The overhead door chimes as I count the last of the quarters.
Fuck.
I completely forgot to lock the door. That’s not like me. Not that it’s unsafe in Pinecrest, but you can never be too careful.
“Sorry, we’re?—”
I can’t finish because standing in front of me is Kade.
An angry Kade.
A white, short-sleeved button-up is cuffed over his biceps. Jeans stretch across his thick thighs. And that cowboy hat?
I hate that it has butterflies exploding in my stomach. It’s the first time the two of us have been alone since he got back. Nerves jangle my body.
“Is she mine?”
It’s barely more than a whisper, but I feel the weight of his words like an anvil on my chest.
“Yes.”
His jaw ticks as his eyes narrow at me. He opens his mouth to speak, but stops. Anger radiates off him in waves.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you think I deserved to know that I’ve had a daughter for the last five years?” He seethes. “Fuck, Pres.”
That snaps me into action. “How the hell was I supposed to tell you, Kade? Hmm? That Poppy is your daughter?Youleft town.Youchanged your number.Youdidn’t look back. You’re the one that threw me away.”
“Me?” He growls, taking a step toward me. “One second you and I are planning our future and then the next, you’re engaged. What the fuck was I supposed to do, Presley? Did you ever think about that?”
“You think I wanted Paul? You broke my heart, Kade. I was a wreck.”
“What, and I was out running around like I was on top of the world? I felt like the trash you threw away.”
“Fuck you, Kade.” My voice wobbles. “You knew how I felt about you.”
“Did I?”
“You didn’t fight for me. You didn’t fight forus.”
“Do you really think your dad would have allowed it?”
“He didn’t get a say over my life,” I fire back.
“That’s news to me,” he scoffs.
I stab a finger at his chest. “I guess we’ll never know, will we?”
He grabs my hand, holding it at his chest. His brown eyes are alive with emotion. All the same ones that are swimming through me.
Frustration.
Resentment.
Fire.
Want.
The tension in the diner is a live wire. One spark, and the entire building is going to go up in flames. One second. Two.In the blink of an eye, Kade is moving, crushing his mouth against mine.
