AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why don’t you go into the bathroom and put it on? It looks like it would be easier if you could take off your mask.”
“I think I got it.”
Riley shook her head, holding back a smile. “Not really.”
“I didn’t? What did I miss?”
Instead of telling him where he missed, she grabbed his hand, scooped the last of the gel and applied it to a couple of spots on his skin. He held perfectly still as she touched him, unable to breathe.
“There,” she said, wiping her hands together. “That should make it feel better.”
He slowly exhaled, staring at the few strands of hair that had worked themselves free from her bun and now hung down the side of her face. He wondered what she would look like with her hair down.
Her phone rang from her bag, and she flushed. “Sorry, can I take that?”
“Of course.”
Sir Barks jumped off her lap when she grabbed her bag, but instead of fishing out her phone, she rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. He could hear her muffled talking a second later.
His curiosity piqued as he wondered who she was talking to. Her father? A boyfriend? Maybe he could find a sneaky way to find out if she was in a relationship. He rolled his eyes and picked himself up off the floor. It was stupid of him to feel jealous of a phone call. And if he wanted to know if she had a boyfriend, he should just ask. He wasn’t twelve, and neither was she.
He passed by the mirror and adjusted his skull cap and mask. He really shouldn’t be so careless with Riley. He didn’t know her. If she had wanted to, she could have grabbed his mask and yanked it off. Even though he doubted she’d ever do anything like that, he still needed to be careful. This was his entire career. If people found out who he was, he could kiss all his success goodbye.
As he waited for her call to be done, he started to feel guilty for monopolizing her time. He wasn’t paying her much at all. Just enough to be fair for grabbing a meal here and there and bringing him ibuprofen when he had a headache. Asking her to stay with him all day was selfish. She had things of her own going on.
When she finished with her call and came out of the bathroom, he turned to her. “We have two hours before I have to be downstairs in the conference room. If you want some time to yourself, now would be a good time to take it.”
Her footsteps slowed. “No, I don’t need any time. I can run your laundry to the cleaners, or get you something else.”
Wow. He’d been stupid all this time hiring errand boys to help him with gigs. He should have been hiring people like Riley. Heck, he should offer to hire her full-time and have her travel around with him. She was the best assistant he’d ever had. “I don’t need laundry done yet, but thanks for offering.” He sat down on the couch and winced as pain shot through his tailbone.
“What? Did you really hurt yourself when you fell over?” She rushed to sit next to him, her hands wringing.
This was perfect. Now he really did feel like a grandpa. “It’s nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing. You winced. Like you were in pain.”
How very perceptive of her. He knew she was going to get him into trouble. “Barely hurts at all.”
She frowned. “I shouldn’t have laughed when you fell. I’m sorry.”
Sweet Riley. He wanted to cup her face in his hands and tell her she didn’t have to worry about him. That he was fine, and she was a kind soul for caring. But that felt like it was too intimate, so he simply smiled at her. “I’m seriously fine. Why don’t you go take a break? I’ll message you when I’m ready to go down to the conference room.”
Remorse for sending her away filled him as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but he didn’t know how to take them back. Besides, he knew she had personal stuff going on with her father and felt guilty for monopolizing her time.
“Okay,” she said, standing. “If you’re sure you don’t need anything else.”
“I’m good.” Lie. He was embarrassed for falling on his butt and bruising his tailbone and disappointed with himself for not thinking of some errand to send Riley on so she would be back soon.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours then.” She left, and he immediately felt the loss of her. Oh, this was bad. He was quickly falling for Riley, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He couldn’t have a relationship. As soon as he took off his mask, everything would go south.
And yet, he couldn’t help but think maybe Riley was different. Maybe she was the one woman who could see past his scars to the man he really was.
Chapter 7
The ocean water rushed over Riley’s feet as she walked along the beach. She had to admit to being disappointed when Shadow dismissed her. She wasn’t going to find out who he was by sitting in her room listening to Sir Barks through the wall. And she had enjoyed spending time with him this morning. He was different from what she expected. Warmer, somehow. And he had a sense of humor.
The sun beat down on her, and she turned her face to the warmth. Her father’s call had upset her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it right now. Her mother had done what Riley had expected. The cash she left was now gone, and so was her mother.
