Chapter 14
LAINEY
I sat at my parents' dining room table and picked at the casserole my mother had made, barely listening to the conversation I'd been dreading since I'd walked through the door after my business class. It was like I lived in the Twilight Zone or something. Mom especially was insistent that Brandon was worth redeeming, but she wasn’t the one who'd been hurt by his betrayal.
"He's been calling the house every day," my mother said in a gentle voice. "He sounds so sorry, Lainey. I really think he means it."
"You were together for six years," my father added, setting down his fork. "That's not something you just throw away over one mistake."
I knew they meant well. They probably thought I was starry-eyed in love with him up to the very second I found out he cheated.
That was my fault. I hadn't told them I was having second thoughts for several months.
And maybe if I was starry-eyed over him and we were head over heels in love, their advice and encouragement would feel different.
But my heart felt so hard toward him now. I gripped my fork tighter and tried to keep my voice level. "One mistake?"
"You know what we mean." My mother reached across the table toward me. "You're both young. People make mistakes when they're young. It doesn't mean you can't work through it."
This was exactly why they'd invited me to dinner. Not to catch up or spend time together, but to convince me to forgive Brandon and go back to him. They'd been building up to this the entire meal, dropping hints and making excuses for him, and I'd had enough.
"I'm not going back to him," I said firmly.
My father leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Lainey," he said softly, "Brandon's a good man with a good future. He made a mistake, but that doesn't erase six years of history. Think of all those times you spent together. Do you want to really give up?"
"I broke up with Brandon for good." I tried to picture how Kade would've said something like that to his parents, probably way more confidently than I had, but thinking of him only made this worse. For once in my life I wanted this for me, and I didn't want to feel guilty for putting myself first.
My mother's face pinched with concern. "Lainey, honey, I know you're hurt, but—"
"He cheated on me with a stripper at his bachelor party," I interrupted, placing emphasis on the words "cheated" and "stripper." When I lifted my eyes, I saw the pain in her expression. She really did feel bad for me. "I don't think I can forgive him for that."
My father's fork clattered against his plate and he dragged a hand over his face in exasperation.
"I thought maybe you'd misunderstood what happened.
Honey, did you confirm this? Did you ask him?
" Dad narrowed his eyes at me in concern, but the same anger I saw on his face when I confronted them the day after my fling in the Atlas Casino, I saw on his face now.
"Yes, Dad. He admitted it."
"My god... I'll kill him." Finally the lightbulb went off and at least one of them got the point.
"Roger—" my mother started, but he stood up and rolled his neck a few times.
I didn't want my parents to be angry with Brandon. That was never the point of this. I had enough anger for everyone anyway. But it did feel good knowing Dad was on my side now.
"I'll go over there right now and—"
The doorbell rang and cut off whatever threat he was about to make.
My father muttered something under his breath and stalked toward the front door while my mother gave me a look that said we'd be continuing this conversation later.
I sank deeper into my chair and kept pushing the casserole around my plate, knowing I'd get too nauseous if I took a single bite of it.
I heard the door open and my father's voice carried back to the dining room. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Lainey. I was told she might be here."
My stomach dropped. I knew that voice and I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I stood up so fast my chair nearly tipped over and the blood rushed to my head.
I got dizzy and braced myself on the table as my father appeared in the doorway with Kade following behind him, and I grabbed my water glass to take a drink because my throat had gone completely dry.
The water went down wrong and I choked, coughing and sputtering while water spilled across the table and onto my plate.
"Lainey!" My mother jumped up and grabbed napkins, rushing over to help me while I tried to catch my breath.
Kade stood in the doorway looking uncomfortable, and I wanted to disappear through the floor. If morning sickness wasn't bad enough, these surprise visits were going to kill me. My face burned and I could feel sweat breaking out across my forehead.
"I'm fine," I managed to say between coughs. "I'm fine."
My mother dabbed at the water on the table and gave Kade a look that was pure curiosity mixed with concern. "And who is this?"
