Chapter 17
On the way to The Mandeville, Lena called Delphine, and she answered on the first ring. Lena explained the trouble with the air conditioner, and that she had decided to take Nutmeg to The Mandeville to keep him cool for the night.
"You made the right decision," Delphine said. "Victoria would have lost her mind if she thought Nutmeg had gotten overheated. Victoria will reimburse all your expenses. Going with the handsome driver?"
Lena felt her face flush. "Yes, I am," she answered, trying to sound all dignified about it for some reason.
Delphine's assumption was helpful. Nothing to be embarrassed about. But the house manager's tone and muffled giggle from the other end of the line made her want to end the call as soon as possible. "Okay, well. I will see you later. Goodbye."
She could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile on Nash's face. But it disappeared so quickly, she couldn't be sure.
She steadied Nutmeg so he could prop his paws on her windowsill and watch the tropical scenery whisking by. "I know Delphine lied about the kids starting the fire on the pier. And there has to be a reason for that—"
"Yes," Nash said. "But she didn't lie to help Emil. I think she's working with Ed Chester. And/or the guy who set the fire."
"I agree," she said. "But she still . . ."
"What's wrong?"
"She's still nice to me. I'm not saying I trust her, but she can be nice. It's sad that she's on the wrong side of all this."
"A lot of people who do bad things are still nice part of the time."
"Like my family," Lena said.
"Oh Lena, I wasn't trying—I wasn't referring to them."
"I know. But I want you to know they're nice sometimes. We have our moments, but . . . That's what's made this so hard. I know they're doing illegal things in the business. And I've decided when I get back I'm going to do something about it. But . . ."
She gazed at him until he glanced at her. "For what it's worth, I just—I want you to know they're not always like that. They can be kind and funny. It's just at work, for whatever reason, they find it easy to lie, cheat, and steal. It breaks my heart." Her voice cracked on the last word.
Nash took his right hand off the wheel and laced his fingers through hers. "I'm so sorry, Lena. I'm sorry they've put you in this position."
"It's not your fault." She sat a little straighter. "And as difficult as it will be, in a way it feels good to have made a decision about finding the evidence. It'll be painful, but at least I'll have a clear conscience about it."
He squeezed her hand. "If you need any help, just ask."
"Thanks."
The kiss flashed through her mind again. She wondered if he would bring it up. She wondered if he regretted it. Her mind sifted through a few nonchalant ways to raise the topic. They all sounded awkward.
They arrived at The Mandeville before she could think of any suave way to ask about their intimate moment in Emil's kitchen. Maybe it was best not to think about it. If it mattered to him, he'd let her know. If not . . . she could focus on Cassidy, and all her family drama.
She needed to be realistic. Why would a man want to jump into her slow-motion train wreck of a life right now? That kiss was likely just an overreaction because of the attack by disgusting Yellow Teeth.
Not that Nash Stone seemed the type to overreact about anything. Ever.
Nutmeg's excitement erupted into happy yips and excessive tail-wagging when Nash parked the car.
Lena tried to clip the leash to his collar while he hopped around on her lap. "I hope you don't think you're going back to the spa. We're just coming for a quiet night. No massages."
Nash laughed and rubbed Nutmeg behind the ears. "You'll be fine, buddy. You can order room service if you want."
Lena swatted his arm. "Don't tell him that. Victoria has him on a strict diet."
Nash's deep chuckle didn't waver. "You stick with me, buddy, and you might get some hamburger."
Lena rolled her eyes. "You're terrible." She finally clipped the leash to Nutmeg's collar. "Come on, Nutmeg, let's go."
They checked in and settled into neighboring rooms on the third floor.
After taking Nutmeg for a short walk, they met the rest of the WhiteRock team in one of the hotel rooms that had been transformed into a conference room.
Nash was careful to ensure they were not seen entering the conference room. He didn't want them to be associated with WhiteRock, since they needed to keep their covers for at least another twenty-four hours.
"It's pretty quiet on this end of the hotel," Nash said. "We shouldn't have a problem. But if someone enters the hallway, we'll just keep walking, then come back to the conference room later."
"Okay," she said.
