Saying the word “girlfriend” had the pool of jealousy in my gut spreading. I hadn’t even met the woman. If she was the woman I’d seen with him in Tim Horton’s that day weeks ago, I’d only caught a quick glimpse of her kind, pretty face, but I envied what she had.
Cade had his head bent down over his phone, furiously texting
“Wait, Kait? Yeah, she did get my mom help. She was the one who messaged me. But she’s not my girlfriend. We’ve been best friends forever. I could never think of her that way. We’re family,” he said simply. “Kait lives with her girlfriend, Macie, up here. I’m not dating anyone,” he clarified, a hint of pink dusting the tips of his ears.
A ridiculous amount of elation filled my veins. Cade didn’t have a girlfriend. More than that, he wasn’t seeing anyone.
Was I reading too much into his comment, or had he meant to emphasize that he was single?
I couldn’t think about it right now. Cade needed to figure out what was going on with his mom’s surgery.
“So, would you rather I wait for you here? Or I could figure out a hotel situation? But if it’d help, my preference would be to come in with you.”
I let the offer hang in the air, fighting the urge to insist I go with him.
His gaze skated over my face. I couldn’t tell if he was looking for something specific in my expression or just buying time to figure out how to turn me down.
“Actually, if you really don’t mind, that would be great. The thought of going in there alone doesn’t sound good at all right now.”
My chest swelled with emotion as I thought of how much it would have taken for a guy like Cade, who seemed used to doing everything on his own, to admit that he wanted me by his side.
sixteen
CADEN
If there was a more surreal moment in my life than walking into the main entrance of the largest hospital in the city with Asher “The Ace” Landry, I couldn’t think of one.
I hadn’t been out and about with Ash without Coach and the team before, so I had no idea what to expect.
Were a gaggle of fans going to suddenly appear out of nowhere and accost him at the visitor’s information desk?
I couldn’t imagine being the focus of that kind of frantic attention. The only people who asked me for my autograph were the five and six-year-olds who lived in my old neighborhood.
There was no way Ash would want anyone to know he was in Sudbury and why.
I subtly took in his face and form in my peripheral vision.
His billboard-worthy good looks still shone through what had to be several days’ worth of dark brown stubble on his cheeks and chin.
Short of wearing a paper bag over his head, I doubted there was anything that could dull the allure of being in Ash’s presence.
Not time for confusing thoughts, Kelly. We’re here to focus on Mom.
He must have noticed me looking over at him as he stopped short of the reception counter.
Ash reached up to rub the back of his neck, the first time I’d seen him make any gesture that could be interpreted as uncertain. “Are you sure you want me here, Cade? I feel like I kind of bulldozed you into saying yes in the car back there.”
Don’t go. I can’t do this without you. Please stay right beside me the whole time. If you’re there, I can face what needs to be done for my mom instead of feeling helpless and scared for her, the voice inside me screamed.
The adult part of my brain knew that this wasn’t Ash’s problem. He’d already gone above and beyond any obligation by driving me here in the middle of the night.
The part of me that was addicted to Ash’s attention and kindness wanted to keep him as far away from my family as possible. The other part wanted to grab his hand and never let go.
Now, faced with the reality of my dad being upstairs, I knew I had to send Ash away.
If he met Frank Kelly, he’d never look at me the same way again.
“Um, yeah. So, I don’t want to keep you here when you’ve been up all night driving. I could book a hotel for you, and you could catch some sleep?” I held up my hands, palms facing up, hoping to convey that I wanted him to go for his own sake, but not insult him at the same time.
