Page 38 of Trouble
I shouldn’t wrap my arm behind me and hold her there, but I do. And with one hand on her to hold her steady, I turn and take in the woman who is slowly unraveling me. “Was just texting with Cade.”
She smiles up at me without even an ounce of guilt or apprehension over the way she’s touching me while talking about him. “You were texting with Cade, or Cade was texting you, and you were grunting at your phone?”
I will my face to remain impassive, but her teasing smile and the general joy she finds in my grumpiness make it hardnot to smirk. With my hands laced behind her back, I heave out a breath. “He answered his own question before I could come up with a response.”
Snorting, she pulls away. I’m not ready to let her go.
“Because you were really going to reply.”
“I’ve replied to him all week,” I argue, pulling two mugs from the cabinet.
She takes one and fills it, then doctors her coffee so it’s just how she likes it—extra sweet. “What did he have to say this morning?”
“Just mentioned making plans for the weekend with you.”
Smiling, she cups her mug with both hands. “That’s thoughtful. So what are we doing?”
I turn away from her affection, tamping down on the effect her words have on me. “He wants to take you out to dinner. I’ll be working all weekend, so you’ll have the house to yourselves.”
“Declan—” Her voice comes out soft, full of pity.
Irrational anger bubbles under my skin. There’s no need to feel sorry for me. I’ve watched plenty of people fall in love over the years. My sister. The guys at the station. This is nothing different. I knew Cade would eventually meet someone.
Just never thought I’d have feelings for the woman too.
“I have to head to the station,” I say without turning around. “Want me to drop you at Lake’s on my way?”
She doesn’t respond, and the silence bleeds for so long that I don’t have a choice but to turn around and look at her.
She assesses me with those green eyes of hers, then shakes her head. “No. She’s picking me up. We’re getting our nails done.”
I nod. That’s good. Less time alone with Melina is good.
Then why do I feel like I’ve been kicked in the gut?
CHAPTER 18
Melina
You just haveto lean into it.
It don’t have to mean nothing.
You’re a fighting machine.
Oh my god. Could this get any worse?Lean. Mean. A fighting machine.Those are the best lyrics I can come up with?
It’s about time I told Ford that I’m not going to make any of my deadlines this year or next. Hell, I should probably tell him to scrap the album. My music is gone.
I storm toward the door, desperate for fresh air.
In the past, when I’ve had difficulty with a song, I’ve taken to running. Sure, it’s winter in New England—in other words, frigid—but something has got to give.
My emotions this week have been all over the place. Even so, I’m comfortable in Declan’s house. Content in this town. I take a left out the door and follow the path toward the water. The same path Cade and I used to get here that first night.
It’s odd thinking about it now. How comfortable I was with Cade. How naïve too. I thought he would be nothing more than a fling. Maybe that will still turn out to be true, but it doesn’t feel that way. Cade is like a glorious sunrise, warming me from the outside in.
And then there’s Declan.