It turned out they didn't need any detours. They arrived in the conference room just minutes after a wonderful meal had been delivered. Knox smiled when he saw her and shook her hand. "I'm Knox. Glad to finally meet you."
The other man in the room walked over and extended his hand.
"You must be Jason," she said.
"Yes." He stretched his arm to the woman next to him. "And this is my fiancée, Tayla."
"Oh, hello, it's very nice to meet you," Lena said. "Congratulations on your engagement."
"Thank you," they said in unison.
Knox guffawed at their response. "You two are adorable."
Jason threw a balled-up napkin at his head.
Lena turned her attention to the only other person in the room she hadn't met yet.
"And I'm Allie," the woman said.
"It's very nice to meet you," Lena said.
Allie handed her a plate and a water bottle. "We're all here for you," she said, indicating everyone in the room. "We'll have a solid plan for you for the party tomorrow night. Everything's going to be okay."
All five of them—Jason, Tayla, Knox, Allie, and Nash—were looking at her. Their kindness overwhelmed her. Emotion swelled in her throat.
"Thank you all," she whispered.
As if on cue, Nutmeg barked.
"Oh, my apologies," Lena said. She scooped up the dog so everyone in the room could see him better. "And this is Nutmeg, my charge for this week. I know he was initially just a pawn in this plan, but he's a sweet little guy. And he's stolen a little piece of my heart."
Knox reached out and petted Nutmeg's head. "Well, that's not hard to imagine," he said. "Hey, little guy." He made a show of looking Nutmeg in the eyes. "All this food smells really good, doesn't it?"
"Don't even think about it," Lena said, lifting a tote bag. "I brought his food."
When everyone was seated, Nash announced he would pray for their meal.
Lena expected a "Thank you, God, for our food.
Amen" prayer. But after he gave thanks for the food before them, she nearly cried when he started praying for her, and for Cassidy, and for their safety.
Her chin trembled. Tears welled behind her closed eyes.
Then, she almost fell out of her chair when he prayed for Emil and Delphine, and the poor guy they'd seen on the rocks that day, and Ed Chester.
He prayed for God's protection over them as well, and for their hearts to be turned.
The prayer wasn't formal or stuffy. He prayed to Jesus like he was sitting in the room with them.
Her whole world tilted.
Over the past few days, she hadn't grasped how completely her trust in Nash had developed. Until now.
As the fact settled over her, she realized the combination of integrity, godly humility, and protectiveness in Nash Stone won her complete respect.
And maybe her heart.
They all echoed "Amen," and enjoyed a wonderful meal together. They joked and laughed and asked her about herself. They told embarrassing stories about each other she wasn't sure were completely true, but she enjoyed the camaraderie.
Nash's deep laughter rumbled next to her. She hadn't seen him this relaxed before. His easy laugh and wide, genuine smile warmed her to her core.
She was glad he could relax. She wondered how he did it. Terrifying memories from the past twenty-four hours tightened a snarling mess of anxious knots in her chest that she had no idea how to unravel.
But Nash could sit back, tell stories, and joke with his friends. His nerves weren't twisted in a chaos of worry. A few glances her way held an easy warmth. His calm was contagious.
Over the course of their meal—gradually, tentatively—a few of her confounding knots of stress tugged loose.
After dinner, Nash escorted Lena back to her room.
She wondered—and worried—about what she should say when they were alone again.
Thankfully, after she unlocked her door, he said he needed to get back to Jason and Knox as soon as possible to debrief and make plans for tomorrow.
Relief assuaged her muddled brain. A conversation with Nash wasn't ideal at that moment.
She was exhausted and didn't trust her emotions.
She said, "Good night," and led Nutmeg into the hotel room.
She walked to the glass balcony doors and stood in awe of the full moon illuminating the nighttime waves.
"Well, Nutmeg, this isn't the worst way to spend an evening.
" He hopped up on the bed and settled himself in the middle of the half-dozen pillows at the head of the bed.
She laughed. "Please do make yourself comfortable. "
She looked back at the ocean. Her gratitude for the safety of The Mandeville, and for everything about Nash, rivaled her anxiety about Cassidy.
All her thoughts—warm and sweet, cold and terrifying—swirled and drained her energy.
She looked at Nutmeg, content and comfy on his mountain of pillows, and decided he had a pretty good idea.