by Jean Page
Built to Last
Jean Page
Copyright © 2013 Jean Page
All rights reserved.
ISBN-10: 149057476X
ISBN-13: 978-1490574769
DEDICATION
This is for the love of my life, Richard, because without him, none of this would have been possible. Also for Andria, whose honesty gave it a polish.
PROLOGUE
Noelle sat quietly in the truck as her sister pulled into the high school parking lot.
“We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to. I just thought you might like a night out and since Sam couldn’t come with me tonight…”
“Yeah, yeah it’ll be fun. What’s not fun about High School Reunions?” she laughed.
She watched Cade walk across the parking lot and into the old high school. He looked as sexy as she remembered him. Her sister didn’t seem to notice him at all. She supposed that’s what happened to married people. Watching Cade walk with natural athletic grace threw her into an old memory.
***
“Isn’t he gorgeous?” she whispered behind her hand to her sixteen-year-old best friend Jenny.
“I suppose, if you like that type,” Jenny replied, looking down the hallway at the object of Noelle’s adoration. “Isn’t Cade dating your sister Del though?”
“So, it’s not like they are married!”
“Now, there is someone to have a serious crush on.” Jenny pointed out captain of the basketball team, Eric Forsythe. “I’d give it up for him anytime.”
“Jenny!”
The girls laughed, “Well, I would!”
The bell rang signaling school was about to start and both girls headed for their classroom.
“You should watch out Elle,” Jenny warned using Noelle’s nickname. “Cade Harden has a reputation for breaking hearts. He wouldn’t give a freshman like you the time of day.”
Noelle looked back over her shoulder at the senior with his tall dark good looks and sighed. It seemed like her every waking thought was of Cade and a good deal of her sleeping ones too.
***
“Elle.” Del called her name again. “You look completely lost in thought. Where did you go?”
“Just remembering old times,” Noelle replied. She changed the subject. “Mom’s been doing better lately. You should come by and see her. She misses you.”
Del’s smile was stiff as she climbed from the truck. She loved her mother there was no doubt, but watching her die was something Del had a very hard time doing. “You know how hard it is for me.”
Noelle frowned at her sister as they walked across the parking lot. “It’s been four years Del, how much time do you think you are going to get to make peace with her? Mom is not going to get better and you are breaking her heart. Get over yourself and think of her feelings for once would you?”
Del looked anywhere but at Noelle. “I’m just not as strong as you.” She muttered, holding back tears. She rubbed at her eyes and put on a tight but fake smile. “Can we not talk about this anymore? I wanted to give you a night out where you could relax for a while.”
Noelle sighed and followed her sister into the school building. The music inside the gym was blaring. Cheap streamers and dance decorations hung from the bleachers on both sides, much as they had for school dances when she was a kid. It had been seven years since she had been inside this building and yet it didn’t feel any different for her. Being at her sister’s ten year, high school reunion made her feel like that awkward fifteen year old with a devastating unrequited crush on Cade. Only she had decided that tonight was going to be different. She was older and more confident than she had been as a teen. She intended to make sure all of Del’s old high school friends saw it too.
While Del caught up with old classmates, Noelle wandered the halls. She ran into Eric Forsythe. “I was just thinking about you.” She said, smiling at the man. Jenny’s dream guy was a balding chunky guy with bad breath now. She spent a proper amount of time talking to him and then excused herself. She walked on further looking for her old locker.
“Noelle, right?” Cade asked walking up to her. “You’re Del’s little sister.”
Noelle blushed feeling happy that he had remembered her. “Cade Harden. Wow, you certainly got tall.” She flinched inwardly at her feeble attempt at witty banter.
“And you, wow, you were always pretty, but you’re downright gorgeous now.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” She laughed, leaning up against the lockers and staring up into his eyes in the semi-dark of the hallway. She couldn’t help but compare him to the younger version of himself she remembered. Cade in his football uniform, those pants hugging his backside so closely that she wanted to pinch it just to see if it was real. Then, there was the Cade she found groping her sister. He’d jumped back when he saw her and pulled a pillow into his lap, but not before she’d gotten a glimpse of what he was hiding. The thought brought a lovely blush to her cheeks as she looked at him.
He had always treated her kindly when he and Del had dated. Maybe that was part of the reason for the beginning of the crush. She had been jealous of his attention to her sister. She’d wanted him for herself in every way possible back then. Cade had been handsome and sweet and her hormones never let her forget just how much of an effect he had on her just by touching her hand. It appeared as if nothing had changed even after all these years.
As they looked at each other, both reliving moments from the past, the tension between them grew. When Noelle finally spoke, her voice was husky with desire. “So, are you here with someone?” Her heart was dancing in her chest. She hadn’t seen a wedding ring. He was so virile. She wanted him to kiss her badly enough that her lips tingled with anticipation.
“No, flying solo tonight.” He replied feeling his body stir at the sound of her voice.
