His Hush-Hush Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,9

me to pay a little extra to have your talent displayed in my kitchen.”

“Okay.” She lifted his hand and kissed the top of it. “Thank you. I promise it’ll be a good piece.”

“You don’t even need to make that promise. I know it will be.”

“So.” She draped the hand not holding onto him over his shoulder. “Should we talk about the mural now, or…”

“Or?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Do other things.” She bit her lip suggestively.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure what you mean by ‘other things,’ but I’m willing to bet they’ll be good. So, yes. Yes to other things.”

With that, he lifted her off her feet. Diane shrieked with pleasure as he carried her all the way to the master bedroom.

Chapter 4

Diane

“What time is it?” Diane mumbled, arm flung over her eyes to block the morning light.

At no response, she sat up and looked around Kai’s bedroom. Through the open bathroom door, a fogged-up mirror revealed that he’d showered only a few minutes before.

She glanced at the clock. Almost seven.

It was her normal time to wake up, but that would have been late for Kai.

Over the last few weeks, she’d learned a lot about him. He liked to go to bed on the early side, but even if he stayed up late, he still woke up at five thirty. He had a strict workout schedule that he stuck to. He loved old movies and cooking at home.

So far, everything between them was going great. Almost too great.

Part of her was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had to keep reminding herself that it was possible Kai really was just a great guy who had come into her life at the right time.

Climbing from bed, she walked into the kitchen, already expecting Kai to be long gone. Except his cell phone was on the counter.

“Kai?” Her voice echoed through the apartment.

Frowning, she picked the phone up. He must have forgotten it.

Oh, well. She had a bit of time to kill before she had to be at the Johansen Design offices. She could swing by Weiss Enterprises on the way there and drop it off.

After helping herself to the pot of coffee Kai had brewed before leaving, she sipped while she got dressed for the day. Anticipating spending the night with him, she’d brought a change of clothes.

Which was good, because if she showed up at work wearing yesterday’s outfit her dad might become suspicious.

So far, she’d told a couple of her friends that she was seeing someone new, but that had been it. Her mom didn’t count, since Ruby’s not bringing up Kai since that first day meant she didn’t remember the conversation.

Unfortunately, Diane couldn’t tell her father about Kai. It would cause him endless worry, knowing Diane had a personal relationship with one of their clients.

Never mind that she’d finished the Weiss Enterprises mural the day before. Her dad still wouldn’t like it.

At some point, if she and Kai worked out, she’d tell her dad about it. Right then, they weren’t anywhere close to that day.

Ready to go, she rushed out the door and caught a train downtown. The heat in the subway had her sweating bullets, and by the time she arrived at Kai’s offices she thought she would melt into a puddle.

After weeks of working on the mural, the building’s staff recognized her. The man behind the front desk waved and gestured for her to head on up.

When the elevator doors to Weiss Enterprises’ main floor slid open, Diane smiled wide. There it was: her mural. The first thing people saw when they walked onto the floor.

She’d planned on starting the one in Kai’s home today, but an influx of other work had put that behind. Kai had assured her there was no rush; that he wanted her to get to his project only when she had the time.

That was another thing Diane had kept from her dad. He had no clue that she was doing a second mural for Kai. That bit of news, much like her wearing the same clothes two days in a row, would provoke too many questions.

“Hi, Emmanuel,” she said to the young guy at the front desk. Since his workstation had been the one closest to hers, they’d chatted a number of times over the weeks she painted the mural.

“Oh, hey, Diane.” He smiled brightly. “How are you?”

“Pretty good.” She held up Kai’s cell phone. “I have…”

The rest of the sentence died before it hit her tongue. Maybe this