Oh right. Most out of town guests left after the wedding was called off, but clearly Cade had other commitments.
“Yeah sure,” I grunted. “Just let my secretary know when.”
A pause as Cade looked at me speculatively.
“You gonna bring that little chickadee?” he asked casually, nodding towards the hall. “That girl you brought in?”
Tension hovered in the air. But I broke it.
“Naw, I don’t think she’s ready,” was my low drawl. “Lacey’s ill, she’s not ready for that.”
Because Cade had seen how I carried her into the house, protective and loving. He’d seen how I’d given her the master, intent on taking care of the sweet female.
“That’s Amanda’s daughter, right?” Cade drawled. “Like your ex-fiancee’s daughter?”
Immediately my expression grew shuttered.
“Yeah,” I grunted. “But it’s a lot more than that.”
A pregnant pause.
“You wanna spill?”
“Naw,” came my terse reply. “It’s no big deal.”
But Cade’s known me for ages and knows exactly how to press my buttons.
“Well, I’d think there’s something buried down there,” he drawled, twirling a pen in his hand. “I mean, like mother like daughter? You doing them both?”
That got my goat because shit no. Why would I touch Amanda if I had Lacey?”
“Shut the fuck up, motherfucker,” came my grunt. “Get outta here.”
And Cade stood then.
“Yo man, it’s not my business. But by the look of it, you got somethin’ for that honey you just brought in. Like big deal, call off my wedding type of problems. So you in love or something?”
Of course I had problems. Of course I’d called off my wedding because how could I touch Amanda, when all I wanted was her daughter instead?
But what made me snarl and grab my desk was the word “love.” Because was I in love with Lacey? Did I love that sweet nymphet, falling at her feet in a helpless mess?
Fuck no. Guys like me don’t fall in love. We fuck, sure, we make women fall in love with us. But it doesn’t go the other way. There’s too much money to be made and too much pussy in the world to waste our time.
But Cade was on a roll. As he sauntered to the door, my buddy flicked the pen into a canister.
“Listen dude. I just call ‘em like I see ‘em, and you’ve never looked the way you did this morning. Bringing her in, it was like World War Three happened, you were ready to burn down this city and sell the leftovers for scrap. So yeah, mofo. I’d say there’s something there.”
And with a chuckle, Cade was gone, the door banging behind him. Fuck houseguests. Fuck ‘em all.
But in the silence, I sat back at my desk, mind whirling furiously. Because shit, did I love Lacey? Sure, I cared about her. I called off a wedding for the girl, hunting her down, and I was gonna stick it to those mofos at Safe Haven. But did I love her? That was a different story.
Because love means a lot of things. Fidelity. Mutual respect. Adoration. Could I be myself, the disgusting, depraved asshole, and yet also love someone as sweet as Lacey?
And suddenly, the answer was clear. Yes. I absolutely adored her. I worshipped that sweet form. I was willing to turn myself inside out, to turn my life inside out for the brunette. In fact, I’d already done it. I’d called off a society wedding, starting up the rumor mills. I was getting ready to initiate a lawsuit, all because of how they treated Lacey. In fact, I’d brought her to my apartment, and put her to bed in my very own king. That, more than anything, showed that I’d let her into my heart.
Floored, my mouth dropped open, heart racing. Shit. The titan Jake Mason had been brought down by an eighteen year-old virgin. A forty-five year old asshole was now on his hands and knees, ready to do whatever the girl wanted. What the hell?
But it felt good. It felt right. This woman is my everything, and frankly, I was the last to know. I was the last to see the signs, to fully internalize what was going on. Because I’m a callous motherfucker, someone who does crazy shit for the hell of it. And now, presented with the best thing in my life, I’d almost missed it.
Because Lacey told me she loved me. Sure, I heard it up there in my bedroom, that sweet whisper, the way her eyes flooded with emotion. But I’d chosen to ignore it. Because what was I gonna say? “I love you too?” Hell no, those words weren’t even in my vocabulary.
But oh shit. Everything’s changed and I need to tell her. She’d already pulled away, her eyes sliding from mine, her body there but that mind already gone. Had I lost her already? By being a complete asshole, had I already lost my one real opportunity with the brunette?