Also, it seemed like Holden had intentionally kept his assailant’s identity a secret, at least from me. I wouldn’t have helped even the score otherwise, and he must’ve known. But why? Why was it okay to retaliate against any other person for the same offense, but it bothered me to do it to Cade?
I didn’t know how things had gotten so screwed up.
Cade was such a beautiful mystery. I liked where things had been heading with him, but I hated his secrecy. It’s what had pushed me right into Holden’s lap. So, if anyone was to blame for that one not working out, it was Cade. I think what bothered me most, aside from him secretly dating Loren, was that I still hadn’t figured him out. If I only knew him, maybe I could move past him…
Holden, on the other hand, had proved to be more wonderful than I ever would have guessed. He wasn’t the jerk I’d thought he was at all. He was cocky, yes, but also sweet and affectionate, determined and persistent and talented. I thought the list could go on and on. I loved getting to know him a little bit more each time we were together, because he just kept upping the ante.
I wanted to continue onward with Holden in the worst kind of way. I was deeply attracted to him and already addicted to being with him, but it didn’t seem entirely fair to commit to him while I was still dragging my Cade issues around.
I also wanted to get to know Cade better, especially because he was so hell-bent on keeping everything a secret. There were too many things he wasn’t telling me, I just knew it, but I didn’t want to risk losing Holden over nothing more than insane curiosity.
And what if I ever did learn just who Cade Landston was? Then what? If he was horrible, it would be a no-brainer…but what if he wasn’t? Would solving the mystery be enough to move on? Or would things change entirely?
I hated to think about it, mostly because I hated the thought of ever having to choose between them. It was true, plain and simple, that I wanted them both. Not at the same time, but like, in parallel lives, somehow. I wished there were two of me just so I could experience them both to the fullest without having to compromise.
Did that make me a selfish bitch? Or just a normal, conflicted person? Maybe everyone felt like this, but they just made the executive decision to choose… How could I know for sure?
At any rate, I needed to stop worrying. I’d already made the decision to feed the beast that made me happy, and right then, that meant Holden.
I blinked and stopped walking. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was.
I’d reached Kensington Street at some point, so I was at least on the right road. The house numbers around me were in the high hundreds. Sienna’s house number was one hundred fourteen; I’d just rechecked my email. Up ahead, closer to the river, the houses started getting bigger and farther apart, but the numbers were getting smaller. It wouldn’t be too much farther now.
The road meandered like the river, and a few minutes later, when I rounded another bend, I saw a moving truck up ahead.
Two guys were outside in sweaty cutoff shirts that clung to their muscled chests like a second skin. One blond, one brunet, both hauling an end of a leather couch.
A beautiful girl with straight, near-black hair and stunning gray eyes stood in a belly-shirt and short-shorts, holding open the front door as they passed. Her skin was almost too tan, like she’d been a regular at the bed, but it looked good on her.
She let out a giggle at something one of them said, then followed them inside.
No. Freaking. Way.
I glanced at the numbers on the side of the entryway, just to be sure. One hundred fourteen. This was Sienna’s new house, and Holden and Chase were helping her move in.
She came back outside a few seconds later, and her gray eyes fell right on me. “Valerie?” Sienna asked uncertainly. She immediately glided off the porch and half-jogged my way. She was a couple inches taller than me, but she was built the same: thin, but curvaceous where it mattered. “Oh my god, you look so different than your profile picture! You’re gorgeous! Come here!”
I grinned and squeezed her back as her arms wrapped around me tightly. “I’ll try not to take that as a backhanded compliment,” I said. We laughed, then pulled away, still holding hands.
“Seriously, though. You look amazing!” she insisted.
“Well, you look amazing too!” I said honestly. “I guess it’s safe to say we’ve both grown up, huh?”
“We certainly have,” she agreed with a perfectly pearly smile. She dropped my hands and turned back toward the house. “Holden! Chase! Valerie’s here!”
