Chapter 8
CADEN
“Now, boys,” Nathan said as he stood from the couch. “Don’t make the poor guy piss himself.”
I snorted at Grae’s father’s words. “They’ll have to try a little harder if they want to do that.”
Nathan chuckled. “You did grow up with these knuckleheads.”
Nash glared at me. “Which means he owed me a conversation. That’s the minimum of best-friend code.”
I winced. He had a point there, and this was making me feel like the worst kind of asshole.
“It happened without me planning it. I wanted to tell you from the beginning.” That much was true.
I wanted to let them in on everything. But I knew how much holding on to control meant to Grae, and I wasn’t about to take that away from her.
“Does that mean you saw our little sister as a hookup?” Lawson growled.
“Oh, shit,” Drew mumbled. “Run now, Caden. That is not his happy tone.”
“Of course not,” I said, hurrying to defuse the situation. “It’s just that I never thought she’d give me the time of day.”
“A couple of months ago, you were joking about how a weekend was a long-term relationship,” Holt challenged.
Oh, crap. I needed to watch my mouth. “Obviously, Gigi is different.”
Nash glared at me. “Why should we believe you?”
I shrugged. “You don’t have to. Grae’s an adult who’s smarter and stronger than all of us put together. Pretty sure if I messed things up between us, she’d have me out on my ass before I could blink.”
“That’s true.” Roan’s voice cut across the room. He hadn’t moved, but he stared me down with a lethal gaze. “But her heart’s more tender than you’ll ever know. And if you hurt her? I know lots of places to hide your body where no one will find it.”
I grabbed the flowers from my passenger seat and slid out of my SUV. I stared down at the array of blooms. Wildflowers would forever be tied to Clara—and to Grae because I’d shared that ache with her. As I looked at them, I wondered if this was the world’s stupidest idea.
Roan’s words echoed in my mind. “Her heart is more tender than you’ll ever know.”
I had known that once. I’d seen how she struggled to stand on her own in her family. How she worried about finding her place. I had a feeling that had only intensified after her Type 1 diagnosis.
Just thinking about that time had my ribs tightening, making it hard to breathe. Memories battered at the walls of my mind, but I shoved them down.
They were just flowers. I was only playing the role of the dutiful boyfriend as we’d agreed. I crossed the parking lot to the small cottage that housed Cedar Ridge Vacation Adventures. Voices sounded through the screen door. Grae’s laughter caught on the air and froze me to the spot.
How long had it been since I’d heard that sound? Years? Because when I’d put up the walls between Grae and me, she’d become guarded. She laughed but not freely or fully like this.
A stranglehold overtook my chest. I wanted that sound directed at me again.
I forced a smile and opened the door. The entire room went silent. Grae’s coworkers were scattered around the room. Her boss, Jordan, lounged on the couch. Noel sat behind his desk, scowling at me. And Eddie kicked back in one of the overstuffed chairs, taking my measure.
Grae was perched at her desk, her legs crossed in some sort of knot that made her look like a pretzel. “Caden,” she squeaked. “What are you doing here?”
I strode toward her. “I’m taking my girlfriend to lunch.” I bent, the pull of her lips so strong, but I forced myself to brush my mouth against her temple instead. But I didn’t miss the shiver that ran through her at the contact.
Eddie’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “You’re dating the suit?”
I scowled at him. “Don’t give me that shit. You know I can hang with the best of you.”
Noel scoffed. “I didn’t think you could get that Armani wrinkled.”
Grae sent them both looks of warning as she took the blooms from me.
“Gonna be able to open a florist shop around here before too long,” Jordan muttered.
I arched a brow at that.
Grae frowned. “Rance brought some the other day.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I grumbled.
“These are beautiful,” she said, pushing to her feet and crossing to the kitchen on the opposite side of the space.
Noel’s gaze roamed over me. “How long are you in town?”
His words had no warmth, but that wasn’t anything new. I swore he’d been prickly since kindergarten.
“Not sure yet.”
“Think it’s wise to take up with G when you don’t even know if you’re sticking around?” he challenged.
“Noel,” Grae warned from the kitchen as she put the flowers in a mason jar. “I’m fully capable of making this one’s death a slow and painful one if he messes up.”
Noel’s lips twitched. “Just lookin’ out, G.”
Eddie kicked his feet up onto the table. “Just remember, she goes for the balls if you mess with her.”
I choked on a laugh. “I’m well aware of Gigi’s proficiency in ass-kicking.”
