Page 115 of Red King

I start pushing my luggage cart toward the exit, and Becs follows. “I still have to find another job, but Iamleaving, Becs. I can’t stay for more than a few weeks.” I stop pushing. “Are you sure you’re okay with me staying with you guys?”

“Of course.” She laughs. “Don’t be silly.”

“What about Dave? Is he fine with it?”

“You know Dave, Mr. Super Chilled.” She waves a hand. “He doesn’t mind at all.”

I start pushing my cart again. “Are you saying that you didn’t have to threaten him with withholding sex to get him to agree?”

She laughs. “Nothing like that. You’re welcome anytime and for as long as you want.”

“Okay, then, because I could stay with Megan.”

Becs gives me a pointed look and pops the trunk of her car. “I know you love your sister and that she loves you even more, but the two of you would end up fighting like cats and dogs within a few days.”

I nod. “You’re right. We would.” I hoist the first bag into the trunk.

“And your folks would drive you nuts.”

“They would.” I load the second one in as well. “I’m not sure why my dad still insists on cutting that tiny patch of lawn outside my old bedroom window at seven in the morning. He does it all the time. It’s a wonder grass even grows there.” I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling because I love my dad.

She laughs. “Exactly.” She puts her arm around me. “Nope, you’re staying with me. I know it won’t be for long, but I’m making the most of it. Let’s get going. Your room is ready for you.”

We get into her Hyundai Tucson and Becs pulls out of the parking. When we reach the road, she indicates and pulls into traffic.

“So, what happened?” Becs glances my way before putting her eyes back on the road. “You were very cryptic about why you resigned. Didn’t you enjoy it as much as you thought you would? I mean, if you wanted to come home, you wouldn’t be applying for other positions abroad.”

“I liked it. Actually, I loved it. I loved everything about the island, and more than I ever thought I would.”

“What happened? Why did you leave?”

I swallow thickly. “I slept with my boss, and we got caught.”

The car veers a little left before Rebecca corrects it. “What the…? Say what? You did what now?” She glances at me and then the road and back at me. “Perhaps a little warning would have been nice. I might have crashed the car.”

“Maybe telling you right now wasn’t the best idea. We can wait until we get to your place.”

She laughs. “Are you kidding me? Holy shit, Paisley. You slept with your boss. As in, you had sex? You need to tell me everything right now.”

“Why is that so hard to believe?” I’m laughing, too. “Yes, I had sex.”

“Because Jim left you two years and ten months ago, and you haven’t so much as looked at another man in all that time. Well, until now, that is.”

“I told you that leaving Cedar Pines was a good idea. That it would be good for me, and it was.”

“You were right. Out with it. Give me the lowdown.”

I can’t tell her everything, but I stick to the facts as much as possible. “So, I ended up resigning,” I end with.

“This Arctic guy – that’s an insane name, by the way. I still can’t get over that part.”

“It’s a remote island. There are quite a few weird names. I like it. It actually suits him.”

“Okay, if you say so. Anyway, he sounds like a total asshole. You’re saying that you were forced to resign?”

“No, it wasn’t like that at all. He didn’t want me to leave. He tried hard to get me to agree to stay, but I couldn’t. Thing is, Cathy would’ve outed us, and since sexual relations with a direct superior is against company policy, I would have been fired. Everyone would have found out about it, which I didn’t want to have happen. It would have been a strike against my name.”

That isn’t the reason at all, but since I can’t tell her about the castle and about Arctic being the king, I leave it at that.

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