Unsuitable

I let myself out of the bedroom and into the quiet hall.

Heart thumping, clutching my shoes and Kas’s T-shirt to my chest, I make my way downstairs.

I glance at his office door, which is closed.

I have to talk to Kas. First, to thank him for looking out for me. Then, to ask if I still have a job. And, if I don’t, then beg him to give me my job back.

I’m not averse to begging in this instance.

I’ve screwed up so bad.

It won’t look good for me if Toby finds out that I’ve been sacked for getting drunk and behaving like a complete idiot.

And it will look even worse to Anne. It could set me even further back with Jesse.

Not that Jesse and I could get any further back. He wants nothing to do with me.

But I need to prove to him that I’m here to stay. And here to stay means, I need this job.

Taking a deep breath, I head for the kitchen to put the T-shirt in the laundry basket. Then, I’ll go to his office and face the Kas-wrath.

I push open the kitchen door, and my heart falls out of my chest when I see Kas sitting at the kitchen table, staring down at his phone, an empty plate and a cup sitting in front of him.

He’s wearing jeans and a fitted T-shirt that shows off the lines of his body. His hair is a little messier than usual, one side tucked behind his ear.

He looks good. But then he always looks good. I hate that.

His eyes lift from his phone to me.

His look cuts right through me.

“Hey,” I say, swallowing past my nerves.

“Hi.” There’s no tone to his response, giving me nothing as to what he’s thinking.

I move slowly toward him through the kitchen. His eyes stay trained on me the whole time.

I slip into the seat across from him. I put the empty glass on the table, my shoes on the floor next to me, and hold his T-shirt in my lap.

I don’t really know where to start, what to go with. My eyes drift around the room and then hook onto my bag, which is sitting on the counter.

I really need to ring Cece, but I need to speak to him first.

But he beats me to it. “Your phone kept ringing and ringing. I didn’t want to wake you. I figured it must be important, whoever was calling, so I answered it for you. It was your friend, Cece. She was worried that she hadn’t heard from you. I told her that you were here, you were safe, and you’d be home in the morning.”

He spoke to Cece. Oh my God.

Well, at least she wasn’t left worrying about me all night. But that is going to be one hell of an interesting conversation I’ll have with her later.

“Thank you,” I say. Then, I can’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you take me home?”

He pins me with a stare that has me squirming in my chair. “Because I didn’t know where you lived. You passed out before telling me.”

“My address is on your employee records,” I challenge.

“Which are here.”

Oh. Yeah.

“How did I get to bed?”

He gives me a look that clearly states he thinks I’m dumb. “I carried you.”

“I was that out of it, huh?”

“Yeah. I don’t think a bomb going off would’ve woken you up.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was funny, listening to you snore.”

“I don’t snore!” I say, aghast.

His lips curl up into a stunning smile, and he laughs.

A memory of me telling him yesterday that he had a beautiful laugh and that he should laugh more slips into my mind.

“Do I really snore?” I ask him.

He grins and nods. “Like a pig.”

I like that he’s smiling, so I don’t fight him on it. “Must’ve been the alcohol because I don’t snore normally.”

“Hmm…yeah, must’ve been.”

I can hear the laughter in his voice. It makes my heart swell.

I curl my fingers around his T-shirt and then remember waking up in it.

My face flushes. “Did you, um…” I bite my lip. “Undress me?” I wince on the words.

There’s a long silence.

I peek up through my lashes at him.

And I would be lying if I said that I didn’t see the flash of heat in his eyes. Or that I wasn’t affected by that flash of heat.

“I thought you’d be more comfortable in my T-shirt. But don’t worry, Daisy. I was the perfect gentleman. I barely looked at all.”

“But you did look a little.”

Oh my God. Did I actually just say that?

I want to die in my seat, but I force myself to hold steady and keep his gaze.

Kas’s expression doesn’t falter. Not even a flicker.

Then, his lip curls a little at the corner.

I’d like to say that I’m unaffected by that as well, but I’m totally not.

I’m squirming, and I’m hot in places that haven’t been hot in a very long time.

“Well, thank you for taking care of me,” I manage to say. “And for the loan of the T-shirt. I’ll wash it.”

He lifts a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Would you like some coffee? Something to eat?” he offers as he gets up from his seat, taking his plate and cup along with my empty water glass.

I nearly fall off my chair in shock. “Um…coffee would be great. Thank you.”

I watch him pour us each a coffee. Then, he adds milk to mine. I didn’t even realize that he knew how I took my coffee.

He puts my drink down in front of me and then sits back in his seat across from me, holding his drink in his hand. “You should eat something. I’m guessing you have the hangover from hell?”