Given his deep commitment to propriety when it came to entering my room, I didn’t snoop through his paintings like I wanted. It’d be worth the wait for him to share those parts of himself with me when he was ready.
First, though, I had to find him.
And, luckily, I didn’t have to wait long for that.
When I went downstairs, each step I took felt careful.Although Drake D’Arthur wasn’t there, the mere thought of him showing up left a bad taste in my mouth.
But it cleared as I stepped past the kitchens.
Hit by a rush of citrus and spices, a wave of dizziness washed over me. My head didn’t clear until I moved farther down the hallway, and I brushed off the spell, convinced the scent had reminded me of an old recipe my mom used to make.
Some savory yellow rice and chicken dish I always avoided after?—
That had to be the reason for it.
I forced it from my thoughts as I approached the office.
With his head bent over papers on his desk, Kingston worked tirelessly. His soft brown curls invited me in, tempting me to brush them back and ease the stress lining his features.
But I held back and knocked on the doorframe.
His eyes lifted to mine, and his smile warmed my cheeks.
“Hi.” I waved, like a total dork, and shuffled my feet. “Am I disturbing you by coming by?”
“Never.” He rose from the desk to greet me as he gestured for me to enter. “I was just finishing up some things for the final challenge. But taking a break with you holds far more appeal.”
He met me in the center of the room, and when he leaned down to kiss my cheek, he lingered for a moment. His quiet inhale and slow exhale ruffled my hair and sent a rush of tingles down my spine.
But when he pulled back, sadness lingered in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
His lips twitched like he wanted to smile. Slip back on the mask and assure me everything was fine. Except he reached for my hand and asked me a different question.
“Would you go somewhere with me?”
I tilted my head in question.
“I have an appointment today, and I thought you might need to pick up your inhalers. I…don’t want to go to this alone, so I’d hoped we might kill two birds with one stone.”
“Appointment?”
He rubbed at the spot on his chest. “Yes, nothing to worry about. Just something I couldn’t take care of until now.”
“I’d love to go with you.” I stepped closer to his desk, eyes trained on the spot he was rubbing. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Kingston nodded but dropped his eyes. “I will be.”
He reached for the phone on his desk, forcing a smile as he dialed and waited for the other line to pick up. It was the pharmacy, and Kingston requested the refills for my inhalers. A new rescue inhaler, which Dr. Barrow prescribed during the second challenge, and my long-acting one.
“That way you have an extra, just in case…”
He didn’t say it, and I was glad. Despite Elaine’s family accepting his father’s deal, she could throw a wrench in things at any time, if no one challenged her. If she invoked the statute, The Quest was over.
Which meant he had to know.
“Kingston, I?—”
