“And Logan is a chef?” she asked with interest.
“Yes. He owns a restaurant. The Meridian.”
“Are you close to your brothers?”
“It depends. Ethan is six years younger than me, and our lives couldn’t be more different right now. I’m closer to Logan, but it’s not like it used to be. We both work a lot, and we only manage tosee each other for a couple of hours every month.” I could see in Kate’s eyes that she had more questions, but I steered the conversation away. “Enough talking. It’s late. We should sleep. I have to wake up at five.”
Kate slid from her stool. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to keep you up.”
“You didn’t. I’m sleeping pretty badly at the moment,” I admitted.
Kate offered a sympathetic smile. “Me too, but something tells me tonight will be different.”
I made my way around the kitchen counter, catching Kate giving me a once-over. We crossed the living room together, and at the point where our paths diverged, we stopped simultaneously, almost as if we’d agreed on it. Kate stood right in front of me, and without the kitchen counter as a buffer between us, I could smell the delicate scent of the hotel’s lavender soap. I’d grown so used to the smell that I hardly noticed it anymore, but I was acutely aware of it on Kate. We stood in silence, neither of us seeming ready to say goodnight.
I cleared my throat. “Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kate smiled. “You too, Snowflake. And thank you for everything.”
14
The Darlington dress code: Men are required to wear a jacket and tie in our in-house restaurant, Darlington Dining. Women are expected to dress elegantly. In all other areas of the hotel, tasteful attire is required. Please note that shorts, jeans, trainers, and sportswear are permitted only when leaving the hotel, and should not be worn within it.
The Darlington house rules
Henry
Kate appeared to still be asleep. Not a sound came from the guest room. I knew this because I’d been standing at my kitchen counter for the past five minutes, sipping my coffee and listening to the silence. I’d hoped to see Kate before going to the office, but waking her was out of the question. It was probably the first time she’d slept in a proper bed in weeks, maybe even months, and I didn’t want to rob her of that. Our conversation the night before had kept me awake for a while. Especially what she’d said about homeless shelters and the fact that she was always hungry. It was unimaginable to me. Although we hardly knew each other, I couldn’t shake the ridiculous urge to ease her troubles, simply because I could.But perhaps the feeling was also driven by the guilt that had been gnawing at me for months.
I wasn’t my dad, and I was disgusted by what he had done to those women. Yet because I ran the hotel now, people seemed to think I was on his side. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to pack my bags and leave as Logan had done years ago. The hotel was part of me. It was my home, a place tied to my most cherished childhood memories. I wanted to save it, even if that meant appearing to support my dad, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. If it were up to me, he’d have no say in anything. But he had shares in the hotel, and given the recent drama and media attention, now wasn’t the right time to force him out of the business.
I swore silently and rubbed my forehead. It was too early for these kinds of thoughts. I gulped down the rest of my coffee and decided to leave Kate a message. I tore off a note from the magnetic notepad on the fridge and hoped that she’d be able to decipher my handwriting. Logan was the only person who had no trouble reading it, and he joked that it was his god-given talent.
I put the note by the sink and hoped that Kate would find it. After unplugging my phone from the charger, I made my way down to the morning meeting about the Pearl Gala. When I checked my emails, I saw that I had received several in the night. Unfortunately, none of them were spam I could simply delete. I resolved to reply to them later and read my personal texts as I walked. I had a new one from Olivia:
Olivia:
You listened to me.
Me:
What do you mean?
Olivia:
You met up with Kate.
Me:
Who told you that?
Olivia:
James. Ethan told him.
Me:
And how would Ethan know?
