But even as I thought it, my chest felt tight. Because no matter how I decided to spin it, leaving was going to be hard.
INDY
Now
It was my last night in Destiny and the Kings of Mayhem MC decided I needed to be sent off in style.
In big, bad, biker style.
They were going to host a party fit for a princess.
An MC princess.
With a live band and a barbecue. And sexy pole dancing triplets grinding their stuff to Kid Rock’s “Cowboy.”
And you know what, I kinda loved it.
Two weeks earlier I would’ve hated it. But now that the pole had been successfully extracted from my ass, I could breathe and be myself again.
I saw Cade as soon as I got to the clubhouse. We were both walking in at the same time and stopped when we saw each other. We hadn’t spoken since the night before when we’d danced together and he’d held me tightly in his arms and told me he wanted to kiss me.
After finding him with Cora down by the beach I had left the wedding. I had taken a half-full bottle of wine from one of the reception tables and sat on the rooftop of the clubhouse looking up at the stars, trying to get my thoughts straight.
Now things were weird between us. He didn’t know that I’d seen him with Cora. He didn’t know that I’d seen the way she had slid her legs on either side of his hips and grinded against him as she kissed him passionately. He didn’t know that I’d heard the things he had said to her.
“Hey,” I said cautiously. Things were tense.
“Hey,” Cade replied.
He looked preoccupied. Distant. His brow furrowed.
“I’m sorry I skipped out early last night,” I said. “I just needed some time out, you know? Some breathing space. I think too much wine might have had something to do with it.”
I tried to lighten the moment. But Cade was beyond that.
“It’s okay,” he said, his eyes dark. “I shouldn’t have said what I said.”
He towered over me and I could feel the power of him radiating around me. I could also feel his sadness.
“I saw you,” I said calmly. “With Cora.”
His eyes darted to me. “Nothing happened.”
“I know.” I smiled, hoping he would smile back, but he didn’t. “You were very sweet to her.”
When I’d discovered Cade and Cora kissing at the river’s edge it had taken me a moment to realize what was happening. In a glance, it looked like two people making out. But as I watched, I realized it was Cora doing all the kissing and Cade trying to fend her off. He’d peeled her off him and held her at arm’s length as he let her down gently. When she started to cry and question if she was pretty enough, he had tenderly lifted her chin.
“You’re beautiful. And I’m a lucky man to have a stunning woman want to be with me. Any man would be, Cora. But I’m in love with someone else. Whole-heartedly.”
Cade folded his arms across his chest. “What did you see?”
“You were a gentleman,” I said. “You let her down gently.”
He shrugged. “She was drunk. She would’ve regretted it in the morning.”
“You’re just being modest. Cora has a crush on you.”
“Yeah, well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s not the one for me.”
Awkwardness hung between us.
“Cade—”
“Listen, Indy,” he cut me off gently. “You’ve made it real clear we’re done. I want you to be happy. And if Anson makes you happy, then I can’t ask for anything more.”
I didn’t know what to say. It felt like something broke inside of me.
“You have a fiancé,” he said. “And just because I hate everything about what that means, it doesn’t mean I won’t respect it. Just . . . I don’t need to see it anymore.”
He walked away, and another part of me collapsed in on itself.
I didn’t want Cade to walk away from me.
But what did I expect? I’d said goodbye to him by fucking him. Then I’d kept him at arm’s length by lying to him about a fiancé.
I had gotten what I’d asked for.
He was done.
I fought back tears as I watched him disappear inside the clubhouse.
Isaac came up to me and put his arms around my neck. “I’m going to miss you when you leave, woman.”
I had to blink to keep my tears away. I was going to miss him, too.
“It won’t be like before, I promise. I’ll be back more often.” My throat tightened with emotion because I knew coming back would be hard. Leaving tomorrow would mean giving up Cade for good.
“Hey, who is that?” I asked, nodding to a young man arriving on a mint green Vespa. I was trying to change the subject so I didn’t ugly cry in the middle of the MC compound.