Page 77 of The C Agreement

Cracking the door open, I said, “It’s Rayne. Are you decent?”

She laughed. “Yes. Come in.”

Pushing the door wide, I entered and then left the heavy wood open just a sliver. “Cade had to stop and use the bathroom. But he’s here too.”

“You’re so sweet to come.” Em had on a gown on top but her regular pants for bottoms. She had a scratch on her forehead and a bandage on her hand, but otherwise, she looked like her normal self.

“You’re my sister-in-law.” I wrinkled my nose. “And to be honest, when Beau called me, I thought you were on your deathbed. It wasn’t until I talked to him here at the hospital that he told me you only had minor injuries.”

Her eyebrows shot skyward. “Really? Because when he was in here, he seemed to be mostly worried about the car.”

Lifting the back of my hand to my mouth, I stifled a laugh.

That was, until Cade came into the room.

“Holy shit, Em,” he said, going to the opposite side of the bed from me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Cade picked up her hand in his, and with the other, he ran his thumb over the cut on her head. “That looks painful.”

She smiled up at him. “It’s not that bad.”

He smiled back, and his eyes were filled with something I hadn’t ever seen before.

It was love.

Cade had never looked at anyone like that before.

Especially not me.

A crash sounded behind me as pain swept through my lower back. I hadn’t even realized I had been slowly backing up until I hit some sort of cart.

“Are you okay?” Em asked, but Cade’s face showed surprise, like he’d forgotten I was even there.

Suddenly, my chest hurt as much as my back, and the pit in my stomach was rapidly catching up.

Spinning around, I let my hair fall forward to hide my reaction. I picked up the box of tissues and the clipboard I had knocked off the cart, and I quickly schooled my face.

When I turned to Em and Cade again, I reached for my phone and pulled together a fake frown of concern, as if I had received a text. “Oh. Beau needs me. Will you two be okay?” The laugh that came out of me sounded fake and forced, but it was too late now.

Without waiting for an answer, I ran out of the room and through the ER waiting room to go outside.

Once there, I took some deep, gulping breaths and threw my body back against the side of the building.

I had just learned two things tonight that were going to fuck me over forever.

One, no matter how hard I’d tried not to, I was falling in love with Cade.

And two, he was definitely in love with Em.

TWENTY-EIGHT

RAYNE

Discoveringthat the guy you had feelings for had feelings for someone else wasn’t ideal when you still had over a week left to sleep with him.

Especially since I was pretty sure Cade didn’t know how he felt. He might be a commitment-phobe and anti-relationship, but he wasn’t a liar. Except maybe to himself.