Chapter 9
nine
R osalyn stabbed her veggie omelet with her fork, regretting the fact that she’d let her guard down with Cade. Regretting that the ride back to the diner had been awkward, regretting that he’d paid for her breakfast while she’d escaped into the bathroom and then slipped away before she’d emerged. Always the gentleman. Always the hero.
Even when she didn’t deserve it.
She speared a mushroom, the clatter of silverware and the soft buzz of customer conversations fading into the background.
It didn’t matter what Cade thought, because as she needed to remind herself one more time—she wasn’t a free woman. She would be leaving Magnolia Bay after the circus.
Like Cade said, they’d missed their chance.
“You still doing okay over here?” Elisa appeared at Rosalyn’s table, holding a steaming mug of tea.
“I’m fine, thank you.” She took the offered mug and cupped it between her hands. “This smells amazing.”
“It’s a new herbal blend my tea-drinking customers love. Mind if I join you?” Elisa slid into the adjacent bench, her gaze landing on the unfinished omelet between them.
“It was good, I promise.” Rosalyn pressed one hand against her stomach. “I don’t eat well when I’m stressed.”
Elisa nodded, eyes flickering with understanding. Had she seen Cade come in with Rosalyn, yet not stay? Elisa seemed like the kind of person who was too kind to pry. What it would be like to have a close friend who would ask nosy questions? Cade had, in the car. Maybe she should’ve told him more. She’d meant it when she’d told Cade he was a good friend—these days, her only one.
But she loved the way Cade looked at her right now, like she was a polished star—all clean and shiny. Someone worthy of protecting. If he knew the truth about the past year, that look would change. Shift into something distant and disappointed.
“I think the sudden storm threw all of us off.” Elisa leaned back against the booth, crossing her arms over her apron as she surveyed Rosalyn. “Of course, there are different types of storms.”
There it was—her window into deeper friendship.
Rosalyn wrapped her fingers around the mug handle. Could she trust Elisa to keep her secrets? If she and Cade were friends, Elisa’s loyalty could be to him first.
Rosalyn couldn’t take that risk. Magnolia Bay was too small a town, and if Cade knew everything, her parents wouldn’t be far behind. “Trying to get my routine figured out for the circus, that’ll all. It’s a lot to plan.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great.” Elisa smiled.
Maybe. The omelet sat heavy in Rosalyn’s stomach. Her secrets were turning her into someone she didn’t recognize. Someone who lied—even if it was for good reason.
She debated a moment longer, watching as a red-headed waitress whose nametag read Trish flirted with a group of guys wearing cowboy hats and eating chicken-n-waffles. Mama D ambled out of the back hallway on her cane, pausing by a booth with a middle-aged man reading his Bible, and rattled off something that made him laugh. Conversations and camaraderie hovered everywhere she looked.
Maybe she could have a tiny piece of it. Just while she was here.
“There’s more to it.” Rosalyn braced her arms against the tabletop. “I fell and injured my knee several weeks ago.”
“Good gravy.” Elisa’s eyes widened. “That had to have been scary.”
“It wasn’t fun. I had bad dreams about it for a few nights. It should’ve been much worse than it was.”
Sympathy filled Elisa’s gaze. “But you’re okay now?”
“Sort of. I have to be careful what skills I do.” Rosalyn took a quick sip of her tea, the hot brew comforting.
“Should you be resting instead of doing the circus?” Elisa held up both hands. “Not that I’m trying to talk you out of it.”
And now they were back to the part of the secret Rosalyn couldn’t share. No one could know that her injury, while terrifying, had allowed her to come home and regroup. But obligations waited for her, people demanding their money. Blaine said he’d covered for her to have leave time, but she couldn’t take much longer. It was a miracle she’d convinced him to let her go to her “one-hick town,” as she’d downplayed, and rest for free with her family rather than hole up somewhere he could keep an eye on her.
Like, with him.
Elisa watched her, clearly waiting for an answer.
“I really want to do it.” Rosalyn drew a deep breath as she set her mug on the table. And she really needed the money. “It’s a good cause. And my routine will be more laid back than usual.” She’d cut her typical rate in half, knowing it’d be the only way the town could afford her. And with her current limitations, it felt fair.
Elisa’s eyes warmed. “I know that helps Cade out a lot.” She laughed. “And if what I saw the other day at the studio is laid back, I’d love to see you perform for real.”
It wasn’t all it appeared.
Before she could answer, the door behind her jingled open, letting in a gust of misty wind. Footsteps sounded beside their booth and she looked up as Cade looked down.
He’d come back.
