Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Whoever is ringing my doorbell is about to get their nuts crushed.
I finally take a day off, and this is how the universe rewards me?
Technically, it was a sick day, but it’s the first day since starting my internship that I’ve done very little work.
None of my clients had any meltdowns or disasters to take care of.
Not once did I have to listen to one of Trevor’s tirades.
Instead, I took a bubble bath, had an appointment with my dietitian, cooked meals for the week, decorated, took another bath, and fell asleep early.
Rushing through the living room, I kick the paint-splattered tarp aside. In an attempt to make this place home, I’m testing splotches of pastel pink, peach, and cream paint in the living room and foyer.
But I can’t get rid of the kitchen’s textured floral wallpaper. Mallory loves it too much.
On tiptoe, I squint through the peephole and clutch the baseball bat like a lifeline. “Who is it?” I call out. “I have a weapon!”
The dark blob is unfamiliar. So instead of being a hero, I back away from the door and prepare to call the police, but my body freezes when the intruder’s laugh weasels its way through the tiny gap under the door.
“Stand down, Agent Shay. It’s me. Can we talk?”
There’s only one person who calls me that, and he shouldn’t be at my house at midnight.
“Can it wait until the morning?”
Cade sighs. “I’d like to do this now, if that’s okay.”
“Am I being fired?” I ask. “I’d like to formally request being fired at a normal hour. Preferably after I’ve eaten so I’m in a better mood and less likely to have a meltdown.”
God. There’s that laugh again. “I wouldn’t dream of losing you again. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
I’d open my door for any of my clients at this hour, especially if they sounded as determined as Cade does, so I do.
The man who occupies most of my thoughts is leaning against the doorframe, as if being here is the most normal thing in the world.
Navy deepens his sun-soaked skin, practically identical to the hue of his eyes in the darkness.
His chest doesn’t budge, unyielding against the baseball bat jammed against his sternum.
It’s a warning to stay back and stay outside.
With his hands raised, he grins. “This is very on brand for you.”
I step onto the porch and close the door behind me. “What are you doing here, Cade?”
He looks as uncomfortable as I feel, with stiff shoulders and eyes that won’t stay on me for more than a second. It could be the fact that I’m in a matching set of sheer pajamas, but it looks more like he’s in physical pain.
Mint fills my nose as he exhales. “I’m sorry.”
“For waking me up in the middle of the night when I’m sick?”
“Sick?” Discomfort shifts into worry as one hand cups my cheek and the other presses against my forehead. “What’s wrong? How long have you been sick? Mallory didn’t tell me that. Do you need something?”
“Sleep,” I murmur, trying to sound annoyed, but biting down my smile proves to be impossible. “I’m okay, Cade. Still having a rough PCOS flare up, but I listened to some advice from my least favorite client and took a much-needed day off work.”
“Least favorite client my ass, but I’m happy to hear that.” His hands fall from my face, but he’s still smiling. “What would you say if I told you I took a much-needed few days off?”
The good mood vanishes as my eyes snap to his hip.
This is why I don’t take days off. I’m supposed to know what’s going on with my clients, regardless of what I’m going through. If I hadn’t fallen asleep after asking him to get me a shirt, I would’ve known. I would’ve already sent Rio an email.
I should have been there for him.
“Rio found out and benched you?” I ask.
His face darkens under my poor excuse for a porch light. “Actually, I benched myself.”
If I weren’t sure I was wide awake, I’d probably pinch myself. Cade choosing not to play baseball doesn’t sound possible. Not after everything I’ve learned about him and what he’s gone through during his baseball career. It doesn’t make sense.
My silence must stretch for too long because he says, “Is that okay? Are you upset with—”
I hold up my hand. “Why would I be upset about you prioritizing your health?”
He doesn’t have to say a word. The rigid line of his shoulders tells me his answer, and I swallow down the urge to scream.
Fuck Jon Sweeney.
“That’s why I apologized. I’m sorry for not coming to you earlier about my hip. I was worried that all agents were the same.”
The accusation shatters my heart. “You thought I could be like—”
“Hell no,” he spits, leaving no room for discussion.
“Not for one second did I think you could be like Jon, Shay. You never would’ve tried to convince me that pushing through an injury was the only way I’d live up to my name.
I know that. I think I always have. Then I saw your text, and it snapped me out of the hypnotic spell I’ve been stuck in.
Jon may have only cared about himself, but you care about me.
All of your clients. Selfishness isn’t who you are. ”
These are the moments I remember that Cade knows me.
As an agent and as a person.
“You said I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, and I believed you.
I really believed you, so I walked into Rio’s office and told him I couldn’t play.
” A tremor cracks his voice and my resolve simultaneously.
“I’m not good at this. Having someone see me when I’m not so golden.
When I feel like I could break at any moment.
And I know it’s midnight, but I had to talk to you.
I messed everything up between us once by not being honest, but that was my own fear.
You never failed to show me that you were there, and I hate that it took me so long to trust that. ”
Any residual anger over our breakup fizzles at his words, melting the ice block around my heart faster than an ice cream cone in the middle of baseball season.
“And I do trust you,” he continues, as if he hasn’t already rocked my whole world. “With my career, my family, my future. My heart too. You’re the best agent I could ask for. Hell, you’re my best friend, Shay.”
Best friend.
I never thought I’d call Cade my friend again after what happened. It was brutal to go from strangers to friends to everything and then back to nothing. Even though every professional bone in my body tries to convince me he’s like the rest of my clients, my heart knows the difference.
The Cade I loved then isn’t the same man standing in front of me. Old Cade hid behind a smile that boasted everything was okay, when in reality, nothing had been for a long time.
This Cade is real, full of emotion and honesty and confessions as he lets me deeper into his world.
He’s on my doorstep in the middle of the night to tell me something he could’ve hidden forever. If that isn’t proof that Cade has changed, then I don’t know what is.
And with that knowledge, I feel myself start to fall for him again.
“Can you say something?” he asks.
I blink out of my stupor, catching the shade of red coloring his cheeks. The words I want to say can’t be spoken out loud. Not if I want to keep this professional boundary up.
“Thank you for telling me. And for trusting me.”
His brows furrow. “That’s it?”
My back presses against the front door. “Do you want me to yell?”
“Sorta.” He drops his gaze to the ground. “You still haven’t been angry with me about how things ended. We both know I deserve it.”
I spent a lot of time thinking I’d never get answers from him, and now I’ve gotten more than I could’ve ever imagined. If anything, I’m mad at myself. For not trying harder. For leaving him alone. For not saying I knew something was wrong.
In anger’s place is something I didn’t think I’d ever feel again.
“The only person I’m upset with is me.” Opening the front door, I glance at him over my shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I only have a few more hours until my phone starts ringing again. Get home safely, and take care of that hip.”
Closing the door on his smiling face is hard, but I do. On both him and these feelings. I may be falling again, but I have to catch myself before I hit the ground and lose everything.