French Kiss (Silver Cove Series Book 2) (8 page)

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” He moved over to her, taking her shoulders into his hands so he could have a better look at her.

“No,” she started to say, then he felt her slump against him and quickly pulled her into his arms as she sighed into his chest. “I’m okay, really,” she said into his shirt.

“If he upset you that bad...”

“No, it wasn’t him,” she said as she leaned back slightly.

“Lilly, I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me,” he added after a moment of silence.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the desk. “Let’s just say that I can’t wait until Sarah gets back.”

“Are things that bad around here?” He glanced over her shoulder at the desk. There were several piles of paperwork, and the computer was flashing the blue screen of death.

“No, but with everything else...” She sighed, then pointed to the computer. “I had just entered all of that”—she nodded to the large stack of bills— “into the system, when that happened. Then Tristen walked in.” She started to walk behind the desk, but he stopped her.

“Why don’t you take a quick break, eat something.” He groaned and looked down at the mess that used to be her perfect meal. “Sorry.” He frowned as he walked over to see if he could salvage any of it. When he removed the lid to the tray, he groaned again. The noodles were everywhere on the platter, the sauce looked like it had exploded everywhere, even in the vegetables.

“It’s fine,” she said, kneeling next to him. “It looks and smells wonderful.”

“It’s a mess. I’ll head down and get you another...”

“No,” She laid her hand on his arm again. “Really, it’s okay.” She picked up the tray herself and carried it to the desk. She flipped off the computer and waited until it booted up again.

He walked over and sat in a chair across from her then watched her take her first forkful of his angel hair chicken pasta.

“Mmm.” Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the first bite.

“It’s normally a lot prettier...”

Her eyes opened, stopping him. “Looks aren’t everything.” Her eyes darted to the door and he understood that she was talking about her unwanted visitor from earlier.

“No, I suppose they aren’t.” He smiled.

L
ilith was thankful Adam had walked in when he had. She had just been winding herself up to clock Tristen when her door opened. She was pretty sure she could have gotten out of his grip, but a sense of relief had washed over her when Adam stormed in.

Over the years, she’d had plenty of unwanted attention, which she had dealt with quickly, herself. But no one had ever hunted her down after what she could only assume was an entire bottle of Jameson from the bar. Which reminded her that she needed to talk to Scott, the bartender on duty, about their policy of cutting a patron off. Tristen should have never been allowed to drink as much as he had.

“So, how bad is it?” Adam asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“What?” She’d forgotten she was retyping all the numbers into the accounting software.

“That.” He nodded to the pile.

“Oh, not bad. Just an hour of work I have to redo.”

“Don’t you save often?” he asked, prompting her to glare at him.

“Of course I do.” She bit her tongue and refused to admit that she’d forgotten to earlier. Hitting the save button now, she smiled at him and scooped up another bite of noodles. “Don’t you have dishes to do?”

He laughed and leaned back in the chair, then shocked her by putting his feet up on the edge of the desk and crossing his arms behind his head. “Nope, the staff can handle cleanup. They’re probably already done by now.”

She frowned over at him, then went back to work.

“What is all that anyway?” He nodded to the pile.

“Bills,” she said without looking up.

“I know that, but why are you putting them in manually?”

“Because it’s how Sarah does it.” She started on the next invoice.

“Why not scan them in?”

“Because this is how Sarah does it.”

He shook his head, moved behind her, and took the mouse from her.

“Stop.” She swatted his hand away, but he just smiled down at her.

“Move over.” He nudged her until the chair was pushed aside. He leaned over the computer. “I thought so,” he said under his breath. “Here.” He clicked a few buttons, then took the stack of invoices, tapped them until they all lay in a nice pile, walked over to her scanner, and set them on the top tray. When they started being pulled in, piece by piece, she frowned at the screen as each invoice automatically entered itself into the software.

“How’d…” She frowned and glanced over at him. “How did you do that?”

He leaned back against the large scanner and chuckled. “I used the same system at my last job.”

“You just saved me… hours,” she added, feeling conflicted. “All week long I’ve dreaded this job.”

“Well, now you don’t have to.”

“Why doesn’t Sarah know about this?” She added a new pile of bills to the scanner and watched the screen as everything was inputted.

