sleep? You’re not sick, are you? Because we have a lot of things lined up this week, plus you’re playing at home on Saturday.”
She put her hands on her hips, expecting to have to launch into another one of her lectures about image-building and consistency, when to her surprise, Kepler dropped onto the patterned couch and scrubbed a hand over his eyes.
“I couldn’t sleep because my leg was throbbing, my hamstrings are tight and my lower back is killing me. And the air conditioner rattles. And the woman downstairs is always slamming her door.” He paused and drew a deep breath before continuing. “And my brother emailed me a bunch of photos of my nephew. I guess it made me homesick.”
Holly’s gaze instinctively flicked to the digital clock mounted over the oven at the other end of the apartment, but it was too far to make out the numbers. One part of her wanted to hurry him into the bedroom to put some clothes on so he could attend at least part of the breakfast.
Another part of her knew that, at this moment, the man was more important than the event.
She lowered onto the couch beside him. “I didn’t know you had a brother. Older or younger?”
“Four years older,” he replied. “He’s married, and he’s got a little boy. I bought him one of those toddler-sized Charlotte Discovery outfits. I never seem to have time to go to the post office and mail it, though. By the time I actually send it and it gets all the way to South Africa, it’ll probably be too small for him.”
“I can mail it for you if you give me the address,” she suggested, “or get one of the people in the press office to do it. That’s the kind of thing I can help you with, and I’d be glad to do it if it made your life a little easier.”
The surprise in his expression made Holly’s heart ache. What kind of a callous corporate demon did he think she was?
“Is your sister pregnant yet?” Her face must have shown her confusion because he explained, “When we were in Ballantyne, you said your brother-in-law wanted kids but your sister wasn’t so up for it. Has she changed her mind?”
“No, not that I know of.” She sank back into the couch, deciding the breakfast was a lost cause. Evan had probably already paid a hotel staff member to feed him gossip from the event, and by this time tomorrow the Recorder would be full of quotes from “an anonymous source close to the team” speculating that Kepler’s absence meant he was a raging alcoholic, or a freaky sex addict, or otherwise generally unfit to captain Discovery.
A tension headache began to throb between her eyes as she thought about all the placating phone calls she’d have to make over the next forty-eight hours.
“I never had much respect for Raynard when we were growing up,” Kepler continued, snapping her out of her moment of self-pity. “He was always dutiful, hard working and impeccably well behaved, whereas I was constantly getting into trouble and being scolded for not living up to my full potential. I thought he was boring and predictable, and I was exciting and fun.” He smiled. “And to be honest, I still think that sometimes. But now I understand that stability and consistency aren’t such bad things.”
Holly began to reply, but he waved her away. “I know. You’re going to tell me that you’d love to see a little more of that consistency when it comes to my press appearances.”
“Not at all,” she said, careful to keep her tone free of indignation. This was the best conversation they’d had in weeks, and she didn’t want to drive him back into his defensive armor. “Actually, I was going to say that I wish I could learn to respect my sister in the same way. We’re less than two years apart in age, and it feels like we’ve always been competing—and she always wins. She moved to Charlotte from our hometown in Virginia a year after I did, and within six months she was engaged to a rich lawyer. Oh, and did I mention that she’s
She put her hands on her hips, expecting to have to launch into another one of her lectures about image-building and consistency, when to her surprise, Kepler dropped onto the patterned couch and scrubbed a hand over his eyes.
“I couldn’t sleep because my leg was throbbing, my hamstrings are tight and my lower back is killing me. And the air conditioner rattles. And the woman downstairs is always slamming her door.” He paused and drew a deep breath before continuing. “And my brother emailed me a bunch of photos of my nephew. I guess it made me homesick.”
Holly’s gaze instinctively flicked to the digital clock mounted over the oven at the other end of the apartment, but it was too far to make out the numbers. One part of her wanted to hurry him into the bedroom to put some clothes on so he could attend at least part of the breakfast.
Another part of her knew that, at this moment, the man was more important than the event.
She lowered onto the couch beside him. “I didn’t know you had a brother. Older or younger?”
“Four years older,” he replied. “He’s married, and he’s got a little boy. I bought him one of those toddler-sized Charlotte Discovery outfits. I never seem to have time to go to the post office and mail it, though. By the time I actually send it and it gets all the way to South Africa, it’ll probably be too small for him.”
“I can mail it for you if you give me the address,” she suggested, “or get one of the people in the press office to do it. That’s the kind of thing I can help you with, and I’d be glad to do it if it made your life a little easier.”
The surprise in his expression made Holly’s heart ache. What kind of a callous corporate demon did he think she was?
“Is your sister pregnant yet?” Her face must have shown her confusion because he explained, “When we were in Ballantyne, you said your brother-in-law wanted kids but your sister wasn’t so up for it. Has she changed her mind?”
“No, not that I know of.” She sank back into the couch, deciding the breakfast was a lost cause. Evan had probably already paid a hotel staff member to feed him gossip from the event, and by this time tomorrow the Recorder would be full of quotes from “an anonymous source close to the team” speculating that Kepler’s absence meant he was a raging alcoholic, or a freaky sex addict, or otherwise generally unfit to captain Discovery.
A tension headache began to throb between her eyes as she thought about all the placating phone calls she’d have to make over the next forty-eight hours.
“I never had much respect for Raynard when we were growing up,” Kepler continued, snapping her out of her moment of self-pity. “He was always dutiful, hard working and impeccably well behaved, whereas I was constantly getting into trouble and being scolded for not living up to my full potential. I thought he was boring and predictable, and I was exciting and fun.” He smiled. “And to be honest, I still think that sometimes. But now I understand that stability and consistency aren’t such bad things.”
Holly began to reply, but he waved her away. “I know. You’re going to tell me that you’d love to see a little more of that consistency when it comes to my press appearances.”
“Not at all,” she said, careful to keep her tone free of indignation. This was the best conversation they’d had in weeks, and she didn’t want to drive him back into his defensive armor. “Actually, I was going to say that I wish I could learn to respect my sister in the same way. We’re less than two years apart in age, and it feels like we’ve always been competing—and she always wins. She moved to Charlotte from our hometown in Virginia a year after I did, and within six months she was engaged to a rich lawyer. Oh, and did I mention that she’s
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