They stepped out the door and strode lithely toward where we were standing on the sidewalk. Holden immediately came over and kissed my cheek, swathing me in his trademark scent that was even more potent at that moment. My mind dizzied slightly. “I’d love to wrap you up in my arms right now, but”—he gestured to the layer of sweat that glazed his skin like glass—“I don’t think you’d like that much.”
Apparently he had no idea how sexy an athletic sweat was.
My thoughts immediately drifted to Chase’s truck. Holden laying on the seat, me on top of him. The fires of lust stirring out of the embers of infatuation. How badly I’d desired his kiss. The promise of what was to come…
Sienna grinned. “So, obviously you know my cousin, Holden, and Chase, his charming partner in crime, whom I just met this morning.”
My mind sputtered to a stop. “Come again?” Her what?
“Holden,” she clarified as she shoved his shoulder, and he smiled flagrantly. “He’s my cousin! On my mother’s side, obviously. That’s where the darker hair comes from. And Chase,” she said as she ruffled his hair. He ruffled hers right back and she giggled. “Holden’s best friend.”
I turned my head toward Holden once again. “You’re related to Sienna?”
“Yeah. Imagine my surprise when she told me you two used to be best friends! It’s a small, small world, and it just keeps getting smaller.”
“Wow,” I whispered. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
Holden grinned. “So, is this the secret friend you wanted to bring to the party?”
I glanced back and forth between the two. “Yes, actually.”
He laughed then shook his head. “No worries, she was already invited.”
“Imagine that.”
Sienna peaked around Chase toward the door. “Are Mom and Dad coming back out? I want Valerie to see them again, too.”
“I think Uncle Marco is setting up the living room electronics,” Holden said.
Chase added, “And your mom was ordering a pizza in the kitchen.”
Sienna waved us all in the direction of the house. “Come on, then. Let’s go inside real quick.”
Mrs. Aeris met us first. She was about my height, with hair longer than either Sienna’s or mine, but the same color as her daughter’s.
“Mom, you remember Valerie Moore,” Sienna said, gesturing to me.
Her mother smiled. “Jameson and Amelia’s daughter, of course. Hopefully you remember me, too! I’m Sienna’s mother, Philippa.”
“Nice to see you again,” I said, smiling as she pulled me into a light hug.
Marco rounded the corner to join in the action. He was tall with a light brown high-and-tight haircut that screamed military. He was solid, but not fat by any means. “Valerie?” he asked as he reached his hand out to me. “Marco Aeris. Your father and I were great friends. Still are! And your mother, God rest her soul, was a wonderful woman. She’s greatly missed.”
I smiled as genuinely as I could manage; they were making me want to cry. “Thank you, sir.”
He grinned wide. “There’s the navy brat in her!”
Holden laced his fingers in mine and squeezed. I glanced up at him and he was smiling warmly.
“Uh oh! Holden’s claiming territory,” Marco announced.
Philippa laughed, saying, “Don’t mind your uncle, Holden. He doesn’t have a filter,” and went back to stacking dinnerware in the cupboards.
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“No fil—” Marco began before his own astonishment cut him off. “I’ll have you know, I resemble that remark!”
Everyone laughed out loud, and Sienna clarified, “You’ll hear a lot of these cognate flips where my dad is concerned. He thinks it’s hilarious!”
“Hey, I don’t hear anyone complaining,” he added with a wink. Then he clapped his hands together. “How much is left in the truck, boys?”
“A little less than half,” Chase replied.
He gestured for us to shoo out the door. “Then get moving! Time is pizza, and it’ll be here in about thirty minutes, so…”
So we got moving, and we had everything unloaded in twenty-five.
After we ate, the guys walked down to Holden’s house to shower, which was apparently just a few houses down, the last one before Kensington dead-ended into the woods. They had a party to prepare for.
So did us girls. Sienna and I also showered and freshened up, girl-talking between applying makeup and playing dress-up.
“Oh my god, Chase is so hot!” she said as she dusted her eyelids.
I sniffed to keep from laughing. “He seems like he’s into you.”
