Promises of Forever

by Celya Bowers

  He smiled. “I bet you are. There are a few rules before you leave.” He sat in the vacant chair and placed the chart in his lap.

  Kayleigh took a deep breath. “Oh, this doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s not. Since you leapfrogged a couple stages by passing out the other night, we need to take a different approach. Now I know school has another month or so before it’s over, and I know you’re not going to quit now.”

  “Correct.”

  “You’re going to need to take some time off from work. I’d say at least a full week between now and the end of the semester. I’m prescribing some medication to get your immune system back on track. And we’ve already discussed the summer.”

  She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Yes. I’m not going to summer school.”

  “We’ll, that’s one battle I don’t have to fight today. You had a pretty close call. I want to see you on Friday at ten in my office. We’ll make it every Friday until school is out. I want to monitor you for a while.”

  She knew this was coming. A recent voyage on the Internet informed her of the rocky road to come. “See you Friday.”

  Finn sat beside her on the bed and clasped her hand. “She’ll be staying with me this week. Is there a special diet?”

  “As much protein as possible, and make sure she’s resting.” He stood, handed her the prescriptions. “The nurse will be in with a few papers you need to sign.” He left the room without another word.

  “Well, that wasn’t as bad as I’d thought,” she said.

  He looked at her. “How bad did you think he’d get?”

  “Dr. Preston has been my doctor forever. I just knew he was going to tell me to stop school altogether and he knew I wouldn’t. But I’ll just take a week of vacation.” She breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t dead.

  * * *

  Later that evening, after he got Kayleigh settled in the guest room upstairs, Finn worked in his home office. He had juggled his business appointments around so he could be at home with Kayleigh. Unfortunately, he would have to go into the office tomorrow. He’d break that news to her over dinner.

  He looked up Kayleigh’s illness to have an idea of what he was up against. She needed protein, and lots of it. “Looks like it’s steak for dinner,” he told the room.

  He checked in with his secretary. “How’s everything going? Did Harry show up today?”

  “No, but he called about three times. It’s a good thing you have an unlisted home number or I’m sure he’d be calling you right now.”

  Finn had hoped Harry would have calmed down by now and just accepted the fact that he lost $3 million. Initially, he’d told Finn it was only $1 million, but Finn found out the dirty truth. Harry was on his way to being broke. Or at least broke in Harry’s eyes. He was down to his last $1 million.

  “I’m going to need you to reschedule some appointments for the next two days. Move everything beyond early afternoon. I want to be leaving the office by one, two at the latest.”

  “Okay, out with it.”

  Finn laughed. This was the problem with having such a smart assistant. She knew when something was afoot in his life. But he had to try. “I just need my afternoons free.”

  “I thought Kayleigh got out of the hospital today? Is she all right?”

  “She’s resting.”

  “Oh, I get it. She’s at your house. Wow, this is a big step for you.”

  “She’s only here until Sunday.”

  Sarah laughed. “Oh, my gosh! A woman not wanting to move in with you on a permanent basis? This has got to be a first.”

  “I’ve had women turn me down before,” Finn said. He’d only asked two women in all his years to cohabitate with him. One was his former wife, and the first had been his college sweetheart. The latter turned him down flat.

  “Finn, I’ve been your assistant for quite some time. I must have missed that one. Let me know if you need any help. I’ll email you the changes to the schedule so you can update your calendar.”

  Finn thanked her and ended the call. Unlike most bosses, he still liked taking care of the details himself when he could. Like updating his calendar, keeping up with his own emails, and returning calls when necessary. Like Harry’s. He was going to have to call Harry, but Finn wanted to put it off as long as possible.

  What was he going to do about Kayleigh? Should he confront her about her not trusting him? What purpose would it serve? He heard a thump upstairs.

  He shrugged off the noise until he heard another one. Kayleigh. He headed upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time. He entered the bedroom prepared for the worst-case scenario, Kayleigh out cold and sprawled out on the floor. But she wasn’t on the floor.

  “Finn,” she called from the bathroom.

  He walked into the tiled room and there she was on the floor, face down. “Honey, are you all right?”

  “What happened?”

  He helped her off the floor and picked her up in his arms. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.” He strode back to his bed and placed her back in bed.

  Kayleigh took a deep breath. “I went to the bathroom and was washing my hands. The next thing I knew I heard you coming in the room.”

  He caressed her face as she spoke. He was getting in way too deep, too fast, but what could he do? He was in a freefall, and there wasn’t anything to do but enjoy the ride to the bottom. “How do you feel now?”

  “Silly.”

  “You’re never that. You don’t have your strength back yet and I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  She sighed. “I’m not one of those stay-in-bed kind of people, Finn. I’m starting to get a little nuts just lying around so much.”

  He knew what she meant. He was a horrible patient and hated being sick. “I know you’re getting stir crazy up here. Why don’t you come downstairs and relax on the couch?”

  She rubbed the back of her head. “That’ll be nice. Besides, Harley is coming over after work. I think I’ll take a little nap first.”

  He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got some business calls to make, then I’ll start working on dinner.” He kissed her on the forehead.