“I can’t imagine no one has scooped you up Cade.” She flirted looking up through her lashes at him. “Did you know I had the worst crush on you back in high school?”
“Is that so? I had no idea.” He had noticed her as well, but she was a freshman, just a kid really, his girlfriend’s little sister. Now, standing here staring into her eyes, he felt the fire leaping between them. He wanted to explore that feeling. “Would it be too presumptuous to ask if you wanted to go somewhere else? This really isn’t my scene.”
“I came with my sister,” Noelle replied.
“You still live here in the Salt Lake area?”
“Yeah,” It was all she could do to keep from tackling him against the locker. She tucked her hands behind her back.
“How about I take you to dinner and then I can take you home. I know this Italian place not too far from here.”
“I’m not really feeling hungry for food. I have a better idea.” She grabbed Cade by the hand and led him down the hallway into one of the classrooms. Tonight, she was going to get to be that schoolgirl with the crush and live out the fantasy. Once inside, she closed and leaned against the door. She pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Cade moaned with delight at finding a willing sexy woman suddenly in his arms. The tension that had been pulling between them sparked and caught fire. The danger of being heard or getting caught only seemed to spur on his need as his tongue mingled with hers. She tasted like warm honey as she kissed him. She lightly bit his bottom lip teasing him with her body as she rocked against him.
“Cade…” she moaned with need as she felt his arousal between them. She couldn’t stop at just kissing him. She wanted more. She wanted all of him. He pulled at her t-shirt until it was free of her jeans and slid his hands underneath. Her skin felt like silk against his fingertips. He pulled the t-shirt over her head, his hands grazing the sides of her breasts. He kissed down t
he side of her neck and across her collarbone before grabbing her backside and firmly pulling her into his hard body. He lifted her small frame so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. She nibbled and kissed him like this for several minutes before he set her down on the edge of the teacher’s desk. She shoved everything out of the way.
He leaned her back over the desk, kissing down her neck once more and down her chest. His hot lips slid across the lacy bra to draw heat into one nipple before moving to the other to do the same. She sighed with the pleasure he was creating in her.
Cade unbuttoned his own shirt impatiently and dropped it off his shoulders to the floor. He pulled her to him again so that he could feel that sexy silky skin against his own. He was on fire for her, his need obvious even through his jeans. But Cade stopped and looked down at her in the dim light of the classroom. “Are you sure you want to do this here?”
Noelle didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to feel Cade move inside her, as she had imagined for years. “Yes,” she cried breathlessly. “I want you to make love to me Cade, just this once.”
His desire was strong for her. He growled at her in a way that told her he meant to have her right here and right this minute. She gave him an incredibly sexy smile.
“Noelle?” he panted.
“Yes, Cade,” she replied looking up into his eyes with lusty adoration.
“Italian? If it’s not your thing I imagine we could find someplace else for dinner.”
Noelle frowned in confusion. She looked quickly around her noting that they had never actually left the hallway. She blushed, realizing she had been daydreaming while he was talking to her. Feeling incredibly embarrassed, she made the excuse that she needed to get back home to care for her mother and darted off to find Del.
“Where have you been?” Del grilled her when she showed back up in the gym.
“Catching up with an old friend.” She replied nervously. “Why?”
“Because this,” she gestured around the room, “is about as much fun as watching your cat sleep. Let’s go see a movie or something, do you mind?”
Noelle glanced around the gym spotting Cade. “No, not at all sis. Lead the way.” She said and took off for the car.
CHAPTER ONE
The moon filled the night with shadows. The air was crisp and cold and the snow crunched beneath the feet of those still out and about town. Noelle Fuchs was one of them but she felt like she was in a world completely alone. Since the death of her mother two weeks ago, she had been in a state of suspended animation. Six years she had watched her mother slowly fade away but in the end it had still been hard to finally let go. Nothing seemed to be able to penetrate the invisible wall around her. Grief had made sleep a distant friend and the dark circles under her eyes made her look older. In the past two weeks, she made all the arrangements for her mother’s funeral, had comforted friends and relatives alike, and had seen to all the paperwork that went along with these sorts of things. She had called magazine companies to cancel subscriptions, closed out bank accounts, and paid off final bills to the hospital and the mortuary. She had even begun boxing up her mother’s things to donate to Goodwill and the church her mother attended. But with all the effort she put into the closure of her mother’s life, she had not stopped to think what it meant to her. Not until today, when she had ran into Eric Forsythe again while she was out shopping and he’d asked her what she planned to do next. She had stood dumbfounded in front of him as if he had asked how someone might plant peas on the moon.
Now, hours later, she was sitting on a bench in the park staring into the distance trying to figure out just how to answer that question. What had she even done in the two years since she’d seen Eric last? She had been swallowed up in taking care of her mother and that was her whole life.
