by Tawny Weber
No matter. It was obviously going to be a non-forgiving kind of get-together, she decided as she shifted her gaze to the third person at the table.
Fury, frustration and a surge of love all twined together as Eden lifted her chin and in her chilliest tone greeted, “Hello, Mother.”
As far as parents went, Eleanor was a stunner. Traveling across the country had clearly agreed with the woman, who glowed like she’d just had a luxury spa treatment.
“Darling, it’s so good to see you.” Eleanor made as if to get up and offer her only child a hug, but Eden wasn’t having any of that. She quickly slid into the chair next to Catherine instead, so her mother had to settle for patting her hand.
“You must be surprised,” Catherine said in a gentle tone. She gave Eden a sympathetic look from those eyes so like Cade’s and smiled. “I was afraid if I told you who would be joining us, you might find an excuse to refuse breakfast.”
“I never refuse breakfast,” she said with the closest thing to a smile she could muster. “Actually, breakfast is my favorite meal. I’m especially fond of the stuffed French toast they make here. That, and the breakfast biscuits. They’re as flaky as they are light.”
“Eden—”
Eden’s jaw clenched. Before she could snap, Catherine sent Eleanor a chiding look, then gestured for Eden to continue.
“Speaking of breakfast,” Eden added, after taking a deep breath. “The special-blend kibble you ordered for Alfie arrived yesterday. I have it in my car to give to you before we leave.”
“Alfie will love that, dear.” Catherine took a sip of her tea, then launched a soliloquy on the wonderfulness that was her new pet.
In the next five minutes, Eden discovered three things. Robert Sullivan hated being ignored. He looked like he was about to burst, his face was so red and tight. And she wasn’t sure how much longer her mother could go without saying a word, but she was impressed that Eleanor’s upbringing was so solidly ingrained that she managed to keep her friendly smile in place, even while she wore her fingernails down tapping them on the table.
But best of all, she realized that Catherine was a total imp. The society matron knew perfectly well that she was torturing her son and driving her guest crazy, but from the way her eyes were dancing, she didn’t care. All she seemed focused on was talking about her sweet little Yorkie.
And, Eden realized, putting her at her ease.
Almost moved to grateful tears, Eden decided she’d taken advantage of the older woman’s machinations long enough. She took a deep breath, then offered a hesitant smile.
“Mrs. Sullivan, I have to apologize for leaving the Spring Fling early. I wasn’t feeling my best. But that’s no excuse for my rudeness in not staying to help out.”
As if she’d been waiting for Eden to get to that point, Catherine nodded, then gestured to the other two people scowling at the table.
“You shouldn’t feel bad for needing to leave, dear,” she chided. “From what I understand, my son was horribly uncouth, tactlessly discussing matters that had no business being mentioned at a social event.”
Eden’s lips twitched when Robert actually hung his head at that, still frowning despite his abashed look.
Since there was nothing she could say to top that chastisement, she turned her attention to her mother instead.
“I’ve been trying to reach you for two weeks. What made you finally decide to come home?” she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral but afraid it still had a strong layer of bitterness on top.
“Cade reached me in Connecticut yesterday. He insisted I return.” Eleanor leaned forward and, ignoring Eden’s glare, took both of her daughter’s hands. “Oh, darling, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so out of touch. I’d met a wonderful couple at my first craft fair who suggested I try the eastern circuit instead of the southern route. Oh, sweetie, it was wonderful. My erotic pottery was a huge hit. Then I got so distracted with the shows, the new people, that I totally forgot about checking in with you.”
No surprise there. Eden’s anger, fueled by the hurt of always being forgotten by her own mother, faded a little. It was hard to hold a grudge against Eleanor for simply being her usual self-absorbed self. Still, she’d gone behind Eden’s back, borrowed against the house, then ran out on her debts.
“I tried calling you, Mother. I left a dozen or more messages. You never returned any of them.”
“I forgot to charge that silly phone.”
“Then how did Cade—” Eden paused to swallow the lump in her throat. It even hurt to say his name. “How did he reach you?”
“He had me arrested.”
Robert’s snort drowned out the sound of Eden’s gasp.
“Arrested?”
“Well, I guess that’s what you’d call it.” Sunlight glistened off the dozen rings on Eleanor’s fingers as she waved her hand. “I was picked up by the military police in Groton.”
Eden narrowed her eyes, then shook her head. “You don’t seem very upset for someone who was detained, Mother.”
“Well, the boy who stopped me was very cute. And so polite. What a lovely credit to the navy he was. Much like Cade, of course,” Eleanor said, giving both Catherine and Robert a bright smile. “What a sweet man he’s grown to be. As angry as he had to be, he sent his uncle to meet me at the airport and bring me here in time to meet with the three of you.”
Cade had arranged this. He’d tracked down her flake of a mother, called in military favors and made all these arrangements. He really was her hero.
“I didn’t mean to get you into this mess, Sweetie. I simply lost track of time and forgot the payments were due.”
“Speaking of payments, I have a proposition for you and your mother,” Robert interrupted, pulling her attention back to the less friendly faces at her own table.
