Chapter 19
CHLOE
Kade and I are seated at a table in the Hartlands’ ranch dining hall waiting for Aunt Liz.
She leaves town tomorrow morning and all but demanded that we have dinner with her before she goes.
I’m not entirely convinced that her insistence that Kade joins us wasn’t just so that she could ogle him one last time.
Tonight, Kade is wearing a light blue denim shirt that is open at the collar and a brown suede waistcoat with a pair of dark navy jeans to finish off the look.
He’s removed his Stetson but still looks delicious, with his hair curling at the nape of his neck.
It took a huge amount of self-control on my part to not climb him like a tree in the middle of the lobby when I saw him.
“You okay?” Kade asks, reaching for my hand. He soothes his thumb across the back of it, his presence a reassurance.
I’ve been a little distracted looking out for my parents since we were seated at one of the tables in the middle of the restaurant. I can’t help feeling like a sitting duck here.
“I’m fine,” I reply, my leg nervously bouncing under the table and calling me a liar.
“You don’t look fine, you look skittish and like you might bolt, buttercup,” Kade replies, calling me out and pulling my focus to him.
As I stare at him, I suck in a breath and force my shoulders to relax. “I’m just hoping we can get through this dinner without running into my parents.”
Kade nods in understanding. “If we see them, just remember I’m here and I’ve always got your back. You don’t have to feel like you’re facing them alone.”
My body relaxes further at his words, my features softening. “Thank you.” I don’t know what I’d do if he wasn’t here. Hell, I’d probably be hiding away in my cabin and missing everything that Coldwater has to offer.
He squeezes my hand in reassurance and for half a second, I think I’m going to be okay, but then a shadow falls over the table, and I know immediately that it’s not Aunt Liz. She’d announce herself, like she always does, with her effervescent energy.
I look up, my eyes snagging on a pair of soft brown ones. “Hey, Maddie.”
“Hey, Chloe.” She turns her attention to Kade, her face a mask as she adds, “Hi, Kade.”
“Maddie,” Kade greets, dipping his chin.
For a moment, a flare of jealousy rushes through me as I look between them, wondering if anything has ever happened.
It’s a small town, right? Isn’t that how it goes?
She’s beautiful, and he’s handsome; it would make sense for them to be attracted to each other.
I feel my hands getting clammy the longer I watch them, looking for any sign that I might be right.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Maddie says, “I’m sorry to interrupt you again, but I saw you from across the room and was hoping to confirm a time for our chat?”
“Of course,” I reply, sitting up straighter and smoothing my hands over the napkin in my lap as I brush away my jealousy. Kade isn’t mine, so I have no right to feel anything but grateful for him going along with this charade. “Does Sunday work for you?”
Maddie pulls out her phone, scrolling through it before shifting her focus back to me. “It does. Shall we say 11 a.m.?”
“Perfect,” I reply, offering her a soft smile. Much like Kade, she’s been nothing but nice to me and if things go as I hope, she’ll end up being my boss.
She doesn’t hang around once we’ve confirmed a date and time; instead, she taps her phone on the back of the chair and says goodbye, leaving me and Kade alone.
“What was that about?” Kade asks, leaning back in his chair and resting an arm on the back of mine.
I turn toward him, placing a hand on his knee. “It might be nothing, but Maddie said she needs someone to take some photos for her.”
Hope flares in his eyes before he casts a glance around the restaurant and I lose sight of it. “That’s cool, Chloe. Super cool. Are you excited about it?”
“It is and I am. It would mean staying in town for a little longer, considering I’m due to fly out on Tuesday morning, but it’s not like I have anything to go back to in Seattle.”
“Do you think you’d consider staying longer than the photoshoot would take you?” Kade asks, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows.
The air between us is charged with expectation.
My immediate response is yes, because this state is perhaps the most beautiful one I’ve ever visited and I could take pictures for months, years even, and not run out of content.
But then I’m reminded of our circumstances and the fact that Kade and I started out as pretend and maybe he’s not asking because he wants to spend more time with me but because he’s ready for me to quit dragging him into my drama and get out of his town.
