Chapter 4
CADEN
I was so unbelievably screwed.
As I looked down at Grae, her cheeks flushed to a deep pink, her blond hair mussed, and her blue eyes shining, I knew that I’d made a fatal mistake.
I’d seen the gleam in Rance’s eyes, one that said he had no plans of giving up.
I had heard the challenge in his words. I’d just wanted him to back off, and this seemed like the easiest way to do that. But I’d been so incredibly wrong.
Kissing Grae was like downing a shot of whiskey set on fire. She burned through my system in a way that would leave scars in its wake. It was hard enough to ignore her pull on a good day. Now that I’d tasted her? It would be nearly impossible.
Rance cleared his throat, his eyes flaring with anger. “I’ll be here to pick up the pieces when you take off for who knows where with some model.”
Temper surged in my gut, and I bit back the snarl that wanted to escape my lips. “Can’t imagine why I’d leave when I have everything I want right here.”
I hoped he read the truth in my words, even though I knew I was playing a dangerous game.
But something about Rance had always put me on edge.
Maybe it was because he’d been staring at Grae with need in his gaze for as long as I could remember.
Maybe it was just because I thought the guy was a douche.
Whatever it was, I wasn’t about to leave Grae open to his clearly unwanted advances.
But it would’ve been a hell of a lot safer to just deck the guy and be done with it.
“We’ll see about that,” Rance muttered. “I’ll talk to you later, Grae.” And with that, he took off back toward the fire station.
Grae’s shoulders slumped. “What is wrong with him?”
I forced myself to release my hold on her, but it was like pulling away from the sweetest heat I’d ever experienced. “Tell me what’s really going on.”
Grae worried her thumbnail with her forefinger. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Clearly, it is,” I snapped.
She clamped her mouth shut, and I sighed.
“Please, tell me.”
“I don’t want to,” she said quietly.
The timidity in her voice had my skin prickling. It was so unlike her.
“Why not?” I struggled to keep my voice gentle, something deep inside clawing at me to find out what had her shrinking in on herself.
Grae’s gaze dropped to the sidewalk between us. “I hate the way you look at me when you think I’ve screwed up.”
My spine snapped straight. There was such defeat in her tone, though it was mixed with something else—grief, maybe? “What are you talking about?”
Her head snapped up, a little more fire in her eyes now. “You look at me like I’m a moron who can’t handle her own life.”
My jaw dropped as a slideshow of memories flowed through my mind, and I tried to see them through her lens.
I’d needed emotional distance from Grae like I’d needed air, but I hadn’t been able to let her go entirely either.
It was a shit thing to do, but sticking around and needling her was the best option I had.
Her annoyance and frustration had guaranteed the distance I’d so desperately needed, but I still got to be in her presence.
Only now, I saw that my selfishness had done real damage.
“Gigi, the last thing I think you are is a moron.”
She scoffed. “Sure.”
“I don’t. I know I give you a hard time, but—”
Grae held up a hand. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t care what you think anymore, anyway. It’s not like we’re friends.”
Each word cut like a carefully placed blow designed to cause maximum damage. I could argue, but she was right. I hadn’t let her into my life because I was too damn terrified of her pull. What a chickenshit that made me. “Tell me anyway? Even though I don’t deserve it.”
She blinked back at me, surprise filtering through those baby blues. Then she sighed. “Rance and I have always been decent friends. Not close or anything, but we ran in similar crowds. Days on the lake, nights at the bar, those kinds of things, ya know?”
I nodded.
“Every year or so, he asked me out. I was never interested, but last month I figured I should give it a shot. He’s a nice guy and has a good job helping people. I thought maybe I could grow to like him as more than a friend.”
“I don’t think chemistry works that way.”
She winced. “You might be right there.”
“So, you went on a couple of dates…” I wanted to ask so many more questions, but I was terrified of the damn answers.
“It wasn’t anything crazy. Drinks, a hike, one dinner. But I just didn’t feel anything. Kissing him was like kissing a dead fish.”
I choked on a laugh. “You certainly paint a strong mental image.”
The corner of her mouth kicked up. It was the first hint of true amusement I’d seen in her eyes since I’d walked up. “Too much tongue.” She shivered.
Jealousy coursed through me like an inferno, and I suddenly wished I had gone the decking route with Rance.
“Now, he won’t leave me alone. I’ve told him I don’t feel more than friendship for him and that I’m not interested, but he thinks I’m not giving us a proper shot.
He shows up at work with flowers, texts me all the time, and today he was asking why I wasn’t home last night.
It freaked me out a little, and I just…”—she gestured at me—“panicked.”
Ice slid through my veins. “He showed up at your house last night?”
“We live in the same general neighborhood. He said he was on a run and saw that my car wasn’t there.”
Wariness pricked at my gut. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Me either, hence the stroke that was me calling you babe. Like it’s believable that we’re dating.”
“I don’t know. I think that kiss sold it pretty well.”
Pink hit Grae’s cheeks. “Maybe.”
“Why don’t you just have Lawson have a talk with him?”
Her hand snaked out to grab my arm, her nails digging in. “Don’t say a word to him.”
My brows lifted. “Why not?” Her brothers would send lover boy packing so fast his head would spin.
“You don’t know what it’s like. They just—things changed after my diagnosis.
They were always protective, but now it’s like an extreme sport.
I don’t want them involved. I know I never should’ve roped you into this.
It’s not exactly going to be believable when you pick up some tourist at the bar this weekend. But—”
“Gigi,” I said, squeezing her hand. Aw, hell. This was beyond stupid. It was reckless, but the words slipped out anyway. “I’ll help you.”
“You will?”
My thumb slid along the inside of her palm, and I relished the feel of her skin. I was playing with fire. “I think I’ve got something that can solve both of our problems.”
She looked up at me skeptically. “What?”
The corner of my mouth kicked up. “Be my girlfriend.”