“He told me about a charity fashion show he is throwing and asked me to come because my best friend’s boyfriend is about to propose to her, and in all honesty, I’m still reeling from the fact that they are together right now since last I knew, we pretended like Jamie didn’t exist because he is the scum of the earth and left her like five years ago and I can’t believe they are about to get engaged again and?—”
I blinked rapidly, as if that would help me make sense of the nonstop sentence coming out of her mouth. “Deep breath. You’re rambling, and I am so lost right now.”
“Sorry. Liam?—”
“The friend from California. More famous than me. Got it.”
“Yeah, he told me to come to the fashion show because Jamie is going to propose to Blake, and he figured I’d want to be there.”
She was throwing names at me like a major league baseball pitcher, and I was some junior league catcher, afraid I would get a ball to the nuts. Even with the proper protection, getting hit in the junk still hurt like hell.
“Do you want to be there?” It seemed like a silly question to me, but she apparently didn’t think so.
“Of course. Blakely is my best friend.”
“Then I’m missing something here. Go.” If I closed my eyes, I could see her chewing on her bottom lip as she mulledover my words and formulated a response. “There is a ‘but’ in there, or you wouldn’t have called me. What is it?”
“Elijah.” Her words came out in a whisper.
The boyfriend… again.
I was beginning to really,reallydislike him. Not because he had the total package with Cadence and didn’t seem to understand the first-place prize he’d won, but because he didn’t seem like a decent human at this point. “Are you afraid he will tell you not to go?”
“He didn’t want me to go to a funeral. There is no way he’ll be okay with me attending an engagement party.”
“What exactly do you want me to tell you, Cadence?”
“What do you mean?”
“You already know what you want to do, or you wouldn’t be calling me. You’re just afraid to do it.”
She scoffed, “Gee, thanks. Sorry to bother you.”
“No. Listen. You chose to call me, out of everyone, to talk to about this. You know what I’m going to say, and you want to hear me say it, right? No one else would shoot you straight."
She didn’t answer immediately, and when she did, her voice came out low and breathy, like she was talking straight to my dick. “Yeah, you’re right. I want to hear you say it.”
“Go. Don’t let anyone stop you from nurturing your relationships with those you’re close to. Go home and see your friends.”
“And my mom.”
“Shit. You should have mentioned that part. Hell yeah! Go see your mom.”
She sighed again. “What do I do when Elijah freaks out?”
I snorted. “Call me, and I’ll come deal with him.”
“I’m serious, Damien.”
I forced out a breath and ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t know, Cadence. You have to figure thatone out on your own. You have to decide if what he’s putting you through and the way he’s making you treat others is who you want to be.”
“You’re right. I am afraid. I don’t want to do it alone.”
“You’ll be with your friends and family. You won’t be alone. And I’ll be close by. We’re about to leave for an East Coast tour.”
“Any in North Carolina?”
“Uh.” I pulled my phone away from my ear and tapped the calendar. “Yeah, actually. A place in Charlotte called Sid’s Place and then The Stadium Club in Fayetteville.”
