When the waitress brought their drinks, Frankie knew that she was in heaven. Sipping the potent mixture gratefully, she ignored Kade’s obvious amusement. Thankfully, their sandwiches arrived quickly, so alcohol had a cushion in her stomach.
Afterwards, they sat back in their chairs, sipping the last of their drinks and smiling happily. Well, Frankie smiled. Kade looked…odd.
“What’s on your mind, big guy?” she asked, lifting the giant glass and taking a sip. There wasn’t much left, but she could at least get the diluted stuff from the bottom.
“Want another?” he teased.
“Not unless you want to carry me back to the hotel.”
His eyes darkened dangerously. Frankie smiled, knowing exactly where his mind had gone. “You can do that anyway, sailor.”
He laughed, then leaned forward. “Actually, I was hoping that you were sober enough to give me an answer to a serious question.”
She clapped her hands together, mirroring his posture. “I can try. Lay it on me!”
He chuckled, and shook his head. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach. Maybe that will clear your head a bit.”
He paid for their meal and Frankie stood up, walking next to him with his arm over her shoulder. They walked along the beach, the temperature dropping now that the sun had set. “This is wonderful,” she told him, leaning her head against his arm as they walked barefoot through the sand, holding hands, their shoes left on the edge of the beach beside the hotel.
“I agree.” He turned and looked down at her. “Frankie, I want this for more than just the week. I want…” he sighed, then leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Will you marry me?”
Frankie almost choked. Marriage? This was just casual…wasn’t it?
But if it was casual, why had she freaked out this afternoon? Why had she almost passed out when she’d seen Kade hurt?
Why had she acknowledged that she was in love with him?
Frankie froze, her mind screeching to a halt. Love? Who had acknowledged anything about love? Love wasn’t part of this equation! Not part of the deal!
“I…!” She stopped, not sure what to say.
“I know that you have a life in Seattle,” he continued softly. “But maybe, you could also have a life with me in Montana?”
He pulled the ring out of his pocket and slipped it onto her finger. Frankie stared at the huge diamond that glittered in the moonlight. It looked so perfect on her finger. Like it was made to be there!
Boy, if she hadn’t had that margarita, Frankie knew that she’d probably be freaking out right about now. But as she stared at the diamond, then into his silver eyes, Frankie didn’t feel panic. All she felt was a sense of…terror, of course. But, beyond that...!
“I know the idea scares you.” He kissed her. Tenderly at first, but then with more passion.
Frankie knew what she had to do. What she should have done a long time ago. The code, she thought with resignation. This definitely broke the code by which she’d lived most of her life. Her code told her never to date anyone who could break her heart! Her father’s cheating, her chosen career…her life warned her that men couldn’t be faithful. But this was Kade! Kade wouldn’t…Frankie loved him too much. She’d broken her code. She’d fallen for a man who could break her.
“I need you to take me back to the hotel and make love to me, Kade,” she whispered. One last time, she thought, feeling her heart shatter. Just one more time.
“I can do that,” he told her, his smile lighting up his silver eyes. And with that, he took her hand and led her back to the hotel, not stopping until they were behind closed doors. And then he made love to her, proving all of her predictions correct.
Chapter 8
Frankie woke up in Kade’s arms and a feeling of terror in her heart. She glanced over at him, startled all over again by how handsome he was. The man was gorgeous, no doubt about it. Then she lifted her hand, staring at the ring.
Unfortunately, Kade’s bandage brushed her arm. She looked down at his wounded arm and could barely breathe. Moving closer, she snuggled up against him, closing her eyes when he pulled her close without waking up. The code had failed her!
No, not true. She’d ignored the code – and now she was paying the price. Now, she was going to get hurt! The code she’d established the first time she’d seen the devastation on her mother’s face after discovering her father’s cheating ways had kept her heart safe. But her stupid heart had gone off and fallen for Kade! Her heart hadn’t listened to the code!
She loved Kade. She loved him so much! Her fears of him cheating were completely overshadowed by her current fear; what would happen if he died? She’d almost lost him yesterday! Frankie knew that she wasn’t strong enough to handle Kade dying. She just couldn’t!
So, instead of waiting until he woke up, Frankie slipped out of bed. She grabbed her clothes and pulled her suitcase quietly out of the bedroom. Dressing quickly, she stuffed the rest into her suitcase, then found a piece of stationary. Writing quickly, she explained as briefly as possible. Then she slipped the ring off of her finger and, setting both on the counter where he would find them, she hurried out of the suite.
Hours later, Kade stared at the note, reading it for the fourth time. Then he crushed it and tossed it into the trash.
Picking up his cell phone, he dialed her number, cursing when it went straight to voice mail.
“Frankie, I know that you’re scared. But please call me. We can work this out, honey. Just call me.”
