Chapter 11 Kinley
The next morning, I woke up with a jolt. As I yawned, trying to wake myself up, last night came back to me. Holy smokes. I promptly remembered that Wyatt was sleeping a few feet away.
Don’t call him Wyatt, Kinley. Just think of him as your boss. That’ll do it.
I got up, intending to head to the shower, but as I opened my door, I heard the water running. Boss man was already in there. I wisely closed the door and stayed in my room.
We should really set up a bathroom schedule so we don’t have a repeat of yesterday.
Once he returned to his room, I hurried to the bathroom, clutching fresh clothes in my arms. And good thing I did, because when I came out, Wyatt was sitting at the kitchen table.
“You made breakfast,” I exclaimed.
“And coffee.”
He pointed to a cup I hadn’t noticed. I immediately grabbed it and took a sip. Oh, coffee, coffee, coffee! I so needed it. As I sat down in front of him, there was a playful twinkle in his eyes.
“Just give me a second,” he said as he pulled out his phone.
“Work calling already?”
“Oh no. This is Jeremy. He just got his first phone and is excited to text everyone. I want to reply.”
Aww, that was cute.
“He’s a big boy, huh? It’s going to be a while until my niece gets her own phone.”
“My brother bought him one of those old-as-dirt Nokias just so he could call him.”
“Your brother is a genius. I think that could be an excellent way to keep in touch.”
“Exactly. All right, I replied.” Looking up, he added, “I’m all yours.”
I was sure he didn’t intend it in a mischievous way, but that was how my mind interpreted it. I cleared my throat to push those thoughts away.
“Let’s hit the ground running.”
After breakfast, we went through the schedule for the day. We were spending half the morning with the bottle producer to discuss how fast they could roll out new designs. In the afternoon, we’d pick up where we left off yesterday with Anya, Jay, and Haley.
* * *
For the rest of the week, we mostly worked with the office trio. Wyatt and I behaved in quite an exemplary fashion for the next few days. The more time we spent at the bungalow, the more I liked his management style.
On Friday afternoon, Wyatt said, “Who wants to go paddleboarding? We’ve had one hell of a week, and I feel like letting off some steam.”
I’d never tried it, but that sounded easy.
“I’m in,” I said instantly.
“No can do,” Anya replied. “My older one wants me to watch her volleyball match.”
“I’m visiting my mom tonight,” Jay added. “But thanks, man. That sounds like fun.”
Haley also shook her head. “I’ve already got plans too. Next time.”
“Then it’s just you and me,” Wyatt said, looking at me.
Oh crap. I’d assumed we would all go. We’d probably have an instructor, right? It wouldn’t be just the two of us...
Suddenly, I wondered if we were going to wear wet suits or not. No way in hell did I want to wear a bikini in front of my boss. Double crap.
We left the office a while later. As we walked back to our place, I asked, “Are they going to provide equipment? I obviously don’t have a board or paddle. I don’t even have a swimsuit.”
“Oh yeah, they’re giving us wet suits, and you can also buy swim trunks and swimwear cheap—I do it every time because I forget to bring my own. And the rest of the equipment is all down by the water.”
Thank goodness!
“Perfect.”
After we dropped everything work related off at the house, we headed out.
“Where’s the nearest lake?” I asked, my nerves on high alert.
“It’s more of a pond, to be honest, but it does the trick.”
The drive took almost forty minutes, during which we talked about work exclusively. Wyatt slowed down as we entered a narrow alley between rows of trees. It then opened up into a clearing, where there were a lot of cars parked already.
The “pond” was rather large. More like a small lake.
“Wow. There are a lot of people here.”
He nodded. “I know. It’s really caught on.”
“How exactly is this going to help us let off steam? This looks pretty laid-back.” I pointed to a few paddleboarders tooling around in the water.
“Just wait until you try it. Those are the pros.” He smiled.
“It can’t be that hard. It’s just standing up on a paddleboard.” Honestly, those people didn’t look to be putting in any effort.
Wyatt simply winked at me.
After we bought swimwear, we got the wet suits and the boards and went straight out on the water.
The instructor said he didn’t have time to show me the ropes, but he was confident that Wyatt was experienced enough to do so.
Wyatt was very gentle and thorough in his explanations, and I figured it would be easy peasy.
Half an hour later, I felt like a fool.
“You just need to push yourself up with your arms. Then launch yourself over the paddle perpendicularly. After that, you turn around until you’re on it facing forward. Next step is to push yourself up on all fours. Then you’ll be able to gradually stand up.”
Sounded easy, right? Wrong. I fell a million times just trying to push myself on the board. Then once I’d accomplished that, I fell off every time I tried to get onto all fours. I hadn’t managed to stand on my feet even once.
“I need a break,” I exclaimed after face-planting into the water for the fifth time. I clutched my paddle with both hands as if it were my lifeline. Seriously, I was exhausted.
“Sure.” He was sitting on his paddleboard but immediately hopped into the water right next to me. “Want us to go to shore?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He put his hand on my arm. Oh, this was so good. The water was cool, and the wetsuit wasn’t doing much to keep me warm. But he wasn’t just warming me up. In a matter of seconds, my body started burning for no reason at all. My goodness.
“You know what? I’ll just flop on my belly on this thing and move forward using my arms while you paddleboard.”
