Page 52 of Cade

“You are a shit liar, Cade. Seriously.”

I rolled my eyes, but decided it was better to just be honest than make something up.

It wasn’t like Weston was around anyway to hear me.

“Weston said he’d be here today. At the fundraiser.”

Mitchell looked up from his spot on the ground.

“You haven’t seen him?” Mitchell asked, reaching in the pen to stroke a grey and white striped kitten on its head with his finger.

“No...”

“He’s been schmoozing around all afternoon. I think I saw him over by the park like ten minutes ago.”

My blood chilled, and I was worried maybe my anxieties were right. Maybe he was ignoring me.

Had I been wrong about him?

It wouldn’t have been the first time I’d looked at a man with rose tinted glasses, but...

Last night, as we cuddled on the bed together, drowning our stress in ice cream and Star Wars, I thought that maybe he was different. Maybe, just maybe this time I’d gotten it right.

“Earth to Cade,” Mitchell said, and I realized I’d completely spaced out.

“Sorry, Mitch, I—”

“You want me to man the desk a bit? You can walk around and grab something to eat, maybe find your new boy toy,” he teased.

I couldn’t help the flush of blood into my cheeks at his insinuation.

“It’s not like that. It’s—”

“Then what is it like, Cade? Hmmm? I’ve known you a long time, and I’ve never seen you get all doe-eyed like this over anyone. Even the assholes that came before. For God’s sake, when Dawson broke up with you, you didn’t even bat an eye. But this guy has you all up in arms because you just haven’t seen him? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were in love.”

His words hit me like a freight train.

I’d only known Weston for barely three days. Surely it was impossible to fall in love with someone you hardly knew for seventy-two hours. This was real life, not a Disney movie.

But as Mitch’s words settled on me, infiltrating my walls, I knew they held truth.

I was head over heels in love with Weston Rhodes, and that was terrifying.

Because giving anyone that kind of power over your heart, especially when you weren’t sure where you stood... was scary.

“Okay, maybe you don’t need to leave...” Mitchell said as he stood.

“One loverboy coming straight at you, twelve o clock,” Mitchell cooed as he snapped a picture of Weston amongst the crowd.

My heart lifted at the sight. Seeing his lilac sleeves rolled up, two buttons popped, his dark hair blowing in the wind. He was breathtaking set against the varied trees and flowers, looking every bit the man of my dreams.

Was I the man of his?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know what I was to Weston. After all, he’d been clear he was only here on business, and eventually that business would end.

We’d been lucky the event in Jasper Springs had been so successful. Successful enough that Rhodes had decided to put on two additional events, the one today and one at the end of the week in Paradise. But the events couldn’t go on forever. Eventually, Weston would have to leave, and I wasn’t sure where that left us.

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