Falling Under You: A Fixed Trilogy Novella (1001 Dark Nights) by Laurelin Paige Page A

worked on fastening a bra.
    “Understood.” His fingers click-clicked over his keyboard. “I’ll just book for you. Then I’ll arrange a car and help you pack your suitcase. In the morning, I can make sure all your appointments are rescheduled for the week.”
    I turned to face him, my jaw slightly slack. Boyd had just taken over more than half of my mental to-do list. It was a little unnerving.
    But, also, it was a whole lot of a relief.
    I took a deep breath and let a bit of the tension out of my shoulders. “I don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.”
    He’d donned his glasses when he’d reached for his laptop—turned out they were for computer work—and now he peered at me over the rims. “I could come with you. So you’re not alone.”
    Time seemed to stand still as I considered. I didn’t even know what to do with his offer. I’d been in these situations before, the kind that were hard and required tough words and a straight backbone. Every time, I’d been the one everyone leaned on. I’d been the one who’d kept things together. It was what I did. I did it alone.
    I didn’t know how to do it any other way.
    “No,” I said, finally and with finality. “That’s not a good idea. I’ll be distracted. You need to stay here and take care of things at the office.” They felt like excuses for me more than for him.
    He ticked his head to the side and stared at me. “I don’t have to be in the office to take care of things there,” he said gently.
    My face wrinkled in confusion. I knew what he was saying, just, I didn’t know what he meant . Would he come with me as Boyd my employee? Or Boyd my lover? What would it mean to us if I let him come? And what would it mean about me?
    Before I could come to a conclusion, he’d set down his computer and crossed to me. He put a hand on each arm and bent to meet my eyes. “It was just an offer. Not a big thing. It’s completely up to you. If you need me most as your assistant right now, then that’s what I’ll be. No explanation needed. Got it?”
    I nodded as though I understood and I suppose I did, but I didn’t too. I didn’t understand why the offer was so unsettling. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just take him up on it. Because while I didn’t have much bandwidth to focus on myself, I was pretty sure I wanted him with me.
    “I’ll be right back.” He kissed me on the forehead, startling me into action again.
    “Okay. I, uh, need to call Hudson.” Pushing Boyd and his offer out of my head, I crossed to the phone and pressed the speed dial for Hudson.
    Even though it was the middle of the night, he answered on the second ring. “Norma. Is everything all right?”
    “Yes.” An automatic answer. “I mean, no. Sorry to call so late. It’s…” I took a deep breath, gathering myself before saying his name. “It’s Ben. My brother. He’s made another suicide attempt—”
    “I’m so sorry to hear that.” His tone was reserved as always, but I could sense an undertone of compassion. If he didn’t exactly care about me, he did appreciate me.
    “Thank you. It’s what it is. I just wanted you to know that I’ll be out for the rest of the week.”
    “Of course. When do you want to fly out? You should take the Pierce Industries jet.”
    “Oh.” For the second time in the last few minutes, a man had offered me assistance in a way that I hadn’t expected. Again, I was taken aback. “Are you sure that’s not too much trouble?”
    “Not at all. I’ll arrange it as soon as we’re off the phone. I’ll need a couple of hours. Should we shoot for an eight a.m. takeoff?”
    “Perfect. Thanks.” Through the chaos in my head, an interesting thought came through—why was it so much easier to accept help from Hudson than Boyd? Because Hudson was my boss? But wasn’t Boyd my boss too?
    I looked up at movement by the bedroom doorway and found Boyd returning, a mug of coffee in his hand. He crossed to me, handing the cup