Page 10 of Caden's Situationship

With the makeup and the wardrobe, I was coming up short and couldn’t place her. “Please, come in,” I suggested as a way to give me a little more time.

“Besides the parking lot incident, you really don’t remember me, do you?” she asked.

Taking a step back, I took the time to study her face instead of … everything else. She had beautiful, round eyes. The type of eyes I tended to admire in a woman because it always made me feel as if they saw more of me for some reason. I was a sucker for the deep brown kind, too, and hers were the kind of dark chocolate that could see into your soul.

Surely, I’d remember a pair like hers.Her eyelashes were long, and when she blinked, I found myself unable to take my eyes away until she opened hers again. As if every memory I hadn’t thought about in years came flooding back, I was in disbelief that I was finally face-to-face with …

“Cordelia? Is that you?”

A slow smile crept onto her face. “In the flesh, cowboy.” On instinct, I pulled her to me and lifted her into a tight hug. “Whoa, I guess that means you’re happy to see me.”

“Girl, it’s been years,” I told her, finally putting her down. “Besides the party at that estate, how the hell have you been since I last saw you?”

She laughed. “Considering last time we saw each other I was starting college, let’s just say a lot has changed.”

“And since when do you work for Red Rose?”

“It’s the family business,” she explained. “I guess back when you knew me, I didn’t talk about it much.”

The name didn’t ring a bell past when an investor had reached out to me weeks okay, but I hadn’t forgotten some of the stories she’d told me about her family. “It’s so good to see you again. It’s been forever.”

“Ages,” she muttered, her eyes briefly dropping to my lips. It was so quick, I almost didn’t catch it, but with Cordelia, I’d always had to pay close attention to everything she did back then or else I would miss something.

Damn.I’d never had many girls for friends, but she held that label back in the day. Her southern belle mannerisms had been my undoing when we first met, but she quickly put me in my place and let me know that I didn’t stand a chance with a woman like her. She was the type who was used to being courted, not asked on a date before even knowing my last name.

Considering I hadn’t been interested in seriously dating, I hadn’t pushed her on it, although I’d always suspected that with the chemistry we had, shit between us would have been amazing. At least in the bedroom.

Over the years, I thought about her from time to time, but we lost touch and since I wasn’t much for social media, I hadn’t even bothered to look her up when she transferred schools.

“Are you going to introduce us?” Malakai asked, coming up from behind me.

I cleared my throat. “Sorry, where are my manners? Cordelia, these are two of my brothers, Malakai and Crayson.”

She shook both of their hands. “I remember you,” she said to Crayson. “You came to the university to visit Caden a few times.”

“Uh.” He looked Cordelia up and down, his eyes fastening on her ruffled shoes. “I can’t say I remember meeting anyone who looked like you.” I punched him in the arm, and he corrected himself, “Sorry, I meant I don’t recall having the pleasure of meeting you before.”

She laughed. “It’s okay, I know how you meant it. My wardrobe changed a little from back then, so I’m not surprised.”

She wasn’t lying. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her in so much … excessive fabric. Had she not taken off the hat, I’m not sure I would have even recognized her. My brothers each made small talk with her while I continued to wrap my head around the fact that she was standing in my home after all this time. Even if she dressed differently and talked a little different than I remembered, my body didn’t know the difference. It still reacted to her the way it did when we were young, and since I’d vowed to keep my dick in my pants—at least until the expansion of my ranch was done—I needed to wrap up this meeting with her fast.

“You good?” Crayson asked when Malakai and Cordelia began discussing a topic that didn’t interest either of us.

“I’m cool. Just surprised she’s here.”

“I can tell you trippin’,” he whispered. “Based off the way you lookin’ at her, I assume y’all used to fuck?”

“Nah, it wasn’t like that between us.”

“But you wanted to,” he eluded. “Don’t bother lying to me. I know you, and underneath all that crap she’s wearing is a woman who is probably exactly your type.”

“She’s here for business,” I reminded him. “Besides, you ain’t notice that rock on her finger?”

Crayson shrugged. “So what? Maybe she’s married. Maybe she’s engaged. Or maybe her husband kicked the bucket.”

I shook my head. “Do you hear yourself speak sometimes? I’m not you, bruh. If I see a ring, I back off.”

“If you say so, little brother.”

---