Page 12 of Nothing to Deny
“I didn’t ditch you,” she said. “I didn’t request anyone; Squires provided my matches. Donoghue was one of them.”
“I’d love to see what answer got you landed with him. You didn’t think to request me?”
“Holly requested you,” she said, brushing invisible lint from her knee. “Perhaps if you didn’t go around seducing every woman who crossed your path, you wouldn’t be so in demand.”
It wasn’t right that she was still smarting over the way he’d left her to kiss Holly’s hand. He’d kissed her. Actually kissed her. A full, proper, very adult kiss. All Holly got was a polite introduction. Still enough to melt her cousin.
She could never be confident with a man so adept with the opposite sex, not in this scenario. She’d always wonder if he was touting for business when they were out together.
“I’d have dropped the rate,” he murmured. Her attention drifted toward him. Not that she’d intended it to, but, of their own accord, her eyes tractored to his. Gazes locked, he raised his hand to her face, scooping his fingers around her cheek. “Little Skit…” He breathed the pet name, his thumb tracing her lower lip. “If you’d made the request…”
Awareness pounded in all the wrong places. He thought money was the problem? That couldn’t be further from the truth. If Donoghue’s rate was less than Baer’s that was just coincidence, she hadn’t requested anyone cheaper. Her requirements had been simple, in contrast to Holly’s more complex demands. Apparently, Baer fitted with those, or at least, the system hadn’t come up against hard limits that would deny Holly her request.
Staring into him, she selfishly wished for hard limits.
His heavy gaze seemed to be moving closer to her mouth—his phone buzzed in his pocket between them. Except, hadn’t he just put his phone in the door well?
Leaning away, Baer drove a hand into his pocket and pulled it out with an urgency that startled her. “Yeah,” he said into the handset, his voice deep and clear. A moment passed before he spoke again. “Who is this?” The serious expression on his face became grave. “Laird’s Hospital? What the hell is the little…” Breathing out, he dropped his chin and moved his index finger on the middle of his forehead in a light scratch. “Is he conscious?” Another pause. “Yeah, ‘cause he knows I’ll kick his ass… Are you sure he was alone?” With a palm, he covered his eyes. “Did he say that…?” Raising his head suddenly, he now wore annoyance. “You need to ask him. You need to check that he was alone…” Raising his arm, he read the heavy watch on his wrist. “I don’t know how long it will take to get to Laird’s…”
Bouncing onto the opposite seat, she pushed her purse aside and pressed a button to lower the privacy screen.
“Three minutes,” she said as the thing slid down. “If we make this light…” Turning from the front, Kessler was startled to see her peeking through the space between the cabins. “We need to go to Laird’s hospital, right now.”
“Frey—”
“Please, Kessler. As fast as you can. I’ll cover any tickets,” she said, resting a hand on his shoulder.
When he picked up speed, she switched to sit the right way and retrieved her phone from her purse. Without looking at Baer, she dialed.
After two rings the line answered. “Squires.”
This was the emergency number for client use only.
“Hello,” she said, bracing as the car swung out on a turn. “My name is Freya Dere. My cousin and I are supposed to have an appointment with your service this evening—”
“Yes, Miss Dere,” the male on the other end of the line said. “I apologize if the car is late—”
“No, that’s not it at all. Everything is perfect. Something has come up at my end and I’ll have to reschedule.”
“Of course,” the male said. “Do you have a day in mind for—”
“No,” she said. “If you call my cousin, she will deal with that. I apologize for the short notice. If you could let Donoghue and Baer know that—”
“Of course. I hope you resolve your issues.”
“I will,” she said. “Thank you.”
Hanging up the phone, she sent a quick message to Holly to let her know they wouldn’t be going out that night. Just as she pressed send, another phone chirped. Baer grabbed the phone from the door well.
He read the message and then tucked the phone away. Their eyes met. Whoever his call had been about, it was important enough to worry and anger him. Despite knowing nothing about his personal life, the serious look on his face bore a whisper of gratitude, though the intensity on it was something else. Something powerful shivered through her.
The car pulled to an abrupt halt. They broke their stare when Baer fled, slamming the door at his back.
Flipping around, Freya touched Kessler again. “Anyone asks, you didn’t pick me up tonight,” she said. “Baer got the message to cancel before I got in.” Opening her purse, she pulled out a couple of hundred-dollar bills and passed them to him. “Please.” Kessler didn’t say anything, he seemed sort of dumbfounded as he raised his hand to take the cash. “Thank you… You can take off.”
Baer might not want the world to know his personal issues, but she had to make sure everything was covered. Leaving the car, home wasn’t in the cards yet. This was her stomping ground.
SIX
