Page 37 of Cade

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hawkins,” Mark stuck out his hand for Cade to shake.

She watched him closely to see if he would let on any sense of disapproval of the man. For some stupid reason, she wanted him not to like Mark either. Cade didn’t flinch, unfortunately, as he greeted him and took his hand. She was rewarded slightly when he discreetly wiped his hands on his pants after letting go.

“April, I know we didn’t discuss it, but I was hoping we could cut out early today for dinner since our honeymoon was cut short?” he asked, but she knew it wasn’t really a question, if Cade was here he wanted something.

Dinner? What time was it? She looked over at the clock and noticed it was already past five. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

She placed her computer in her bag and grabbed the few things she had as Mark and Cade chatted, completely ignoring her.

“Ready?” Cade asked, taking her laptop bag from her.

He must have been paying some attention to her because she’d only just turned around with it and began to stand. “Yep,” she said with a forced happiness.

“I will see you tomorrow?” Mark asked.

“That’s the plan,” she answered.

Cade was by her side the moment she’d stepped from behind her desk. His hand was on the small of her back as he led her out of the office and to the elevator.

“I don’t like him much,” Cade mumbled. “I didn’t care for him on the phone, but in person, even less.”

“You hid it well,” she told him.

“Yes, I’m good at that.”

When he said nothing else, she let the conversation drop. The ride to the ground floor was silent. No one joined them and she wondered if they somehow knew who was on the elevator and gave him special treatment. Not that it was possible, but it still felt like it.

“We can take my car. Cade led her out the front door of the building. We will have someone else come back for yours later.”

April didn’t reply. What was there to say that would matter? She didn’t care about the car, so she slid into the backseat of the waiting car that Cade had led her to. He took the seat next to her and closed the door. In less than a minute, the car was moving.

“While it’s just us, I wanted to bring you this to review.” He handed her a folder.

April opened it and skimmed the contents. It was the contract for their marriage with more lucrative terms than they’d discussed.

“Cade, this is too much,” she started to hand it back.

He held up a hand, stopping her. “Put it in your bag and read through it later. As long as nothing is less than we agreed to, just sign it and I’ll have copies made for you.”

She nodded and did as he asked. She’d tried to tell him it was too much, but if he didn’t care, then maybe she shouldn’t argue. Money wasn’t going to heal her broken heart at the end of all this, but it would help her and the baby while she looked for a new job.

“What’s for dinner?” April asked, changing the subject.

Cade explained about a restaurant that she’d never been to. When he realized that, she got a long spiel on the menu and what was good to eat there. She had no real preferences, so told him to order for her.

It was easier to defer to him, but she also had a feeling she didn’t want to look at the menu. While she’d never been there, she knew what it was, and she didn’t want to see the prices. It was crazy expensive, and she didn’t want to know how much the meal cost that she was about to eat. It went against everything in her to spend a few hundred dollars on one meal.

They had greeted several people on the way to their table that Cade knew. A few she recognized from the news or magazine covers, but no one she personally would have spoken to if it weren’t for Cade.

Dinner itself was very good. They made small talk over the meal and the food was delicious. They had a few people stop at their table to meet Cade’s new wife, but overall, an easy affair. The walk out was similar to the one end, meeting new people until they made it back to the car.

“I thought it would be good to get out and announce our marriage in person,” Cade explained in the car.

“I hope I did okay, then,” she told him.

“Of course you did.” Cade looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “It was a test, April. It was just letting people know that we are married and we needed to eat, too. I’m sorry that we didn’t get to honeymoon, but you didn’t have to go back to work.”

He changed subjects so quickly. “I don’t want to sit around and do nothing.”

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