“We’ll talk later, in private, and you can spill your guts about him.”
“There’s nothing to spill. You’re as hopeless as Cara,” I bit out. I was so frustrated that I was likely to yell at any moment. I’d never wanted a family meal to be over with so quickly in my life. I needed to talk to Andrew alone, to explain my reaction in the sauna. One of us had to be rational and calm in the face of our passion.
“I’m perceptive as hell, Ro. Besides my life is boring, so I need something interesting to talk about.”
I carefully sipped my wine. “How is that possible? Don’t you spend all your time at parties and launches with celebrities?”
“That’s why it’s boring. I like my work but the social scene is getting tedious. Most of the models and actors I meet rarely discuss anything other than themselves. No offense to Dylan.”
I laughed at my brother’s blunt manner. “None taken on his behalf.”
The rest of dinner went smoothly and ended with dessert served in the lounge due to the nighttime wind gusts. Andrew was pretty much a one man show, working nonstop for hours, with the occasional help from Charlie.
“Andrew, a word please,” I asked as I gestured for Andrew to follow me into the hallway, away from everyone else.
“Yes, Mr. Carter, how can I help you?” Andrew’s calm tone was matched by his brown eyes, flat and unyielding. So unlike him. With crossed arms, my boy seemed poised to fight. My boy?It felt right. I shivered at the possibility that I’d lost Andrew before I’d barely had one taste. I reminded myself that I was ruthless in my determination to get what I wanted, and restoring our tenuous friendship would be a start.
“Thank you for all your hard work today. We won’t be requiring you for the remainder of the night, so go rest up.”
“I’m still on call overnight if your family has requests.”
“No need. I’ve told them to take care of themselves until breakfast.”
“But…”
“There’s no further discussion, Andrew. It’s eleven o’clock, and you’ve been working without breaks since early this morning. I highly doubt they’ll need a meal brought up or laundry done at two in the morning.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to long shifts. It’s the nature of my job,” Andrew replied.
The bloody job was the reason we had been brought together in the first place. I took a step closer, and Andrew moved in synch, taking one step back. “Andrew, we need to talk about yesterday, could we…”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Rafe interjected suddenly, appearing at the end of the hallway. “Mum and Da have gone to bed, but Rebecca would like to play cards, and we need a fourth.”
“Mr. Carter was just about to re-join you,” Andrew answered for me.
“I’ll be with you in a few minutes, Rafe,” I replied, my eyes solely on Andrew’s until he pivoted and walked away. I followed him down the stairs to the staff quarters.
“Drew, wait!” I whispered urgently.
Andrew turned at the bottom of the stairs and ran a hand through his black hair, rubbing the back of his neck and gripping it tightly. I stifled the intense urge to wrap my arms around him and ease all his tension.
“It shouldn’t have happened, Rowan. It was a mistake.”
* * *
ANDREW
I half expected a reality TV crew to pop up around the corner to record the drama that was now my life. I raced down the stairs, but Rowan followed, and I needed to do something to get him to back off, to give me space to think.
Rolling my shoulders, I forced myself to stay calm when all I really wanted to do was scream. At my stupid behavior yesterday, at Rowan’s lack of response, at the fact that my growing feelings for my boss had nowhere to fucking go. But more than anything, I wanted to grab Rowan’s face and kiss him. One taste to see if this was real. If only circumstances were different and I was just Drew and he was just Ro, I would do just that. But here we were.
Hands on my hips, I let out a huge sigh. “I - we - blurred the professional line when we headed to St. Thomas together, but what happened yesterday totally annihilated it. And even though I was angry at first by your reaction, I have only myself to blame for what happened since I asked you to stay. I knew what I did was wrong, but in the moment, I couldn’t stop myself. I have no excuse for my behavior. So, if you want me to leave, I’ll go. It might be best. Or we can forget it ever happened.”
“No.”
“No?”
“I don’t want you to leave Andrew. And both of us are to blame. I could’ve turned around and walked out that door, but I couldn’t stop myself either. We’ll let it go for now and get through this week.”