She’d taken down a guy more than twice her size in high school and left him crying for mercy.
Grae placed the flowers on her desk and glanced at Jordan. “It okay if I take lunch?”
Jordan hesitated for a long moment, and I thought he might say no. But then he nodded. “Sure, just make it quick. We’ve got that kayaking group coming in at two, and it’s bigger than originally planned, so I’ll need Eddie and you.”
“You got it. I’ll go quick and then grab my swim stuff from home.” She glanced at me, suddenly looking a little nervous. “Ready.”
I couldn’t stand the unease I saw in Grae, and I moved before I’d even consciously made the decision. I curled my hand around her smaller one, threading my fingers through hers. “See you guys.”
They all grunted a series of farewells, but none of them were especially warm. “Not sure your coworkers are all that fond of you dating,” I said once we were outside.
Grae scowled. “Sometimes, they’re as bad as my brothers. Not about my work but definitely about boys.”
“Boys?”
She grinned, and that flash of pure amusement hit me somewhere in the chest.
“Pretty sure you’re all boys until you hit seventy. I think that’s when the troublemaker phase ends.”
I chuckled. “You might be right there.”
Grae glanced down at our joined hands. I should’ve released her. That would’ve been the safe thing to do. But I argued with myself that this was all part of the game we were playing.
“Why are we going to lunch?”
There was an adorably confused look on Grae’s face that had me fighting the urge to kiss her.
“If we’re dating, people will expect to see us together occasionally,” I reasoned. But the truth was, after a shitty morning dealing with Gabe and my father, she was the person I’d wanted to see.
“I guess that’s true,” she said, her fingers fidgeting in mine.
“I told my family about us.”
Grae’s fingers jerked as her gaze snapped to my face. “How’d that go?”
“My mom was thrilled. Dad was begrudgingly happy. Gabe was an ass.”
She searched my eyes. “It’s still bad?”
It had been so long since I’d talked to Grae about my family. I used to lay all those burdens at her feet. When I no longer had her, I’d started shoving them down and locking them away.
“It just gets worse and worse. Dad seems determined to tear us apart in his quest to make us his version of the best.”
Grae was quiet for a moment, but she kept a tight hold on my hand. “I wonder if it’s his twisted way of protecting you.”
My steps faltered. “Protecting us?”
She toyed with the hem of her shorts before answering, seeming to mull over her words before setting them free.
“He couldn’t protect Clara from what happened.
It had to make him feel powerless. I always wondered if he wanted to make his remaining children as strong as humanly possible so they could face anything. ”
Grae’s theory took root in my mind as memories swirled—Dad’s obsession with us being the best in all things. School, sports, work. “I don’t know. He seems to like pitting Gabe and me against each other. Gets a thrill out of us being at odds.”
The scowl that took root on her face would’ve sent anyone running. “God, why does he have to be such a prick?”
But even though she thought that, Grae sought to understand him and show empathy. That was just who she was.
I let out a long breath. “I kept hoping things would get better, but I’m not sure that’s the case.”
Grae looked up at me. “What does that mean for you?”
I shrugged as I opened the door to Dockside Bar & Grill. “Nothing.”
She frowned as she stepped inside. “You could always go work for another company. I mean, they’re your family, and you’ll still have to deal with them, but not working with them would change the dynamic.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
This was one of the things I both loved and hated about Grae. She was never afraid to boldly ask whatever questions she wanted answered.
“Clara always wanted all of us to work for the company. She painted this picture of all of us being there together with family lunches and all the amazing things we’d plan for the hotels. And now there’s her foundation, too. I can’t give up on that.”
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” said a feminine voice laced with humor.
I grinned at the waitress who’d been working at Dockside since before we were in high school.
“Hey, Jeanie.”
Her smile widened as she took in our joined hands. “I heard rumors, but I didn’t believe it.” She glanced at Grae. “You gonna make an honest man out of him?”
Grae snorted. “I hardly think that’s possible.”
Jeanie barked out a laugh, then sent her a wink. “But it’ll be fun to try, won’t it?”
Grae’s face flamed.
I dropped her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You got room for two?”
“You two? Always.”
Jeanie led us through the maze of patrons toward a booth by the windows overlooking the water. I felt heat on my face and glanced to the side, seeking out the source. Rance sat at a table with two other firefighters, glaring in our direction.
“He looks pissed,” Grae whispered.
I squeezed her shoulder. “Just ignore him. This is what he needs to move on.”