His Hush-Hush Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,12
“That was my bad there.”
“Eh, maybe mine as well. You and your lady have a good night.”
Damian gone, Kai checked his work emails on his phone. His upcoming trip would be a busy one. London to Paris then back to New York. Though he usually traveled a ton, it had been a couple months since he’d left town for as long as a week.
Typically, a trip filled him with excitement and vitality. This time, however, he almost didn’t want to leave New York. His life in the city had been so good as of late.
“Hey,” a familiar, musical voice said.
Kai looked up with a smile. He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t seen Diane come in.
“Hi.” Before she could take the seat across from him, he seized her hand and guided her into his booth. “How are you?”
“Good.” She squeezed his thigh, and he kissed her cheek. Her floral perfume invaded his senses, bringing his body back to life.
God, he couldn’t get enough of her. Sometimes he wondered if he might even be addicted.
“I don’t want to leave tomorrow,” he said.
She threw back her head with a laugh, but a moment later and she frowned. “I don’t want you to go. I almost want to ask you to take me with.”
His mood brightened at that. “You could come. I’ll be working a lot, but you could see the sights. Relax in the hotels.”
She looked down. “That sounds amazing, but I can’t leave my parents. Not for a whole week.”
He swept some hair from her face. “I understand. What if…”
“Hm?”
“What if I hired someone to help out while you were gone?”
Her face pinched. “A stranger? This late?” She shook her head. “Kai, that’s really sweet of you, but I can’t accept that. You’re already doing me a favor by paying way more for the mural than you need to be, and I can’t have someone new come into my parents’ home this last minute. It’s—”
“Okay.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. I understand.”
She visibly relaxed.
“What would you like to drink?” he asked.
A few minutes later, a bottle of wine in front of them, they sat together, Kai with his arm around her.
“Why here?” Diane asked. “We haven’t been here since the day we met.”
He ran his palm over her shoulder. “I wanted to relive that night.”
“It was a good one.” Turning more fully in the booth, she planted a kiss on the side of his mouth.
Kai’s chest swelled. He wished even more that she was going on his trip with him, but he understood both why she couldn’t go and why she wouldn’t accept his offer to help with her parents.
Maybe one day things would be different. He’d be more a part of her life and his offering assistance wouldn’t feel out of the norm.
From the very beginning, he’d suspected he’d found something special in Diane. Now he knew it for sure. The girl was one in a million, and he’d be an idiot to let her slip through his fingers.
He wanted to tell her all of that right then, but it felt too rushed.
Soon. After he returned from his trip, he would wait for the right time and then tell her he loved her.
“What are you thinking about over there?” She eyed him over the top of her wine glass.
“About how I can’t wait to get back from this trip.”
She put her wine down, lips curving up into a smile. “You know what will distract you?”
“What?”
Her fingers interlaced with his. “Focusing on right now. Enjoying tonight.”
“Hm.” He pulled her even closer to him, so close that she was nearly in his lap. “I like how you think.”
Chapter 6
Diane
“Yikes.” Diane plugged her ears against the bar’s noise.
“Too loud in here?” Brie shouted over the ruckus of frat boys doing shots and a bachelorette party squealing and taking photos in the corner.
“Maybe.” She made an apologetic face.
The last few days, nothing had felt right. She’d been grumpy and emotional, and every little thing seemed to tick her off. Most likely, it was due to stress at work and missing Kai, who wasn’t due home for several more days.
“I know where we can go!” Seizing Diane’s hand, Brie steered her out the door and back onto the street.
The second bar they ended up in was much quieter. Long and skinny, it had a somewhat more mature crowd. People talked quietly in twos and threes at little tables with red lampshades.
“This is much better. Thanks.” With a grateful smile, Diane plopped into