Chapter 8
"The kiss."
I say it the second the question leaves her mouth.
I watch what her face does. Her pupils dilate for a second, then she comes back to the present. Her eyebrows scrunch together, and her lips press into a thin line.
I want to kiss her again, right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe in the near future, when she’s not constantly glaring at me or yelling at me for trying to help her. Maybe then I’ll kiss her again.
For now, I don’t want her to leave. I want to show her a piece of my world. I want Suzanne to see me for who I am, outside the hotel, outside this room.
“Leave the cart.”
Her eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”
“I have some business to attend to. I want you to come with me.”
“Why would I do that?”
I shrug and move closer to her. “Because I want you to. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
“In case you didn’t notice, I have a job. I can’t just leave at will.”
I cup her face in my hands. Her eyes meet mine, and it feels like my soul is reaching out to her for a second. There’s no solid reason why I grab her face. I want to, and I do. “Leave that to me. Just focus on what I’m saying to you right now. I want you to come with me.”
She stares at me. I see the fight in her eyes, the calculations, her thought process. I see all of it. I’m beginning to develop a real preference for that look in her eyes.
“Mr. Nightingale…”
“Cade. Don’t ruin it. Come with me, Suzanne.”
She lets out a deep breath. “Fine.”
I grin and head back to my desk to grab my keys. Suzanne turns to leave the suite. I follow.
“Do you want to get out of your uniform?” I ask as we step into the elevator.
She nods. “Just give me five minutes, and I’ll meet you in the basement.”
The doors open, and we go in separate directions. I head to the service desk in search of Roger Tate. He stiffens the moment he sees me. His hands move up to adjust his tie.
“Mr. Nightingale, is everything okay? Would you like me to — ”
“Ms. Jenkins is leaving the hotel with me today. I have an important assignment for her.”
His mouth falls open. “Oh…but she… I mean…” I stare at him. “Of course, Mr. Nightingale. Whatever you need. She can have the rest of the day off.”
I walk away without a nod. I wait beside my car for two minutes before Suzanne joins me. I realize this is the first time I’ve seen her without her uniform, and I can categorically say that that uniform should be burned.
She’s wearing black jeans and a simple cream sweater. Her curly hair is down, flowing past her shoulders, framing her face. Her eyes search for me before we lock gazes.
Beautiful.
“I’m ready to go.”
I can’t help myself. I want to wait, but not when she looks like that. As she’s about to turn to the passenger's seat, I reach out and grab her waist. My lips swallow whatever protests she’s about to make. It lasts only for a second; I’m not a greedy man.
I move my hand to her wrist and walk her to the car door. I open it for her. When I look down at her, she’s glaring at me.
“I’m sorry. I had to.”
She huffs but gets in anyway.
We don’t talk for the entire drive. I put something on the speakers at low volume because the silence alone is too much for either of us to handle. The valley unrolls past the passenger glass, and her face is reflected over the vines.
I don't look at her again until we are in the parking garage.
The Nightingale building has a private elevator from the executive lot.
She gets in without a comment. Hana Vargas is already on my floor.
She has been here since 9:00 a.m., working with the acquisitions team on the timeline for her debut — a small show in February at a gallery in Hayes Valley.
She is in the conference room with two of Tomas's people.
Hana looks up when we come in. "Mr. Nightingale. I wasn’t expecting to see you today."
The man and woman greet me briefly and wander off.
I gesture at Suzanne. "Hana, this is Suzanne. Suzanne, Hana."
They shake hands.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hana,” Suzanne says.
Hana chuckles. “Same here.”
"Suzanne’s actually a painter. She’s really talented.” I can feel her burning a hole into the side of my head. I step back from them.
I sit on the edge of the conference table, and I let them talk.
I can’t hear what they’re talking about, but I can see Suzanne’s body language. She clutches the side of her arm as she speaks. Then she gestures at one of Hana’s paintings against the wall. Hana nods, her mouth moves. Suzanne laughs.
The sound fills the room. When will she ever laugh with me?
They move around the room together. Suzanne’s stance is more confident. She’s gesturing with both of her hands as she speaks. I’ve never seen her do that before. I’m desperate to know what they’re talking about, but I have to give Suzanne her space. This is her moment.
I get to my feet when they start approaching. Suzanne is smiling from ear to ear. My chest swells. Bringing her here was the right decision. Hana being here was a happy coincidence.
