“I think the only one who did that was Clara.”
The cracks in my heart deepened, fracturing muscle and tissue. “She’d want you to be happy.”
Caden swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “She’d want us to be a family.”
I was quiet for a moment, and then I said what I’d wanted to for so long. “She wouldn’t want you to bleed yourself dry for people who don’t give a damn about you.”
Caden’s gaze jerked up. “You cursed.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes, you need those words for emphasis.”
He stared into my eyes. “I can’t give up. Not yet. Not on The Peaks. Not on the foundation.”
“You’re slowly killing yourself.” I’d seen it over the years in my brief glimpses of Caden. The mischief had gone out of his eyes. The banter and troublemaking were forced. He didn’t have the same life in him. “I hate it.”
Gold fire lit in those hazel eyes. “How do you see everything?”
“Because I’ve known you almost all my life.” And I’d paid far too close attention.
Caden’s thumb brushed back and forth across my hand. The motion pulled me toward him. Closer and closer. Each millimeter tempting fate.
His eyes burned brighter, his gaze zeroing in on my lips.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Just a breath away.
An owl hooted, and Caden jerked back, dropping my hand as if he’d been burned. He snatched up his Coke and took a long drink, not meeting my eyes.
My face flamed as my stomach pitched. I scrambled to my feet. “I forgot I have to prep for a trip for later this week. I’m going to eat while I work. There are blankets and pillows in the hall closet.”
I didn’t wait for an answer. I took my pizza and soda and booked it to my bedroom. But the image of Caden jerking away was burned into my brain. Just another reminder that he would never want me the way I craved him. The sooner I accepted that truth, the sooner I could move on.
11
CADEN
I wantedto take one of those knives out of the dummy and jab it into my thigh. That would’ve been less painful than seeing the hurt in Grae’s eyes. Pain that I had put there because I was reckless.
My control used to be better, but that was when almost three thousand miles had separated Grae and me. When I could hide away in my New York City fortress and only head home a couple of times a year. Now, I saw her all the time. Couldn’t help but breathe her in—that scent of honeysuckle with a bite, just like Grae herself. And then there was the way she understood me. How she got straight to the root of any situation and knew how it would affect me.
There were a million reasons to stay away. But I’d always been greedy when it came to Grae Hartley. Only now, I was playing with fire. A flame that had the potential to leave us both with third-degree burns.
I forced myself to finish my pizza, even though I had no appetite. I cleaned up my plate and wrapped the leftovers, placing them in the fridge. Then I listened. At first, there was nothing. Then I heard Grae moving around her room. A second later, the door opened.
I braced for her to come out. Tried to steel myself against her beauty. But she never appeared. Another door closed, and a second later, I heard the sound of a shower.
A stream of curses flew through my mind, and the sea of images I swam in was enough to send me straight to hell.
Grae stepping under the spray. Her hands, slick with soap, gliding over her skin. Me stepping into the shower with her. Fingers flexing on her hips. Me pounding into her.
Hell.
I crossed to my duffel and pulled out my laptop and earbuds. Popping them in, I turned on a playlist loud enough to drown out the water, then opened my email. But all I saw were images of Grae.
* * *
The scentof coffee teased my nose, and I rolled over onto my back with a groan. A muscle twinged. I blinked against the morning light. This couch was not meant for sleeping.
“Coffee?” Grae asked from the kitchen.
