Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [81]
Paige's face lightened at his words. "That's what I came to tell you. My father is awake."
"That's great. How is he?"
"He's okay, I think. But he doesn't remember what happened this week at all. He only spoke for a few minutes, and he seems to have lost a few weeks. I asked him about the dragon, but he didn't know what I was talking about. The doctor said it's not unusual for there to be short-term memory loss."
"Probably not, but it's damned inconvenient," Riley grumbled. He couldn't help wondering if David really couldn't remember or if this was just another trick, but in light of Paige's happiness at her father being awake, he decided to keep that thought to himself.
"Everything seems so much better now," she said. "I know we don't have the dragon back yet, but I feel as if we're getting closer. As soon as my dad can tell us why he went to Chinatown, we'll have an idea of who is behind all this."
Her smile took his breath away. He liked the optimism in her voice. She reminded him of his grandmother in that way, always wanting to see the best, the potential, the possibilities. Meanwhile his brain was spinning with the complications. "Your father may not be safe," he began.
"My mother is hiring a security guard."
"That's good. We don't want anyone to take another shot at your father."
"My mother will make sure that doesn't happen. She knows how to protect what's hers." She paused. "Anyway, why don't I help you clean up? That's what you came here to do, right?"
"Surely Hathaways don't clean."
Her brown eyes sparkled. "Not usually, no. But I think I can stumble my way through the process. Besides, I've seen your apartment, and I don't think you're exactly an expert."
"You don't have anything better to do with your Friday night? No hot date with Marty?"
"Martin."
"Whatever. How come you're not out with him?"
"He didn't ask."
"Are you one of those girls who must be called by Wednesday for a Friday date?"
"Monday or Tuesday at the latest. What about you? Are you one of those guys who calls at four o'clock on Friday and says, " 'Hey, babe, want to hang out tonight?' "
"What's wrong with that?"
"No finesse. No style." She walked into Nan's room and picked up one of the drawers from the floor. She set it on the bed and began folding his grandmother's shirts and shorts.
Riley watched her from the doorway. Once again her behavior was surprising him. She should have been out celebrating her father's awakening with her fancy friends in a fancy restaurant. Instead she'd come here—to him. That thought was more than a little disturbing. What was she doing here? What did she want?
"Are you going to help?" She cast him a curious look. "Or are you going to stand there and stare at me?"
"I haven't decided yet."
Paige finished with one drawer and returned it to the dresser. "You probably don't want to go through your grandmother's underwear, do you? I can understand that women's lingerie would make you a little uncomfortable."
"My grandmother's underwear definitely makes me uncomfortable," he said with a smile. "Women's lingerie is another story entirely."
"I'll bet. Red teddies and black garter belts, right?"
"I keep an open mind. And I don't discriminate."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you don't. Do you have a woman in your life right now?"
"Yeah, an irritating, nosy blonde who asks a lot of questions."
Paige finished with another drawer. "Help me get the bed together," she said, ignoring his comment. "Maybe we should wash the sheets. I bet your grandmother would feel better if everything was cleaned."
"She is a big believer in clean sheets. I had to strip my bed every Saturday morning like clockwork. For the first fourteen years of my life, I was lucky to sleep on any kind of sheets. Sleeping bags and old blankets were more the norm." He was sorry he'd mentioned it when he saw the pity come into her eyes. "It was like camping. It was fun," he added, not wanting her to feel bad for him
"It was wrong. Every child deserves at least the basics—food, shelter, clothes, security."
"That