Cade: Hey girl! I’ll be ready in fifteen.
Me: Perfect! Meet you in the lobby.
Fifteen minutes later, I stroll into the lobby, taking the last sip of my latte. I cross the lobby and throw the cup away before turning back, my eyes searching for my friend. They don’t find Cade, but a pair of familiar brown ones meet mine for the second time this morning.
Nate gives me a wink as he stalks across the lobby toward the elevator.
My cheeks flush as I watch him step inside. But I’m quickly snapped out of it when a hand grabs my arm, making me jump. I pivot around to see Cade giving me an amused look.
“You okay, girl?”
“Sorry, yes. You ready?” A forced smile strains my face, hoping my inflamed cheeks don’t give me away.
Cade gives me an assessing look before nodding. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. I’m starving, and I desperately need some coffee.”
We enter the revolving door leading to the sidewalk outside, and I shake off the arousing thoughts of Nate swimming through my mind, determined to enjoy the day with my friend.
And I do. Cade and I walk the streets, seeing all the sights. We stop at the fish markets before wandering to some shops.
“Let’s go in here real quick, Cade.” I basically drag him toward a candy shop.
“Oh no, not you and your candy,” Cade groans, allowing me to pull him the rest of the way to the shop door.
My grin widens when I walk in behind him, which Cade responds to with rolling eyes as he wanders off. I love candy. Really, all sweets, but when I started traveling for work, I developed this habit of going to any local candy shop I could find in whatever city I was in. Cade has no sweet tooth whatsoever and does not understand my love for anything sugary. I love carbs as much as the next girl, but I could never be with anyone who doesn’t want to have dessert at the end of a meal or who sees sugar as something that should only be consumed every once in a while. That’s definitely a deal breaker in a relationship.
I pick out a few of my classic favorites and a few that I’ve never tried before, then rejoin Cade on the sidewalk, where he’s looking down at his phone.
“You get your sugar fix?”
Smiling, I hold up my bag. “Sure did. Should hold me over for a day or two.”
He laughs as we start down the sidewalk. “You know, Nate doesn’t really look like the kind of guy who eats very much sugar.”
I tsk at my friend, unable to hide my frown. “Don’t put that kind of negativity into the universe, Cade Wheeler.”
He raises his hands in defense. “What? I’m just bringing up a very real possibility you should prepare yourself for.”
I let out an annoyed sigh. “Well, as unlikely as it is that anything will ever happen between us, if he’s my person, he’ll like sugar as much as me. Or he’ll at least be supportive of my love of it.”
“For your sake, I hope that’s the case.” He intertwines our fingers. “Come on, let’s go eat our weight in sushi.”
“Can’t wait.”
Two hours later,we step outside the restaurant, still laughing and chatting. I smile as the light sprinkle of rain cools my skin, and we start meandering toward the hotel. Opening my purse, I pull out my phone, wanting to check in with Benny.
But as soon as I unlock my phone, my stomach drops. Feet freezing in place, I reach out to grasp Cade’s forearm—partly to get his attention and also to keep myself from falling to my knees on the sidewalk. His frantic voice asks me what’s wrong. My vision blurs as I reread the texts waiting for me on my phone, the first one from thirty minutes ago.
Benny: Sis, I lied.
Five minutes later.
Benny: I’m not strong enough to do this.
Ten minutes later.
Benny: I’m scared I’m going to do something stupid. Call me. I need you.
8