  She yawned. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

  He laughed, reminded that she didn’t cook. “Hey, this is an equal-opportunity relationship. There’s no rule that says just because you’re the woman, you have to be the cook.”

  “You win on that point.” She snuggled against the pillows and closed her eyes.

  Feeling dismissed, but in a good way, he stood and went downstairs.

  * * *

  When Kayleigh opened her eyes again, the bedroom was dark. What time was it? As she turned on the light, she heard laughter drifting upstairs as she got up. She didn’t feel tired, but the knot on the back of her head still hurt.

  She rose slowly, the room going in and out of focus. She sat back down on the bed and hoped the room would stop spinning.

  “Kayleigh, are you all right?” Harley asked from the doorway.

  She looked up at her friend. “Yeah, my head was spinning. I was letting it clear.”

  Harley walked further inside the room and sat on the bed beside her. “You look a lot better.”

  “I feel much better. Except I fell in the bathroom earlier and hit my head on the sink. I think that’s why my head is hurting now.”

  Harley glanced around the room. “Nice digs. I’ve never been in a house this big before. Finn showed me around the place. I love the pool. Have you been skinny dipping?”

  “No, Harley.”

  “I’ll bet it would be so romantic. I have to tell Ben about it. Maybe we can get a small one.”

  “You can’t swim,” she reminded Harley.

  “Spoilsport.”

  Kayleigh stood again, and this time the room didn’t spin. “Where’s Finn?”

  “Grilling steaks.” Harley was standing next to her. “Need any help?”

  “Yes.” Kayleigh hated being this helpless. She h
ated the fact everyone had to help do the mundane things she’d taken for granted before. Like walking, she missed being able to walk down the stairs under her own steam.

  Harley linked her arm with hers and they headed downstairs. There weren’t a lot of stairs, but they were enough that she was sweating by the time she touched the last one. Finn was waiting for her.

  He took her in his arms and rubbed her back as her breathing returned to normal. “Dinner is almost ready.” He kissed her forehead and put an arm around her, guiding her to the kitchen.

  CHAPTER 17

  Finn deserved a medal for his restraint. After an enjoyable dinner with Harley, he’d prepared one of the upstairs bedrooms for Kayleigh. He’d preferred if she slept with him, but he promised no pressure and he was a man of his word. Usually.

  He pulled back the covers, and then looked around the room. It had everything he’d thought she’d need. He left the room and went back to his bedroom, where she was changing into her nightclothes, but found her in his bed.

  “Where have you been?” She snuggled into the pillows, getting comfortable in the bed. “I thought you went to the kitchen.”

  He walked to the bed and sat beside her. “I went to make up your bed. Remember, you don’t have to sleep with me if you don’t want to.”

  “You don’t want me here?” She looked away. “I guess I should have realized that, huh? You’re just being nice.” She pushed the covers down, revealing her lacy nightshirt. “You’re going to have to move if you want me out of your bed.”

  How did things get so confusing? “Kayleigh, I never said that.”

  “You just said…”

  He took a deep breath. She was one headstrong woman. “Honey, I just wanted you to know that what I said earlier today was the truth. If you don’t want to sleep with me, I totally understand. Your body needs time to heal.”

  “So this is just about sex,” she said accusingly. “You feel bad because you think you caused me to get sick, and this is your way to absolve yourself of any guilt.”

  He counted to ten. This could easily turn into a shouting match, and he knew neither one of them wanted that. He counted to twenty. “Kayleigh, I don’t regret making love to you Saturday, but you do have a serious illness and you’re going to have to take other things into consideration. I don’t want you looking at me and thinking I just want sex with you. It’s not true.”

  “So what do you want?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. Before I met you, I was taking a sabbatical from women. The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. I do want to explore the possibilities with you. I don’t want you getting sick.”

  “It that why you only kiss my forehead?”

  “What?”

  A slow steady stream of tears cascaded down her face. “You haven’t kissed me since Sunday. You kiss my forehead. I know finding me passed out was scary—”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared in my life,” Finn confessed. He picked up her hand. “I guess it was a subconscious action.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, Kayleigh, I’ll admit the whole lupus thing threw me for a loop, but I don’t run from anything. And I don’t want to run from you.” He stood and pace the room. “I’m going to make mistakes when it comes to you, because I only want what’s best for you.” He sat back on the bed and picked up her hand. “I want whatever you want. If you want to sleep with me, that’s great.”

  Kayleigh looked up at him, and then crawled onto his lap and kissed him right on the mouth. She tasted sweet, and she was right, it had been awhile since he’d kissed her, really kissed her. He felt his arms sneaking around her body as she deepened the kiss. He wanted so much more, but he had to let her take the lead.

  When she finally moved away from him, they were both out of breath. Finn was hard as concrete. He tried to think of something boring, hoping his erection would subside, but Kayleigh wasn’t having it.

  He had to be strong. “Kayleigh,” he said, sliding her off his erection. “You just got out of the hospital and it’s too soon.”

  She stared at him, then got back in his bed and pulled the covers over her body. “I know. I just wanted to make sure you were still in the game.”

