Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Jada
We sat on the back porch a little while later, enjoying the peace and quiet. The ceiling fan whooshed, and the pool bubbled. With the twinkling white lights strung overhead and the glow of the tiki torches, the backyard had a relaxing, romantic aura.
Kari snuggled into Max’s lap, wrapping her arms around his chest. He leaned his head back on the chaise and closed his eyes, looking completely content with my sister cuddled against him.
Jealousy reared its ugly head.
I miss that.
I downed the rest of my wine in one gulp. “I’m going in for a refill. Do you guys need anything?”
“I think we’re good,” Max drawled, stroking Kari’s bare thigh.
My spirits in limbo, I stalked into the house and considered turning on a movie—something violent and gory. Something where the asshole gets what he has coming.
As I entered the kitchen, the doorbell rang.
I had struggled over whether to be there when Cane arrived. If I left, Cane would think he got to me, and enough was enough. He needed to be put on notice that I was done being messed with. But that didn’t mean I actually wanted to deal with him.
Pretending that I didn’t hear the doorbell, I started across the living room in the opposite direction of the entry. It rang again, and I caught Max’s eye through the window. He smirked as our eyes met, obviously having heard Cane’s arrival and clearly reading my intentions.
I sighed as I flipped him the bird, my gig obviously up, and turned on my heel. I could hear Max laughing, and that only irritated me more.
I jerked open the door. Cane was standing on the other side, looking delicious in a pair of dark denim jeans and a white T-shirt, his sunglasses tucked into the top of his shirt. He smelled woodsy and musky, the scent making me shiver.
He’s like looking at a famous painting in a museum. He’s made to visually appreciate, but there’s no way I can afford to take him home.
“Are you going to invite me in?” He flashed me a grin that was undoubtedly his most seductive, but I held tight and shook my head instead of swooning.
“Do I have a choice?” I asked dully.
“Do you ever? I think we’ve been in this situation a time or two.”
“Whatever, Cane.” I left the door open and walked back into the kitchen.
I heard it shut as I rustled through the pantry, looking for the rum Kari had put away.
I knew mixing wine and rum would result in a hot mess of a morning, but I needed something stronger than moscato to make it through the night.
Maybe I should just go for whiskey.
“What did you do today?” he asked, clearly leading me, his voice growing closer.
“Nothing much.”
“Really? Nothing interesting happened today?”
“Nope.”
“You want to do it this way? Okay, fair enough. I’ll cut to the chase. What’s this I hear about you having dinner with Powers?”
“Don’t,” I warned him.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t start. What I do and who I spend my time with is no business of yours.” I turned my back on him, not wanting him to see how tired I was. He could sense weakness like a lion.
“Jada,” Cane whispered, putting his hand on my hip.
I froze, squeezing the bottle of rum I had just picked up so I wouldn’t drop it.
He pressed the front of his body into the back of mine and swept the hair off the back of my neck.
His fingers lightly brushed my sensitive skin, making my nerve endings rapid-fire in succession. “It is my business.”
My pulse quickened and my body heated, responding to him without thought. “You’re wrong. It’s not.”
“I asked you very pointedly to stay away from him, and you agreed.”
I turned quickly to look him in the eye. “No. You asked me to call you before I took him to your properties. You don’t own the restaurant.”
“You’re missing the fucking point.”
“No, I think I get the fucking point better than you can imagine.”
He took a half step forward, grabbing the cabinet on either side of me. The proximity of his body to mine made it hard to breathe.
“I didn’t come over here to argue with you, beautiful girl.”
I took in a shaky breath. “Then why did you?”
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes never leaving mine. “I wanted to know you were okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You were with Powers. You have to stay away from him.”
“Tell me something. Is he a threat to me? Or is he a threat to you?”
“Come on, Jada. Cut me some fucking slack here.”
“You can have all the fucking slack you want. I never asked you to pick up the end of the rope.”
Cane’s jaw clenched. “What are we doing here, Jada?”
My eyes squeezed closed as I tried to create a barrier between the two of us. “We aren’t doing anything.”
“Can you honestly say that?”
“No. You did.”
“Fuck,” he growled out in frustration. “Why do you have to make this so fucking hard?”
