Chapter 6

DAWN

“And I’m sorry.”

His words grip me with surprise a third time this evening.

“What are you sorry for exactly?” With my harsh words, I put my eyes on the floor because I don’t know how to face him. “I just want to know why you are apologising to me.”

“Let’s just say that my harsh attitude and how I go about things have been far from appropriate.” He gazes at me with fierceness in his eyes. “I don’t want you to think I don’t care about you or you aren’t important to me. It’s just that things happen at work, and I can barely control everything.”

“I can understand that.”

He glances at me expectantly.

“Can you?”

I bob my head a few times, weighing his words in the back of my mind.

In a way, I do understand how he feels.

And where he's coming from in this situation since he’s also the head of an organisation?

There are so many things at play here.

He must be troubled about his private life making the rounds in the company.

The legitimate fear of his employees spending their free time tearing apart his life and looking down upon him must eat at him.

It must've made him uncomfortable because they can do so now, given their chief's private life shall be on full display if they find out I'm related to him.

It must be hard to have me working around him.

I don’t want to be an added liability in his life.

I’m not sure what role I want to play in his life yet, but I know I’m no man’s burden.

“Yeah, I do. You need your privacy.” I exhale another long sigh. “You’re worried about your private life being the talk of the town. The office employees gossip about you while tearing apart your reputation and putting everything they know under a microscope. And it'll somehow be worse if they find out I'm your wife.” Shaking my head, I give him a tight-lipped smile. “Something along those lines, isn’t it?”

“Dawn, you and I are on the same wavelength.” He smiles. “I’m pleased to see that.” Then he walks to the foyer area, and I quietly follow him. “I didn’t want them to find out about my marital status because it’s still new, you know?”

A soft blush breaks over my cheeks. I nod.

“Yeah?”

“And you never know if all this ludicrous hearsay will put some kind of distance between us.” I stumble as he says those words, and he moves to my side and catches me quickly by my waist from falling face down on the floor. “I want to be careful about our relationship,” he smiles again, helping me get back on my feet, “and I want you to be careful about it too.”

My throat constricts at our closeness, but I force myself not to go down that route. I take another deep breath, smiling at Kyle's words.

“I’ll try my best to be cautious.”

Kyle leads the way again as I follow him, and he takes me through the foyer to his dining room. He pours a glass of water from a clear pitcher and hands it over to me.

“Why don’t you change from your work clothes?” He offers me a brilliant smile. “I have cleared up a guest room for you, just in case you didn’t want to sleep in my room tonight. Your room is on the first floor, the second room from the stairs on the right. There are some clothes that I have bought on my way here, and I have put them out for you on the bed." He crosses his fingers. "Here's hoping the clothes fit you since I wasn't sure if you were bringing an overnight bag with you or not.”

That was sweet of him.

He was thinking about me.

He wants to take care of my needs.

“Thank you!” Then I immediately remembered I had forgotten to pack an overnight bag because I drove straight from work to his place in a rush. I fix some tendrils of hair behind my ear, smiling softly. “That was quite thoughtful of you. Thank you for thinking of me since I did forget.”

“You shouldn’t be thanking me at all. There's no need for it.” He speaks in a serious tone while shaking his head. “I’m just looking out for my wife.”

I’m just looking out for my wife.

Looking out.

Looking out for my wife.

My wife.

His words dance in my head, and all I can do or say in response is nod a couple of times like a bobblehead.

After I finish drinking the water, I hand it back to him.

“Why don’t you go change your clothes? I’ll take care of the dinner in the meantime.” He nods towards what I assume is his kitchen. “Come back around soon, though. I tend to be impatient about waiting for people.”

Sighing under my breath, I feel bad about making him cook for me. I don’t know why I feel bad, but I want to be an equal partner in this relationship, so I suggest what feels right to me at the present moment.

“Why don’t I help you cook dinner?”

“Do you want to do that?”

I nod.

“Yeah, let me help you out in the kitchen.”

“Well, thank you for the suggestion, but let me assure you I can cook well.”

“I’m not doubting your cooking skills at all.” Shaking my head softly at his words, I offer him a small smile. “I just don’t want to be a burden for you.”

He stills, and a warm look comes over his eyes. He stares at me like I have said something wrong, but his eyes don't come off as reprimanding. Kyle silently regards me for another long minute.

“You’re not a burden for me, Dawn. I was trying to make your nightly stay easier on you, but if you are really down to come to cook dinner in the kitchen with me, you're more than welcome. It’s your call.” A faint smile touches his lips. “If you are inclined to do that, help me out.”

“Well, I’m inclined to help you make dinner. Give me a few minutes, and I shall be back.”

Taking my purse off my shoulders, I walk to the shoe rack back in the hallway where Kyle had me pressed against one of the accent walls. The memory makes me shudder with nerves, and goosebumps erupt over my inner thighs. As soon as I eye the shoe rack, its gold accent layout makes me feel all elegant and eminent as I put away my daily work heels on the shelf. Then I slip my feet into one of the in-house slippers, making my way towards the floating staircase, eyeing the first floor curiously as I look out for my room.

And as Kyle had said, the second room in the hallway from the right remains unlocked and bright light streams out from the entrance. With a small smile playing over my lips, I open the door and step in. True to his words, he has laid some clothes for me on the bedspread, and they sit there with their tags still attached. The clothes he has picked out for me are a set of pastel pink pyjamas with a sweater top.

Guess I never fancied the colour pink.

But I will still take his warm gesture to heart and wear them.

Running my eyes all over the room, I check for another door turning out as a small closet on the left side of the wall. The door on the right wall opens into an attached bathroom, and the idea of taking a shower plays in my mind as I wonder how nice it would be to take a hot shower after a long day at work.

But I do want to help Kyle out.

And I want not to keep him waiting.

A quick shower it is, then.

That will help me get back to him in time.