Page 107 of The Hookup
She reminded herself that he was a sick man who had nobody else apart from her and Marie, and this in itself made her indispensable to him. If he said nice things to her now, it was because he had nobody else; she needed to remember that, and not be lulled into a false sense of his feelings for her. A sick man being nice to you was not a barometer of the strength of a relationship.
She made up her mind to stay for a few hours, reading up on her reports, and making the necessary changes. A couple of times at work, her guard had slipped. It had been tough juggling work and Luke, especially with her ever-changing feelings about the man. She had managed to hold it all together in the meetings, and Remington wasn’t on her back as much, but privately, at her own desk, she would often sit back and look at the path her life had taken lately. If Luke hadn’t been so brutally honest with her, if he hadn’t lashed out and told her what he had really thought of her, she might have found a way to believe in them. She could never forget what he had said.
The old Kay would have. Good-Time-Kay would have taken anything that was offered, but she wasn’t that person anymore. She didn’t want to rectify a relationship that had started off on the wrong foot with the wrong intentions. Theirs had, and there was no way back.
She was overwhelmed and tired. Things were slipping through, and all because she was fighting to keep her A-game on her work, and be there for Luke.
Even Geoffrey had noticed that something was up with her.
He’d been surprisingly helpful lately and even though she kept her private life private, she had let it slip out one day, about Luke’s illness. He knew of Luke, and he’d caught her at a time when she was on a low. It had just seemed easier to open up to him. She’d told him that Luke had recently been treated for cancer, and that she was taking care of him. That she was juggling her work commitments, as well as taking care of him.
This evening, after the last meeting with Remington, Geoffrey had passed by her desk and asked her what she was still doing here so late. He told her to go home and have an easy night for a change. He had stepped up and told her he would take care of things in case Remington asked.
She sat back and rubbed her eyebrows. Tiredness had seeped into every cell of her body, and she was desperate for sleep, feeling suddenly overcome with the need to close her eyes because she had sat down.
But she fought it, and opened her laptop, and got to work. Halfway through her report Luke’s landline rang. She stared at it, waiting for the ringing to stop, but it went to his answering machine instead.
“Luke! Why didn’t you tell me?” The voice sounded familiar, and she sat up, trying to place it. “Pick up, pick up, pick up, or I swear I’m going to come over right now.”
Kay looked up, wondering what to do.
“Pick up will you! I’m worried sick.”
She jumped up and picked up the phone.
“You took your time!”
“Amanda? It’s me, Kay. We met at your wedding.”
“Oh…Kay?” Amanda’s voice burst with surprise. “I was so worried when nobody picked up. What’s happened to Luke? He hasn’t returned any of my calls. I finally got a hold of Marie and she said he’d had surgery.”
He hadn’t called to let his sister know?
But then again, should she really be that surprised?
This was Luke all over and his closest relationships didn’t matter to him. She, of all people, knew this.
“He did,” she replied, slowly. “But he’s fine,” she said, not giving anything away. “You should really get him to tell you.”
“I called and you answered. Where is he?” Amanda asked.
“He’s taking a shower,” Kay explained. “And he’s really tired.”
“Marie said he had something wrong with his thyroid.”
“He did, but he’s been treated for it and he’s fine. It might be better to call him over the weekend, because I don’t think he’s in the mood to talk right now.” She would rather Amanda spoke to Luke directly and let him tell her. She knew how things with his family set him off. It was better not to get mixed up in the dynamics and politics of the Hunters.
“Why not?”
“He’s recovering, and he’s still slightly weak.”
“Feeling weak?” Amanda asked in a worried voice. “He’s going to live, isn’t he?”
“Oh, god, yes. He’s going to be fine.”
Amanda made a low whine. “I don’t know why he didn’t tell me. He could have told me. He’s such an uptight moody bastard, but he’s my brother, so…”
“I understand.” Of course she did. She got up and wandered towards the bathroom. She could still hear the shower running. Not wanting Amanda to go to sleep worried, she divulged some more information and explained that he’d only just recovered from the surgery, and then he’d had to have the radioactive treatment a few weeks later. “He’s not really been in any state to call and tell anyone.” She was lying here. He could have picked up the phone, but for some reason, she found herself making excuses for him.
