Page 37 of Finding Forever

The still-warm pizzas were on the kitchen counter and she opened and closed a few cabinets, before finding a couple of plates. She handed one to Cade, before flipping open boxes andmaking throaty appreciative noises every time she inhaled the delicious aroma of each pie.

She helped herself to a slice of meat and seafood, skipping the spicy one entirely.

“Not a spice lover?” he asked as he grabbed a slice of each, while she opened the fridge for a bottle of water. She lifted the glass bottle enquiringly, with a tilt of her head, and he nodded. She immediately picked up a second bottle for him.

“I don’t mind hot food,” she told him as she carried her plate and the two bottles to the glass table in the dining area. “I’ve just had some heartburn these last few days… I don’t want to make it worse.”

“This pregnancy gig sounds fucking awesome,” he said, keeping his tone wry and was rewarded with a light chuckle.

After his dumb comment about Abernathy earlier, he was gratified that he could get that much out of her. And was then instantly confused that he cared.

In fact, he wasn’t even sure why he’d pushed her to eat. He wasn’t her damned keeper, and if she didn’t have the sense to feed herself when she clearly needed to, it wasn’t on him to make sure that she did.

They weren’t really married, he didn’t care… so why had it bothered him when she’d refused to come out of the room earlier?

“Pizza calls for a more casual setting,” he told her, when she pulled a chair from beneath the table. She stopped and looked at him with a curious tilt of her head.

“Patio?” he suggested. “It’s quite mild outside and the sun’ll be setting in about fifteen minutes.”

“Oh yes, please,” she agreed with a smile that lit up her entire face.

Fucken hell… the goddamn sunset would pale in comparison to all that radiance.

The uncharacteristically whimsical thought made himcringe. Christ, he sounded like a lovestruck teen. That would not do at all. What the hell was wrong with him?

He averted his eyes hoping to mask his bewildering reaction.

He led the way to the patio and they were soon sitting—poolside—at the round wrought iron table eating in silence.

Cade watched Fern surreptitiously as her focus remained glued on the fiery orb of the sun as it dipped closer and closer to the horizon, setting both sky and ocean aflame.

The glorious sunset—to which Cade was paying scant attention—bathed her pale features and hair in a warm orange glow. She was so enthralled by the sun’s light show that she barely seemed aware of his presence, giving Cade the freedom stare at her unchecked. Not that he missed the sunset. He caught every moment of it in the changing tones of her skin, the warm shades of oranges and red that caught the silvery highlights in the long tendrils of her hair that were flirtatiously dancing with playful breeze, and he saw—reflected in those soft gray eyes—the very moment the sun surrendered to the sea.

He’d never witnessed a sunset quite like it, and he was staggered to find himself lightheaded and a little disoriented after taking in his first breath in over a minute. He didn’t even realize that he was holding it until his lungs started to burn.

The harsh inhalation startled her into looking at him and he hastily averted his gaze to his plate. He lifted a slice of pizza with a slightly trembling hand and took a bite.

Whatever was happening here was a result of too much work over too short a time, with too little sleep and too many changes in his lifestyle. Once his routine had been restored to some kind of normalcy—Cade had no doubt—he’d get over whatever the fuck was going on with him.

Chapter

Ten

As Cade guided Fern up the pathway of Gideon and Beth’s three-bedroom house in the upper middle-class suburb of Newlands, the vintage glass paned front door swung open to reveal his petite, shyly smiling sister-in-law. Fern remembered the woman and her husband from the gala. Elizabeth Hawthorne was only about five foot tall, bespectacled, and very pretty in a wholesome way.

“Hey, Beth,” Cade said, gracing the woman with a small, fond smile. He enfolded his sister-in-law in a warm hug, surprising Fern with the show of affection.

“I’m so h-happy you both could join us today,” the woman said with a smile after he released her. “Introduce me to your lovely wife, please.”

She smiled at Fern, her expression full of so much genuine warmth and welcome, that Fern was certain the woman couldn’t possibly know about the marriage arrangement between her and Cade. Beth surely wouldn’t be so welcoming if she knew that Fern’s place in this family and in their liveswas so transient.

“This is Fern,” Cade introduced almost dismissively and Fern tried not to flinch at the lack of interest in his voice. “Fern, my sister-in-law, Beth. And my brother, Gideon.”

The tall man hovering protectively behind Beth was practically a mirror image of Cade. Only a lot more casually dressed. The younger Hawthorne wore a pair of faded, ripped jeans, and a black T-shirt that clung to his massive chest and left his long, muscly, tattooed arms on display. Gideon’s hair was longer, shaggier, less formal than Cade’s. His jaw was stubbled while Cade had taken the time to shave, even while they’d been ferrying back and forth between continents. And Gideon’s crooked smile was as wicked as Cade’s rare grin.

While there was something appealing and sexy about this tall loose-limbed, relaxed man, Fern preferred Cade’s quiet, buttoned-down strength. She liked how neat his appearance was, she appreciated the lethal grace with which he wore those three-piece business suits, and she enjoyed the blueness of his jaw just after he’d shaved that thick stubble. His smiles were more valuable to her because they were as rare as precious gems and each one felt earned.

She tried not to let despondency weigh her down as she recognized that she likely wouldn’t be seeing Cade smile much during their time together. Especially now that he knew about her pregnancy. She hated the thought that he might feel trapped. It wasn’t a trap. She’d needed his help and he’d given that to her.

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