Chapter 9
Frankie stared blankly out the window of her tiny apartment, her fingers resting on the keyboard of her laptop. There were about forty-five e-mails waiting for a response. She had perhaps another twenty text messages from her friends, and maybe fifteen voice mails. She had no idea who had left those because she couldn’t bring herself to listen to them.
All she knew was that she missed Kade desperately. Every moment of every day, she missed him. Her heart ached, her head throbbed. Her eyes were swollen from crying…and Frankie never cried! She hated crying! It was silly and pointless! A waste of energy.
And yet, she couldn’t seem to stop crying.
The doorbell rang, jarring Frankie out of her stupor and she swiveled towards the door. Unfortunately, her x-ray vision didn’t kick in, so she couldn’t see who was on the other side.
Kade popped into her head. Was it him? Had he come to Seattle? Had he…?
“Kade!” she breathed, rushing over to the door and pulling it open without bothering to check the peephole.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Kade. It was Kinsley and Stevie. They stood in the doorway, beaming. She couldn’t hide her disappointment and turned away before she burst into tears again.
She felt, rather than saw, her friends share a look. Then she heard the door click shut. Frankie couldn’t look at them. She couldn’t bear to see the pity in their eyes. Or worse, the happiness because they were so thrilled to be married to the men in their lives.
Kade’s brothers. Well, half-brothers. Had Kade met with Janus and Lincoln yet? Were they getting to know one another? Did they like each other? Respect each other?
“What’s going on, Frankie?” Kinsley demanded, picking up a pizza box and opening the lid, then closing it with a cringe.
“Nothing,” Frankie replied, taking the pizza box. She’d eaten the whole thing, although it had taken her several days. Still, it was disgusting that she hadn’t thrown the box away. In fact, looking around, Frankie noticed that her apartment was trashed.
Just like the inside of her heart, she thought, then stared out the window.
“Something is obviously wrong,” Stevie argued.
“She’s not going to tell us,” Kinsley replied.
Frankie sensed that the two women were puttering around her apartment, cleaning things up. But she didn’t have the energy to stop them. Or help them, for that matter. It was pretty bad and normally, she was a bit of a neat freak. But she just didn’t have anything
left inside of her. All of her energy these days was used up by getting out of bed. And breathing. Yep, breathing was hard lately. It felt as if a massive stone had been placed on her chest.
Kinsley put her purse down on the sofa, then walked over to the garbage can and took the bag out. She swept the apartment, collecting the fast food bags, empty ice cream tubs, chocolate bar wrappers. Stevie grabbed the empty soda cans and beer bottles, piling them in the recycling bin. The loud clatter when they landed startled Frankie. Had she really drank all that beer over the last…how long had she been here?
Too long, but it took too much energy to care.
“Hey, I met the nicest man the other day,” Kinsley said in an almost conversational tone.
“Oh yeah? Who was that?” Stevie asked.
Frankie heard Stevie’s overly casual response and wondered about it. They sounded as if this were some sort of bad, planned comedy act. She eyed her two friends suspiciously. Sure enough, the gleam in their eyes was unmistakable. They were up to something!
“A guy named Kade Wilson!” Kinsley announced, with mock surprise.
Stevie looked over at Frankie, then at Kinsley. “Now, why does that name sound familiar?” she asked, making a big show out of putting a finger to her chin thoughtfully.
“You know him,” Kinsley replied in the same mocking tone. “He’s Janus’ half-brother. The guy that Frankie found out in Montana!”
Stevie smothered a laugh and it took a great deal of effort for Frankie to not roll her eyes.
“Oh yeah! He’s very handsome. And a cowboy right?” Stevie shot Kinsley a knowing glance.
Frankie snorted, shaking her head.
“Yes. Cowboys are incredibly sexy, don’t you think? I think that I should say something to Janus about…”
Frankie stood up, leaning against the counter as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, knock it off already. Tell me what’s going on.” She frowned at her friends. “Stevie, don’t even pretend to be attracted to Kade. You’re so in love with Janus, you wouldn’t date for years.” She turned her head and looked at Kinsley. “And you!” she continued, as Kinsley grinned unrepentantly at her. “You fell head over heels in love with Lincoln the first moment you met him! So what’s up with the nonsense?”
“Well, he stopped by the house yesterday and….”
“He’s here?” Frankie interrupted. She felt her heart go into overdrive. “In Seattle?”
Kinsley’s smile turned victorious. “Why, yes. He is! Would you like to see him?”
Frankie’s arms dropped to her sides and her shoulders curled inward. She started pacing back and forth in front of her small kitchen. “Is he okay? Is he sick? Is he hurt? Has his arm healed?”
“Hurt?” Kinsley asked, looking over at Stevie. “Why would you ask that?”
Stevie nodded. “I mean, I only just met the man, but I don’t think he was physically hurt. But he didn’t look well.”
