18. “Services” #2
“Well, Harrison seemed really surprised to see me.” I glanced at the door, remembering just how shocked his brother had been. “Am I that different from your exes?”
His shoulder gave the barest hint of a shrug. “I don’t introduce women to my family.”
The easy dismissal made me stare.
“Hold up.” I opened and closed my mouth before finding the words. “You’re telling me you’ve never brought a girlfriend home to meet the family, and now you expect them to believe we’re engaged?”
This man was insane.
“That’s how they’ll know it’s serious,” he said. “Because I brought you around.”
Oh boy.
“No wonder Harrison was so freaked out,” I muttered. “You can’t just surprise your family with a fiancée out of the blue.”
“It’ll work if you tone down the acting,” he said. “You were laying it on pretty thick out there.”
I lowered my crochet hook and frowned. “Is that a bad thing?”
His tone flattened. “It’s making them like you too much, so everyone will hate me for dumping you when this is all over.”
I was officially not following. “Didn’t you hire me to act madly in love with you?”
“To sit next to each other and sleep in the same room? Sure.” His upper lip curled. “Not whatever that was with the handholding and love letters and gushing over how we met—which was also conveniently off script.”
I couldn’t believe he was so touchy about this… but then it clicked. “You’ve never been in love, have you?”
Cade’s expression hardened. “What makes you say that?”
I pressed my lips together, choosing my words carefully.
“Because when you do find the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, you’ll want to share the story of how you met because it changed your life.
You’ll want to write her a love letter and hold her hand,” I said gently.
“And you’ll have a meaningful proposal story.
Not some line in a portfolio about how you ‘mutually agreed that marriage is the next logical step.’”
Cade’s gaze turned frosty, actually dropping the temperature in the room and giving me goose bumps. “Let’s save the therapy sessions for that fraud my brother hired.”
“Speaking of Harrison…” I chewed on my lip. “What happens when he learns we aren’t getting married?”
“It won’t matter,” Cade said, not sounding worried at all.
“By now, he’ll have called our mother to tell her the big news—he won’t be able to help himself, especially since I told him not to tell anyone—and our mother will call our grandfather.
Once he learns I’m taking time off and focusing on life outside of work, my grandfather will have no choice but to promote me. ”
I blinked, because I’d never heard of a family dynamic quite like that before.
Whiskey rose from his pillow and padded over to me. He swatted at the ball of yarn until I set my crocheting aside, then he took its spot on my lap.
“Does your vision of the future include a family?” I asked, scratching under Whiskey’s chin and sneaking a look at Cade. “Like a real fiancée? Kids?”
“Does it matter?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’m just curious. You’re clearly driven in your career. And you’re successful. Very successful. Like, you offered me a mind-boggling amount of money to do this. It paints a pretty picture of what your life must be like. Do you have any interest in adding a family to that picture?”
He barely paused before answering. “I’ve gotten this far because I don’t allow distractions. Any distractions. Once I reach the top, then I might think about those things.”
I felt a pang of guilt for even asking. Marriage and children weren’t for everyone, and it really wasn’t fair of Cade’s grandfather to base a promotion on something his grandson didn’t even want.
Clearly finished with our conversation, Cade shut his laptop and carried it into the closet. He stayed in there for a while—long enough for me to wonder if he would come back out. When I heard the faint clicking of keys, my lips parted.
He’d gone in there to work.
In a closet.
I gave Whiskey a massage and murmured soft praises, until Cade reappeared an hour later in grey sweatpants and a mysterious lack of a shirt.
I almost swallowed my tongue.
“Um, don’t you have any pajamas?” I asked, trying not to stare at the very smooth and toned chest on display.
Cade rubbed his bare shoulder with a frown, and the move flexed muscles that had no business being that defined. “Why?”
I abruptly averted my gaze and motioned to my unicorn onesie. “It’s part of the Cuddle Code. All individuals must be fully clothed during sessions.”
Maybe it sounded like a lame excuse, but I took the Cuddle Code seriously.
Cade let out a low chuckle. “I must’ve left all my animal outfits back in Westport.”
I fought down a smile. “Well, that’s a shame. How about a T-shirt?”
He disappeared back into the closet. “I should have a few old ones in here.”
When he strolled back out in a navy blue T-shirt with some college logo on the front, I breathed a sigh of relief.
A slow smirk spread across Cade’s face.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much,” I answered honestly.
He flicked off the lights and joined me in bed, so I lifted Whiskey off my lap and gave his head a kiss before he returned to his pillow throne.
I shifted onto my side to face Cade. “You know, the deal we made also covers my services for the week.”
The glass doors to the balcony let in just enough moonlight for me to see the strong line of his jaw tightening. “Don’t call them services.”
“But that’s what they are.” I frowned, telling myself not to feel insulted. “You can judge it all you want, but I cuddle professionally. It’s a real job.”
His gaze flicked over to me. “All I need you to do on this trip is convince my brother and his friends that we’re getting married. Your services aren’t required.”
Okay, then.
“Understood,” I murmured, shifting to face the ceiling.
Note to self: Maybe just let your grumpy client stay grumpy if he wants to so badly.
I whispered a good night to Whiskey, comfortable on his pillow at the foot of the bed, then tried to block out Cade’s big warm body lying just inches away from mine.
I couldn’t forget how he’d said our nap together was the best he’d ever had. And my decision to enter professional cuddling hadn’t been completely selfless. Yes, I wanted to help others, but I also slept better when being held.
Lying next to a perfectly warm—albeit unwelcoming—body in the dark was like torture. I shifted restlessly and tapped my fingers against my thighs, waiting for him to change his mind about cuddling.
But the minutes ticked by, and Cade’s side of the bed was radio silence.
I was still waiting when the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to me and sleep pulled me under.