“It even adds them to the right category.” She shook her head in disbelief.

“Accounting for dummies,” he said, running a finger down her arm.

She turned to him. “Are you calling me a dummy?” She watched his face turn to horror.

“No!” He dropped his hands, then took her shoulders. “I didn’t mean…”

She smiled at him. “I know. I was just teasing.” She watched his face turn again. “You’re so easy to rile up.”

He pulled her closer until she felt her breath hitch. This his lips covered hers and her knees turned to jelly. If he hadn’t been holding onto her, she would have slid to the floor.

“I could say the same about you.” His hands roamed slowly over her back, sending waves of goosebumps throughout her entire body.

“You’re not playing fair,” she said, her voice a little breathless.

“Neither are you. You’ve been hiding from me all day.” When he saw the truth in her eyes, he frowned. “Why?”

She pulled back slightly and shook her head. “No reason.” His eyebrows shot up and she sighed. “I guess I didn’t want the distraction. I had a lot to do this morning.”

“I could have helped.”

“What kind of boss would I be if I allowed you to stop your work to help me?”

“First”—he held up his finger— “you’re not my boss.” She smiled at that. “Second, I have enough employees to help…” She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. “Well, okay, today I was short… for breakfast,” he added quickly.

“Adam, I was just busy, not swamped. Besides, you just saved me from sitting here the rest of the evening.” She removed the last stack from the scanner and shoved all the invoices into the done folder. “There.” She dusted her hands off and then turned to him. “I heard you had chocolate truffle cake tonight. Any chance that you have any left over?”

He smiled. “How about we head down and see, then take it out to the beach and enjoy it under the stars?”

“Sounds good to me.” She locked up the office on their way out. “Oh, I have something I want you to look at.” She took his hand and instead of heading down the front grand staircase, took him around back to the employee staircase, then out the back door towards the employees’ quarters building. He remained silent as they climbed up the stairs towards their floor.

“What is it?” he finally asked when they were on their floor.

“Something I found last night.” She unlocked her door and hesitated at the opening. Reaching in, she flipped on her light and quickly scanned the empty room. Taking a deep breath, she entered and rushed over to her nightstand. When she opened the drawer, she gasped.

The green piece of paper was nowhere to be found. Pulling out the drawer completely, she dumped its contents onto the unmade bed.

“Where is it?” She searched, then when she didn’t find it, did the same to the bottom drawer. “It was here last night.” She got onto her hands and knees and looked under her bed and around the nightstand and even walked over to her desk to look through the drawers there.

“Lilly, what was it?”

“A note.” She turned to him. “On a green piece of paper.” She turned back towards her newly replenished closet and debated tossing all the clothes out onto the bed once more.

“Hey.” His hands on her shoulders stopped her. “I’m sure it’s here. Your door was locked and before you dumped everything out, it didn’t look like anyone had been in here.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” She bit her bottom lip. “I…” She sighed. “I could have taken it with me this morning and left it in Sarah’s office. I was very tired.” She rolled her shoulders.

“We can swing through the kitchen first, then head back upstairs to check.” She nodded, her eyes still darting around the room as she tried to remember if she’d taken it with her. He rubbed her arms. “I’m sure you will find it. What did the note say anyway?”

“
Are you trying to make me jealous? STOP!”

He frowned at her. “What does that mean?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure. For a moment, I thought…” She dropped off. She walked over to the door and waited until he followed her out. She made sure to lock her door once more behind her.

Adam surprised her by reaching down and tugging on her locked door. When it popped open, she gasped. “How did you…”

He leaned down and examined her door handle. She watched him pull a piece of tape from the door jam. She leaned against the wall and felt her head spin.

“Easy.” His voice was right beside her. “Breathe.”

“Someone…” She took a deep breath. “Someone’s been coming in. Even after…”

“Lilly.” Adam’s voice was so smooth. Just hearing the nickname made her heart settle slightly. “Let’s head downstairs.” He took her hand and she followed him until the cool night air hit her. She stopped just outside the door and took several deep breaths.

Her mind was whirling over what they had just discovered. Her knees buckled as she thought of the possibility that someone had snuck in while she’d been asleep, or when she’d been in the shower.

