Gray finally arrived, after a full 20 minutes of the designated time, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “What are we doing here?”
Gray grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. “It’s the opening show for an exhibition by a local up-and-coming photographer. I saw her work in a magazine and I’m hoping to hire her for some work I’m doing—with the group I’d told you about—I figured meeting her here, at her show, was a natural way to start our relationship and get the ball rolling.”
That took me by surprise. “Did you drag me to a work outing?”
Gray laughed. “You bet I did. But don’t worry, I’ll take you somewhere exciting after.”
He dragged me inside without further ado, and all I could do was roll my eyes. Honestly, I was glad for it. Not to be here, that is. I’d rather be sitting at home, deciding which bottle of liquor to crack open tonight. But I was glad that Gray was taking this work so seriously.
This was new because Gray hadn’t taken anything seriously in his life, ever. He had no reason to, when the world handed him everything on a silver platter. I’d worried about him for a long time—about his happiness. Sure, fast cars and expensive toys were all well and good for a while, but it got boring fast, and I could tell that—even if he didn’t want to admit it—Gray was getting bored with this lifestyle. Flitting from thing to thing gave a passing sense of pleasure and gratification but that left quickly, leaving you in search of a new thing to entertain you.
Hopefully, focusing on a cause that he actually cared about and putting in real work towards the cause would give him a true sense of fulfillment and help him be happier.
We entered the gallery and were almost immediately hit by a wall of people. I stuck close to Gray so that we wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. This artist seemed like a popular up and comer, with the gallery packed for their opening showing.
Of course, the gallery wasn’t nearly as fancy as the ones I’d been to in New York City and D.C., with A-list celebrities and Wall Street bankers lining up to take in the art and even buy some of the artwork for thousands or millions of dollars. For Detroit, it was clearly drawing an elite crowd, what with people having dressed up really fancy for this showing.
To one of the sides was a table elegantly dressed up and laid out with platters of finger food, next to which was a small bar. People were talking, laughing, examining the pictures, with plates of food and fluted glasses in their hands. I saw a few bright stickers on the little plaques next to the pictures, indicating that that work of art had been sold.
The pictures themselves were quite striking. I liked the artist’s use of natural light to achieve the effect of making something look unearthly, like it was blazing and bright. Many of the pictures also played with color or were in black and white. I was liking this artist’s work and turned to tell Gray so—only to find that he had disappeared into the crowd.
For crying out loud. I looked away from him for two goddamn seconds….
I slowly turned around in a circle, trying to find him, but couldn’t get a glimpse of my friend through the crowd. All right, fine. If Gray was going to just leave me alone like this, then I was going to get some damn alcohol in my system.
Not that it would be as good as the stuff I had at home, but oh well. I supposed that some cheap wine was better than nothing. I went to the mini bar and ordered, then took my glass and looked around the gallery.
There were lots of interesting pictures on display. There was one of a woman, with her back turned towards the camera, her hair falling in waves. The photo was in monochrome, creating shadows and strips of light with the woman’s hair, making it seem like a whole world existed within it. It was mesmerizing. Oddly, the woman also seemed familiar.
You’re just seeing things, I told myself. I’d been thinking about Laura nonstop. So, of course, now I thought that I was seeing her everywhere. She was just on my mind constantly.
I took a sip of the wine and choked, nearly spitting it back out before I composed myself and swallowed it with disgust. Jesus Christ, it was crap. I looked around for a place to set my glass down, when I saw in the crowd—
Laura.
I had to blink twice to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things. I wasn’t. Laura was there—right here in the gallery—standing next to a large photograph of a tree. The photo’s composition and light were fantastic, giving the tree a sense of magnificence and solitude.
Quickly, I put my wine glass down on a table and walked over to her.
Laura heard me coming and turned, her eyes widening as she saw me. My heart was pounding. I wondered if she was about to flee.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted out, completely taken by surprise.
She looked beautiful. She wasn’t as dressed up tonight, but she still looked breathtakingly beautiful in a flowy dark green blouse, too fancy for the office but perfect for an evening event, her black pencil skirt and a cute pair kitten heel ballerinas.
Laura shrugged, her armor sliding into place. “I have the greater right to ask you that question, since I actually live here,” she snapped.
I bristled, anger coursing through me. I grabbed her arm to pull her outside.
“Don’t touch me!” Laura snapped, louder this time, and she jerked her arm back.
Several empty wine glasses that had been left on a table by the attendees went crashing down to the floor, shattering and spreading glass everywhere.
A server hurried over with a broom and dustpan to clean it up. People began to stare at our direction with incredulous expressions.
“You’re behaving like a child,” I snapped.
The fury in Laura’s eyes was unparalleled and I realized that I’d taken it a step too far. Before I could speak, she replied, “Seeing as one of us is actually raising a child, I think I know better than you do about how children really behave. You have no right to grab me, no right to be violent.”
“I wasn’t…” I started, and then faltered. Grabbing her to yank her outside wasn’t exactly what one would call a gentle touch.
Laura arched her eyebrow, sardonic in victory.
