“And here you are.”
She blew out a breath and pulled her hands out of her pockets as she took a step into the room. “I won’t let this go without a fight.”
“A fight,” he repeated. “And what exactly do you mean by ‘this’?”
Another step brought her closer to him. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
Cash gave a casual shrug. “I just want to make sure there are no misunderstandings.”
Like before.
The unspoken words hovered between them, but he wasn’t backing down. She’d come to him for a reason, whether to apologize and move on or try to fight for them, he didn’t know.
“No more misunderstandings,” she agreed. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she took one more step toward him. “My mother left town this morning.”
“So it was safe to come to see me?”
How ridiculous he’d been to have that sliver of hope, thinking she’d come here to actually try to salvage something, or at least admit she’d been wrong. But no, she’d been waiting until her mother was gone.
Cash couldn’t help but shake his head as he turned to the paint tray and roller. He had a mess to clean up—which seemed to be the metaphor for his life as of late.
“My being here has nothing to do with my mother.” Jade’s words took on a firmer tone than moments ago, but he kept his back to her as he started to pick up. “I was giving you time to think and I was trying to process what all I wanted to say.”
He grabbed the tray and wet roller. “So say it,” he replied, turning back to face her.
“Are you going to listen or are you going to rush me out of here?”
There she was. That fiery woman he’d gotten used to and fallen in love with. Her cheeks tinged a slight pink and those eyes were wide with anger.
“What do you want, Red?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. She stared for a moment, and Cash ended up setting everything back down on the plastic drop cloth.
“I thought you were done calling me that,” she murmured.
He snorted. “I thought I was done with a great many things.”
“Are you done with me?” she asked, her bright eyes holding his. “Because I’m scared, Cash.”
Damn it. He knew that cost her. He’d never heard Jade admit defeat or fear. How could someone so strong, so resilient, be this frightened?
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
She crossed her arms over her chest but never looked away. “Everything. I’m afraid of how much I hurt you. I’m scared you’ll never know how sorry I am and how much I regret ever making you feel like you weren’t good enough for anything other than a secret.”
&nbs
p; Tears filled her eyes, and Cash practiced a superhuman amount of restraint by not taking her in his arms. But she needed to say what she came for, and he still needed to figure out if she was sincere. After all, she had waited until her mother was gone.
“I’m not used to this,” she went on, blinking away her tears. “I never had these emotions and I wasn’t expecting them with you. I thought we’d mess around, have a good time, and then we’d mutually agree to go back to annoying each other.”
Cash smiled. “I never thought it would be that easy.”
“Yeah, well, I’m naïve, apparently, because I did.”
A tear slid down her cheek and she swiped it away. Her eyes darted around the room and she headed to the step stool in the corner and took a seat. She rested her elbows on her knees and blew out a long sigh as she glanced down to her clasped hands.
The silence seemed to grow more and more deafening as he waited for her to continue.