Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
S alem
As much as I loved hearing Kellen admit he cared even a little about me down in the Turks and Caicos, I wasn’t able to tell him how I truly felt back there. I still feel too vulnerable, too easily bruised by him, so once dinner was finished, I went to my room to hide away.
He has no idea how tempting he is when he’s close to me and I can’t help but remember those incredible hours we spent together. Too tempting for me to be safe.
Unable to sleep, I stare up at the white ceiling above me and wonder if there’s any chance Kellen and I will ever be able to be those people we were down in the islands. Maybe that’s impossible, though. There, we were two anonymous people just having a good time. Here in real life, we aren’t pretending to be anyone else. We can’t. Here all we are is a man who’s screwed up and the woman who’s responsible for helping him fix the mess he’s made.
Not exactly the kind of circumstances that lend themselves to falling in love.
I shake my head at the mere thought of that. Love? Who was thinking that? I know neither one of us were at the resort, so why is it popping into my head now?
Since I’m not going to be getting any sleep, it seems, I guess I’ll head to the kitchen for more pizza. At least that will make me happy.
I plod out of my bedroom and down the hall to find Nathan seated at the island eating a slice of pizza. Seems he had the same idea I had.
He doesn’t seem tired, strangely enough, even though it’s nearly two in the morning. When he sees me, he smiles and nods his head.
“I hope I didn’t wake you up. I got hungry, so I grabbed a slice of pizza. I think this might be the best pepperoni pizza I’ve ever had.”
As I grab one of the last two slices of sausage and pepper pizza, I say, “No, it’s all good. I wasn’t able to sleep anyway. Why are you up so late?”
I sit down across from him and take a bite of my late night snack before remembering I need a drink. Seeing Nathan doesn’t have one, I point at the refrigerator and say, “I’m going to grab a soda. You want anything?”
He looks down at his pizza and then up at me like he just realizes he didn’t get anything to wash his food down with. “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll take an orange soda.”
After getting his soda and my root beer, I set them on the island and sit down to eat. He doesn’t say a word for a long time, which isn’t unusual since Nathan and I rarely have any conversation other than what I may need him to do at any particular time, but as I sit thinking about Kellen and wishing he might join us, the bodyguard finally begins to talk.
“You know, I get the feeling you don’t really need me here. I don’t mind. Mr. King is paying me really well to basically be here for nothing, so it’s given me some time to work out and get a lot of running in. But I’m not actually sure I’m needed.”
I nod, understanding why he feels that way since I don’t really think he’s needed here either. His dark eyes fix on my face, and I sense he would like me to explain why he was hired for this job, but I’m not sure, to be honest. Clearly, Matthias believed we required someone like Nathan here while I do my work and Kellen lays low, but I don’t know why.
“To be honest, Nathan, I’m not sure why you’re here, but if you’re getting paid well and it’s not too hard on you, I say enjoy your time out here.”
As I say that, I realize I don’t know much about the large man who lives here with me. Well, other than he’s as big as a house and looks like he could bench press a bus.
Curious and not sleepy yet, I ask him, “Are you from the city?”
With a big smile, he shakes his head. “Not really. I live in the Bronx, but that’s never felt like home. I’m originally from out here, as you call it. I have to admit being here in this house has made me miss the area.”
“Do you know the King family? I mean, before Matthias hired you to stay here with us?”
Kellen’s never mentioned he knew Nathan before we all started living here. Did he intentionally keep that from me? If so, why?
Nathan nods, and his expression grows serious. “Everyone in this part of the world knows the Kings. They’re the wealthiest family around. Not that having all that money has made their lives perfect. Half of their family is gone already. I remember when Mrs. King died. All my mother and her friends could talk about was how she left behind five boys and a husband and how Mr. King was going to need someone to help him with all of those kids.”
In all my research, nobody’s mentioned Kellen’s mother or her passing. All they ever talk about is his father and his success in business. And there’s never been any mention of a new wife after Mrs. King died.
“When was that?” I ask, wondering how old Kellen was when he lost his mother.
Nathan looks around the room like he’s searching for the answer to my question before returning his focus to me. “Hmmm, let me think. I want to say that had to be twelve or thirteen years now. I was fifteen, I think.”
