Cash didn’t smile, even though she’d tried her hardest to get him to show some emotion other than rage.
Well, this had gone from sexy to intimate in a short time . . . and here she’d vowed not to let that happen. But talking about her path in life actually lifted some of the weight off her shoulders. For too long she’d let everything have a hold over her, and she was learning it was okay to be herself.
Cash inched closer, still holding on to her hand. “What about your birth parents?”
Jade swallowed. “Well, I asked about them once. I was told my biological mother dumped me at the police station. I have no clue if that’s true or not, but it doesn’t matter. I’m making my own life and that’s all that matters.”
He slid his fingertip along her cheek, pushing a stray strand behind her ear. “You’re so damn remarkable.”
Remarkable? She wasn’t so sure about that. More like just trying to survive from day to day and not fail because she refused to fall back on her family for plan B. She was her own plan A through Z. She’d finally come to realize that happiness was what led to a full life. A padded bank account and the prestige of being labeled the best by peers certainly wouldn’t keep her fulfilled, because all of that could go away in an instant . . . and in her case, it had.
Well, she still had nice savings to fall back on, but she’d also invested a hefty sum into the airport renovations.
“I’m sorry I assumed you said something earlier.” She turned slightly and rested her head against his arm on the back of the sofa. “I guess I was programmed for so long to worry about what people think and I just . . . I trust you.”
Cash maneuvered his body, and in an instant, he had her turned and tucked against his side with her back to his chest. Jade settled in by stretching her legs out on the rest of the sofa. This entire evening may be shifting into a direction she wasn’t comfortable with, because she really didn’t want to share all her thoughts and feelings and insecurities. On the other hand, getting so much out so Cash saw where she was coming from and understood she’d never purposely hurt him was rather therapeutic. How did he make her feel so at ease when talking about the most uncomfortable topics?
The day’s events, and her lack of sleep from the night before, caught up with her, and Jade attempted to stifle a yawn.
“I can’t stay,” she murmured, though her lids were heavy and she knew it was well after midnight.
“For now you can.” He placed a kiss to the top of her head and kept his comforting hold around her. “You’re exhausted.”
“Maybe for a minute.” She turned into his arm and inhaled the masculine scent combined with hot tub chemicals. “Just don’t let me sleep too long.”
“No, Red. I won’t.”
She took him at his word and let herself push away all worries of what this development would mean to their relationship. At this point, Cash had certainly entered the friend category . . . but why did she feel he was becoming so much more?
Chapter Ten
Cash wondered how he was going to work when he felt like hell. He had no clue what had come over him, but he also knew he couldn’t just stay home. There was too much to do between the airport and the gym. His clientele had grown exponentially since he had started a ladies’-only lifting class.
He’d been watching the behavior of his members for a while and discovered that women were sometimes intimidated when they wanted to try something new. They often didn’t venture into the area where the guys were lifting and joking around. So Cash had decided to set up a time in the studio part of the gym and taught lifting and technique in private. Those ladies ended up booking regular training sessions, which kept him swamped, especially once they were seeing results and their friends joined.
Cash had pushed through today, despite the lethargy and raging headache. He wanted to head to the airport to check on the progress of the renovations before heading home. He’d had a full day of clients and really just wanted to crawl into bed, but his broken-down plane came first.
He hadn’t seen Jade in two days because she’d been teaching yoga and he’d been working nonstop as well. But part of him kept hoping she’d show up at his door in the dark of night again. He wanted another round in his hot tub with her, he wanted her to sleep in his bed and not just grab a few stolen hours on his sofa.
The other night, Cash had woken her up around five in the morning after he’d promised not to let her sleep long. He hadn’t been able to help himself and had wanted her to relax. He’d been sitting there holding her and processing all she’d told him about her past, her childhood, her adoption . . . her coping mechanism of “would you rather.”
Oh, she may not see her mind game as such, but that was exactly what she’d done when she’d played such a simple game with herself. That was how she’d gotten through the rough times.
And he feared there were plenty.
He wasn’t sure who all she’d opened up to and revealed this pocket of information, but he knew Jade was mostly private about her affairs and personal life. Cash couldn’t help but feel another click into place of their secret bond.
Cash pulled onto the airport lot and parked next to Jax and Tanner’s trucks and killed the engine. He took a long drink from his water bottle before stepping out onto the grassy field they used for temporary parking.
The exterior siding of the main building had been removed and a new extension had been completely framed in, under roof, and new siding was going up all around. Stonework would be put on the front of the building along with stone columns extending up to the canopy for cars to pull under during bad weather.
The restaurant and gift shop would be located in the new addition, and those two draws would be a welcome sight to guests coming into their small town. Livie planned on featuring local talents in the gift shop, starting with Sophie Monroe’s pencil sketches. The woman wasn’t only a master real estate agent but also a phenomenal artist.
The hammering and sawing echoed from the construction zone. Zach’s workers hadn’t touched the hangars yet, though all that needed to be done was some minor maintenance, and they’d be adding a few larger hangars to house bigger planes.
The runway would also have to be lengthened according to regulations to the size of aircraft they were going to cater to.
Cash rubbed his head and willed this damn headache away. He’d taken a couple of pills earlier to get rid of the nuisance, but nothing had changed. He hated to admit it, but his body was starting to ache all over now . . . and not in a good way.