A flash to my left startled me, and I realized that people were taking pictures of us now. Of course, they would do that. This was probably fun to watch, the juicy drama, and maybe one or two people recognized me. Shit.
“We need to go outside,” I said, keeping my voice low.
Laura glanced around, seeing what I saw, and then marched past me without a word.
I followed, ready to settle this once and for all. I was through with playing games.
26
Laura
“I’m done with playing games,” Cade said, his tone dripping with judgment when we stepped outside, like I was a child, and he was the adult.
“Rich, coming from you,” I snapped, turning around to face him. “You’re the one playing games. You sent a private investigator after me, showed up at my doorstep unannounced, and demanded the right to see your son when you haven’t proven at all that you want to be in his life. You couldn’t even respect my privacy, so how could I expect you to respect him?”
My anger was the only thing keeping me from bursting into tears. This wasn’t how I wanted things to go with Cade. Of course, a part of me wanted him to see Drew, wanted Drew to have an amazing father. But Cade’s behavior was appalling. How could I possibly trust that he had my best interests, or Drew’s best interests, at heart?
Cade glared at me. “You might have forced my hand before, but I’m not going to give up. I want to meet my son. It wasn’t right of you to keep Drew from me ten years ago and it’s not right to keep him away now.”
I scoffed. “Were you not paying attention the other day? What did you expect me to do when I found out I was pregnant, hmm? Hunt you down and drag you back to Michigan? I was a fling to you. You said it yourself, and you said that it was over. How could I possibly have gone to you? Especially with my father?”
Cade looked, to his credit, a bit guilty at my words.
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“My mother went to my father and told him about me. At first, he had said that he’d be there, but then he changed his mind. He left her to give birth to me and raise me, all alone. And you know that I’m not a fan of my mother. She never cared about me, she let me do whatever I wanted. She was neglectful. But it certainly didn’t help that my father had just left her. He changed his mind even when he’d known about me and he never once contacted me. Ever. I didn’t want that for my son. I don’t want him to grow up with that pain, the way I did.”
In spite of trying everything to stop myself, I felt the tears forming. “Of course, I wanted to tell you, Cade. I wanted us to be together. I’d wanted us to raise a family together, even if that meant starting it sooner than I’d planned. But I had no reason to think that you’d do anything other than turn me away.”
I turned to go, but Cade grabbed my arm and yanked me back to him. He had yanked a little too hard, and I ended up crashing into him, my hands landing on his chest. He wrapped his other arm around my waist to steady me.
“You were never just a fling,” he growled, pain and passion sparking in his eyes, and then he was kissing me.
I gasped, but was unable to resist the power of his kiss. I knew that I should pull away, but I melted into him, kissing him back just as fiercely as he was kissing me. It was passionate and powerful, and for a moment, nothing else existed except for how he made me feel, how he stole the very breath from my lungs.
We paused for air, and I gasped, feeling like I was on fire. Before I could even think or begin to gather my thoughts, Cade was pulling me towards his car.
“You can’t just kidnap me,” I protested as he opened the door for me and ushered me in.
Cade closed the door behind me and got into his car. “We’re going to discuss this once and for all, and we can’t do it here in public. If I tell you that we’ll talk about it later, you’ll just avoid me. So, we’re doing this now.”
I had to admit, his sense of taking charge was pretty sexy. It had always drawn me to him. And he was…well, he was right. I didn’t want to talk about this with him. I wanted to just get on with my life.
Cade started the car and peeled out of his parking spot. “I want you and Andrew in my life, and we’re going to figure that out. I’m not giving up and I’m not leaving you, not this time.”
His conviction gave me hope. The fact that he said he wanted me in his life as well, not just Drew…did that mean that our relationship still had a chance?
I texted Caitlyn and apologized for the scene I’d caused at her grand opening and asked if she could pick up Drew from his friend’s house. I’d arranged for him to stay late with a friend for the first time, getting to stay up and watch movies, and Drew had been so excited all day that he’d practically been vibrating.
Caitlyn accepted my apology and said that it was no problem. Sort this whole thing out with Cade, she texted. I’m rooting for you. Let me know if you need anything.
She really was an amazing friend. I told her so, and then called the mother of the friend Drew was staying with. “Hi, Sharon! Sorry to bother you…yes, it’s Laura…. I was just hoping to talk to Drew real quick. Thank you so much.”
My sweet boy was on the phone a moment later. “Hi Mama!”
“Hello angel! Are you having fun?”
“Yes! We’re watching superheroes!”
“Fantastic. Sounds like a blast. Are you being responsible and listening to Mrs. Monroe?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. Listen, I’ve had something come up, so Caitlyn’s gonna pick you up instead. I hope that’s okay? She’ll get you right to bed and I’ll be there in the morning when you wake up.”
“Is this another grown-up sleep over?” Drew asked shrewdly.
I glanced at Cade, laughing nervously. I hoped that he couldn’t hear Drew through the phone. “We’ll see. I have to take care of some things and I just don’t know how late I’ll be so I wanted to make sure that Caitlyn could pick you up. Okay? Have fun, I love you!”