“What’s that?” Eden asked, not caring since she knew anything he proposed wasn’t going to be in her favor. Still, she couldn’t be rude with Catherine sitting right there.
“You use your influence on my son. Convince him not to take this new assignment.” Robert reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a check. The one Cade had written for ten thousand dollars, Eden realized. “You do that, and I’ll forgive your mother’s loan. You want to help your mom, don’t you?”
Eden’s mouth dropped. She didn’t know what was worse. That he would try to bribe her to con his own son, or that he thought she would consider it.
Before she could say anything, or even try to talk over the strident scolding Catherine was serving up, her mother interrupted.
“Oh, now that’s just silly. Eden isn’t responsible for my debts. Robert, I told you that I’d pay you. Time just got away from me.”
“The loan was due last month, and you missed that deadline. Now we’re discussing new terms.”
“Robert,” Catherine whispered, her face a study of anger.
“Don’t be silly. The terms we agreed on are just fine,” Eleanor said with a flutter of her lashes. “Even though you didn’t cash that check from Cade yet, taking it was implicit acceptance of payment, after all. I’d planned to give the cash directly to him, but this is easier.”
Eleanor leaned over to lift a suede bag from her feet, setting it on the table with a dull thud. She tugged open the drawstrings, and the fabric fell away, revealing a foot-tall pottery sculpture with a pile of neatly bundled bills at its feet.
Eden knew she should be gaping at all of those dollars. Ten thousand of them at least, she figured. But it was hard to tear her eyes off the vivid pink color and distinctive shape.
“What the...”
“That’s a little bonus. A sort of thank you for being so patient,” Eleanor told him, giving the large ceramic vulva one last proud pat. “It’s part of my Evolving Woman series. I have other pieces if you’d like a different color.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Robert protested. “What are you doing, making that, that...?”
“This is art. I used
to call it a craft. And then I did this little trip and learned the difference. I, my dears, create art,” Eleanor declared. “Art that earns me a tidy bundle. Enough to pay you back, pay off the bank and repay my sweet Eden. You should learn to expand your horizons a little, Robert.”
“Expand my...?”
Eden’s lips twitched. The man was actually speechless.
“We should always be true to ourselves, after all. Look at my Eden, here. She’s worked hard to follow her dreams. Going to school all those years, getting her degree and coming back to open her veterinary clinic here.”
Eleanor’s smile beamed across the table, warming her daughter. “And your Cade. You must be so proud of him, of all he’s done. Not because he’s a SEAL, but because he’s followed his dream. Because he’s been true to himself. That’s all we want as parents, isn’t it?”
Eden was so busy doing an emotional tailspin, she missed the rest of her mother’s lecture on parenting from the heart.
She had followed her dreams. She was seeing her wishes come true and even more dreams manifest. She didn’t know if it was because she’d been so excited, so confident and empowered after she got her wish for fantasy sex with Cade. Whatever it was, she’d been making her own decisions all along. She’d chosen to have sex with Cade. She’d been the one to maneuver all the gossips into bringing in their pets if they wanted to be nosy. Right up until the Spring Fling, when she’d elected to walk away from Janie’s taunts instead of using her relationship to gain a coveted spot as a Cade-ette.
Suddenly feeling a little ill, Eden gulped iced lemon water and tried to pretend her mother wasn’t petting ceramic girly bits.
She’d made all those choices.
But she hadn’t let Cade make his own decision.
She’d tried to rescue him.
Instead of letting him rescue himself.
Exactly what she’d accused him of doing.
Eden’s heart sank.
Even if she’d ruined things between her and Cade, she had to fix her mistake.
Eden got to her feet so fast, the ceramic vulva teetered. Eleanor gasped and grabbed the statue. Robert growled. Catherine gave a serene smile.
“Mr. Sullivan, please take my mother’s payment and consider this matter closed.” Eden interrupted his stutters and leaned across the table, giving him a stern look. “And consider this. You are lucky to have a son as wonderful as yours. If you want a little advice, you might start appreciating what you have. If you want something from Cade, talk to him. Be truthful. These silly games are beneath you.”
Advice she’d do well to listen to herself.
With that, and a quick kiss for both Catherine and her grinning mother, Eden turned on the heel of her very practical shoes and glided from the room.
It was, if she did say so herself, the most graceful exit of her life.
* * *
CADE STUMBLED DOWN the stairs, wincing as the bright sunlight pierced his sleep-deprived eyes, and felt his way into the kitchen. Who the hell was making all this noise?
His grandmother’s rules drilled into his head, he automatically pasted on a smile filled with as much charm as he could muster with a hangover and yanked open the door.
As soon as he saw who was on the other side, his smile dropped, along with his mood—which hadn’t been too perky to begin with.
“What? You need an affidavit signed stating you qualify for the Cade-ettes?” he asked, leaning his bare shoulder against the doorframe and giving Eden a distant look.
“Clever.” Eden gave him a shaky smile that fell away quickly when he didn’t smile back.
She looked so damned good. Her hair was slicked back in a tidy braid, her face glowing in the morning light. There wasn’t a hint of misery or even a smidge of a hangover in her big brown eyes.
Damn her.
