Page 11 of Worthy

Wow. Okay. I feel like I’ve been dismissed from my own yard. Maybe I deserve that? But my feet won’t move. I was sort of hoping for him to acknowledge my apology, if not forgive me altogether. My words the other day must’ve been more insulting than I realized.

Cade sets the tray on the ground and turns back to face me. “You frozen in place or something?” His eyes roam over me and the wintery clothes I’m wearing.

“I…what?” I stutter.

“You’re shivering. You’re not used to the weather here. There’s no need to stay out here and turn blue while we eat. I’ll bring this back later.”

It occurs to me that Iamshivering, which only adds to my humiliation since the two men are standing outside in little more than jeans and Henleys. I nod silently and turn back to the house, feeling like even more of an outsider than I did just a few minutes ago.

Back indoors, I straighten up the kitchen then fall onto the couch with my laptop with the hope of getting some work done. But my mind won’t move on from Cade’s unreadable expression, and that worries me.

I’m not here to socialize or make friends. I’m here to work, ideally without the distractions I’d have if I was back home. For the most part I haven’t had many, which is good. It’s what I wanted. Althoughtruth be told, the distractions Cade has provided have been some of the most interesting parts of my stay so far.

Even though talking to him sort of infuriates me, it makes me feel alive, too, since I have to consider my words carefully, and I’m enough of a nerd to enjoy the challenge. And yeah, the guy is cocky and somewhat arrogant, but he’s also kind of considerate. Endearing. It’s clear underneath the cocky exterior is a genuinely nice guy, and while I don’t want to get too close to him, I don’t want him to be a stranger either. After all, he’s basically the only person I know here.

No one has been unfriendly, far from it, but no one has offered more than a few pleasantries either. While I thought quiet is what I wanted, after talking to Cade a few times I realized some conversation is nice. If the person I’m most likely to see every day thinks I’m an asshole, this could be a lonely summer. Last week, that sounded perfect.

But now…

A knock jogs me back to the present. I make my way to the back door, expecting to see the tray sitting on the stoop, but instead I find myself facing Cade, tray in hand.

“Okay to come in?” Dumbfounded, I step back to watch him carry the tray to the sink and set it down.

“Thanks for breakfast. That was a nice surprise,” he says, giving me a slight up-nod.

“Sure. Yeah. I hope you liked it.” I shut the door and shove my hands in my pockets.

“I loved it. I don’t usually get a hot breakfast before work. You didn’t have to go through all that trouble over the truck.” He rests his hip against the counter.

He loved it? He didn’t seem so excited when I broughtit out.

“It wasn’t trouble.” I lean against the door, trying to look as casual as he does. “And it wasn’t just about the truck. I mean, it mostly was, but I was kind of a jerk about the trailer.”

“You weren’t a jerk. I was an idiot.”

“I thought so at first, but I was wrong.” I lift my shoulder indifferently, caught between wanting to downplay my househusband moment from earlier and wanting to genuinely make up for thinking badly about him. “Sorry.”

“So, breakfast was like…an apology?” He sounds astonished.

My stomach does a little flip. I’m not sure if that’s because this conversation is making me nervous or because he’s staring at me kind of in awe.

“Yeah, I guess.” Against the door I feel like I’m on stage, so I move to the island and take a seat in one of the barstools.

“No one’s ever made me breakfast before.” He smiles, not one of those sexy ones but a genuine, appreciative smile. Then without warning he turns serious, “Wait, is that why you stayed hidden away all weekend? You thought you owed me an apology?”

“What?”How did he guess that?

“I know you didn’t leave the house or someone would’ve told me they saw my truck. Did you shut yourself in here because you thought I was upset?”

Awe. He’s definitely looking at me with awe now. Great. “No. I didn’t leave because I had work to do.”

“What kind of work?”

“Oh, um, my thesis,” I say distractedly, wondering if he’s asking to be polite or Rick never mentioned it when he told them I was coming for the summer.

“Like for a PhD?” He looks at me curiously.

“Yeah.”

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