Her older sister, Del, had twin toddlers at home now and had just gotten married when their mother was told she had six months to live, so it only made sense that Noelle be the one to become caretaker. What started out as a six-month diagnosis had extended out into six more years of life. As Margaret Fuchs’ sickness progressed and the treatment and medications did not have the desired effect, Noelle had quit her job to move in with her mother and be there full time. She had barely been twenty-one. Now she was twenty-seven and hadn’t thought beyond tomorrow. Noelle closed her eyes to ease the sting she felt, even though tears had yet to stain her cheeks. Her nose felt cold and threatened to start running so she decided to head for home.
Home...not her home. She had lived there for six years but it didn’t even belong to her mother, the bank owned it for the reverse mortgage that had pulled to pay for the hospital visits and medications once her insurance had stopped paying out. She had a little over a month to clear out, and then what?
She opened the front door and flipped on the lights. The soft rumbling from somewhere near her ankles reminded her that Precious, her cat, had been home alone all day and probably needed food and water. She reached down and stroked the animal before picking her up and nuzzling her nose into her creamy fur.
“I’m sorry Precious. Are you hungry girl?” she asked carrying the cat into the kitchen. She refilled the food and water dishes and opened the refrigerator door, more out of habit than need.
“Looks like it’s leftovers for me again tonight,” she spoke to herself, as Precious crunched her cat food loudly.
She filled a plate with some noodle casserole dish one of her mother’s friends had brought over and popped it into the microwave to heat. She arranged a TV tray in front of the chair in the living room and turned on the news. She was done thinking for the day it was time for some mindlessness. Any of the evening melodramas would do the trick, though she preferred the nighttime soap style shows. The microwave announced her dinner was hot and she retrieved it along with a bottle of beer from the refrigerator. Precious decided to join her as she sat, by curling up on the arm of the overstuffed armchair.
Noelle was halfway through the show when her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket to answer it.
“Hey Noelle, I just wanted to check in on you,” her sister chimed from the other end of the phone. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” she stated even though it was far from the reality of things. Her sister had enough on her plate to deal with and Noelle had become accustomed to lying to spare her sister the details of everyday life with Mom.
“I wish there was more I could do, I mean, is there anything I can help with?” Del sounded sad and more than a little guilty.
“You know that I have it handled. A few more weeks and the bank will take back the house. Mom really didn’t have much left to pack,” she answered.
“I know but I still need to help,” Del replied softly.
Noelle sighed quietly trying to think of anything she hadn’t already arranged. “Well, if you want to come up this weekend, you can help me go through the picture albums and mementos. We need to decide what goes to whom.”
“I’d like that,” Del intoned. The wall of grief between them seemed thicker than ever. “I can be there Saturday morning. I’ll have Samuel’s mom look after the boys.”
“Okay then,” Noelle replied. She paused, listening for something more from her sister.
“Alright, I’ll see you Saturday then. I love you. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Noelle replied and closed her cell.
CHAPTER TWO
Cade Harden closed his deep green eyes against the blinding light of morning. He groaned to himself as he tossed aside the covers of his king sized bed and scrubbed a hand through his dark head of hair. It was going to be another long day of meetings and paperwork. Did anyone in their right mind like paperwork or meetings? He didn’t think it was likely but it was part of the process of owning a company. Harden Construction had been his baby for nearly eight years now. Yet, he still preferred to get his hands dirty on site rather than don a suit and meet with the clients. He loved the idea of building something from nothing and h
ad since he was a kid. His dad, before he retired to Arizona, had been a carpenter. Cade grew up with the smells of fresh cut wood and resin in his nostrils and loved it. He’d attended college for a degree in architecture and ended up with one in business as well.
A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts as he poured himself a mug of coffee. He glanced at the clock thinking it was still too early for visitors as he opened the door.
“Don’t you ever answer your phone?” Steven Smith demanded, pushing his way into Cade’s kitchen.
“I forgot to put it on the charger last night Steve. What’s so important it couldn’t wait until I got to the office?”
“Kelly Brumeiser, that’s what.”
Cade frowned at his friend and partner. “Kelly is in Florida working on a deal with that Marble dealer.”
“Kelly was on Florida working on a deal. He just up and quit, Cade. Apparently, he found himself some wealthy pretty senorita and married her. He’s not coming back to Utah.”
Cade raised a skeptical brow at his friend’s theatrics. “You’re serious. My best marble guy just walked out. No notice. That doesn’t seem like Kelly.”
Steven shifted uncomfortably on his seat. “Not entirely, but I certainly didn’t think he was serious or I would have said something to you.”
“What...” Cade rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension gathering there. It was too early in the morning for this.
“He might have said something in passing last week about getting another job offer.” Steven shrugged.
“And you didn’t think that was serious? He’s been on me for a couple months for a raise; it’s why I let him go to Florida.” Cade sighed. “Well, there is nothing we can do about Kelly, so what are we going to do about the Plaza job? We have three months left until deadline and we were just going to be squeaking in as it was. We have to find another marble guy. Do you know if Kelly at least got us the deal with the marble distributor? I need both the red and the gold to finish the lobby area.”