I quickly do the math in my head to determine Kellen was around twelve when his mother passed away. That’s a hard age to lose someone so dear to you. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like. Then he lost his father and brother last year in a matter of months.
Nathan is right. The Kings have tragically lost half their family.
“I had no idea,” I mumble while I think about how I’d handle all that loss. I’m not sure I could.
“It’s sad. Some people said they’d be fine since they had all that money, but money can’t replace your mother. Mr. King never remarried, and I remember hearing gossip that things fell apart in the months after she died. It fell to the people who worked for them and the two oldest, Matthias and Theo, to make sure the three youngest sons were taken care of. That’s tough. They were mourning too.”
My heart hurts hearing this about Kellen’s family. “So you didn’t know any of the King boys personally?”
Nathan smiles and shakes his head like my question is ridiculous. “Nah. My family didn’t have that kind of money. The Kings went to a private school. I was a public school kid. Those two groups didn’t hang out much with each other.”
A noise in the hallway gets my attention, and I see Kellen appear in the doorway to the kitchen. Instantly, I hope he didn’t hear us talking about his family. We meant no harm, but I don’t want him thinking I’m gossiping about their sadness.
“Were you having trouble sleeping and felt like having some pizza too?” I ask.
Nathan turns in his seat to look in Kellen’s direction and then quickly gathers up his plate and soda bottle. “Time for me to get some shut-eye. I’m going to have to run to my apartment tomorrow morning because I need something, so if you want me to pick anything up while I’m out, just let me know.”
He hurries away before I can say goodnight, and Kellen walks into the kitchen with a strange look on his face. “That was weird. The guy acts like I have the plague. What’s that about?”
When I don’t answer, he laughs and says, “Well, it could be that he thinks I wanted my friend to mow him down with his car, which I didn’t, but he doesn’t know that.”
“I’m sure he was just tired,” I say, hoping to convince Kellen it’s nothing personal.
With a shrug, he sits down in the seat where Nathan had just been and looks at the box of pepperoni pizza. “Dude stole a slice of my pizza.”
“I don’t think he knew it was yours. I think he assumed both pizzas were for all of us.”
“First, he robs me of my pizza, and then he sits here telling stories about my family. I think I’m starting to dislike dear Nathan.”
Cringing at the news that he heard what we said, I quickly try to explain myself and Nathan. “He wasn’t saying anything bad. Honest. He was just telling me about how he’s from around here, and then when I asked him if he knew your family before taking on this job, he said everyone around here knows your family. He meant no harm, Kellen.”
My explanation seems to make him happy, and he sighs and says, “It’s okay. Nothing he said wasn’t true. You could have asked me if you wanted to know about my past, though. I’m right here, and trust me, it’s not like I’m busy.”
We fall into an uneasy silence until I finally say, “I’m sorry to hear about your mother. That must have been hard for you.”
For one of the rare times since I met him, Kellen looks uncomfortable now. I’ve seen him happy, enraged, and miserable, but the expression on his face after I said that seems almost like he’s lost.
“It was hard when my mother died. I wasn’t even a teenager, and Ronan had just turned ten.” He stops for a moment before adding, “I just realized that we’ve lived longer without her than we had with her.”
I’m not sure, but I think his eyes get teary for a moment before he jumps down from the stool and makes his way to the refrigerator. Clearing his throat, Kellen says, “So my buddy Nathan is from this corner of the world. Weird. I’d think I would have seen him before. I mean, it’s not like you can miss the guy. He’s the size of a house.”
“He said he lives in the Bronx now. Maybe he moved away before you could have seen him around. He also mentioned he went to a different school than you did. That could be why you don’t know him.”
Spinning around to face me with a bottle of Coke in his hand, Kellen smirks at me. “Ah, the old he’s a regular guy and the King boys were privileged and went to a private school thing. More facts to help support the idea that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so why would I deserve to have anyone be nice to me.”
“Nathan didn’t mean anything like that, Kellen. I’m sure of it.”
After taking a swig of soda, he slams the refrigerator door closed and levels his gaze on me. “Not Nathan. You, Salem. You’re the one who has the problem with who I am and what I have. Have a nice night. Enjoy your crumbly sausage.”
I sit there stunned at his words as I watch him walk away with the bottle of soda and the box of pepperoni pizza. I don’t know what I said, but I must have hurt his feelings.
God, this job gets harder and harder every day I’m here.