“Hey.” Adam took her shoulders and pulled her towards a bench where most of the employees who smoked went at night. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked as he shoved her head between her knees.

“Someone…” She felt her body jerk and she shut her eyes as tears poured out. Then a terrible thought hit her. “Someone was in my room last night while I was there.”

***

“What?” He sat up, his entire body on guard. “How do you know?”

“I don’t, but the note.” Her voice was muffled since she was still leaning down. “It’s gone.”

He relaxed back. “You said yourself that you could have taken it to Sarah’s office this morning.”

“I didn’t,” she said, sitting back up and then resting her head back. Tears slid down her face and she wiped them away.

“We can still check,” he suggested. She glanced over at him, then nodded. He held out his hand and helped her stand and then immediately pulled her into a hug. “Why don’t you crash in my room for a few nights?”

She laughed. “Is that the best pick-up line you’ve got?”

He pulled back slightly and smiled. “I’ve got others, but the fact is, I’ll be gone for four nights starting Monday.”

She thought about it. “What about until then?”

“I’ll sleep on my sofa.” The thing was half his size, but he’d sleep much better knowing she was safe and he could watch over her.

“I couldn’t… I can stay with Heather.”

“Well, I had an idea about that.” His mind quickly worked out a plan. “Let’s get some dessert and take a walk to work things out.”

She nodded and took his hand. He not only packed them the truffle cake, but added a bottle of wine to one of the picnic baskets they used for guests who wanted to have a picnic lunch.

Instead of heading to the beach, he pulled her down the pathway that circled the island, then doubled back towards the small cottage that only employees and some very intuitive guests knew about.

“Why here?” Lilly asked when he unlocked the door with the master key he had.

“We need to make sure no one listens in on what I have planned.”

She paused at the door and glared at him. “What?”

He chuckled and tugged on her hand until she walked into the small cottage. The place was the size of a shed but was straight out of a fairy tale. Most guests actually mistook it for a shed, if they ever stumbled across it.

It was nestled back in thick bushes and trees along a pathway few ever took.

“Trust me. I have a few ideas on how to trap whoever is breaking into your room.”

He saw her shiver and glance over her shoulder into the darkness. “You... you don’t think they followed...”

“No, that’s why I took the other pathway. I wanted to make sure we were alone.” He shut the door behind him after listening for any sounds outside. “I think it worked. Besides, this place has thick walls. I don’t think anyone can listen in.”

“So?” She walked over and sat at the small kitchen booth area. “What’s this great plan of yours?” She crossed her arms over her chest and he could tell she felt nervous.

He set the basket down on the table and took his time getting them each a slice of cake and a glass of wine.

“Well, for starters, you’re going to be spending your nights in my room. With me.” He watched her as he took a drink of his wine.

She stopped and stared at him. “Oh,” she said when it dawned on her. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”

He nodded quickly. “At least that’s what I’m thinking.”

“Okay, so we set him—and at this point we can assume it’s a him—off?”

“Yes. Then, on Monday, we’ll make a show of me leaving, heading into town for my scheduled days off.”

“But?” she asked, taking a bite of the cake.

“But, I’ll double back, take my small boat back to the island.”

“You have a boat?”

“Yes, a small one. In case I need to come back for emergencies.” She nodded.

“Okay, then what?”

“You continue to stay in my room, instead of in yours. But, you act like you’re sleeping in your room, where I will be instead.”

“We,” she interjected.

“No,” he said, finishing off his cake. “I.”

She leaned back, crossed her arms over her chest again. This time it was in defiance instead of nerves.

“No, we will stay in my room. Besides, if he sees me sneaking into your room...”

Damn it, she was right. If whoever was watching saw her go into his room... a million thoughts jumped into his mind and fear had him reaching for his empty wine glass.

Pouring some more for them both, he nodded. “Okay, we will be in your room, waiting for him.”

“Then what?” she asked, taking a sip of wine.

“Then...” He shrugged. “I will detain him until the police arrive.”

“You make that part sound so easy.”

“It is,” he added, sure of himself.

“What if he has a weapon?”

“Cowards like this never do,” he supplied, causing her to laugh.

“I suppose you’ve dealt with a lot of situations like this before.” She pushed her empty plate aside.