Blane’s gaze drifted from Kade to me. “I’ll go,” he said. “Just please. Be careful.”
My heart broke inside at the pain in Blane’s voice and the haunted agony in his eyes.
Neither Kade nor I said anything as Blane left, the door closing behind him.
Kade glanced at me. “Well, that was awkward.”
The unexpected remark broke the tension, making me give a little laugh in spite of the pain Blane had left in his wake.
Kade dug into the paper bag. “Chinese food. Just what the doctor ordered.” He pulled out a prescription bottle. “And exactly what the doctor ordered.”
My stomach growled as the aroma of kung pao filled the room. It looked like Blane had gotten enough for two people, which gave me a moment’s pause. Had he thought we’d sit here and eat dinner like we used to? Yeah, that wouldn’t have been uncomfortable or anything.
“You on a diet or something?” Kade asked as we sat down to eat.
“No, why?” I shoveled a forkful in my mouth.
He eyed me while he chewed. “You look like a stiff wind could blow you away,” he said bluntly.
I shrugged, my cheeks heating. “Haven’t been hungry lately, that’s all.” But that didn’t seem to be the case now. I ate as though the food was trying to run away.
“Ah, the breakup diet,” Kade said, watching me plow through the kung pao. “Let me guess, more vodka than food in your freezer, right?”
I swiped a napkin across my lips, avoiding his eyes. “Maybe,” I mumbled. A thought occurred to me. “If you and Blane aren’t speaking, then how’d you know we broke up?”
“Oh, we had a lovely heart-to-heart a few months ago,” he said with a smirk. “I believe I told him what a fucking moron he was and he accused me of sleeping with you.”
Now this was awkward.
Suddenly my appetite was gone and I tossed down my fork. “I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen,” I said. “Blane said… awful things…” My eyes saw nothing as my mind replayed that horrible scene in Blane’s office. I shuddered, pushing the memories away. “And that was it. I haven’t seen him since. At least, not until last night.”
“So this is my fault,” Kade said.
I couldn’t decipher the look on his face. “No, it’s not,” I said firmly. “I told Blane the truth and he chose not to believe me. If he can’t trust me about something that serious, then he doesn’t love me. Maybe he never really did.”
And that was the first time I’d voiced that fear aloud. It had swum darkly in my mind for weeks and I’d been afraid to face it. Doing so now, uttering those words, felt freeing in a way. I could handle it. I didn’t fall apart at the thought that Blane had never really loved me.
“I don’t know if that’s true—” Kade said, skeptical.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” I broke in, interrupting whatever he was going to say. I didn’t want to hear anyone defend Blane, not even Kade. “What’s done is done and there’s no turning back.”
“Princess, listen to me,” he said, reaching over and lightly grasping my tightly fisted hand. “People make mistakes. Trust me. I’m the king of fucking up. But I don’t believe that Blane never loved you, and I’m willing to bet he still does.”
Anger flashed through me and I jerked my hand away. “If he loves me so damn much,” I spit out, “then why did it take him three months and someone trying to kill me for him to come talk to me? Apologize?”
Kade put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Hey, I don’t know why he does what he does. I’m just saying. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
I was immediately embarrassed about lashing out at him. “I’m sorry,” I said, pushing my fingers through my hair. “I’m not mad at you. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Hey, no apology necessary. Give me your worst. I can take it.” His telltale smirk was back.
I thought about asking Kade why he’d chosen to be absent all this time, too, but decided against it. I didn’t want to bring up that painful argument we’d had the last time I’d seen him. It was too nice having him here, his easy company making me forget the gnawing anxiety in the pit of my stomach.
“Let’s get out of here,” Kade said abruptly. “Go see a movie, do something.”
I hadn’t seen a movie in months. That actually sounded pretty good. Normal.
“Okay,” I said with a smile. “Let me grab my shoes.” I set our plates in the sink and slid my feet into flip-flops.
“Princess, as much as I enjoy the view, I’d appreciate not having to beat the shit out of someone tonight.” Kade’s long-suffering drawl had me glancing at him in confusion. He pointedly looked at my chest. I looked down.
Oh.
My cami with no bra left little to the imagination. I hadn’t even thought about it and now I was embarrassed. I had the kind of breasts that made my going without a bra extremely noticeable, not to mention tacky, but the thought of putting one on over my bruised ribs had me thinking twice.
“I’ll just throw a shirt on over this,” I said.
“Ribs hurt?”
I nodded.
“Let me see.”
That had my alarm bells jangling, but I didn’t resist when he lifted my shirt on my injured right side and raised my arm. I held the fabric to cover my breasts while he inspected the bruises that I knew would look worse in the morning.
“That has to hurt like a sonofabitch,” he observed. His fingers gently touched me, brushing over my abused skin.
I couldn’t answer. His nearness and his touch made my breath freeze in my lungs. I watched him, but his eyes were fixed on my injury, his dark brows drawn together in concern. I waited for him to make some sexual innuendo as usual, but he surprised me.
“You’re lucky you didn’t do more than bruise them,” he said, dropping his hand and moving away. “You don’t have any padding. Your ribs are right under the skin. And trust me, a fractured rib is a total bitch.”
My breath finally came back and I dropped my shirt, giving him a wan smile. I was absurdly disappointed, which made no sense at all.
After I’d shrugged into a short-sleeved button-down shirt that I left unbuttoned, I followed him out the door. The shirt sufficed for modesty’s sake.
Kade opened the door of his Mercedes for me. “You got a new car,” I observed, sliding into the leather seat. Of course, the car was black. I doubted he’d ever buy a different color. It just… suited him.
“Got sick of the old one,” he said before shutting the door and rounding the car to get in the driver’s seat. It even had one of those new ignitions that you start by just pushing a button instead of turning a key.
Kade’s two-door Mercedes coupe had seats that blew honest-to-goodness cold air on your ass. The interior was amazing, a little Mercedes-Benz etched into each windowsill lighting up when Kade opened either door. The engine was a gentle purr as Kade drove and I would’ve bet my next paycheck that the car had cost six figures.
Even if I didn’t have money, it was nice to be with a man who did.
“So where’s the Lexus?” he asked as we headed toward downtown.
I’d been dreading this. “I’m really sorry,” I said, “but I had to sell it.” Kade had bought me that car and it had hurt to let it go, but sometimes life necessitated doing things you didn’t really want to do.
“Why?”
I couldn’t tell whether he was mad—Kade was infuriatingly difficult to read—and I really didn’t want to tell him why. But I wasn’t going to lie, either.
“I-I just… had to,” I stammered, looking away from him. “It was kind of expensive, you know? And I needed the money, so…” I shrugged, hoping he’d fill in the blanks.
“So you sold the car and used the money to go back to school?”