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and tried to compose myself. "This is Kade. Kade Kingston." I understood they were older and entirely out of the loop, so seeing his face didn’t jar their memory, but the instant I said his name things changed.
My father looked at him blankly, but my mother's eyes went wide. She knew exactly who he was and I could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out why he was standing in her dining room.
"Kade and I met in Vegas one night," I said quickly, before anyone could ask which night or start doing the math.
"And when Brandon pulled his funding from the bakery, Kade was kind enough to come aboard as a partner.
" I was panicked and not thinking straight, but how else would I explain Kade Kingston showing up at my parents' house? And what on earth was he doing here?
"A partner?" My mother's voice was tight. "What kind of partner?"
"A business partner," Kade said smoothly, stepping farther into the room. "I'm helping Lainey with the fundraiser and making sure her bakery stays afloat. It's purely a financial arrangement."
My father crossed his arms over his chest and looked Kade up and down. "And why would you want to do that?"
"Because your daughter has a good business and a lot of potential.
" Kade smiled and I could see him turning on the charm.
It was too easy for him, almost sickeningly so.
The charmer the media shared in gossip blogs and tabloids creeped me out.
Not at all like the man from my couch two nights ago.
"I saw an opportunity to invest in something worthwhile and I took it. "
My mother hesitated for a moment before gesturing to the table. "Would you like to stay for dinner? We have plenty."
I opened my mouth to protest but Kade was already nodding. "I'd love to, thank you."
He sat down next to me and my mom left the room for a second. My palms were immediately sweaty as I hissed under my breath, "What are you doing!"
"You weren't home—" he said through gritted teeth quietly, but I didn't think Dad was listening. He had already sat down and filled his glass with wine.
"So you came here?" I grumbled. But Mom reappeared, bringing Kade a plate while my father tipped back his glass and emptied the wine in one gulp.
The conversation started up again, but this time it was Kade doing most of the talking. I found myself sitting there in stunned silence while he completely won over my parents.
"The fundraiser's going to be huge," he said, accepting a serving of casserole from my mother.
"A thousand cupcakes for a cancer research event?
That's the kind of publicity most bakeries would kill for.
Once people see what Lainey can do, she'll have to open up chains all over Nevada just to keep up with demand. "
My father raised his eyebrows. "You really think so?"
"I know so." Kade took a bite and nodded appreciatively at my mother. "This is delicious, by the way. And yes, I'm completely confident in Lainey's abilities. She's talented and hardworking, and with the right backing, she'll be unstoppable."
I felt my face flush at the praise and I stared down at my plate.
He was laying it on thick and it felt wrong.
He'd never tasted a single thing I had baked; he had no way of knowing whether it was any good.
Either way, my parents were eating it up and the Brandon conversation had been completely abandoned. Which for the time being, was perfect.
My mother smiled for the first time since Kade had walked in. "Well, we've always known Lainey had a gift for baking. She's been making cakes since she was old enough to reach the counter."
"I can believe that." Kade glanced at me and there was something warm in his expression. "She's got real skill."
"So you met in Vegas?" Dad asked, narrowing his eyes, and I could tell he was going to ask when and how, so I interrupted, cutting Kade off before he could speak.
"Uh, yeah, when we were searching for venues.
" I specifically avoided the trigger word "wedding" to keep this situation under control, but Dad's sour scowl showed me he hadn't missed that.
"When we did the wedding cake tasting at the Atlas, Kade was there.
One taste of the Bake Me Happy cakes had him hooked, but we went with the other place when Murial insisted I'd never be able to bake my own cake. "
I winced at that very real memory as Kade gripped my knee under the table, making my entire body flame to life.
I was saved by the bell when the front door opened, and my brother came in smelling sweaty and covered in grass stains from his football practice.
He stopped short when he saw Kade at the table and looked at me with confusion.
"Oh my God. Is this...?" he asked, dropping his gym bag by the door. His jaw went slack and his eyes bugged out comically like a cartoon character. I ducked my head and sighed away some of the tension building in my chest.