“I won’t sell. This hotel is all I have left.” Mr. Nash crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at Kate.

“You’re being ridiculous. You know better.” She sighed and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“I know you don’t want to give up this place. The hotel has been your life and your livelihood for over thirty years.” I reached into the file and pulled out the offer I’d carefully prepared. My habit had always been to start low, but this time, I had opted to begin closer to my max budget. If he was too upset, I didn’t want to draw out negotiations. If we were too far apart, I was prepared to walk away, despite my father’s orders. I slid the paper across the table top until it was directly in front of Mr. Nash. “Let me know what you think of those numbers.” I watched him glance at Kate and huff.

“It’s not just about me,” he grumbled.

With a nod, I hoped to reassure him. “We wouldn’t come in and shake up the staff, if that’s what worries you. Kate and the rest of your employees could keep their positions. There would be no layoffs.” I leaned back confidently.

“I don’t want this job,” Kate blurted out.

A vein popped out on Nash’s forehead. He spluttered. “What do you mean you don’t want this job? I’ve kept this place running for you. Everything I’ve done for the past fifteen years was all about you, so you would be taken care of, since you don’t have a husband! Hell, you’re not even dating.”

I frowned. Kate would’ve been a teenager. What the hell was he talking about?

She blew out a breath. “I know, but this was your dream, not mine. You never thought to ask what I want. And, for the record, I don’t need a man to take care of me.” Kate licked her lips and sucked in her bottom lip for a few seconds before speaking again. “I love design. I love houses. I hate hotels and I mostly despise Vegas.” She shrugged sadly.

“Of course, you don’t need a man because you have this hotel…that you don’t want.” He shoved his chair back from the table and struggled to his feet. “Like a knife to my chest. My own daughter…”

My brow furrowed. What did he say? I frowned at Kate. “Are you his daughter?” Then I glanced at Nash, who had brushed past my chair. “Mr. Nash? Are you okay?” His face had gone completely pale. As I watched and before I had an answer from either of them, his knees buckled and he dropped to the floor.

The conference room door opened and a woman started to walk through carrying a pitcher of ice water as Kate jumped to her feet and rushed to Nash’s side. Janet stood frozen. “Call 9-1-1!” I shouted the order even as I dropped to the floor to assess the man’s condition. I rolled him until he was flat on his back. Then I leaned low and listened long enough to make a determination. “He’s not breathing,” I announced. Beside me, Kate gasped.

“Daddy, you’re too stubborn to die.” She swiped at her eyes.

“We need to do CPR, Kate. Do you want to blow or do chest compressions?” I watched her for any hint of a response. “Okay, I’ll do chest compressions. You get over to his head, tilt his neck to open up his airway. Get ready to blow.”

She sniffled and nodded. In the background, I was vaguely aware of the phone conversation between Janet and the 911 operator. Instead, I focused on chest compressions, keeping his heart pumping. In my head, I counted while I pressed until I reached thirty. Then I nodded to Kate. “Just two rescue breaths. Got it?”

“Yes,” she whispered, but I read the fear in her watery eyes. Still, she leaned down and gave him two solid puffs, as I’d instructed.

I watched his chest inflate and waited a split second to see if Nash would take over. When he didn’t, I returned to chest compressions. As I counted out thirty again, I couldn’t help but stare at Kate’s face. Why couldn’t she trust me enough to tell me Nash was her father? Then my gut clenched. The way she stared at me, I couldn’t help but think she blamed me. Hell, I blamed me. She warned me about his heart condition. He said the hotel wasn’t for sale and I had to push. I didn’t think it was a hard push, but now he was on the floor and Kate was a puddle. More than anything, I wanted to take her in my arms, crush her to my chest, and tell her everything would turn out right, but I didn’t know that for certain, and I sure couldn’t stop forcing his heart to work long enough to give her the reassurance she needed.

Thankfully, EMTs arrived and soon he was loaded onto a stretcher. “I’ll be right behind you,” Kate assured them.

I hopped to my feet. “I’ll drive,” I announced.

She whipped around. “No.” Kate shook her head vehemently. “I need to go alone.”

In two steps, I’d closed the distance between us. “Actually, the last thing you need right now is to be alone. I’m coming with you. I can drive you or I can follow you.” Kate looked away and I knew I’d hit a nerve. “You’re too upset to drive. Grab your purse.” I nudged her toward the hall.

Finally, with drooping shoulders, she sadly wandered back to her office. I followed behind, giving her little space. Evidently, she didn’t want me around and I almost couldn’t blame her, but I couldn’t let her push me away either.

“You don’t need to do this,” she grumbled as she emerged with her bag slung over her shoulder.

I reached out and lifted her chin, forcing her to look me in the eyes. “Oh, but I do. You have me. I’m not deserting you. You don’t have to handle everything alone.” Then I laid my hand on her lower back and we moved to the elevators.

Kate trudged over and pushed the button to descend to the parking garage. The doors quickly opened and we stepped inside. She was even quieter than normal. In fact, we rode in silence all the way to the hospital. We soon learned her father had already been transferred to the coronary care unit. “Sounds so ominous,” she murmured as we followed the directions to the heart floor.

“He is where he needs to be right now.” I wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her close.

She shook her head and I realized she was holding back tears again. “He’s supposed to be at the hotel, terrorizing me and the rest of the executive staff. He should be grumbling about the coffee and the healthy snacks and every other thing I’ve done to try to prevent this from ever happening.” Kate hiccupped.

“We haven’t even spoken to the doctors yet. Before you get all worked up, let’s find out what’s going on.” Together we turned the final corner and ended up in front of the CCU desk where we were promptly relocated to the waiting room.

“I can’t do this,” Kate whimpered. “I should’ve been a better daughter. I wasn’t nice enough.” She paced back and forth across the waiting area.

“Stop torturing yourself, babe. I mean it. This is self-defeating.” I frowned as I stood and moved in front of her, blocking her path. “Someone will come talk to us. In the meantime, relax.”

She laughed. “See, you don’t know me at all.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then my jaw snapped shut and I sighed. “You’re right. Hell, I somehow never received the memo that Nash is your father.” Then I sank into the nearest chair.

With her hands clasped in front of her chest, Kate stared at me. “No one knows. He won’t let me use the family name. He insists I call him by name.” She shrugged. “You’re not special.” Then she released a hollow laugh.

Leaning on my knees, I frowned. “But I’m want to be. I thought I was.” I raked a hand through my hair as I tried to organize my thoughts. “See, you matter to me. You’re special to me. I thought…maybe you felt the same way.”