“I think you’re right,” she added with a cocky grin; I decided then and there that it was hereditary. She began dusting her other lid as she asked, “So…Holden vs Cade, huh? Who’s the other guy?”
“Ugh…” I groaned as I applied some eyeliner. “I can’t talk to you about the other guy! Your cousin is the competition! That’d be uncalled for on my part, I think.”
“Valerie.” She whipped her head in my direction indignantly. “Holden is my cousin, yes, but you and I are girlfriends! We should be able to talk about anything without feeling judged. I know I won’t judge, anyway,” she said. “I’ve made way too many mistakes to accidentally think I’m perfect.”
I laughed out loud. “Accidentally, huh?” I shook my head and began crimping my lashes. “Cade Landston is the other guy, but I’m not sure if there’s even much to tell now.”
“What do you mean, ‘now’?” she asked suspiciously.
I sighed. “Well…he told me yesterday that I couldn’t have both him and Holden, and that I should just stay away from him. He also mentioned another girl. That girl, Loren, who I wrote you about? Yeah, I thought she liked Holden, but it was actually Cade.”
“Oh, shit!” Sienna said, like someone was in trouble with a teacher. “So he was playing you that whole time?”
I frowned. I had never really thought about it that way, and I still didn’t, for some reason. “No, I don’t think so. He seemed mostly conflicted. But for some reason, he went and picked a fight with Holden right after he talked to me.”
Sienna began lining her own eyes. “Sounds like he’s not over you just yet,” she added slyly.
“Well, that’s irrelevant now, I think, because last night after Holden’s football game, we went and destroyed the landscaping at Cade’s house.” I sighed and shook my head as I reached for the mascara. “I didn’t know it was his house at the time. Not until after. I’m still upset about it. I wish Holden would’ve told me. I really need to apologize to Cade.”
Sienna thought, long enough for me to finish my mascara.
“So you’re upset at Holden about all this?” she asked carefully.
“A little, I guess. Yeah.” I brushed my silken hair again, just for something to do. “Why?”
She didn’t exactly answer. “You think if you apologize to this kid, you’ll feel better?”
I laughed softly. “He’s made it pretty clear that he wants me to stay away.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“What?”
“I’ll drive you to his house,” Sienna clarified, as she layered her lashes in the mirror. “Before the party. We’ll go over there, you can get your apology off your chest, then we can enjoy the party like none of this ever happened. Sound good?”
It did sound good, but I knew it wouldn’t work out quite like that. “Sienna, I’m serious. I think it’ll just piss him off worse. And what about Holden?”
She finished applying mascara, then looked at me. “I really wanna have fun tonight,” she pouted. “And I can’t do that if you’re upset about some guy. I’m pulling for Holden, of course, because he’s family! And if you two ever got married, you’d be like the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister!”
I laughed because it was such a ridiculous thing to say, though undoubtedly true.
“But, you can’t carry on with my cousin until you get your mind off the guilt you feel toward this other guy.” She stood and began rifling through a moving box labeled ‘clothing: tops’. Then she continued. “So yes, I guess I have a slight ulterior motive, but I also care about your emotional health. Trust me, no matter how badly this confrontation goes, you’ll feel better knowing you at least apologized.”
She held up a shirt and threw it to me. “This is one of my absolute favorite tops. You’d look smoking hot in it!”
Amused, I shook my head, but I tried it on anyway. She was right. I was practically on fire, but it wasn’t just the frilled, low-cut top with the peach bellini coloring. It was everything. I usually skimped on the makeup, so when I actually wore it, my features popped like a supermodel.
“Damn!” Sienna cried as she clapped excitedly. She’d put on a cherry red number and looked just as stunning as I did. “You look super sexy. Oh my god, I can’t wait for this party!”
“I can’t either!” I agreed in an excited squeal. It’s crazy how quickly you can adapt to being around other girls. I never would have ‘squealed’ about a party a few days before.
She sighed. “Okay, let’s get this apology over with so we can have some fun!”
