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“She approved this.”
“Then you have twenty-nine minutes to prevent her from changing her mind.”
Cade ignored me and looked through the window toward the estate grounds. Staff moved across the terrace below, lighting candles and arranging the last place settings beneath strands of warm lights. Oheka appeared calm from this distance, which was impressive considering Bliss had imported both families, half our friends, and enough liquor to incapacitate a professional hockey team.
“You’re allowed to enjoy being around her,” Cade said.
“I know.”
“You don’t look like you know.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it onto the chair. “I forgot how irritating you become when you’re emotionally fulfilled.”
“Bliss says I’m insightful.”
“Bliss loves you. Her judgment is compromised.”
His mouth twitched, but he didn’t let me redirect him. “You expected to see Charm and feel everything you felt at the cabin.”
The memory struck without warning. Charm in the kitchen after we fucked each other goodbye, both of us raw enough that there was no hiding it from anyone. Cade and the others arriving as I ripped her from my life once and for all. My fist connecting with anything solid after she left because breaking my hand had felt easier than accepting that I had to end it for good.
“You interrupted goodbye,” I said with a shrug, knowing he remembered the scene as clearly as I did.
Cade’s expression tightened. “I know.”
“You have terrible timing.”
“Good thing you were dressed when we found you.”
“Barely.”
“That kitchen counter has never recovered.”
“It served a noble purpose.”
The smile left Cade’s face as he turned from the window. “I remember what you looked like, Ry. I remember your hand and the way you disappeared inside yourself long before you left Michigan. She destroyed you and you made damn sure you destroyed her. I’m not asking you to forget any of that.”
“Then what are you asking?”
“To stop treating the fact that you enjoyed one hour with her like you betrayed yourself.”
I picked up my dress shirt and pushed my arms into the sleeves. “That hour felt too easy.”
“You two were always easy when the rest of the world stayed out of it.”
“The rest of the world still exists.”
“So does what happened between you.”
“That’s my point.”
Cade nodded once. “Then remember both. You can laugh with her without forgiving her. You can want her without trusting her. One decent hour doesn’t change what she did, and it doesn’t erase what leaving did to you.”
I buttoned my shirt while remembering the calm contempt in Charm’s voice when she handled Lyric and the Spanish that had nearly knocked me off the stool.
“She’s different.”
“That surprises you?”
