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“I just want to know what happened.”
Kent put his fork down and clasped his hands together. “She may not know, so keep that in the back of your mind. Although she knew you existed, so I think on some level she’ll have the answers you’re looking for.”
“I hope so.” Palmer turned and looked outside. The sun shone, and everything looked like it had a golden hue to it. “I think it’s going to be a beautiful day.”
“We’ll be in museums today.”
“As long as we’re together, I don’t care what we do. I do have one request.”
“What’s that?”
“Can you help me wash my hair? I know you said no shampoo, but the thought of touching my scalp is weirding me out.” Palmer shuddered at the thought.
Kent laughed. “I didn’t take you as a squeamish person.”
“I hate needles too.”
His eyes widened. “Now you tell me!” He threw his hands up. “I probably could’ve been a little nicer when I jabbed that sucker into your hip.”
“That would’ve been nice,” she fired back. “I was wondering about your bedside manner.”
Her quip caught Kent off guard. He tossed his napkin at her and told her to wash her own hair. He got up and went to the bathroom, and she followed.
“I’m sorry,” she said as he started filling the tub.
“Palmer, stop apologizing. You’re not hurting my feelings. Please, continue to joke.”
She leaned forward and inhaled. “You might want to shower.”
“Okay, that was too far.” He cupped a handful of water and threw it at her. She screamed and ran back into the other room. Palmer waited a few seconds before approaching the bathroom. Kent sat on the edge of the tub and had the stack of towels ready.
“I’m not going to wait here all day, especially when I stink,” he told her, even though she wasn’t in the room. She stepped into the bathroom and had forgotten he hadn’t put his shirt on. Palmer had slept on that chest last night. Seeing it in the light was far different from feeling it in the dark.
“Bend over,” he instructed her.
“Excuse me?”
“The tub, Palmer. Geez.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Palmer squatted until she could put her knees onto the towels Kent had placed near the tub. She bent over the edge, while he slid in next to her. The positioning was awkward, but Kent never complained.
He poured water over her hair until it was saturated, and then conditioned the ends. As long as he steered clear of her scalp, she would be okay. After rinsing her hair, Kent squeezed as much of the water out of her strands as he could and wrapped them into a towel. He helped her sit up and then stand.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Okay, then I’ll take one after you.”
Palmer closed the door behind her and stood there for a moment. Until Kent, she’d never grasped the depth of physical attraction. He was her idea of the perfect man. He was beautiful, with the kindest eyes she had ever encountered, and when he looked at her, he saw her. Never mind what happened when he winked at her. That simple gesture turned her insides to goo and made her knees wobble.
Palmer pushed away from the door and went to her suitcase. She pulled out the clothes she wanted to wear today and set them in a pile on the bed. She didn’t have to wait long for Kent to come out of the bathroom, and when he did, he did so with only a towel around his waist, with pebbles of water dotting his chest. Palmer stood and licked her lips, an automatic reaction to the sight before her.
“I should . . . uh . . .” Palmer grabbed her clothes and brushed passed him, and he chuckled. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Was Kent doing this on purpose? Did he know how she felt about him? Sure, he’d asked her if she loved him, and she did, but she’d assumed he meant as family.
Palmer cleared her thoughts. A man like Kent wouldn’t date a woman like her. He likely saw her as the sister he never had, and that was how she needed to treat the situation. She showered, dressed, and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She wasn’t about to run a brush through her hair and forget about her scalp.
She opened the bathroom door and studied the mirror in the hall. Kent watched her from across the room. “Crap,” she muttered. “How much do you think they’ll charge me?”
“The mirror is like fifteen dollars at the store, so it shouldn’t be that much.”
“Maybe I should just tell them.”
“What are you going to say?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to tell them I had an incident.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?”