Maybe twenty minutes later, we were cruising through the West Woods.
Sienna’s car was a silver sports car with a fresh leather interior and a killer sound system. She didn’t seem to have any qualms about jacking the volume, not even when we turned onto the hidden dirt drive that led back to the secret enclave of houses. At least she drove like a sensible human being.
As Cade’s house came into view, my heart sank. The damage looked even more catastrophic in the daylight. I was suddenly unsure if I’d be able to confront him at all.
Cade was on his hands and knees in the front lawn. He had a towel pressed firmly into the ground by both fists, and his eyes squeezed shut in deep concentration. The towel was slowly accumulating oil; I watched as it went from bright white to a shimmery, light yellow. He leaned closer to the earth, as if coaxing more of the lubricant out of the soil, until the towel was completely saturated.
Upon seeing Cade, Sienna gave a quick beep. He rose to his feet and glared at us as we approached and parked.
Before I could even grab the door handle, Cade said, “Don’t get out.” He looked around in a rush, then strolled over to the passenger side window. His eyes widened exponentially when he took in my sexy appearance. It was like he couldn’t swallow properly. “What are you doing here, Valerie?”
I took a deep breath and held it, but before I could explain, he tore his eyes off of me and nodded toward Sienna. “And who’s your friend?”
Sienna cut in. “Hi! I’m Sienna Aeris. I just moved into the East End of Center Allegheny today. Valerie has told me a little bit about you, Cade. It’s nice to meet you.”
It sounded sweet enough to me, but I could have sworn his eyes narrowed at her. “Sienna Aeris,” he repeated thoughtfully. Then he directed his attention back to me, trying unsuccessfully to keep his eyes focused solely on my eyes. “What do you want, Val?”
I swallowed my smirk, hard. “I…wanted to apologize. For, um, the mess.”
“Apologizing on behalf of your boyfriend? Tell him I said payback’s a bitch.”
He turned to walk away, but I caught him off guard. “I heard this was payback, for a fistfight in the locker room?”
He spun around and stared me. He was still so beautiful it hurt. Blond hair all jagged on his
head, emerald eyes shining like knives.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” I emphasized. “And I’m not apologizing for Holden. I’m apologizing for myself. I was with them when they did this. I just…I didn’t know it was your house. Not until it was done. So, I’m sorry, Cade.”
He cracked his neck to loosen some tension. “He brought you with him?” His anger was still obvious, and the question was clearly rhetorical. “Why would you ever agree to that?”
“I didn’t know it was you…”
“What difference does it make if it’s me?” he shouted.
“It makes all the difference!” I yelled back.
“What’d I tell you yesterday, huh? You’re not making this any easier for me, Valerie! You need to stay away from me.”
“Why?”
He gritted his teeth and looked away.
“Why, Cade? Tell me the damn truth for once!”
His eyes slid back to mine, like a venomous snake. “If your ‘apology’ is over, then you should leave.”
Sienna leaned over and smiled crudely. “Oh, she’s been more than contrite in the face of your epic attitude, Cade Landston. Why don’t you dig a hole and bury it?”
“Why don’t you go blow someone?”
Sienna laughed, though I didn’t think it was very clever myself. “Are you ready, Valerie? If this guy can’t appreciate what he’s pushing away, then he’s clearly got rocks for brains.”
“At least I’m not a total airhead,” he retorted.
“Lumberjack,” she spat.
“Barnstormer.”
“Enough!” I cried. “I’m officially ready to leave now. Cade, I hope you can find it in your heart of steel hearts to forgive me, though I seriously doubt it even matters. Have an excellent evening, and I’ll see you Monday in class.”
“We’ll see you Monday,” Sienna added wickedly.
He rolled his eyes, then stared at my glossy pout. I thought he was thinking about something, but I wasn’t sure what. He licked his own lips, and our eyes met. I swore I saw something moving in the depths. Sorrow. Longing. Hesitation?
The Essential Elements: Boxed Set Page 13
