Page 6 of Dangerously Yours

No, we might not be able to hang out in Manhattan, but we would visit the Vault tonight. The money I would’ve spent on an east coast dancer would now be spent on one here in the city.Maybe tomorrow the storms would clear enough so we could at least keep the rest of the plans we had made. Gabriel must’ve seen the same cancellation that I did because his single word text message made me smirk.

FUCK!

Agreed, Man.

I definitely thought the same thing, and after putting the cell phone back into my pocket, I looked over at Lulu. She was starting to put the items she had purchased away, most of it pretty much just fruits and veggies. I slowly appraised her figure some more, and I could tell from it that she ate healthy foods. My metabolism was very fast so during the off-season, I tended to eat what I wanted to. Once camp started, our weight would be checked much more religiously.

I wasn’t sure if she felt me watching, but she quickly turned and blushed. The pink hue on her cheeks broke up the paleness of them. She seemed to be off somewhat, although I couldn’t really guess from what. Usually whenever I would see her, Lulu would be very cheerful. She was congenial, and there was no one whose ear she couldn’t grab for at least a few minutes. She was the event planning queen amongst the Titan ranks, and she was highly respected by all.

I realized that, then cleared my throat. “I need to get out of here,” I announced, as if she really cared.

Lulu smiled. “Thanks for helping me bring up the groceries. Until I had heard about the storms, I had planned to have Zachary help me.”

“I’d probably stay in if I were the two of you,” I finally said, then started toward the door.

Lulu followed me, and I was sure it was only to lock it once I left. “Thanks again,” she said as I opened the door. I realized one of the hinges was loose and I touched it. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll be getting it replaced.”

“Yeah, I would definitely suggest that you do that soon.” There was an awkward silence, so I finally smiled. “Good night, Lulu.”

LULU

I looked across the room at the man I had once loved so much, but all that was left there now was a deep-seated hate I had yet to find a way to rein in. He stood tall, the arrogance radiating off of him in waves. If this had been months ago, I might have even stood here staring at his strength... his power... but now, all I wanted him to do was go, and to never come back. My mind said one thing, but my heart thought something else altogether different. That traitorous organ was intent on punishing me, and for what I couldn’t even be certain.

“Will you go and see what’s taking them so long, Lu?”

My eyes narrowed and my lips pursed together. It was one thing to be called Lulu like most often did, but Cade knew how much I hated to be called Lu. I knew he was doing it on purpose because he got some sick pleasure from upsetting me. And I knew why. Other Titans were able to have their cake and eat it too, but not him. I had thrown the entire thing away, box and all, and dared to fight back. Granted, most of it was via my lawyer, but the sentiment still remained.

“They will be down in a few minutes,” I told him, refusing to move from where I stood.

“If you had them ready, we would already be gone. Now, we’re going to get stuck in traffic.”

I simply shrugged. My job was to let them go with him, but nowhere did it state I had to make it easy on him. Our children were all busy with various activities, all of which he knew about, but he was conveniently trying to pretend otherwise. I could go upstairs and help them with their things, but I wouldn’t. I did turn away from him, however, and walked over to the large window that overlooked the city.

I loved this particular unit. Cade and I had lived at other addresses in this affluent neighborhood, but none of them had the same view which had captivated me from the moment we walked into the unfinished unit. I could still remember the day which was one a lot like this. It was also late Spring, and the children were in school. I had met my husband here when he was on his lunch break, and meeting him at one place or another was very common. I had arrived at the penthouse and when I walked in, I noticed that we were alone.

“Where’s Jane?”I’d asked him. Usually, our realtor would accompany us to these showings.

“She’s back at her office. Never mind about her, though. What do you think about this place?”

I did as he asked, and focused on the sight in front of me. It had been a lot to take in. Beneath the feet of my Louboutin heels lay subfloor, and the walls had recently been put up, but not painted. I took a few more steps inside the place, and the magnificence of the kitchen came into view. The cabinetswere the perfect shade of black, highlighting the Carrera marble countertops and backsplash. The appliances were not yet in, but I had an idea of where they would go. It was wide open to the great room which was an entertainer’s dream.

I often arranged get-togethers at our place, whether it was poker night for Cade or just a Thursday girls’ night in with friends. At that time, I seemed to have plenty of them, but a lot changed over the years since then. Not wanting to dwell on that, I stayed in the moment and forced myself to remember how excited I had been that day.

“This is our place,”he’d told me when he’d come up behind me, drawing me into his arms.

“Are you sure this is the penthouse you want?”

“It is, and you’ll see why soon. Go look at the other rooms.”

I had broken away from him and did as he’d asked. When I’d reached the bedroom, the same city skyline came into view. We could lay in bed and see the sparkling lights of the nearby skyscrapers, and even hints of Lake Michigan as it peeked out between the tall buildings. It was one of the most gorgeous views I had ever seen in my life. Cade came back up behind me, then pointed at the fireplace mantle.

When I had walked over to it, I noticed a set of keys and I picked them up before turning to him.“We might want to pick these up and get them to Jane. We?—”

“We don’t need Jane any longer,”he’d said, and I arched my brow in question.

“What are you saying?”

Cade had leaned down and kissed along my bare shoulder causing me to shiver.“I already bought the place. We close on it in two months.”

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