For her?
She tried not to notice the way water droplets clung to his darkening facial hair. Tried not to remember that same stubble under her fingers an hour before.
She failed at both.
“I’ve made a decision.” Cade shoved into the seat across from her, forcing Elisa to scoot over with a mild protest. He locked eyes with Rosalyn. “We’re going on another drive.”
“We are, are we?”
“Yes.” Then he did a double take at her plate. “You should finish that first.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure bossy.”
“You need food.” He gestured to her plate. “You barely eat enough as it is.”
Rosalyn snorted. “While you eat enough for everyone.”
Elisa looked between them. “I’ve missed a step. What do you mean another drive?”
Cade ignored her. “We need a do-over.”
“You think so?” Rosalyn cupped her hands under her chin, fighting to hide her smile. Their banter was back. “Do tell.”
“In front of Elisa?” Cade asked.
“Yes, in front of Elisa!” Elisa slapped the tabletop with both hands.
“Fine.” Cade leaned forward, his cologne wafting over her like a favorite memory. “I got to my office and realized—we’re friends, right? I mean, that’s what you clearly stated in the car.”
Elisa’s gaze jerked to Rosalyn. “You did?”
“And there’s no reason two friends can’t have a moment and not still be, you know—friends.” Cade tapped his knuckles on the table. “Right?”
Rosalyn nodded again. “Right.”
Elisa’s eyebrows threatened to vanish into her hairline. “You had a what now?”
“There was this thing.” Cade waved his hand toward Rosalyn. “But she set me straight, don’t worry.”
“You friend-zoned Cade after a moment ?” Elisa’s voice squeaked and she dipped her head to lower her voice. “Why?”
Heat flushed Rosalyn’s neck and for a second, she felt as crazy as the look Elisa was giving her. Why had she, again? “I—I’m not…”
Cade’s smile remained steady, but his eyes softened a little, as if this part of the conversation was more for them than for Elisa. “Bad timing, as I recall.”
Rosalyn squared her shoulders. “Right.”
Cade continued. “And while Rosalyn here is clearly adorable, I agree it’s the best choice.”
His words pinched a little, even as her tight shoulders loosened. “So why do we need a do-over, exactly?”
“Because I need to run some errands on the mainland for Magnolia Days, and I thought it’d be more interesting to go with a friend than go alone.” Cade scooted the plate closer toward him, then winced as the vegetables registered on his radar. He slid it away.
Too easy not to bait him. “You have friends. Why not ask Noah? Or that funny Owen guy.”
“Owen would try to convince me he can tightrope walk at the circus. Or Hula-Hoop with fire, and he can’t do either of those things any more than he can walk on stilts.”
“Fair.” Rosalyn struggled to keep a straight face.
“Besides, I can’t leave off the way we did between us in the car. Way too awkward.” Cade pursed his lips in exaggeration. “I don’t need that kind of bad energy.”
Her own straight face was starting to fail. “Might wrinkle your clothes.”
She would much rather have Cade as a friend than not at all—and he was giving her that gift. Despite her best effort to resist, she found herself leaning forward again. “Sounds like a date.”
He squinted at her.
“A friend date, obviously.”
“Good thing. You couldn’t handle a real date with me.” He wiggled his eyebrows and for a second, she wanted to call his bluff.
“This isn’t over.” Elisa waggled her finger between them. “One of you two are telling me this whole story later.”
Cade smirked as he slid out of the booth. “Don’t bet on it. I’m a gentleman, Elisa. I don’t almost kiss and tell.”
Elisa looked up at him with a pout. “That’s something Noah would say.”
“That’s something Noah did say once—about you.” Cade gestured for Rosalyn to slide out of the booth and join him. “Ready?”
Elisa gripped Cade’s wrist. “I’ll make you cookies.”
He tilted his head. “Chocolate chip?”
“Double chocolate chip.”
He shot Rosalyn a wink as she stood. “I’ll go ahead and apologize to you now for ruining your reputation.”
“Ha. Cute.” He wouldn’t have to try hard. She’d done that for herself already.
Cade pointed out the front window. “Now what do you say we get in my car without crying buckets this time?”
“There was crying?” Elisa gaped up at them from the bench seat. “You guys are killing me.”
Rosalyn called over her shoulder. “I’ll tell you my point of view if you find a way to make a high-protein, low-calorie bread pudding.”
Elisa abruptly stood and knotted her apron. “Deal.”
Rosalyn looked up at Cade to find him already smiling down at her—that same smirk he’d shot her when he knew he was about to win the mathletes competition junior year.
Uh-oh.