Page 24 of Reckless Single Daddy

Cade

The date didn’t go quite according to plan. I thought that if I could show Sloane all the luxuries I could offer, maybe she’d… honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking. I spent all this time attempting to date after Laura, I never took the time to realize that every woman is different.

Sloane would have been fine with a dinner and art gallery date, but did it have to be in Denver? For some other women, maybe, but for Sloane, no. She made her views quite clear. She doesn’t care for the flashiness that money has to offer. To be honest, based on what Liam told me, creating the art room for her feltmore special than jet-setting to Denver and eating at a fancy restaurant.

What transpired after that wasn’t necessarily planned, either. I think I can speak for both of us when I say that the sexual tension between us is and has been intense since Sloane came back to Rose Valley. What happened on the plane was the first time we had sex since O’Malley’s. And just like that time, it was animalistic sex fueled by frustration and anger. We aren’t always at each other’s throats, but it feels like every time we start taking off each other’s clothes, it’s because we’re pissed at each other.

Is it just sexual frustration, or is there something more underlying our dynamic?

Whatever the reason, the sex was fantastic. Everything about Sloane screams desire for me. Ever since I had her at the bar and have spent more time with her, I want her in more ways than one, but my heart won’t allow me to have her except for just one way. I want to tell her more about me, especially Liam, but I promised myself I wouldn’t get caught up. I’m not the only one who stands to get hurt if she doesn’t want anything more with me.

Unfortunately, I think it’s too late for that.

As we arrive at the Bennett house later that evening, I get out of the car with Sloane. She doesn’t look at me as she walks toward the house. After we hooked up, she’s been giving me the silenttreatment. We haven’t spoken about us hooking up again or the fight leading up to it.

I know she’s right—I haven’t been fair to her. I tell myself I’ll finally let my walls down, and when I do, they start to build right back up. Even when she hasn’t done anything wrong.

Maybe I’m just not ready to let someone in again.

Sloane stops at the family mailbox before she walks up the porch. She pulls out a letter addressed to her on top of the stack, which clearly confuses her since she doesn’t live here. She opens it and begins to read it. In a second, she gasps, setting off alarm bells in me.

“What is it?” I ask as I step closer, but she just hands the letter to me like she doesn’t want to be near me. It hurts, I won’t lie, but I know deserve it.

I open the letter and begin to read it.

Miss Bennett,

Is art indeed just a feeling, or is it raw talent?

How is this for inspiration? Allow your past to fuel your future.

Signed,

Your Biggest Fan

At face value, the letter doesn’t seem so bad; just strange and cryptic. But why is she so rattled by it? Is something in her past making her react this way?

Instead of asking her what’s wrong, I can’t shake off my hurt that she won’t even look at me. So I decide to act like a jerk again. “Well, it seems we all have skeletons in our closet,” I remark.

Sloane looks up, glaring harshly at me and shaking her head. “Goodnight, Cade,” she says before walking away.

I step in front of her before she goes inside, the letter still in my hand. “It was probably just a prank,” I say.

She attempts to walk around me again, but I hold my arm up to stop her.

“I think Mike would want to know about it, prank or not,” she says, moving under my arm before closing the door behind her, signaling she doesn’t want my help.

I mentally curse myself, but am I wrong? Why am I being questioned about my own past, but she can’t tell me about hers? Especially when I haven’t even asked her about her past?

I groan, frustrated with myself despite the double standard taking place here. I feel bad for upsetting her. It doesn’t matter if I believe she should reciprocate with me. The point is, this letter was written to scare her. The question is, why? What would this person have to gain if they revealed secrets from her past?

That’s something I’m going to have to figure out. Regardless of this thing seeming to be over between us before it even began, Sloane’s still my best friend’s sister at the end of the day. And if that means I need to protect her, I’ll do it.

I walk back to my car and immediately drive away from the Bennett residence. If I’m going to help Sloane, I need to grab a few things and head back to the rental property for a while. I’m no use to her staying at the estate while this stalker continues trespassing on the Bennett property.

Upon getting to my estate, I collect my laptop and other belongings, like a change of clothes and any other items could prove useful for this situation. She made it quite clear she doesn’t want my help, if slamming the door in my face was anything to go by, but I’m not one to give up so easily. If I was, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’ve never once accepted defeat or failure as being an option in my life.

I know things are complicated between Sloane and me, but despite that, I refuse to give up on us. I see the potential of what could be and what could happen from it, but it will take some time. I need to grow in other ways before I let someone in that deeply. It’s complicated, and I know that if I was more open, Sloane would be more understanding than if I didn’t reveal everything.

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