“Seriously, Cane?” I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “This is all you. I’m done. I’m finished getting sucked into your web, having my head spun, and then watch you act like you’re doing me some fucking favor by speaking to me.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, looking at the ground. “That’s not what’s happening.”
“That is exactly what’s happening, and I’m over it.”
He snapped his eyes back to mine, his mouth in a thin line. “You’re over it? I see. Was Simon that interesting at dinner? Because you don’t have any idea who he is, Jada. He isn’t someone you need to be fucking around with.”
“Fuck you.”
He laughed. “It would have saved us a lot of trouble.”
“And it will never happen.”
“Why?” He smirked. “Are you afraid you’ll like it?”
His words set me off, the anger I had fought to control erupting like a volcano.
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t, actually,” I fumed, slamming the bottle on the countertop and whirling around. Cane stepped back and watched me as if I were a caged animal.
“All assholes are the same, and I’ve had more than my fair share of them. They seem to be the only thing I attract,” I spat.
Cane shifted his weight, crossing his arms in front of him. He clearly wasn’t expecting my reaction.
“I don’t know why you won’t just go away.”
I turned to walk around him, but he blocked my path. “You don’t really want me to go, Jada.”
“No, I do. I promise you—I really do,” I seethed. “I’ve told you repeatedly that this is what I don’t want. I’m not a chess piece. I don’t want to be fucked with, Cane.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” he asked, his eyebrows lifted in astonishment. “You think I’m just fucking with you?”
“You’re either cruel or you’re just really, really stupid. You were an asshole when we met, then you were sweet. You deliver me dinner, then grow cold. You come into my room, break me down, and then walk away.”
I grabbed the ledge of the counter, my hands shaking with fury.
“You send me flowers—no, wait. I stand corrected. You have Lucy send me flowers and then are an asshole. I’m noticing a pattern here,” I spouted. “But that’s going to stop now. Leave. Me. Alone.”
I pushed him out of the way and took the stairs two at a time to my bedroom, my body feeling the adrenaline hit full force.
I paused at the top of the stairs and turned around. He was standing at the bottom, watching me. His eyes were wide, his hand gripping the railing.
“If you have to wonder where you stand with someone, it’s probably time to stand and start walking.” I looked him in the eye, my voice softening slightly. “I’m walking, Cane. Don’t follow me.”
I marched into my room and slammed the door behind me. I moved across the floor to the window and stood, trying to calm my heartbeat.
It lasted about five seconds.
“What the fuck?” Cane stormed into my room behind me. “Can we have a rational fucking conversation?”
“The only conversation I am interested in having with you is to ask you why you can’t respect boundaries. That door was closed, and you were not invited in.”
“Fuck that. You aren’t getting away from me that easy.” He stalked across the room with purpose until he was standing a few feet in front of me.
“I don’t know how much clearer I can be, Cane. I don’t want to be near you.”
He ran his fingers through his hair in utter frustration and sighed, closing his eyes. “Look, I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Why don’t you have Lucy call and tell me for you?” I bit out.
“Is that really what you want to discuss?”
“No! I don’t want to discuss anything.”
“I sent you those flowers today, okay? I called and ordered them myself. Call Lucy and ask her—she’ll think you’re a lunatic.”
I stilled. “You ordered them?”
He nodded, eyeing me nervously. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
“Then why did you lie to me?”
Cane shrugged. “I didn’t mean to. I was in a meeting and should never have answered your call. But when I saw your name on my screen, I couldn’t help it.”
He walked over to my bed and sat down. “I heard your voice and the hope in it and … I don’t know. I just knew I had gone too far.”
“What do you mean?”
“What we both want couldn’t be more opposite … and neither of us is willing to make an exception. I was afraid those flowers would give you the wrong impression.”
My spirits fell spectacularly on the side of despair and smashed into shards, some of the pieces bouncing off the floor and piercing me again for good measure.
“Then why even send them, Cane? Why do you go out of your way to make me crazy?” Tears began to prick the corners of my eyes, and I blinked them back furiously. “I just don’t get what you’re doing.”
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, if you want the truth. If you were any other girl, I would’ve had you beneath me days ago. But you aren’t, and I’m trying to respect that, but … fuck!”