“Nothing is wrong,” she assured him. “I’m sure had you been here first they’d have let you back, but it was just me. Give them a few minutes.”
Tanner shoved both hands through his hair and laced his fingers on the back of his neck. “What if it’s too soon? She’s not due for a few more weeks. I know the doctor said the baby was measuring big, but does that mean everything is healthy?”
Jade didn’t think Tanner was going to make it through this labor process. The poor guy was practically shaking, and if they didn’t get him back there soon to reassure him that his wife and baby were okay, he was going to have a panic attack right here in the waiting room.
“Listen,” Cash said as he stepped closer, “about the other night—”
Jade shook her head and darted her eyes to Livie and Tanner, to make sure they weren’t listening. “Nothing to discuss.”
“I shouldn’t have been such a jerk,” he went on.
“You were sick and worried about your dad.” Why was she defending him? He had been a jerk. “How is he?”
“Fine.”
Well, there it was. One simple word, a blanket word that should’ve covered so much yet told her nothing at all. Even with his apology for how he’d acted when she’d been concerned, he still kept her at a distance. His reaction shouldn’t hurt because they’d never offered anything to each other, but the pain settled in just the same.
Jade came to her feet and set her purse in her seat. She smoothed her hair away from her face and ran a hand down the makeshift ponytail, then laid the wet strands over her shoulder.
“You left some things,” Cash said. “Do you want to come by to get them later?”
Livie came back across the lobby and smiled at Jade, then her gaze went to Cash. “What’s going on here?”
Jade’s heart beat faster. Had Livie heard what Cash had just said? Why wasn’t he being discreet? Didn’t they agree to keep this affair a secret?
Cash stared at Jade another second before shifting his attention to Livie. “Just asking Jade if she wanted to come by to check the new studio I had remodeled at the gym. Perfect for yoga classes, and I’m up for adding a heated room for hot yoga. She just has to say the word.”
Livie’s brows dipped in like she was trying to decide what to believe. “You’re still trying to get Jade to teach yoga for you?”
“He’s relentless.” Jade figured that was pretty damn close to the truth. “But even he has to realize what a bad idea that is.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Livie stated, then shrugged. “Sorry. I’d love to take your classes, but I can’t always drive thirty minutes to get there.”
Jade groaned, but before she could reiterate why she wouldn’t join business forces with Cash, the double doors opened and Tanner all but flew through them. The young nurse simply laughed as he nearly ran her over to get to his wife.
“Room three,” she called after him, then turned her attention to the rest of them. “Melanie said anyone could come back.”
Livie turned and went back, then the nurse followed, leaving Cash and Jade alone in the waiting room.
“Are you staying?” she asked.
Cash took a step away and held up his hands. “I think I’ll just wait on the phone call or text when it’s all over, and then I’ll visit.”
Jade grabbed her purse and slid it up onto her shoulder, still keeping a clutch on the leather strap. “Well, I’m staying. But the stuff at your house—I can get it another day. No big deal.”
Cash opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then he closed it and took another step back. Jade wished he’d say what he wanted, but when silence continued to grow between them, she pulled in a breath and turned away.
She’d almost hit the doors when he called her name.
“There are some parts of my life that are off-limits.”
Jade dropped her gaze to the glossy floors and knew that statement had cost him a little bit of pride. But it had also opened a door, even if it was just a sliver, to something more.
“It’s okay.” She glanced over her shoulder and caught that dark stare. “You don’t owe me an explanation about your dad.”
“No, but I owe you an explanation about being a jerk.”
The fact that he recognized he’d been rude was a huge step most men wouldn’t take—or at least most men like the ones she’d dated over the years. But she and Cash weren’t dating.