Page 78 of The C Agreement

But it was clear to me. Cade had taken Em’s virginity all those years ago, but then she’d left him for Beau. All this time, Cade said he was happy about being single because his mom had been, but I thought it was an excuse he told himself. I didn’t blame him. It would suck to be in love with your best friend’s wife, a woman you could never have. Not only would heneverdo that to Beau, but Em was also very much in love with my brother.

Poor Cade didn’t stand a chance.

And neither did I.

But I was the queen of unrequited love, starting with Manny Hobbs in seventh grade, and what was one more guy on the list? I’d been friend-zoned so many times; I should be used to it by now. Cade wouldn’t be the first person I liked who didn’t like me back, and he wouldn’t be the last.

We only had nine more nights together. If I could make it till the end, the bet would be done, our agreement would be over, and I could move on from this whole thing.

Would it hurt? Yes. Cade had warned me not to fall for him, and I’d promised I wouldn’t. It would take me a while to get over him, but I would.

And despite my own heart hurting, I thought I hurt more for Cade. He hadn’t moved on from Em after all these years, so there was a strong possibility he never would. At least I felt like my love life still had a chance.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?”

I had forgotten Beau had come outside to make a phone call.

Pushing myself away from the side of the building, I said, “I needed some fresh air.”

“Is Cade still in with Em?”

I studied his face to see if he had any clue what I had figured out, but he didn’t appear to be concerned at all.

“Yeah.”

Just then, the ER doors opened, and Cade walked out. “Beau, Em’s asking for you. They’re getting ready to discharge her. And no one told me her injuries were minor. I made a fool of myself in there.”

Poor Cade.

My brother laughed. “Sorry, dude. I panicked when she called me, saying she was in an accident. Turns out, Em fared way better than the car.”

“I hope you have good insurance,” Cade joked.

Beau groaned. “I don’t even want to think about that right now.”

“And you don’t have to. Focus on your wife,” I told him. “Is there anything else you need me to do?” Behind my back, I crossed my fingers, hoping my brother would ask me to do something so I wouldn’t have to be alone with Cade. I still needed a moment to collect myself.

“Nah. She cut her head and the back of her hand. She didn’t even need stitches. The doctor said she’s fine to go to work on Monday if she feels up to it. He warned she might be a little sore, but her head CT and whatever X-rays they took were clear. We’re going to head home and take it easy tonight.” He slapped Cade on the side of his arm. “Sorry for canceling again. Next weekend?” He chuckled. “I promise, third time’s the charm.”

Cade’s eyes cut to mine, and Beau frowned. I knew Cade was probably thinking it was our last weekend together, but I wished he weren’t looking at me like he was asking me what I thought. It was obvious Beau was confused as to why Cade was deferring to me.

Not knowing what else to say, I hesitantly came up with, “I don’t have any plans with my brother. You go ahead. Maybe Em and I will do something if she’s feeling okay.”

“We could all do something together?” Cade suggested.

Was he trying to spend more time with Em?

Pass. I didn’t need or want to see that.

“No, you two haven’t had time to hang out together lately. Plus, we should let Em decide what she wants to do next weekend since this one is pretty much ruined for her.”

Beau’s eyebrows smashed together. “How do you know Cade and I haven’t hung out a lot lately?”

Shit. I suddenly didn’t have a good excuse.

“You literally just said you were canceling on me…again,” Cade managed to say in a lighthearted way.

I laughed stiffly. “What he said.”