Page 25 of Dr. CEO (The Doctors)

I exit the house and look up.

I own a fucking estate.

Who would have thought it. I’m not going to live here, but I could if I wanted. I could be an earl in all but name.

I shake my head, almost incredulous, and cross the driveway into the dusk.

Kate’s exactly where I thought she might be.

As I approach her, I almost want to take a picture. It would be like all her others, except better, because she would be in it.

“Kate,” I call as I approach. I don’t want to frighten her.

She turns and stands. “What are you doing here?” She looks confused and frustrated.

“I was just wandering and saw you.”

She sighs. “Am I trespassing?”

I tilt my head. “Kate. Come on.”

“Kate what? You own the place now. The earl never minded us using the grounds. Maybe you do.” She crosses her arms like she’s putting up a shield between us, except I’m not here to attack her. “Not that we’ll be here long if you have your way.”

“The house was always going to get sold, Kate. The earl couldn’t afford to keep it. You must know that. You’re smart. You can tell things haven’t been maintained as they should have been.”

“An estate like this requires constant upkeep.”

“Exactly,” I say. “It’s expensive. And the earl doesn’t have the cash. Most estates like this have either been sold or turned into safari parks or museums. There isn’t much of the British aristocracy left.”

“You could restore the house and open it to visitors. Like an extension of the garden tours.” She looks up at me pleadingly, and I hate that she’s so obviously in pain. The woman I first met was fun and carefree and full of wonder. And now she’s looking at me like I erased all of that.

I shake my head. “It doesn’t make sense. The house is too far gone. Restoration would take millions—”

“So will turning it into a hotel. So why not choose the path of least resistance? That way the gardens can stay as they are and we can keep our homes.” Her voice hitches on the last word. It’s like someone’s plunged a dagger into my gut.

I swallow, hoping it will clear a path for my words. “I get it, Kate. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be uprooted from your home, I really do, but the accommodation we’re going to find for you all is going to be so much better than what you’re in at the moment. It will have triple glazing and central heating that works—”

“But I don’t want to move. Neither does anyone else. I want to stay at Crompton.”

Her words awaken something in me. I remember saying the exact same thing to my mom after my dad left, and she brought home ten cardboard boxes. Our new apartment was much smaller, so we had to squeeze as much as we could into those boxes. We took trash bag after trash bag of our possessions to Goodwill, including toys I’d grown out of but still wasn’t ready to part with. I realize now that those days marked the end of my childhood. Once we moved into the new place with blindingly white walls—with memories of a happy childhood and my father, both of which were gone—I vowed I’d never get attached to anything again. Not a home, not a possession, and not a person.

“The new place will be bigger,” I say. “You’ll still be working at Crompton. There are plenty of jobs I can see you excelling in—”

She turns away from me to face the lake. “I don’t want another job. I like the job I have now.”

I take a deep breath. Maybe I shouldn’t have come after her. She needs time to process what she’s heard. It’s obviously come as a complete shock to her—but not for everyone. From a number of expressions on the staff members’ faces, they knew what was coming, or at least expected a significant change. After all, the earl isn’t getting any younger and it’s not like he had children to pass Crompton down to. Maybe it was because of our physical connection, but Kate’s reaction seemed to be the most dramatic of everyone’s.

“I never thought it would come to this,” she says. “The flower gardens are so beautiful.”

“They really are,” I agree.

She spins to face me again. “Then keep them. Keep them open to the public. Keep the tea shop. You could keep the staff cottages as they are. You don’t have to change everything.”

She needs time to adjust. I need to get her excited about the change. Or at least accepting of it.

“I’d like to show you the plans I’ve had drawn up. I can show you the spa, images of the bedrooms and some of the common areas. I’m planning to show everyone at a later date, but why don’t you come and see tomorrow? It will help you get a feel for how incredible the hotel is going to be.”

She swallows, her expression pained. I fight the urge to reach for her and pull her close to me. I know how well she fits against this body and I want to provide her some comfort. But the last person she wants touching her right now is me. “If I look at the plans, will you look at my plans?”

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