One thing I learned in life? When you wanted something, you should flat out ask for it. No use beating around the bush. “Cade, do you ever smile?”
He blinked, confused by how the conversation did a one-eighty. “What?”
“I’ve never seen you smile. I’m wondering if you know how or if I should teach you,” I said cheekily.
Cade eyed me like I was an enigma. “Ella…”
“Since the moment I first saw you, I’ve been wondering what your smile looks like.” I gazed at him tenderly. “I bet it’s really nice.”
And slowly, just like magic, it happened.
Cade huffed, shook his head like he couldn’t believe me, and the corners of his lips tipped up the slightest. I beamed victoriously. And perhaps it was seeing my joy at something so small that caused a full-blown grin to blossom over his face.
¡Dios mío!He had dimples.
And his smile?
It wasn’t just nice.
It was so beautiful, I was floored.
Suddenly, I was addicted to the sight.
“You’re so…handsome,” I murmured. “It’s official. I’m going to need you to smile like that for me every day. I won’t accept anything less than that.”
Cade chuckled and I melted.
Our gazes clashed and time slowed.
“You’re a little crazy, Ella.”
“I think you like my type of crazy,querido.”
A touch of wickedness entered his smile, filled with the kind of danger and zeal that could get me in trouble.
I had a weakness for bad boys and Cade Killian Remington just did it for me.
Taking another drag of his cigarette, Cade tilted his head back and his lips parted, smoke pluming into the air. “You should really get going before you show me any more of your true colours, pretty girl,” he tutted darkly. “I think I’m beginning to see through you.”
He might just be my brand of crazy too.
“What makes you say that?”
Cade gently tucked a flyaway strand behind my ear. “I see you watching me every day, following me around campus, then shooting me little waves and flirty smiles whenever I catch you. You can pretend that every time we’ve crossed paths is a coincidence, but I know better…You’re not sly, Ella,” he whispered, his thumb grazing my jaw. “And something tells me that South Side’s princess isn’t such a good girl after all.” He fingered the amethyst crystal necklace resting in the hollow of my throat. I shivered at his touch. “I’m willing to bet you’ve got a bad streak underneath that sweet exterior.”
I leaned close enough to whisper in his ear, “I wasn’t trying to be sly.”
Cade sucked in a sharp breath and I smiled, the air around us swarming with electrifying energy.
“And you’re right”—I stole his cigarette and took another drag, blowing the smoke in the space between us, letting it linger over his lips like an intimate caress—“I’m not always a good girl, Cade.”
His eyes narrowed, breathing uneven. “Say it like it is, Ella. Tell me what you want.”
“I want to be your friend.” Until I could attach the wordgirlin front of it. “Remember?”
I passed him the cigarette, making sure our fingers touched during the exchange.
His jaw tightened and he nodded once. “Okay.”
