Page 51 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
“He was at work. He’s an auto mechanic, and he worked…works…for the shop that handles all the maintenance for the tour trolleys here on the island.
He was underneath one of those when it happened. When he had his stroke.” She stared blankly forward as she told the story; she couldn’t bear to see the look on his face. “He would sing at the top of his lungs when he was under a vehicle, so when he stopped, the other guys in the shop started to heckle him. Until they realized he wasn’t responding.”
She drew in a long, deep breath. She waited for Cullen to say something, but he didn’t. He just let her have the space to tell her story.
“They called the ambulance, who came and got him, took him to the hospital.”
“Where were you? Here, working I presume?”
“I was in Black Velvet suite 2206. I had heard my phone going off, but I ignored it. I had assumed it was Carlos, and I needed to finish up the room check I was doing. When I got back to my office, Vaughn was waiting for me—told me what happened and that Drea was waiting to drive me, since he didn’t think it was a good idea for me to drive myself.”
She shifted in the water so she was facing him now, lifting her right arm out of the water to rest it on the side of the hot tub. “I was so scared.”
“I get it, it’s a tough thing to face,” he said, shifting in his seat to mirror her position, and moving a piece of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“I wasn’t just scared of losing him though,” she admitted, blinking back some tears. “Standing there, in the hospital, waiting on news. Looking at him, with all those tubes coming out of him. It was all too much. I couldn’t imagine never getting the chance to talk to my dad again.”
The tears that she had been blinking back were now running down her cheeks as she started to sniffle. She wiped at them furiously, as if having Cullen see her cry was the worst thing ever. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled until all the air in her lungs was gone. She told him this much, she might as well continue.
“But I also knew that if he lived, we’d be buried in medical debt for, well, forever. Between the ambulance, the hospital, all the tests, rehab…none of it is cheap. We worked out a payment plan, but it’s pretty much my entire paycheck. Thankfully most of my expenses are covered since I live on the resort. But with Papa still not fully able to work, they basically live off just Mama’s paycheck.” She let out a long sigh, collecting herself from her tears.
“Don’t get me wrong. I am thankful every day that he’s alive and he’s made the progress he’s made, but…” she paused, taking another deep breath. “But it’s still an uphill battle.”
“I’m so sorry, Lee,” he whispered, pulling her close.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here whining about it, not when you had your Dad ripped away from you like that.”
“We both got handed a raw deal, just differently,” he answered, running his knuckles lovingly across her face where her tears had been. “It’s just nice to know that there is someone else out there who understands.”
They sat in silence for a while, listening to the bubbling sounds of the jets from the hot tub. The sounds were soothing, but not as soothing as the feel of his arms around her. She knew she needed to guard her heart, but she couldn’t help it. Even ignoring how incredibly sexy he was, and he was incredibly sexy, he saw her. He understood her. The only other person who had ever understood her in such a way was Drea.
“Can I ask you something?” she said, breaking the silence.
“Of course, Menina.”
“If you hadn’t played football, what did you want to be when you grew up?”
“I had always just assumed I would take up construction, like my Dad. I got lucky that I started playing so young and was good, so I never really had to think about it. But I was always good with my hands so…” he shrugged.
“Oh, you’re still good with your hands,” she teased.
He grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap so she was facing him, her legs resting on either side of his massive thighs. His lips touched hers, lightly at first, taking his time as he claimed her mouth. He leaned back a bit for more stability and deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to his hard chest, her hands cradling his well-defined pecs. Every single move he made was easy and unhurried, yet deliberate, drawing it all out, just the way he knew she liked it.
After a long while of his slow, drawn-out kisses, he pulled back and looked her in the eye. “Want to know a secret?”
“A secret, huh? What kind of secret?”
“A secret about me. But you have to promise it stays here, in the hot tub.”
“So, just the hot tub? Can’t take it to the bedroom?” she teased.
“You know what I mean,” he groaned, tickling her waist. She let out a little squeal, followed by a slew of giggles.
“Okay, okay,” she relented. “I promise you that whatever you say stays between us. We’ve come a long way in the last couple of days. I wouldn’t do anything to ruin that.” She leaned in and kissed him again.
“Me, either,” he said softly, in between her kisses. “Which is why I want to tell you.”
“Tell me what?” she pulled back. A concerned look covered her face and she couldn’t help it. He wasn’t sick, was he? Or maybe he was in some kind of trouble. Although she wasn’t sure what kind of trouble he could be in that his people wouldn’t be able to handle.