“It was nice meeting you, Suzanne,” Hana says. She turns to me. “Thanks, Mr. Nightingale.”
I nod and gesture toward the door. Suzanne doesn’t even hesitate before following me out. That must have been a very good conversation.
“So…” I begin as soon as we get into the car. “What did you two talk about?”
The corners of her lips twitch slightly. “Nothing that’s any of your business.”
“Oh?” I start the engine and drive north out of the valley to my property. I’m not ready to let Suzanne go yet. “You’re not going to tell me?”
“Definitely not. That was a conversation between girls. And I’ve seen you naked, Cade. You’re not a girl.”
I laugh. “Now you see, when it comes to the two of us, you have the advantage.” I risk a glance at her. “Want to even things out?”
She gasps. “Drive! And stop looking at me.”
I do as she says and continue the drive. Thirty minutes later, Theo's Ferrari is in the drive when I crest the hill. Theo has the calendar for my stable manager, and Theo does what he wants. I didn’t know he was back in California. Well, Theo has always been one for surprises.
We pull into the property. There’s a stable, a cottage, and a lake with a wooden dock. I bought it four years ago when my mother told me about it. I wasn’t quite sure about it at first until I heard that my father, Jonathan Barnes, was interested in the property.
That was all I needed to know the property was meant to be mine.
I bring Beau and Theo here on the rare occasion I can get both of them in the same week. Theo is racing in a couple of countries this year, and we have not had him in California in two months.
“What are we doing here?”
I don't answer. I climb out of the car. I come around to her side, open her door, and offer her my hand. She steps out without taking it.
That’s when I spot Lila’s car next to Theo’s.
I take this in without surprise. Lila has a sense of where I will be. I don’t know whether Theo told her, she has a contact in the stable office, or she simply got in her car, drove, and intended to find me by the law of averages.
It doesn’t matter. She would have found me anyway.
Theo is already coming down off the porch with both arms open. "You absolute bastard."
"Theo!"
He claps me on the shoulder firmly. “Boy, am I glad to see your ugly face.”
Theo Bellamy is 6 ft. 3 in. He is lean the way race-car drivers are, and the same boy I have known since we were eleven. He has a tan he did not earn in California. His sandy hair is in a ponytail. His dark eyes are filled with mischief.
“Pipe down, Theo. There’s a lady here with us.”
“The only lady I see here is you, and…oh…” His eyes finally land on Suzanne. "And who is this?"
"Suzanne. Theo."
He winks at her. "What is a beautiful woman like you doing with an ugly man like him?"
I smack the back of his head.
"I’m asking the woman, Cade. Can you excuse us? Fetch us some lunch?"
Suzanne lets out a small laugh. Jesus Christ. Blood rushes to my head. I feel the sudden urge to punch Theo in the face. I haven’t been able to make her laugh yet, and barely five minutes in his presence, she does?
"I'm asking myself, mostly," Suzanne answers.
Theo crows. And now they’re both laughing at me. I turn to her, but she doesn’t even notice. She and Theo are having a time.
"I like her. I like her, Cade. Where did you find her? Tell me you stole her from someone."
Lila comes up behind him.
She runs the last 20 ft. She throws her arms around my neck and pushes her whole body into mine. Lila is the only one laughing now.
I pry one of her arms off my shoulder and step back.
She steps back into me. I step back again. She is still laughing. Nothing is funny anymore.
I have to physically remove her arm from around my neck a second time. Theo's eyes catch mine. He nods, very slightly, toward Suzanne.
Do something. I shake my head.
Lila lets go on her own. She brushes her blonde hair back. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Theo and I were just talking about you, actually.” Then her eyes dart to my right, where Suzanne is standing. She tilts her head. "Don't I know you?"
Suzanne does not answer. Neither do I. I want to see where Lila is going with this.
Lila claps her hands. "I know! From the hotel."
I speak before Suzanne does. "She’s with me." Lila's smile falters for a second, then she quickly recovers. I take Suzanne’s hand. “Come on.” Then I turn to Theo. “We’re heading off to the stable.”
“I’ll catch up.”
I nod and lead Suzanne away from Lila. I want Suzanne to see the place — the horses, the pines, the way the property opens up once you get past the stable.
The mare I pick for her is a bay named Pilgrim, steady as furniture, a horse that has not done anything alarming in recent memory. I bring her to the mounting block and show Suzanne where to put her hands, where her weight should go, and what her hips need to do before her leg swings over.
She listens. She does not ask questions. She tries.