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I’d never seen the woman blush before. It was quite a sight. And I’d for sure tease her about it tomorrow.
Closing her door, he silently urged me to ride shotgun with a mere flap of his hand. If I was in a better mood, I might have jokingly asked whyIwasn’t getting lifted into the vehicle simply to mess with him. Instead, I hopped in and clicked on my belt.
It turned out that Kaiser drove the way he did everything. Confidently. Calmly. Smoothly in command.
Not a lot of words were spoken on the journey, but the periods of silence weren’t awkward or weighted. When we finally arrived at the gates to my home, I opened them using my app. Kaiser slowly steered his vehicle up the long, slightly curved driveway.
Judy leaned forward slightly. “I hope you’ll join us for dinner, Kaiser.” It wasn’t a polite invitation, no, she tossed out the request in a weak, pleading voice like it was her last, dying wish.
I sighed, about to tell the shameless woman that he’d need to return to the recording studio.
He cut the engine. “So long as you promise to sit and behave rather than drive Inaya crazy by carrying on like nothing happened. She wants you to rest.”
I almost gaped, not having expected him to buckle under her emotional pressure. It was official: the woman could manipulate anyone.
She dipped her chin. “That I’ll agree to.”
“But don’t you need to go back to the studio?” I asked him.
“I can do that tomorrow.” He exited the car before I could say more.
I glanced back at Judy, inwardly sighing when I found her practically bouncing in her seat.
As we walked into the house, he kept a steadying hand on Judy’s back. It looked as if he half-smiled—which had to be a trick of the light—when she asked if he’d mind carrying her across the threshold. It would be practice for the day he eventually married, she told him.Good lord.
In the kitchen, he helped her into a seat at the dining table before then claiming the one across from her. And, brusque and stiff though he might be when it came to being chivalrous, I felt all warm inside nonetheless. I’d once asked him to treat her with respect, and he was doing exactly that … in his own endearingly surly way.
As the dogs were going nuts in her wing, I opened the door for them to exit. They all but raced to the kitchen and began dancing around her chair, barking and whining.
“Seems like they got quite a scare,” she said, petting them.
Grabbing ingredients for dinner out of a cupboard—ingredients for one of the meals the doctor at the hospital had recommended—I shot her a look. “They weren’t the only ones.”
She gave me a soft smile. “I apologized for scaring you, remember?” She turned to Kaiser. “Thank you for coming to the hospital, I’m glad my Inaya wasn’t alone.”
He shrugged, as if it was nothing. To him, maybe it was. Not to me, though.
“If I can in any way repay you, let me know,” she added.
“As I told Inaya, I don’t need gratitude.” He didn’t say itrudely, just candidly.
Her smile widened, for some reason. “I’m grateful all the same.”
He looked down, frowning. And I noticed that Goose had rested his head on Kaiser’s thigh and was gazing up at him adoringly. Kaiser didn’t seem to know what to do about it, so I couldn’t help but snort.
He and Judy talked more as I bustled about the kitchen cooking dinner. Well,shetalked. He mostly listened. And grunted. He also missed the smug, ‘Everything is going as I said it would’ looks that she kept sliding my way.
Once dinner was ready, I set down plates and drinks and then joined them at the table. Honestly, my stomach was still feeling a little off after the emotional rollercoaster of earlier, so I had to force down most of my food. I seemed to be the only one having that issue, however. He dug into his meal, utterly unruffled. And Judy was so damn pleased to have him there that it took up all of her focus.
Shortly after the meal was over and our glasses were empty, she pushed out of her chair and said, “I’m going to take a nap. No need to rush off, Kaiser, you can keep Inaya company.I’d rather she wasn’t alone right now, but I don’t have it in me to stay awake. I hope you’ll eat with us again some time.”
He didn’t say anything.
“I’m going to get Judy settled,” I told him, standing. “I’ll be five minutes or so. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
I didn’t wait for a response. I escorted Judy into her wing, which the dogs didn’t make easy, since they were intent on sticking close to her.
In her bedroom, I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable. You know that, right? Even while sick you don’t miss an opportunity to pick up your bow.”
