“Try to get her to eat something,” Veta said with a nod toward Addie.
He nodded, but that had been harder to do than it sounded. He managed to convince her to take a few bites, but she’d been too upset to eat much.
They’d ended up staying with Veta and her family for three days. Strangely, he hadn’t been bothered by Lana and her flirting once the whole time, but then, he’d been too distracted by a listless Addie to notice much else. She seemed overwrought and defeated, and he hated it. He did everything he could to make her smile, and though he’d succeeded a few times, her halfhearted grins never reached her eyes.
When Veta had finally told them it was okay to go home, Addie had been less than enthusiastic.
“I’m afraid of what I’ll see,” she’d admitted when he asked, “and how much it’s going to cost me.”
“Don’t worry about that now,” he’d said, pulling her in for a consoling hug. “It’s just stuff. As long as you’re all right, we can fix the rest.”
“Can we?” she’d said with an odd look in her eyes and her tone struck a chord in him that he didn’t understand. He’d been about to ask what she meant, but she shook her head. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
Her attitude brightened considerably when she saw what her friends had done. The inside of the house looked almost brand-new when they stepped through the front door. Addie’s mouth had dropped open in shock. “How did you do all this?”
Veta blushed, but Lana was more than happy to fill them in. “We called in a contractor to fix the cupboards, the doors, and the holes in the wall, but had some friends help clean everything up and paint, too.”
“Your other car is still at the shop,” Veta added, “but it should be back next week.”
“How much do I owe you?” Addie asked.
“Not a thing,” Veta said with a big grin. “The contractor is Ivan’s cousin and the shop belongs to a friend. They may have to charge for parts, but they both assured us that won’t be much.” She glanced at her sister. “Lana’s friends worked for free meals from the café while they helped, and the paint was nothing. We just threw that in.”
Considering the amount of damage he’d seen, their generosity and the speed at which they’d pulled everything together had stunned Cade. After some argument from Addie about the costs and payment, the smile that lit her watery eyes had warmed him, filling him with so much gratitude that he grinned as well.
Last night—their first night back in her home—Addie had been more sexually aggressive than normal—leading him to the bedroom, pulling his shirt off, and pushing him down on the bed. Not that he’d complained, nor would he. He’d never forget the way she’d stripped him and teased his body to attention with gentle hands and her hot, voracious mouth. More than that, the way she’d straddled his hips and taken control, riding him with abandon like a golden-haired goddess, had been so erotic that he’d had to struggle to hold back his release. When she’d finally clenched around him and screamed out his name, he’d been right there with her.
“Thank you,” she’d murmured after collapsing on his chest.
“You don’t have to thank me for anything, sweetheart.”
“I do,” she’d said, sitting back to gaze into his eyes. “I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through this without you. So, thank you for taking care of me.”
Those soft words and the look in her eyes had pierced his heart.
Even as he watched her now, dancing and laughing with Ivan, he felt her inside, a soft, warm tingle that sometimes made it hard to breathe. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The song ended and Cade suddenly realized that everyone in the place had been singing along while he’d stared at Addie. The band started another, slower song as Ivan led her back to their table. Without thinking, Cade stood and met them halfway.
“This is my dance,” he said as he took her hand and a jolt of awareness shot straight to his groin.
“About time,” Ivan joked as he slapped Cade’s shoulder good-naturedly before returning to their table.
Cade barely heard as he stared into Addie’s face. “You mind dancing with me?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “I’d love to dance with you, Cade.”
Taking her in his arms felt so natural, so right, that he couldn’t help pulling her closer than technically necessary. They swayed slowly to the rhythm, neither needing to speak, but Addie’s gaze said more than words. A lump formed in the back of his throat. She was so beautiful and so damn amazing, she took his breath away.
The song ended sooner than seemed possible—he hadn’t noticed time passing—but the other couples had broken up and were shuffling past them.
Addie stepped back. “Thanks for the dance.”
He smiled. “You want to get out of here?”
That sweet, sexy mouth of hers curled up in the corners and her eyes held a spark of mischievousness. “Yes.”
“Cade?” someone nearby called. “Caden Brody, is that you?”
Cade turned toward the familiar voice and grinned at the tall, brown-haired, bearded man that approached. “Zack? What the heck are you doing here?” He took Zack’s offered hand and pulled him in for a brotherly hug.
“Just passing through,” Zack replied, slapping Cade’s shoulder before stepping back. “Where the hell ya been, man? I haven’t seen you for…years.”
Cade cringed inwardly. He hadn’t seen or spoken to anyone from back home since he left. Seeing his old friend now made him realize again just how much he’d lost when he walked away. “Ah, you know, here and there.”
“Well, shit, it’s good to see you alive and breathin’. I’ve been wondering what happened to ya. Cord hasn’t been very forthcoming about why you left.”
Of course not, Cade thought, the resentment he still felt toward his brother brewing in his chest.
“We