“Okay Mama. I love you too!”
I hung up and found Cade shooting glances at me. Could he have heard the conversation? Or just a part of it? Or none at all? He knew that I was talking to Drew, it was obvious. What was he thinking? It was impossible for me to tell. His face was impassive.
We arrived at the lake house, my heart in my throat. Cade turned on the lights, took my coat—was the perfect gentleman—all in silence. At last, he led me to the living room.
I sat down before my knees had a chance to give out. Cade couldn’t seem to be able to sit down—he paced the room, instead.
“I’ve already admitted to screwing up before, all those years ago,” he told me. “But you’re the one who’s screwing up now.”
Oh, really? “I’m not the one who left and never looked back. You could have called me any time over the past ten years. When you’re the one who does the breaking up, it’s not up to the heartbroken person to rekindle the connection. Cade, think about this for a second. If you’d been dumped, would you contact that person? If you had been told what you’d said to me, would you have any reason to believe that the other person would want you, or a child, in their lives?
“A child would have ruined your chances at a political career, and you had made it clear to me that that was all you cared about. I know now that you were just saying what your parents wanted but I didn’t know that then. You gave me no reason to think that you’d be anything but upset. And there is no law, anywhere, that says I have to track down the father of my child.”
Cade folded his arms. “Because Drew doesn’t need a father? He doesn’t need a positive male influence in his life, is that right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid and don’t put words in my mouth. I never said that. Of course, it would be better for him to have his father in his life. You think I didn’t wish that you were here when he was born? I missed you, I was in love with you, and I wanted you to be here for your child. But I didn’t think that it was a possibility, and I wasn’t going to set myself up for humiliation and I certainly wasn’t going to set my child up to be rejected. I would never take that chance that he would be hurt, abandoned, told that he meant nothing to his parent.”
Cade’s jaw dropped and he stopped pacing. “You…you think I would do that to my own child?”
“Yes.” I looked him dead in the eyes, “Because it’s what you did to me.”
Cade slumped down heavily on the couch, like his legs had given out from under him. He looked at me, his eyes moist. “I’m…”.
He cleared his throat and looked away. After a moment of silence, he looked back at me.
“I didn’t realize that…. I told you about my parents and what they wanted for me. Back then, I knew that they would never approve of us. I didn’t know how to stand up to them. So, I took the coward’s way out and I rejected you. And I’m so sorry for that, Laura.”
He took my hands gently in his. “I’m so sorry but I want you to know that I loved you back then, I really did, and I want to make it right with you now. I’ve spent all these years regretting what I did, regretting how much I’d hurt you. I had…I had no idea how much it still hurt you. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
Cade raised my hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “I’ve learned from my mistakes. You don’t have to worry about me abandoning my son ever. And you don’t have to worry about me abandoning you, either. That’s never going to happen.”
He cupped my cheeks, a look of such tenderness on his face that it took my breath away, and he kissed me.
My chest felt like it was cracking open, like all the emotions I had tried so hard not to feel were pouring out of my heart, and I had no chance of stopping them.
I pushed myself up on my toes to kiss him back with everything in me, and Cade laughed as he stumbled back a little, his arms coming around me to steady my balance. He pushed me back down onto the couch, and for a moment we were just intertwine
d like that, kissing like we were teenagers all over again.
Cade slid his hands underneath my blouse, squeezing my breasts, and I gasped, arching into him. I bit on his lip teasingly in response, and he laughed. “There’s my playful little kitten.”
I meowed and Cade burst into laughter, sitting up to get his shirt off. I slid my hands up his chest, pinching his nipples, kissing the muscles on his torso. Cade groaned with a deep desire that validated the roaring passion inside me, blood pumping in my brain with desire for one thing, and one thing only. Fervently, he took off my clothes and hauled me onto his lap.
For the first time, I was truly hoping that we could be together. He had apologized and wanted to be with us, he had promised that he wouldn’t leave again. I felt buoyed, floating, happier than I’d been in ages.
I spread my legs apart and settled on his lap, rubbing him down, feeling his cock harden against the touch of my body. It felt so damn good, and I was tempted to keep going, to make him come just from making out and rubbing my clit against his throbbing cock.
But I couldn’t give up the feeling of his cock inside me. I teased him for a bit, letting the tip of his cock almost get inside but I’d pull away again and get back to grinding against him.
“Minxy little kitten,” Cade growled, biting at my throat with his lips. I gasped, feeling myself get wet at his tone of voice.
“You like it,” I replied, twisting my hips a little.
Cade wrapped his hands around my hips, fingers digging in, and he lifted me up—then lowered me down onto his cock.
I gasped, pleasure spreading through me, my body spreading itself to welcome the explosion of desire, the feeling of being filled to the brim with lust. Cade thrust his hips a little and I moaned helplessly. He grinned.
“Time for a real ride, kitten,” he said, and I held on for dear life.
27
The One and Only: A Single Mom Second Chance Romance (Heart of Hope) Page 17