“Can I come in?”
“Why? Catherine isn’t here.”
There. He wanted her to leave, that should do it. Cade steeled himself against the hurt he expected to see on her face. But Eden lifted her chin and gave him a look that said she was more determined than dissuaded. What the hell?
“I need to talk to you.” She bit her lip, then offered a big, bright smile. “I need your help.”
Cade’s jaw dropped.
“You’re kidding, right?”
She was kidding, right?
Instead of assuring him that this was a joke, Eden brushed past, gave his arm a quick pat, then hurried into the sitting room.
Cade wanted to believe it was shocked curiosity that had him following and not the fact that, even now, he couldn’t refuse her a single thing.
“You need my help?” he repeated, trying to smother his automatic call to action. “With what?”
Seating herself on his grandmother’s antique settee, Eden opened her mouth to respond, then her eyes went wide and hot. Cade glanced down and grimaced, realizing he’d stormed down the stairs in just a pair of jeans. He should excuse himself and put a shirt on at least.
But he liked that look on her face. He watched her eyes heat as they trailed over his body like a hot caress. He liked the way she wet her bottom lip and took a deep breath, as if the sight of him was a total turn-on.
It didn’t matter that they were through, or that she’d used him. He couldn’t stop his body’s reaction.
“What do you need help with?” he asked again, wanting her eyes back on his face before his body’s reaction became any more apparent.
“What?” She blinked a couple of times, then puffed out a breath. “Oh. Right. Um, first, before we get into that, I wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
For getting her into an exclusive club?
For giving her two weeks of mind-blowing sex?
For falling crazy in love with her?
“For hauling my mother home. Making her face her responsibilities and take care of the mess she’d left.” Eden looked down at her knees for a second, as if smothering a smile. “She paid your father this morning, and is meeting with the bank manager this afternoon. So thank you, yet again, for rescuing me.”
Cade frowned. He hadn’t pickled his brain so much that he’d forgotten her accusations just two days ago. That he saw her as a perpetual victim, that he didn’t believe she could take care of herself. She’d yelled at him for rescuing her all the time. And now she was thanking him for it?
He rubbed at the throbbing pain in his temple. What was she trying to do?
“I don’t get it,” he confessed. “Now you’re glad I rescued you?”
“Yes.” She said the word so fast it was practically a rush of air. Then she bit her lip again and gave him one of those sweet, big-eyed stares.
“Why?”
“Because I realized that it’s not a judgment or sign that you don’t respect me. It’s proof that you care. A way of trying to help. Of stepping in to keep me from getting hurt.”
Right.
His frown deepened. He narrowed his gaze.
“What are you up to?”
Eden jumped up from the couch and started pacing. Fireplace to window, chair to piano. After two rounds, she took a deep breath and met his gaze.
“I sort of have something to confess.”
Did she want to confess that she really cared about him?
Admit that she was miserable without him?
Beg him to strip her naked and do wild and naughty things to her body?
From the scared look on her face, Cade figured it was probably none of the above.
“I sort of didn’t tell you the truth the other night,” she said, her words murmured to her toes instead of his face.
“I beg your pardon?”
Even after she’d told him she’d used him to get into that stupid club, Cade didn’t think Eden had it in her to actually lie.
“I didn’t really try to get into the Cade-ettes. I refused to tell Janie what we had between us.”
“Then why’d you say you did?”
“I was afraid you were going to throw your career away. That you’d make this huge decision and regret it later. I figured if you didn’t have me as an excuse, you’d stick with the SEALs until you really knew if you wanted to leave or not.”
Cade’s mind reeled. But one clear fact stood out in the spinning confusion.
“You were trying to rescue me?”
Her smile was half-grimace, half-wince.
“I was afraid you’d give up something you loved for the wrong reason.”
“You think leaving the SEALs for you is the wrong reason?”
“I think leaving the SEALs because you can’t get over the loss of your friend is the wrong reason,” she said gently, lifting his grandmother’s framed photo of him, Blake and Phil graduating bootcamp.
Cade stared at the picture.
It was like he was at war with himself.
A part of him was tired. Just so damned tired. A year would give him time to decide if he wanted to stick with the SEALs or shift focus. It would give him time to get past the loss of Phil, to process his feelings about command. To heal.
Damned if he’d even known he was wounded until Eden made him face the truth. Just like he wouldn’t have realized he was in love with her until she’d walked out on him.
The real question wasn’t what he was going to do about his job. The question on the table right now was what was he going to do about his life.
“You were right,” he finally said.
“I was...?”
“Right,” he repeated. Cade shoved both hands through his hair, then shrugged. “I wanted to use you to avoid making a choice. To avoid admitting that I might want to do something other than be a SEAL.”
“And now?” Her words were whisper soft, but so loaded with understanding that Cade felt as if she’d come over and wrapped him in a big hug.
“And now I know what I’m going to do. Just like I know I need to quit hiding and face the loss of my buddy.” It hurt to say the words. To admit that he was ready to take that first step toward healing. It’d be like saying goodbye to Phil all over again. But he couldn’t have a future if he was stuck in the past.
He looked at Eden, and knew.