Instead of giving the answer I want to, or even correcting him on how long I’d be here, I simply shrug and say, “I don’t know. It would depend on a lot of things.”
“Such as?”
“If I could find work around here to start with, and somewhere to live. You know, the main necessities.”
The corner of Kade’s mouth kicks up as he nods. “I guess.”
Unable to bite my tongue anymore, I ask, “Has anything ever happened with you and Maddie?”
Kade bursts into laughter before he sees the look on my face and grows serious. “No. Nothing. We were in the same year at school, but we never really hung out and then shit happened with her brother and Wyatt and any chance of us being friends went with it.”
I want to ask what happened between their brothers, but Aunt Liz chooses that moment to arrive, waltzing up to the table as if she hasn’t had us waiting for nearly half an hour.
“If it isn’t my new favorite couple.”
I stand, kissing her on both cheeks before sliding back into my seat. Kade follows suit before sitting beside me.
Aunt Liz narrows her eyes as she looks between us. “Uh-oh, is there trouble in paradise?”
I shake my head, reaching for Kade’s hand that is resting on the tabletop. “Not at all, we were just talking about an opportunity that has presented itself.”
“The truth is,” Kade interrupts, his voice deep and sending a shiver down my spine, “I was asking Chloe if she’d consider staying in Coldwater for a bit longer.”
Aunt Liz lifts her brows and turns her attention to me as she slides into her seat. Resting an elbow on the table, she sets her chin on her fist and says, “And? What did you say?”
“I said I didn’t know.” I chuckle, squeezing Kade’s hand in warning.
He leans into me, wrapping an arm around my waist, the heat of his breath ghosting over the shell of my ear as he says, “That feels like a cop-out answer, buttercup.”
I glance over at Aunt Liz. She’s watching us gleefully as if we’re her favorite show.
When I turn toward Kade, he’s inches away from me, so close I could kiss him.
Getting distracted by his handsomeness, I lift a hand, running my thumb over his bottom lip as my eyes flit between his eyes and his mouth.
Everything around us fades away; the volume in the room becomes muted as if we’re in our own little bubble. I roll my lips together and ignore the nervous butterflies dancing in my stomach.
“Truthfully, yes, I’d consider staying,” I whisper, searching Kade’s face for his reaction.
His eyes soften and the corners of his mouth curve until he’s grinning at me. “If that isn’t just the best news I’ve had all day.”
I run a hand down his chest and push against him lightly. “I said consider, handsome, don’t go getting carried away.”
He leans back in his chair, his laughter rumbling in his chest.
When I turn toward Aunt Liz, shaking my head, she’s got a wistful look on her face as she presses a hand to her chest. “This”—she waves an arm between me and Kade—“is the kind of love that lasts for centuries.”
I splutter on the sip of water I’d taken, my eyes blowing wide. “Woah,” I choke out. “I think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself there.”
Kade rubs small circles on my back, completely unaffected by Aunt Liz’s words. “I’ll admit, it is a bit soon for that kind of declaration, Liz, but I can definitely see this going there.”
His words are so sure and strong. Like he might actually mean them, and I have to remind myself that this is all pretend. He’s just playing the part of a loving boyfriend and doesn’t really mean what he’s saying, no matter how badly I might wish for it to be true.
The server arrives to take our drinks order now that our party is here. He looks at Kade expectantly, who turns toward me, “You having a neat whiskey?”
I nod, reaching for his hand, a little surprised that he remembered my favorite drink at all. Paul never remembered what I drank; on many date nights he’d order me wine or cocktails.
“Top-shelf whiskey for the lady and I’ll have a beer. What about you, Liz? Are you a whiskey drinker too?” Kade asks.
Aunt Liz is beaming at us as she lowers her menu. She wiggles in her chair excitedly before twisting her hand in the air and saying, “I am living for this. I’ll have a Manhattan, please.”
The server leaves with our drinks order and I can’t shake the feeling that I might be in a hell of a lot of trouble with this cowboy.