Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
PRESLEY
Finally. Finally. The last person leaves the diner, ending what feels like the longest shift ever. My feet are aching and the burn mark etched into my forearm still throbs.
All because I was too busy thinking about Kade.
Damn him.
I don’t want to be thinking about him. But I can’t stop. He’s consumed my every waking thought since the minute he showed up at the diner. Hell, he’s even showing up in my dreams.
That Kade is mean. Yelling at me for making him leave town and not telling him about Poppy, then turning her against me before the two of them move to Mars.
Not that I have to worry about them moving to Mars, but at least real-life Kade is nicer than dream Kade.
I drop down onto one of the bar stools, catching my head in my hands.
“You want some help closing up?” Rylee yells from the kitchen. Betty’s already left, leaving the two of us here on our own.
“I’m good. I just need a minute.”
“You sure?”
Looking up, I wave her off. “Go hang out with Chase. At least one of us can have a life tonight.”
She winks back at me. “I owe you one.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The sounds of her dropping things in her locker filter through to the bar before I hear her lock the back door as she leaves.
The overhead lights turn off—set to a timer—casting everything in pink and blue hues. It’s quiet. Silent.
It’s one of the few times where it’s just me and I can catch my breath. With Poppy at the babysitter for another hour or so, I can take my time going through the motions of closing the diner.
Wiping down the tables one last time. Counting the register. Making sure the dishwashers are running before the morning rush.
The overhead door chimes as I count the last of the quarters.
Fuck.
I completely forgot to lock the door. That’s not like me. Not that it’s unsafe in Pinecrest, but you can never be too careful.
“Sorry, we’re—”
I can’t finish because standing in front of me is Kade.
An angry Kade.
A white, short-sleeved button-up is cuffed over his biceps. Jeans stretch across his thick thighs. And that cowboy hat?
I hate that it has butterflies exploding in my stomach. It’s the first time the two of us have been alone since he got back. Nerves jangle my body.
“Is she mine?”
It’s barely more than a whisper, but I feel the weight of his words like an anvil on my chest.
“Yes.”
His jaw ticks as his eyes narrow at me. He opens his mouth to speak, but stops. Anger radiates off him in waves.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you think I deserved to know that I’ve had a daughter for the last five years?” He seethes. “Fuck, Pres.”
That snaps me into action. “How the hell was I supposed to tell you, Kade? Hmm? That Poppy is your daughter? You left town. You changed your number. You didn’t look back. You’re the one that threw me away.”
“Me?” He growls, taking a step toward me. “One second you and I are planning our future and then the next, you’re engaged. What the fuck was I supposed to do, Presley? Did you ever think about that?”
“You think I wanted Paul? You broke my heart, Kade. I was a wreck.”
“What, and I was out running around like I was on top of the world? I felt like the trash you threw away.”
“Fuck you, Kade.” My voice wobbles. “You knew how I felt about you.”
“Did I?”
“You didn’t fight for me. You didn’t fight for us.”
“Do you really think your dad would have allowed it?”
“He didn’t get a say over my life,” I fire back.
“That’s news to me,” he scoffs.
I stab a finger at his chest. “I guess we’ll never know, will we?”
He grabs my hand, holding it at his chest. His brown eyes are alive with emotion. All the same ones that are swimming through me.
Frustration.
Resentment.
Fire.
Want.
The tension in the diner is a live wire. One spark, and the entire building is going to go up in flames. One second. Two. In the blink of an eye, Kade is moving, crushing his mouth against mine.
It takes a beat for my brain to catch up to what’s happening, but not my body. My fingers dig into his shoulders to pull him closer.
Every nerve in my body is alight as his tongue demands entry. I grant it, getting my first taste of Kade in years.
Oh God. I haven’t felt anything this good in years. Since he left. The scruff on his jaw amps up my need as he tips my chin up to change the angle.
He slows his move. Savoring, as if he’s relearning what makes me sing. What I like. He tugs my bottom lip between his teeth before licking away the sting.
“Kade.” My voice drips with need.
He trails a path of kisses along my jaw to suck my earlobe into his mouth. I purr. Heat travels through my veins as I move my hands up and down his back.
Kade lifts me into his arms, setting me down on the barstool. I link my feet behind him to pull him closer. To feel every inch of him against me. The broad muscles of his chest. His strong hands as they squeeze my ass.
Every. Single. Inch. Of. Him.
“Do you know how much you drive me crazy?” Kade growls, nipping at my neck. “How much I wish I didn’t want you, Pres?”
I rock into him, feeling his hard dick against my center.
“I wish I didn’t want you either.”
It’s a lie. Perhaps the biggest lie I’ve ever told myself.
All I want is Kade Miller. I want him more than anything in the world.
He smiles against my neck. “Good.”
This time, when he moves back to my mouth, his touch is soft. He alternates between featherlight touches and nibbling on my bottom lip.
“You know just what I like.” I toss my head back as he sucks on my pulse. “So good, Bubs.”
It’s a bucket of ice water thrown over us. The moment passes and is over in the blink of an eye. Kade steps back, wiping his mouth as he stares down at me.
Shit. The old nickname slipped out. It felt like I was back in high school, the two of us making out in the back of his car. It was like nothing had changed—no years, no distance, no time apart.
“I have to go.”
He leaves in a flash.
Kade is gone.
Again.
Leaving me to clean up the pieces.