Thirty minutes later, once everything was simmering on low in a pot, Jade headed back to the living room. Cash had rolled and now rested against the back of the cushions. His shirt had come up slightly and gave her a nice view of his washboard abs.
She’d run marathons, she’d worked out in and out of gyms most of her adult life. Seeing a well-built man was nothing new. Hell, seeing this well-built man was nothing new.
Yet each time she got glimpses of him, when she could let her stare linger longer than normal, Jade found herself being even more drawn to him. How ridiculous was that? Cash didn’t see her as anything more than an itch to scratch. They were simply using each other in the most primal of ways.
Each time her mind drifted into that path of thoughts, Jade felt an uneasiness curl through her. She didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t like the thought that either of them were being used. She also knew that everything between them went well beyond the physical.
Jade wondered what he’d say if she confessed that she thought of him as a friend now, or that maybe he had become much more.
Jade smoothed a hand down her hair and pushed away the silly thoughts. She’d been the one so adamant about keeping this fling secret. She’d put the rules in place, so changing them now would be a mistake and confusing. Cash wasn’t a long-term man and she . . . well, she doubted she’d be any good as a long-term woman.
She sat on the other end of his sectional sofa and waited on him to wake. After several hours, she went into the kitchen and put the soup in the fridge. Then she headed back into the living room, where he slept on.
A flash from the end table caught her eye. Cash’s cell was lit up with a call. Who would be calling in the middle of the night?
As she got closer, she spotted the words “New Hope.” She had no idea what New Hope was, but if he had the number in his phone, he must. This wasn’t some random telemarketer or wrong number.
Jade glanced at him and contemplated waking him to take the call, but she opted to let him sleep. Jade grabbed his phone and headed back toward the kitchen as she answered. She didn’t want to wake him by talking.
“Hello?”
“Oh, um, is Vincent available? This is Mary from New Hope regarding his father.”
Vincent. The proper name didn’t suit Cash, not one bit.
“He’s actually not free at the moment,” Jade replied. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“It’s quite important I speak with him,” the lady persisted. “His father has fallen and we are transporting him to Mercy Hospital.”
Fallen? Jade didn’t know what to do. Cash needed to rest, but this was clearly an emergency.
“I will make sure I find him and let him know.” Jade didn’t know the dynamics of Cash’s relationship with his father, but he wouldn’t just ignore him. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Make sure Vincent calls me,” Mary stated. “I need to discuss some other matters with him regarding Al.”
Al. That must be his father’s name.
“I can give him a message,” Jade replied. “If you want to let me know, I’ll tell him as soon as he’s available.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I can only disclose this to Vincent.”
Jade understood. She wanted to know more so she knew what she was dealing with, what Cash was dealing with, but she understood laws.
Once Jade disconnected the call, she quickly went to the browser on Cash’s phone and looked up New Hope. She stared at the new information and was shocked his father was in a drug-and-alcohol rehab facility over an hour away.
Is that why he was so private? Was he ashamed of his father, or did he just want to handle everything on his own in that stubborn way of his?
Jade’s mother wasn’t part of her life because Jade had broken free, for the most part. But Cash’s father wasn’t present because he was away getting help for a real issue that had to be utterly heartbreaking for Cash.
“Snooping through my phone?”
Jade jerked around to find him leaning against the wall. Even with the pale skin, dark circles beneath his eyes, and beads of sweat dotting his forehead, the potency of that midnight stare affected her in ways she couldn’t explain.
“I didn’t think we were that far into our relationship,” he added.
“I wasn’t snooping,” she defended.
Cash slowly closed the distance between them and held out his hand. “Just what did you find so enthralling on there?”