“You’re closing Mack’s Place?” Kade asked, glancing at my sign that was now on the floor.
“I got a job at the Tribune in Chicago.”
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”
An ache was growing in my chest. If only Kade could believe I loved him. But the photo with Willis had looked so damming, it must have shattered his trust.
Clearing my throat, I tried to keep a lid on my emotions. But between closing down Mack’s Place, and being reminded of what I could never have with Kade, it wasn’t easy to keep the tears at bay.
I motioned him inside, using the excuse to turn away and walk to the counter, pretending everything was fine. “I don’t know if Mason told you, but I couldn’t sell the café to Gigi and Butch. He had their son Lee charged with vandalizing the café. It wasn’t one of your fans that did it after all.” Bracing myself, I turned back to face him.
Kade put his satchel on the counter. I’d cleaned the empty cabinet with a strong-smelling cleaner, but this close to Kade, I caught his delicious hot-buttered-pancakes scent instead, and it made me dizzy with longing.
His hair was shorter than last time I’d seen him, a cute buzz-cut that made me want to run my hand up his neck and over his head, to feel the short spikes tickle my palm. As he looked down at his satchel, his eyelashes lowered, and the sheer masculine perfection of his face caught me off guard. How could he be so gorgeous, and still so generous and kind? The fact he was still such a good person after becoming a TV star said a lot.
Opening his satchel, Kade pulled out some papers. “I’m sorry you couldn’t sell Mack’s Place, but that’s why I’m here. These are for you.”
I took the papers he held out, but I was so overwhelmed at seeing him, they may as well have been written in Ancient Greek.
“Even though I’m going to Chicago, I’d like to visit you in LA.” I tried not to sound like I felt, which was nervous, full of regret, and desperate. “I mean, if that’s okay with you? Would that be okay?”
He nodded to the papers in my hand. “I’m not going to be in LA, Nat. At least, I hope not. Take a look at the offer and tell me what you think.”
I frowned at the papers. “What’s this?”
“An offer from my network. I want my show’s new series to be set in the place where I first learned to cook.”
“You want to film here? Inside Mack’s Place?”
He nodded. “The network’s offering a cash payment to use the café for shooting. They don’t want to buy it from you, just lease it for a few months. Once the season ends, you’ll get it back.”
“A cash payment?” I repeated hoarsely.
“See?” He pointed at a figure on the first page and I started at it in disbelief.
That was a big number. Could it be real? What was the catch?
“The money could go toward getting set up in Chicago, paying off your loan, or putting in a new kitchen for Mack. Whatever you want.”
“But why would they…? I mean, how did you…?” I shook my head. My heart was hammering and so many different thoughts were jumbled in my head, I couldn’t form a complete sentence.
“I showed them your father’s recipes, and they loved the idea of giving my show’s new series a nostalgia angle. And the best part is, Mack’s Place will get some great publicity. Once filming winds up, hopefully it won’t be nearly as hard to find a buyer for the café.”
“But this is too much.” I stared at the figure again, checking to see whether I could have read it wrong. “Why would they pay so much?”
Trying to scan the rest of the document, I stumbled over the complex legal language. To work through it I’d need to concentrate, instead of being distracted by Kade being so close and smelling so good.
Kade flashed his dimples, flustering me further. “They didn’t want to pay that much, but I set Billy onto them. He’s a good negotiator.”
Suddenly dizzy, I sagged against the counter. “Oh my God, Kade. Is this offer real?”
His grin vanished, and his expression grew serious. “You can trust me, Nat. I get why you don’t, seeing as last time I saw you, I acted like an asshole. I was out of line.”
“No.” I shook my head hard, trying to let him know how wrong he was. “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Dumping the contract on the counter, I caught his hand and held it. “I never wanted to kiss Willis. When he kissed me, he caught me by surprise. That photo was taken at exactly the wrong moment, a second before I shoved him away. I only wish I’d done more than just push him. I wish I’d given him a black eye. But it happened so fast, I—”
“It’s okay, Nat. Really.” He threaded his fingers through mine. “You said you two weren’t dating, and I believed you. I still do.”
“I was teaching him proper grammar, that’s all. He didn’t want anyone to know, because he was embarrassed about his bad English skills.” I squeezed our joined hands, hoping the fact Kade was still holding mine was a good sign. “He’d better hope he doesn’t ever bump into me again, because I’ll punctuate the Dickens out of him.”
Kade seemed about to say something, but his finger brushed against the ring I was wearing. He jerked his face down with a look of surprise. “You’re still wearing my mother’s ring.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry. I was going to give it back.” I pulled my hand free from his so I could tug off the ring. But when I held it out, offering it to him, he stood frozen. He stared at it with an odd look on his face,
