Page 116 of Getting Over You

“With what?” he wonders.

“These feelings,” I say, louder now. “The way you make me feel the best anyone ever has, and the worst anyone ever has, all at once. What do I do with these feelings for you? Where do I put them?”

Cade’s brow furrows, his eyes darkening. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t want them,” I rasp, “so where do I put them?”

Cade swallows harshly, his thumbs brushing tears from my cheeks. “Can you look at me?” he asks. My eyes find his, warm and gentle. “I love you, Gigi,” Cade says. “I love you a wholehell of a lot, girl. And—and if you want me to put my feelings somewhere else, I’m choosing to hold on to ‘em. I’ll wait until you’re ready to love me back, and give those feelings back to you the second you are. I didn’t know what love even felt like until I realized I was in love with you.”

My heart clenches. “Cade.”

“You are everything to me. Somehow, in one summer, I discovered my life doesn’t mean anything without you. None of this does.”

“I am so in love with you.” I sniffle, my chest heavy. “But that doesn’t mean we can be together.”

“What are you talking about?” Cade says. “I came all this way, Gigi. We love each other. Of course we can.”

“What do we do when you go back to Texas?” I ask.

It’s like he never thought of this with the way his forehead creases. “Oh, shit.”

My stomach somersaults with anguish. “See? Even a hopeless romantic like me is able to consider the logistics.”

“And there’s no chance you’ll come back to South Carolina?” he asks, painfully optimistic.

I shake my head. “Everyone I love is right here.” When Cade feigns a pout, I shove him gently. “You’re right here for now, too. Asshole.”

“Speaking of,” Cade says, “I forgot to tell you.”

My brows knit. “Tell me what?”

“Belinda wrote me a check. When I quit. She wrote me a check and told me that she loved how ambitious I was, and was sorry to hear about the shop.”

My blood freezes at the mention of her name. “She did?”

Cade nods. “She did. But I ripped it up right in front of her and let the pieces fall on the floor as I walked out. She can’t even treat her own kid right, but she’s going to financially support a stranger? A stranger that she tried to groom? Lady’s nuts.”

“I think I have your check in my kitchen,” I tell him, realizing. “And it’s yours. If you still want it.”

Cade chuckles, taking my hands. “The only thing I want is you, Gigi. That’s it. Nothing else matters to me if you aren’t part of it.” I smile as he kisses my forehead. “So, let’s make the most of right now,” he says. “Can I at least go formally introduce myself to Mom and Dad?”

“You’ve clearly met them already,” I say as we stand. “I need to know what you talked about.”

“There wasn’t much talking once Mom brought out those baby pictures,” Cade tells me. “Can’t say that’s ever happened before.”

“She didn’t.” I feel like puking as I slip under Cade’s arm into the house. “Oh, god.”

“She’s smiling, Brady!” Mom says when she sees us. “They’re bothsmiling!”

“How ‘bout that,” Dad says as he looks at us over his reading glasses. He sets down his book. “Glad to see everyone happy.”

“I think it’s time I introduce myself officially,” Cade says as he extends an arm out to my dad, hand open. He shakes my father’s hand, and then Cade Deans says something I never thought I would hear:

“I’m Cade, your daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dad says with a chuckle. “Am I supposed to pretend we didn’t talk before my daughters got home?”

“He just wanted me to hear him call himself my boyfriend,” I tell Dad. I wave a dismissive hand, which Cade captures tightly in his own, interlocking our fingers. “He’s an idiot,” I say, my eyes finding Cade’s as we smile to one another. “Feel free to ignore him.”

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