  He laughed. He’d asked for that, and he got it. “I’m going to change for bed.” He walked into the bathroom, wondering what in the heck was he going to use for pajamas. He usually slept commando.

  * * *

  “I thought you were coming home last night?” Harley asked as Kayleigh sat down at her desk Monday morning.

  Kayleigh let out a tired breath. “Yeah, that was the plan.” She turned on her computer and hoped, for once, Harley didn’t ask too many questions. “Finn convinced me to stay a few more days.”

  “How?”

  She didn’t want to admit it, not even to Harley, but she was developing some strong feelings for Finn Callahan. Feelings she wasn’t ready to deal with. “He thought it would be best if he drove me to work and school for a few days, just in case something happened.”

  Harley rolled her chair closer to Kayleigh. “Okay, Kayleigh, this is me. You were supposed to come back home last night. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad there’s someone to take care of you.”

  “Harley, I don’t know what’s going on with me. He asked me over dinner last night to stay until this morning. Then this morning, he asked for a few more days.”

  “Okay, I don’t see a problem,” Harley said.

  “I said yes, with no hesitation. It’s like my brain took leave and my heart was calling all the shots.” She grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. “The other night we had a talk about, I don’t know what, but I felt so close to him.”

  Harley’s blue eyes studied her intently. “I get it. You love him.”

  She already knew that. “It’s only been a couple of weeks. It’s way too soon. I’m not one of those romantics, I’m practical. No one falls in love with someone she just met in a matter of weeks.”

  Harley shook her head. “You’re scared. You have every right to be. Love is a strong emotion and I can tell you love him. Otherwise, there was no way you’d let a man call the shots and convince you to do something you wouldn’t normally do.” Harley grabbed another tissue for her. “Kayleigh, it’s not a sin to fall in love. He’s a millionaire, you could do worse.”

  “That’s another thing I’m worried about. When all this is over, how will I ever go on?”

  “With the help of your friends. Now, I’m not saying that this is going to last forever. Just enjoy it for what it is.”

  Perhaps her friend was right, but what was she going to do? “What am I supposed to do about school? I can’t let him deter me from getting my degree. I can’t let these emotions control my life.”

  “But don’t you see? They are controlling your life. You can do both.”

  “How?”

  “You’ll find a way.” Harley rolled her chair back to her desk. “Here comes the idiot.”

  Kayleigh braced herself for her idiotic boss. She hurriedly put a stack of invoices on her desk, brought up the accounting program and began looking over her work. The idiot plopped his flat butt on her desk.

  “We’re so glad you decided to join us,” the idiot drawled. “I was afraid you and the Mexican fellow had run off to get married.”

  “Sorry, no such luck.” Kayleigh kept her eyes glued to the computer screen. She didn’t dare look up at her boss. He had a bad habit of spraying people when he talked.

  “Well, maybe we can discuss it further after work today?”

  “I’m sorry, I have class tonight. Otherwise I would just love to discuss why you thought I had married Manny in Mexico.”

  The idiot pretended ignorance, not a stretch in his case. Ahmed Dahlar was a disgrace to every immigrant everywhere. “I just assumed that’s where they went. I see it on TV all the time.” He walked back to his office.

  Harley leaned toward her. “I wonder what channel he watches?”

  Kayleigh l
aughed. Leave it to the idiot to make her day. “You know that racist channel. It always amazes me when he speaks. Just when I think he can’t say anything crazier, he ups the bar.”

  Harley nodded. “Tell me about it.”

  Kayleigh’s phone rang. “Accounting, this is Kayleigh.”

  “Well, hello, Kayleigh,” Finn said. “I was wondering if you were free for lunch.”

  It wasn’t like he’d just seen her this morning. “Sure, that would be nice.”

  “Good. I thought I was going to have to convince you. Invite Harley as well.”

  Well, it wasn’t a romantic lunch, not with Harley tagging along. “I’ll ask her.” She opened her mouth to ask her friend. “Harley…”

  “I’d love to,” Harley said, smiling.

  “I guess you heard her,” Kayleigh said. “Where would you like us to meet you?”

  “How about Lucky’s?”

  “Okay. See you at twelve.”

  “Bye.”

  Kayleigh placed the phone in the holder and muttered a curse. “See, that’s what I mean,” she told Harley. “I would have never just agreed to lunch. It’s like my brain is on vacation.”

  Harley grunted. “Poor Kayleigh. Mr. Hottie is taking us to lunch. Where are we going?”

  “Lucky’s.”

  “The Irish pub? The upscale Irish pub where you need reservations just for lunch?” Harley clapped her hands. “Wait until I tell Ben tonight! This is freaking awesome.”

  Kayleigh glanced around the office. No one paid much attention to Harley’s outburst. “Why not announce it to the entire office, why don’t you?”

  “Hey, there’s an idea!”

  “Don’t you dare,” Kayleigh warned. “Didn’t I get enough grief when I dated Manny a million moons ago? I want to keep my love life as private as possible.”

  “Oh, all right. You’re not any fun,” Harley complained. “At least I can tell Ben tonight.”

  Kayleigh smiled. “Take him a doggie bag.”

  * * *

  She’d given him an out. And he didn’t take it.