Page 70 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

She shook her head. “Sorry. I needed to talk to you in private.”

Like she didn’t know where he lived, or that he’d give her five minutes or five hours or a lifetime if she only asked. He swallowed hard. “Okay. I’m here.”

“I’ve been thinking about things.”

So had he. He nodded and waited.

“This is super hard. You know I’m over a barrel here. My parents and Paul are still pressuring me.”

“Still?” Graham’s eyebrows shot up. He’d figured he’d solved that problem already, but maybe things all took a little time to wend through the systems.

“Mom called again this morning.” Cadence poked her toe against a chair leg in front of her. “She came clean. Or I think she did. They’re in a bad way, about to lose the house, but something weird happened, and they got an offer for it out of the blue. It wasn’t even listed for sale, just in early foreclosure proceedings.”

Graham’s heart hammered. “What did she say about it?”

“Not much. She pleaded with me not to let it come to that. She seems to think that if I gave in to Paul, everything would turn up roses immediately.” Cadence shook her head. “But that doesn’t even make sense. Even if I flew to Chicago today and married him tomorrow, how would that help their financial state? Doesn’t it take time?”

He needed to be extremely careful what he said here. How would she take it when she figured out what he’d done? She certainly hadn’t asked him to interfere. “I would think so, unless they have an insanely good lawyer on retainer.” Like Graham’s mother, Paul’s aunt. But Mom wouldn’t do that for her greedy sister, would she? He didn’t think so, but what did he know? People surprised him all the time.

Cadence turned away so only her profile was to him. “You offered another solution. You asked me to… m-marry you.”

His heart forgot to beat, and his hands grew clammy. “I did. But I messed that up.”

“Do you still mean it?”

“Yes, but—”

“Never mind. If there’s a but, I don’t want to hear it.” She pivoted to the window.

Were her shoulders trembling? They were. Drat, she was crying, and he’d caused it. Everything in him wanted to cross the space, take her in his arms, and kiss her worries away.

His feet held their ground. “I need to tell you something.”

“Graham, don’t. Just don’t. I’ll figure something else out.” She whirled toward the door.

He stepped in front of it, and she stopped several feet away. “You don’t need to save your parents. You definitely don’t need to marry Paul.”

“You wouldn’t make sacrifices for your parents? Of course, you’d never need to. Your parents are filthy rich. There’s nothing they need from you or anyone else.”

Graham winced. She wasn’t far off, and therein lay part of his problem growing up. They didn’t need anything from him. Didn’t need an embarrassment like him at all.

“I’m sorry I got Tate to send you over here. Now, may I please leave?”

“I have more to say. And you need to hear it.”

Cadence’s shoulders drooped. “Get it over with. I can’t imagine being more humiliated than I already am.”

Graham sucked in a deep breath. Here went nothing. “That offer on your parents’ house? It’s me. I want to sign the deed over to you. You can let them live there if you want, or not. It’s up to you. No strings attached.”

“You what?” Her voice was tinged with hysteria, and her eyes bulged.

“I did it because I love you. I want you to be free to make your own choices.” Man, this was hard. “I would love to marry you, but not because you need to escape a bad situation. If you want to say yes to me, it will be because you love me in return.”

“You’re undeniably, irrevocably crazy.”

That was his answer, then. Graham dipped his head in acknowledgment and stepped away from the doorway. “Part of me wants to say I’ll retract that offer if it makes you so frustrated, but… no. My reasons are valid. If you marry Paul, it’s because you want to. If you marry me, it’s because you want to. If you find some other guy, fall in love, and marry him, that’s your choice. No one can force your hand, Cadence. You’re free.”

Since she hadn’t made a move to escape the conference room, he gave her one more nod and strode from the room, his laptop still tucked under his arm. He kept an ear cocked in that direction. She’d call him back, right? Tell him she loved him. Thank him for a rescue that set her free. Kiss him and tell him she wanted to marry him with no strings attached.

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