finally passed. “I don’t think I can survive another bite of this.”
She opened her eyes and looked at him, and he hoped like hell she couldn’t see the heat consuming his body just by watching her.
“Seriously,” she said, cutting off another piece of the luscious scallop and dragging it through the buttery sauce. “You have to try this.”
“I’m sure it’s delicious, but I’ll decline,” he said, cutting into his chicken.
“Oh right.” She set down her fork. “Shellfish. I forgot. I’m sorry.”
He glanced up with a smile. “Why are you sorry? You ordered what you wanted to eat; I ordered what I wanted. We’re good.”
“I know,” she said, picking up her fork. “I guess I’m just surprised that I didn’t remember when I ordered. Remembering details is sort of my jam.”
“At work, maybe. It’s Saturday night. Give yourself a break.”
Kate took a sip of her white wine. “I suppose. Plus, I guess I’m off the hook from remembering your details even at work. You’re Christian’s problem now.”
He lifted his red wine in a silent toast, then put it down when he saw the expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath as though gathering courage, then leaned forward slightly, meeting his eyes. “Why did you do it? Why did you volunteer to take on Christian?”
Kennedy kept his tone carefully impassive, knowing she wasn’t ready for the real answer to that question. “Someone had to.”
She blinked quickly, then gave a jerky nod before turning her attention back to her food. She cut off a piece of scallop with more force than necessary, then dropped her fork once more. “Did I not do a good job for you?”
Shit. This was harder than he’d anticipated—giving her the space she needed to heal without letting her think he didn’t care. At the hurt on her face, he nearly cracked. Nearly told her just how much it had killed him to actually volunteer to spend less time with her at work, all because he hoped against hope that it would lead to them spending more time together—outside of work.
But he wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t get up and run from that, so he explained as best he could without laying all of his cards on the table. “Kate.” He waited until she looked up. “You were the best damn assistant anyone could have ever asked for. I wouldn’t have even considered volunteering if I didn’t know Christian would be learning everything from you. But I also knew this was what you wanted—to work for two people instead of three.”
“So you were just being nice?”
He suppressed a growl of frustration. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
“I’m not. Not after . . . Kennedy, I never thanked you,” she said on a rush. “I’m a little embarrassed, actually. That day when Dad—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes to meet his again. “You were there. You went above and beyond, and I appreciate it more than I knew how to say, apparently.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Just like that? You’re not going to give me crap for ignoring you or for not acknowledging it sooner? I treated you horribly, and—”
“You didn’t. I didn’t do it for me, Kate; I did it for you. I wasn’t after thanks or a blue ribbon. I just tried to be what you needed at that time. That’s all it was.”
“It didn’t bother you when I didn’t reply to any of your messages?” she asked tentatively.
“It did,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully, trying not to betray how much it had bothered him. “I was worried about you. So were the other guys. Lara and Sabrina, too. We’re used to seeing you every day. And we care about you. So yeah, it was hell not knowing what you were going through, not knowing how we could help.”
She glanced down, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We understood. But I’d love to know why.”
“Why did I go silent?”
He nodded. “The first couple days, I can understand. But it was nearly three weeks.”
It hurt.
“It wasn’t well done. I know that. I guess . . .” Kate fiddled with her napkin. “I think I was embarrassed that I wasn’t handling it better. I’m not used to being the weak link, the one who can’t sleep at night and yet doesn’t want to do anything all day but sleep. I told myself that I was hanging out in Jersey for my mom’s sake, but she basically kicked me out. Did I tell you that?”
When she