Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Caden
“I can drive you home,” I spoke as we sat on the plane.
“No. It’s fine. Ben is picking me up.”
“But why? I said I could drive you home. I’d like to see where you live.”
“Thank you, Caden, but Ben will already be there.”
“We don’t land for another hour. Call him and tell him that I’m taking you home.”
“Next time.” She smiled.
“I get the feeling you don’t want me to know where you live.”
“That’s not true at all.”
“Call him right now and tell him I’m taking you home. It’s actually an order, Brielle. We’re in this for the next five months, and you’ve been to my place plenty of times. I want to see where you live.”
I could see the hesitation on her face, and I didn’t understand it. It wasn’t like I was a stranger to her.
“Okay. I’ll call him and let him know.”
We climbed into the car as soon as the plane landed, and she gave my driver her address. As soon as he pulled up to the curb of the building, I climbed out first and helped her out.
“Impressive,” I spoke as I looked up at the building.
“Thank you for a wonderful trip.” She kissed my lips.
“I would like to come up and see your place.”
“No, Caden.” She sighed. “Listen, my place is a disaster right now, and I’m going to spend the rest of the day cleaning it. I would be totally embarrassed if you saw it in its state. Next time.”
I momentarily narrowed my eyes at her, and suddenly, a child ran into me.
“Sorry, mister,” he said as he ran by.
“Damn, kids. Where the hell are the parents? Nothing annoys me more than a parent that can’t keep an eye on their monsters.”
“I know, right?” she spoke.
“Go clean up your place. I need to get going.” I leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll be in touch.”
Something wasn’t sitting right with me. Her refusal to let me up to her apartment raised a lot of suspicions. Instead of going home, I went to Kyle’s restaurant to talk to him.
“How was Chicago, bro?” He smiled as I walked into the kitchen.
“It was good. I closed the deal.” I grinned.
“Awesome. More millions for you.” He smirked. “Since you’re here, make yourself useful. Chop up this garlic for me.” He handed me a knife. “So, how’s Brielle doing?”
“She’s the reason I’m here. Something is going on with her.”
“How do you mean?”
“I had to force her to let me drive her home practically. For some reason, she didn’t want me to know where she lives.”
“She’s a smart girl. But she should know you can find that out yourself.”
“When I finally told her she had no choice, she let me take her home but then wouldn’t let me go up to see her place. We’ve known each other for weeks and will be together for the next five months. I get the feeling she’s hiding something.”
“I think you’re being a bit paranoid, Caden. Maybe she doesn’t trust you. Can you chop that garlic a little finer, please?”
I shot him a look.
“Let me ask you this. Why is it so important to you that you see her place?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I want to see how she lives. She gave me the excuse that her place was a disaster and that she’d be embarrassed if she let me up. And trust me, she’s not a slob, so I’m not buying that story.”
“Why do you want to see how she lives? All she is to you is sex. You pay her for sex and sex only. Unless—” His eye narrowed at me.
“Don’t be an idiot,” I said.
“You have feelings for her.” He pointed his knife at me.
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes. You do. For fuck’s sake, bro, admit it. This is me you’re talking to.”
“I think she’s kind of cool and fun to hang out with.”
“You think she’s cool? Seriously?”
“Fine.” I slammed down the knife I was holding. “She’s an incredible woman, and I can’t stop thinking about her when I'm not with her. And when I am with her, I don’t want it to end. But you and I both know nothing can come of it.”
“No. That’s what you believe, not what I believe. You’ve kept yourself locked up in prison and threw away the key. What happened eight years ago is in the past. Are you really going to punish yourself for the rest of your life? Goddamn it, Caden, it was an accident. You deserve to be happy like everyone else in the world.”
“I’ve been having nightmares about that night,” I said. “That hasn’t happened in years.”
“Because you’re falling in love with Brielle, and it scares the fuck out of you. So you need to keep reminding yourself of the reason why you locked up your heart and soul. If you still want to punish yourself, then break the contract and get out of this stupid thing you have going on with her. But if you want to be happy, talk to her. Tell her what happened. Be real with her.”
“I can’t.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Listen, I’m looking for some art pieces for the restaurant. How about coming to the art gallery with me tomorrow? Mercedes is spending the day with her mom. We can make it a bro day. We haven’t had that in a while.”
“Sure. I’ll go.”
“Great. You can pick me up at noon.” He smiled.
Later that evening, I was sitting on the couch with my laptop and thinking about Brielle, so I decided to text her.
“Hi. What are you up to right now?”
“Hi. I am having dinner with my mom and Sasha. What are you up to?”
“Not much. I’m just sitting on the couch doing some work. I was hoping I could see you.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m busy.”
“I understand.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“You too. If you want to talk, you can call me later.”
I didn’t respond. I wouldn’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed because I was. This growing need to be with her was getting out of control and needed to be stopped.