Page 53 of Cade

Would I be just a Jasper Springs fling?

Some memory he looked back fondly on?

A transition from one stage to the next?

From one bed to the next?

“Hey,” he said as he approached my booth, sliding his hands in his pockets.

I stood, holding the sleepy kitten tight to my chest, letting my fingers slide over the soft fur to keep myself steady.

I looked up at his dark, green eyes, and the world around me blurred.

Yeah, I was definitely in love with Weston.

There was no question.

Fuck me.

“Hey,” I said, feeling my throat go dry.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come find you earlier, but things have just been... Well, it was a rough morning.”

“Oh,” I said, suddenly at a loss for words. My brain screamed a thousand things at me.

Tell him the truth, tell him how you feel.

Ask him how he feels.

Kiss him.

Weston’s gaze fell to the kitten in my arms.

“Make a new friend?” he said, flashing me a grin.

I didn’t miss how it lit up his eyes. I stroked the soft, warm kitten as I swallowed nervously.

“Let me make this morning up to you?” he asked, his gaze finally leaving my fingers and meeting mine.

There were a hundred things I wanted to say, but instead all that came out of my mouth was, “You do an awful lot of making up.”

Weston’s shoulders fell and instantly I felt like an asshole. I hadn’t meant it to sound as harsh as it did, but I guess I was still a little melancholy from this morning. Everything had been so perfect, and then just like before, we’d both been thrust back into the world of responsibility.

Before I could speak, apologize for sounding like an absolute ass, Weston ran a hand through his hair, his eyebrows furrowing.

“I’d like to change that, you know,” he said gently.

The kitten stirred in my arms, yawning and stretching.

“A fresh start?” I asked, feeling all the negativity suddenly draining from me.

Weston reached out to rub the kitten between its ears, and she purred like a damn motor from his touch.

Same kitten, same.

“You can pick the place,” Weston said smoothly.

I watched his fingers gently stroke her fur, watched the sadness fall on his face, and all the disappointment, all the worry and concern faded away like it hadn’t been there at all.

---