave him a small smile. “Hey.” Sweaty and pale and the man still managed to look awfully cute. “Damon, I need to get you into bed.”
“You’re taking me to bed?” He closed his eyes, his lips still smiling. “I like the sound of that,” he said groggily.
“No, not in that way—” Why was she even trying to argue? The poor man was clearly delirious. She shook him in an attempt to get his attention again. He shooed her away. He wasn’t budging. She needed help if she was to move him. She rushed over to the door and called for Elena, who ran into the office less than a minute later.
Elena took one look at Damon and raised a hand to her mouth. “Oh my gosh! You killed him!”
“Shhh! And no, I didn’t kill him. But why was that the first thing you thought of? He’s just sick. Probably the flu or something.”
“Oh.” Elena seemed relieved. “Should I call a doctor?”
“It’s after hours, so I think maybe we should take him home. But I need help getting him to my car and then figuring out where he’s staying.”
“Oh, that’s easy on both counts. He’s staying right here.”
“What?” Kinsley blinked. “He’s staying at the hotel?” That news surprised her. Damon seemed like the kind of guy who would be staying out of town, maybe in an Atlantic City casino hotel, far removed from Cape Harmony and the people in it. She could tell from dinner the other night that he was not charmed by the small-town hospitality. Plus, he never mentioned to her he was staying at the hotel. Not that she had a right to know where he was living, anyway.
“Yeah, he chose one of the suites. Room S7,” Elena said.
Kinsley’s favorite in the entire hotel. It had the best view of the beach and boardwalk, and when she was little, she loved to hide out in the small storage closet off one of the bedrooms. “Do you have a key on you? Maybe we can manage to take him upstairs so he can lie down.”
Elena patted her pocket with a grin. “Spare keys right here.” She looked down at Damon with a dubious glance. “He’s dead weight right now. Gorgeous dead weight, but still. Do you really think we’ll be able to move him?”
Kinsley bit her lip. “Let’s see if we can get him to help us a bit.” She shook his shoulder lightly. “Damon, Elena and I are here to take you back to your room. Do you think you can stand?”
Damon’s eyes were still closed, but he managed to slowly nod. Kinsley helped him roll back his chair, and both she and Elena grabbed an arm to help him stand. Goodness, he was a lot of man. Kinsley took his arm and placed it over her shoulders, so that she was practically cradled in his chest. Oh, lordy, he smelled fantastic, too, even burning up with a fever. She could think of worse ways to spend her evening.
Elena, still holding on to his other arm, led them out the door and into the elevator. Kinsley braced herself under Damon, but she could tell he was trying his best to stand on his own and not put too much of his weight on her. Once they stood in front of his room, Elena pulled out the key and opened the door for them. They shuffled him into the bedroom, where Damon finally flopped onto the bed.
Elena tried to catch her breath. “What a workout that was.”
Kinsley chuckled, rolling and stretching out her shoulder. “We both deserve raises. I’ll bring it up to him.” Then she looked down at poor Damon still in his work clothes. “Maybe we should take his shirt off.”
“Now we’re talking.” Elena eagerly rubbed her hands together. “Allow me the honors.”
“May I remind you you’re engaged?”
“Spoilsport.”
Kinsley rolled her eyes then gingerly reached down and began unbuttoning his shirt. Even under the circumstances of his illness and with Elena standing there watching, it had an intimate feeling to it. When she reached the last button, she spread his shirt open, hoping to cool him down and make him more comfortable. Instead, she felt as if she were posing him for a layout in Playgirl magazine. His rock-hard abs glistened with sweat. Her cheeks caught fire.
“Mama,” Elena breathed, her gaze raking over his chest. “I had no idea all that was underneath his shirt.” She stuck out her hand as if to touch him, but Kinsley smacked it away.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Kinsley said, banking down her own irrational possessiveness. “That man is our boss. And have you ever heard the expression look but don’t touch?” Not that she blamed Elena one bit. Kinsley’d had the pleasure of waking up in those arms and on that chest just last weekend, and she still would have liked to have had one more touch, too. Totally inappropriate thoughts for a sensible woman like her.
Elena rubbed her wrist. “Right. Sorry. I was blinded by abs.”
“Well, I think you can go now,” Kinsley said, feeling Damon’s forehead. “I’ll stay here, brew him some tea, and make sure he’s okay. I don’t think he should be by himself tonight.”
Elena raised her brow. “Are you sure?”
Kinsley nodded. “It’ll be fine. I’ll call Wade and see if he can bring ginger ale and crackers for him. I think there’s some aspirin or Tylenol in my purse.”
“Well, okay.” Elena glanced down at her watch. “Scott is probably wondering what happened to me.” She looked back at Damon, who was now curled up on his side, asleep again. “Poor guy. It is tough to be sick and alone. There’s a first aid kit in my office if you need anything in the meantime. Text me if you run into a problem.” Elena gave Kinsley a brief hug. “You’re so dependable.” Then she left, closing the door behind her.
Dependable. Gee, that’s so hot. It was like saying she was one step away from being a diaper.
Kinsley glanced down at Damon and her heart went out to him. Elena was right. There was nothing worse than being sick and alone. According to Damon, he and Kinsley were now friends. Of sorts. And he had shown another side to himself today, allowing the painters to continue their work to improve the ballroom, encouraging her. So she’d stay and do what she could to help him in return. She owed him that much.
