“No one is exactly like anyone else, and that’s what makes humans special.”
I rubbed her back until her breathing evened out. Whatever "different" meant, I hoped my answer had satisfied her. But I couldn’t hide what she’d said from her father.
I yawned and considered going back upstairs but decided to stay until Theron returned. I must have dozed off because I jolted awake thinking Skye was having another nightmare. But there was a large shadow in the doorway, and I screamed. Maybeshe hadn’t been dreaming and there was a man roaming the house.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, and I gasped at my thundering heart thumping against my ribs as I sat up and fumbled for anything I could use as a weapon.
“Ledger, it’s me.”
Skye stirred but didn’t wake, and I flopped back onto the mattress.
“You have a bad habit of creeping up on me.” I hadn’t intended to raise my voice, but I was pissed. He could have turned on a light or called out from the bottom of the stairs.
“Sorry. I thought you were asleep.”
“I was.” After fumbling with the night light, I climbed out of bed. “Skye had a nightmare.” I blinked at his bare chest and the sweatpants that hung from his hips, and I was aware of my skimpy tank top and shorts.
My boss must have just come in from his office because there was a whiff of jasmine about him from the bush near the porch. He must have brushed against it, but the aroma was combined with the usual hint of smokiness.
I thanked the gods the overhead lights were off because I was staring at his chest. He was my boss, not a potential boyfriend or lover. He was a widower who trusted me to look after his children.
Theron crouched by the bed and brushed Skye's hair off her forehead. The tender gesture had me looking away because it felt like I was intruding on a private moment between father and daughter.
I left the room, intending to return to my suite, but Theron followed me out.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I should have been here.”
“You can't be everywhere. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“But she’s my little girl.” He ran a hand over his face and leaned against the wall.
He was so close the jasmine fragrance was overwhelming, but the man in front of me wasn’t my boss or the guy I’d been lusting over. He was just a tired father trying to do the best for his kids.
“Theron, Skye said she did different stuff than I did.”
Saying it out loud sounded like the kinda thing a kid would say. It didn’t necessarily have any deep dark meaning. But that got his attention, and even in the dim light, there was fear in his eyes, and his scent became stronger, not the jasmine part but the smoky bit.
“What did you say?”
I related word for word what I told his daughter, and his brows shot up at the word “human.”
He exhaled and it shuddered out of him, and his head dropped back against the wall with a thud.I was beside him, and the only source of light was the moonlight because he’d closed Skye’s door.
“Ledger.”
He did it again. He said my name in such a unique way like no one else did, but I couldn’t pinpoint what made it different.
“I need to tell you something.”
Here was the big reveal. He was going to spill all the family’s secrets, but I was going to get a jump on it.
“Rapid-fire questions. You answer yes or no. Are you a spy?”
“What?”
This guy. I pushed off the wall and stood in front of him. “Yes or no?”
“No.”