“No, Kinley. That’s not the point of this. We can just stop.”
“No! I’m not a quitter. But if we go at this pace, you won’t have any chance to paddleboard. I won’t keep my balance on it today.”
Wyatt looked at me with mischief in his eyes and then wiggled his eyebrows. “Not so easy, huh?”
“Hey, don’t mock me.” I playfully pushed his shoulder, and his eyes flashed.
Oh crap. Why did I do that? Wyatt was laid-back, but he was still my boss, and this was a team-building activity of sorts.
“I’ll stop right away.” He schooled his features.
I narrowed my eyes. “Hey, you’re still laughing at me!”
“I like that you’re always willing to take a challenge head-on. I wasn’t expecting you to give up this easily.” He smirked.
“Oh, you’re good at this guilting. All right, I’ll bite. I’ll try it one last time.”
“That’s what I thought. Come on.” He went around on my other side. “Propel yourself on your arms and launch yourself toward me.”
I kept my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t flop on my face again.
And I didn’t. My technique had improved.
But I hadn’t counted on my muscles getting tired so quickly.
All went well as I pushed myself up onto my arms, but as I leaned forward, the muscles in my right arm clenched in a cramp.
I fell sideways, right on top of Wyatt. My chin collided with his shoulder, my right boob with his chest. The paddleboard completely slid away from under me, and I swallowed a mouthful of water.
I knew on a logical level that I couldn’t possibly drown, but fear took over and I started splashing around.
“I’ve got you,” Wyatt said. “I’ve got you.”
It took a few seconds to realize he was holding me pressed against him with one strong arm. He had his paddle under the other one.
“Just breathe in.” His voice was surprisingly calm.
I took a deep breath.
“Now exhale.”
I could feel my pulse slowing. My body relaxed.
“Are you hurt?” he asked softly.
“My chin is a little sore—oh God, your shoulder!”
“I’m sturdier than I look, Kinley.” His tone was playful, and it made me laugh.
“Oh, you look very sturdy, don’t worry about that.”
He was still holding me close, and I made no effort to put any distance between us. I needed the warmth of his body, the reassurance of his arm.
“We should stop for today,” he suggested.
I nodded. “Yeah. There’s a reason I don’t work out.”
“And why is that?”
“I’m obviously a klutz.”
“No, you’re not. You were just getting tired. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it. Let’s head back to shore. Can you swim by yourself, or do you want to grab my shoulder?”
“I can swim,” I said, feeling super embarrassed. “I’m a good swimmer.”
“Again, you’re tired.”
“I’m fine.”
“All right, then, let’s head back.”
He kept a close eye on me as I grabbed my paddleboard. Thank goodness it was tethered to my ankle. Then we both started to swim to shore.
“I’m fine, really!” I exclaimed when he kept looking at me. I felt more embarrassed by the minute.
Once we were out of the water, Wyatt took both of the paddleboards under one arm.
I could barely feel my body. Wyatt put his free arm around my shoulders to support me.
I groaned. “This isn’t my day.”
“I’ll take care of you.”
As much as I liked the way that sounded, I didn’t want him to think I was damsel in distress or something. But as he lowered his arm farther down my back, I didn’t pull away. It felt too good.
As I changed into my pink dress, I started to feel a bit like myself again. I was going to ache everywhere tomorrow, but I’d deal with it.
I combed my fingers through my hair. It was soaking wet, and I didn’t have my detangler with me, but I needed to wash it tonight anyway.
When I stepped out, I immediately spotted Wyatt. The man stood out everywhere. He was wearing jeans and a tailored shirt with short sleeves as he’d done all week. I wondered if he was going to wear suits again in San Diego. I kind of missed that look on him. Not that this one wasn’t sexy.
He noticed me the next second, and his eyes traveled up and down my body. A hot flash gripped me. And then a second one.
Is he...?
“Okay, you look better,” he said.
No, he wasn’t checking me out. He was simply checking to see if I was still a mess.
“Yeah, I feel much better. But I need a stiff drink.”
He laughed. “I did not expect that.”
“The water was chilly. The cold is seeping into my bones, and a hot tea won’t cut it.”
“I agree, alcohol will do the trick. There’s a bar about twenty minutes away.”
“Excellent.”
“Or... we could head back to the cabin. Have a relaxed dinner and something to drink.”
I nodded vigorously. “That sounds much better. Then after my drink, I can go right back to bed.”
Wyatt’s smile dropped, and he looked at me intently. “Kinley, do you feel sick? Would you rather I take you to a doctor?”
“What? No. I kind of feel a cold coming on, and I want to get ahead of it. But maybe I’m just tired.”
“Right. But if you start running a fever or anything, I’m taking you to an ER.”
“Really? Without asking me? How do you expect to do that?” I teased as we walked to the car.
“Simple. Pick you up, put you in the car, and drive you to the ER.”
I started to laugh, and some of the tension seeped away from my body. This man was something else.
“I like your plan. And between the two of us, you probably would have to do it. I despise going to the doctor. Hospitals give me the creeps.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
We returned our paddleboards and wet suits at the rental desk. Once we were both in the car, I asked, “Hey, do you think there’s a chance we can get something stronger than wine?”
He nodded. “Sage has a huge bar. I’ll get you that stiff drink, and anything else you need.”