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Great. Now he was thinking about Nara’s flattering figure. “Sounds perfect.”
He finished eating then settled back in his chair. The air had cooled a bit more, and now it was almost chilly. Nara rubbed her arms.
“We should go back to our room after you’re done,” he said, looking at the sky. “It’s going to rain.”
She nodded, her gaze traveling over the ocean water. “For sure.”
Derek’s phone rang, and a wave of insecurity hit. Did Brielle change her mind? Did she want to talk about her breakup? Was she going to cry again? But when he looked at the screen he saw Richard Claymore’s name. Something must be going on at the company. He hurried to pick up the line. “Hello?”
“Derek.” Mr. Claymore’s voice sounded funny.
“Yes? What’s wrong?”
“I’m in the hospital.”
Concern shot through him and Derek couldn’t help but feel guilty for not talking to Nara about his suspicions. “What happened?”
“I fell. Might have broken my wrist, they’re going to x-ray it. It’s not a big deal. The doctors are concerned about a few other things, so they are admitting me.”
“What are they concerned about?”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s nothing.”
“It can’t be nothing.”
“My white blood cell count is lower than they’d like.”
A low white blood cell count? That didn’t sound good at all. Isn’t that what happened when a person was fighting cancer? Derek cursed himself silently for not insisting that Richard tell him what was going on, and for not talking to Nara about it. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Just tell Nara for me…okay?” His voice sounded soft. Tentative. Like he wasn’t sure how Nara would react to the news.
“I will.”
“And I’m sorry this happened while you were away. I’ll have Terry take care of things at the office until you get back. Don’t let this interrupt you. I just didn’t want you to hear about me being in the hospital from the news.”
He let out a breath. “Okay.” After he hung up the phone, Nara stared at him expectantly.
“Well? Who was that?”
Derek’s mouth went dry and he had a hard time swallowing. “Your father.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Is he okay?”
What was he to say to that? He’d put off telling her his suspicions, and now her father was in the hospital and something serious might be going on. If she lost her father before she got a chance to reconcile, he was afraid it would tear her apart. “I think he’s sick,” Derek blurted out.
Chapter 18
Nara stared at Derek, not really understanding his words. Her father was sick? Why would her father call Derek to tell him he was sick? That didn’t make much sense. Was he out of nasal spray? That’s what his staff at home was for. “Like, he’s got the flu?”
Derek seemed uncomfortable. He took his napkin and folded it, then set it on the table. “Maybe we should go for a walk. Are you done?” He motioned to the last few bites of food on her plate.
“I’m stuffed. I can’t eat any more. It was delicious, though.”
He paid the check and they stood. He slid his hand into the small of her back as they left the restaurant and headed down the sidewalk. It did funny things to her breathing, but she tried not to act any different. She didn’t want to freak him out again. Their resort wasn’t too far away. She could endure it until then.
She wasn’t the kind of person who wanted things spoon-fed to her. As they walked, she looked up at Derek. “Tell me what’s going on with my father. Why did he call?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
