“Yeah. These blasts from the past are going to have to stop at some point, right?”
“Let’s fucking hope.”
“Forgive me?” I reached up and cupped his face in the palm of my hand.
He tried to look stern, but a grin crept its way in. “I suppose. But you’ll have to make it up to me.”
“Deal.”
“Oh, my beautiful girl. You should always ask for the fine print before agreeing to a deal.”
I shrugged. “I trust you.”
“Famous last words,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Let’s go back inside. Someone has some baking to do.”
THIRTY-TWO
Jada
I smootheddown the dark brown dress I had bought right before leaving Boston. I had never worn it before, and it felt nice to be dressed up. It was the color of my hair, a chestnut brown, and tight around the waist. I had accented it with gold hoop earrings, bangle bracelets, and a pair of strappy heels. I curled my hair into beachy waves and felt confident as I made my way into the kitchen.
I rounded the corner, and my eyes fell on Cane, standing with his back to me, overlooking the pool. He had a pair of gray dress pants and a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up as usual. His blond hair was longer than normal, and the ends fell just to the tip of his collar.
I had hoped that going out to dinner tonight would ease the strangeness between us that had seemed to linger since the Decker incident. Cane had seemed to be busier at work since then and a lot quieter around me. He promised nothing was the matter, but it just wasn’t the same as it had been before Decker showed up.
I leaned against the doorframe to adjust a strap on my heel and justwatched him. He ran one hand roughly through his hair, the muscles in his back rigid. In his other hand, he was holding his cell to his ear. The sound of my heel hitting the tile caused him to turn toward me abruptly.
His face was stern, his forehead creased in frustration, his lips a thin line. He raised an index finger to me and turned his back to me again.
Something about the way he was standing there made me nervous, and I spun the ring on my finger.
“No, I understand.” Cane stretched his neck side to side. “Are you sure?”
His head fell as he nodded it subtly, more to himself than anything. My stomach dropped.
“Yeah, I get it. We need to get to the bottom of it. I don’t like the way that sounds.” He exhaled harshly. “No, I can absolutely meet you now. I’m in Tempe, so it will be a while, but I’m on my way.”
He shoved his phone in his pocket and hesitated before turning to me again.
“I’m sorry, Jada. I have something I need to take care of, so I’m going to have to cancel our dinner plans.” His face was stern, his body rigid. His eyes were soft yet still maintained an underlying blaze that worried me.
“Okay. Is everything all right?” My mind rolled through a million possibilities, causing my heartbeat to spike.
Calm down.
“Yeah. Nothing for you to worry about.” He strode over and kissed me on the head. “When is Kari coming home?”
“Uh, I’m not sure. I think she is getting off work in an hour or so, but I think she’s going to Max’s house after that.”
Cane started toward the front door. “She’s coming home as Max will be with me. Follow me to the front and set your alarm, okay?”
My heart began pounding in my chest. “Should I be worried about something, Cane?”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me. “You should be alert. You should always be alert. Eyes open. But I wouldn’t leave youhere if I didn’t think you would be fine. You should know that.” A small smile spread across his face. “You’re my priority.”
“Cane,” I whispered, my heart swelling. I took a few steps forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Will you call? Let me know you’re okay?”
“Of course. Now set this alarm. I have to go.”