She pulled some covers over him then sat on the edge of the bed and studied his sleeping form. Lines marred his forehead and a scowl formed on his lips. He didn’t look very peaceful in his sleep. In fact, he seemed downright miserable. He shifted around a bit, his eyes still closed, and murmured, “I’m sorry.”
She half smiled. He didn’t have to apologize to her. Kinsley reached out and smoothed the hair off his forehead. “It’s okay, Damon.” After all, she really didn’t mind staying. It wasn’t like she had anyone waiting for her at her condo. Or that she had a life.
“Sorry,” he mumbled again. “So sorry, Dad.”
Dad?
“I didn’t mean for Carson to die.”
Kinsley’s hand stilled. Oh my goodness. Damon wasn’t apologizing to her. He was dreaming…about somebody dying. Someone named Carson. Then she remembered what Wade had told her about Damon.
He may seem tough, but he’s had some family issues to go through, too. Like we’ve all had.
Damon’s semi-detached behavior started to make sense. Probably a coping mechanism for whatever past trauma he’d endured. Loss was never easy. She’d already gone through it twice now with her parents. She suddenly felt a strange new connection with Damon, and was compelled more than ever to stay with him tonight and make sure he was okay—mentally and physically.
She stood, took out her cell phone from her pocket, and then dialed the number she knew by heart. “Wade,” she said as soon as he answered. “I need your help.”
Kinsley laid another lukewarm washcloth on Damon’s forehead then stepped back. “His color looks so much better,” she said to her brother.
Wade folded his arms. “Of all the people you could contact, why did you call me down here again?”
“Damon needed ginger ale and more Tylenol. I couldn’t leave him like this. Plus, I thought he should be examined by a doctor.”
“I’m a veterinarian.”
“Is there really that much difference?”
“In that case, I should tell you that both his coat and teeth look good, but you should bring him in next week because he’s due for his rabies shot.”
“I’m serious.” She planted a hand on her hip.
“Kinsley, he’ll be fine. His fever has broken and you just said yourself that his color looks better. Keep giving him Tylenol every four to six hours and make sure he stays hydrated. That’s the best thing you can do for him. I’m sure he’ll bounce back by morning.”
Kinsley rung her hands. “Okay. I guess you’re right.” She tucked the covers around Damon’s shoulders then walked Wade to the door.
Her brother narrowed his eyes. “Since when did you get all Florence Nightingale-y? And I thought you considered Damon the enemy.”
“Yeah, well, that was before.”
“Before what exactly?”
Before she started seeing him in a new light.
“It’s not what you think,” she said, noticing the concerned look on Wade’s expression. “But I’m curious, what happened to Damon when you two were in college?”
Wade’s brows came together. “What do you mean?”
“Weren’t you two roommates or something for a semester? Then he ended up transferring, right?”
“Oh, that.” Wade suddenly got a distant look on his face. He shook his head. “It was around that time when his younger brother passed away.”
She raised a hand to her mouth. “How awful.”
“Yeah. I don’t really know any of the details, though. The college had his stuff packed up and he was gone before I ever had a chance to speak to him. Sad thing to have happened so young.”
Even without knowing the whole story, Kinsley knew the situation was still sad. Unbelievably so. Her heart broke for Damon and his family.
“After that, I never saw Damon again until just recently. His parents pulled him from college and he ended up finishing his degree somewhere else.”
Kinsley blew out a breath. “Wow. That explains the dreams.”
“Dreams?”
“Before you came over, Damon was dreaming. Murmuring something about being sorry. It sounded like he was apologizing to his dad for his brother’s death.”
Wade shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know anything about that. You’re going to have to ask Damon if you want the whole story.”
Kinsley frowned. “Yeah, maybe.” She’d ask, but she wasn’t so sure Damon would tell her anything. He was guarded with anything personal and she imagined he trusted very few. Yet, for some reason, she wanted to be one of those few people.
Wade took the stethoscope from around his neck and tucked it into his back pocket. “I’m going to head home. I’m exhausted. But text me if you need anything else. I’m sure you will anyway,” he said with a wink.
She smiled. “Thanks.” And then, because she appreciated him and the story of Damon’s brother still affected her, she stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Wade, and hugged him hard.
“Hey, easy now,” he said, chuckling, “you don’t know your own hug strength.”
Tears filled her eyes as she stepped back. “Sorry. I guess I should just say I love you, then.”
“I love you, too, kiddo.” Wade turned to let himself out, but before he stepped into the hall, he hung back and looked at Kinsley with new concern. “Um, you do know what you’re doing, right?”
“Yes. Tylenol every four to six hours. Got it.”
He shook his head. “No. I mean…staying here.”
It was late, and Kinsley didn’t have the energy to pretend to misunderstand what her brother meant. “Wade, please. I’m only taking care of Damon because he’s alone and I’m his employee. I mean, really,” she said with a light laugh, “does he look like the kind of man who would be interested in a woman like me?”
Wade didn’t answer right away. His gaze slowly traveled to Damon’s sleeping form and then back to Kinsley before he stated, “As a matter of fact, he does.”