Page 100 of Finding Forever

He lowered the phone to the arm of the sofa and stared blindly out—through the French patio doors—at the wet, bleak patch of greenery that passed as a garden at this townhouse.

This place didn’t have enough outdoor space. It had never mattered to him before, but after arriving here the day before yesterday, the first thing Fern had done was open those patio doors. There had been no missing the brief flash of disappointment in her eyes at the lack of view. And it had disturbed Cade immensely.

He knew how much she adored the view at his—their—Clifton apartment. He’d often found her just sitting on the sofa dreamily staring out at the blue horizon, with a forgotten cup of tea growing cold in her hands.

And after hearing her story about her friend, Cade’s need to take Fern back to the place she so obviously loved, had grown even more urgent. Most of her life she’d been made to stay in cramped quarters. Dorm rooms with other students, thensharing with a religious sister, and he’d seen her fucking room at Abernathy’s. It had been the size of a postage stamp compared to Cade’s lavish guest room.

This townhouse, while luxurious, simply wasn’t good enough for her.

He lifted his phone to check the time. It was just after eight. A month of sharing his living space with her, had familiarized him with her routine enough to know that she’d usually be awake by now. But last night had been emotionally and physically draining for them both and she might still be asleep.

He got up and made his way to the master bedroom. He’d left the door ajar and a quick peek inside confirmed that the drapes were still drawn. He quietly pushed his way into the room and crept toward the huddled form on the bed.

He stood—hands in pockets, mostly in an attempt to keep them to himself—and watched her sleep. Only her cheek, eye—lush dark eyelashes fanning over the skin below her eye—and light hair were visible. The rest of her was buried beneath the thick comforter.

He was bone weary and was moving to join her, when she sighed and stirred.

Not wanting to be caught staring like some creepy pervert, he was about to retreat when her eye opened unexpectedly. She spotted him instantly, of course, and her gaze sharpened. She turned her head to stare at him fully.

He remained standing there—pinned by that sleepy gaze—not sure how she’d react to his presence.

“Cade?” Her concerned voice was croaky with sleep. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything’s fine,” he reassured. “I was just checking to see if you were awake. I’m about to make breakfast.”

She stretched lazily, the sinuous movement reminding him of a graceful cat, and then yawned.

“What’s the time?”

“Just after eight. How’d you sleep?”

She sat up and his eyes ran over her messy bed head, her tear swollen eyes, and blotchy complexion. She had a sleep crease down the side of her face and some drool on her cheek. And he still found himself captivated by her.

He couldn’t wrap his head around it, maybe it was the pregnancy or something, but sometime between the night they’d met and now, Fern Lambert-Hawthorne had quite simply become the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Like a log,” she said in reply to his question. She smothered a yawn behind her hand and must’ve felt the wetness on her cheek because she not-so-discreetly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

“Any requests for breakfast?” he asked, and she yawned again.

“I’m not fussy,” she said. “I’ll grab a shower and join you when I feel more human.”

“Today?”Fern repeated incredulously as she tried to process the information Cade had just given her as they finished the last of their scrambled eggs and toast. “We’re leavingtoday?”

“This afternoon, yes.”

“But we just got here. And didn’t you tell Iris we were leaving next week? Why today? Why leave at all? I believed we were moving here because of your work?”

“I thought you wanted to live in Cape Town,” he said softly.

“Is that why we’re going? Because it’s what I want?” That couldn’t possibly be the reason.

“Well,” he began slowly. “I invited Gideon and Beth to dinner like you asked me to but we never got the chance to host them.”

“We’re going back because you invited Beth and Gideon todinner?” she repeated, not at all sure she’d heard him correctly. “Against my express wishes, I might add. I told you I’d changed my mind about that.”

“I thought you’d change it back, but then this shit with Abernathy kicked off and I forgot to mention it.”

“So, we’re going back for a dinner date?”

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