“Sick?” Frankie demanded, moving to stand right in front of Stevie. “Was he sick?” She turned, giving Kinsley a pleading glance. “Tell me if he was sick. What was wrong with him?”
Stevie put a hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “I think he’s heart sick, but I doubt he’d ever admit that. If you ask me, I’d say he’s hurting because he misses you.”
Kinsley moved closer. “He asked about you, Frankie. He asked if we knew how you were. If you were eating enough and if you were sleeping okay.” She put a hand to Frankie’s arm. “He misses you, but he won’t say it.”
“And you miss him too. What happened? You were out in Montana for ages. Then you came back here and…well, you’ve been a mess ever since.”
Stevie started to bristle, anger suffusing her lovely features. “Did Edward say something to you? Did he mess with your business? Is that why you’re not taking on new clients?”
“No!” Frankie snorted derisively and shook her head. “No. Edward doesn’t scare me. He doesn’t have that kind of power. Not anymore.”
Kinsley nodded. “He’s sick, but he still has money. He could do some damage to your reputation with a few words in the right ear.”
Frankie crossed her arms over her chest, bowing her head. “I don’t care about Edward. Tell me what’s wrong with Kade.”
“He misses you, Frankie. If you had seen the look in his eyes…!”
The doorbell interrupted them and Frankie stared at the door, a haunted look on her face. She knew Kade was on the other side of that door.
“Make him leave.”
Stevie looked at her with pity in her eyes. “Not going to happen, Frankie. You love him. And you’re miserable without him.”
“I am not!” she hissed, her hands fisting at her sides. “I don’t need him! I don’t need him or anyone!”
Kinsley dropped the garbage bag and moved to the doorway. “All evidence to the contrary?” she asked pointedly. “You’re a mess. He’s a mess. You’re in love with each other. But you’re the fool who won’t put aside your fears and let him love you.”
Frankie’s shoulders stiffened. But before she could argue, Kinsley opened the door. “Hi, Kade!” she said, reaching out to hug him, even lifting higher to give him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. “Come on in. Frankie has been expecting you for weeks now.”
Kade looked confused, but he stepped into her apartment. It felt as if her normal sized apartment had shrunk by half. Frankie remembered that Kade was a large man with impressively broad shoulders. But she hadn’t realized what an impact his size combined with his personality had when he entered a room.
“Stevie,” he greeted, nodding politely to her. Stevie paused to hug him as well, then grabbed her purse.
“Don’t let her convince her that she’s okay. She’s a mess!” Stevie told him. A moment later, Kinsley and Stevie bustled out the door.
Traitors, she thought mutinously. Then she turned to Kade and…her eyes widened. He really did look horrible!
“What’s wrong?” she demanded, rushing across the apartment to press her hand to his forehead. “I asked them if you were sick but they wouldn’t…!”
Kade caught her hand before she touched him, then jerked away. “I’m not sick.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
He stared at her, his eyes turning stormy. “When are you going to admit that you love me, Frankie?” he demanded, his hands fisted on his hips. “When are you going to stop running away from me? From what we have?”
“I….” she trailed off, unable to continue.
“Stop it!” he exploded, slicing his hand through the air. “You’re afraid!”
“I am not!” she lied through her teeth. She stepped around the abandoned garbage bag, needing to pace, but there wasn’t room. Her apartment was still too messy for pacing. “I’m… I’m terrified!” she admitted with a sigh, her head bowing as her shoulders drooped in defeat.
He stared at her and she wasn’t sure what to say. Finally, she lifted her head to glare up at him. “Well? I’ve bared my soul to you! And you’re just going to stand there?”
“I proposed, Frankie. You accepted. I know that you love me, but right after you agreed to spend the rest of your life with me, you disappeared, leaving only a note saying that you ‘can’t do this’. Without any explanation as to what ‘this’ might be. I’m guessing that it’s being with me. Working things out with me. Loving me,” he moved closer to her. “Telling me that you’re scared instead of running away!”
“Well,” she snapped, her eyebrows lowered and she shuffled her feet nervously. “Well, I’m telling you now!”
“What’s different now?”
A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away angrily. “Now I’m still scared, but…” her voice cracked as she continued, “I know now that I can’t live without you.” She froze with that admission, willing him to say something, anything. But when he remained silent, another tear dripped from her lashes. “It isn’t that I won’t live without you, Kade. It’s that…” another crack in her voice. “I
t’s that I can’t.” Her tears overwhelmed her. Frankie, tough and invincible Frankie, sobbed, her head bowed, her shoulders shaking as she let all of the fear, anger, and terror pour out.
Strong arms pulled her against his chest. Her feelings had been bottled up inside of her for so long she could barely breathe through her tears. “Please don’t leave me.”
His voice was deep and husky as he said, “I’m not leaving you, Frankie. I’m never leaving you. And you’re not leaving me either. We’re going to figure this out, together.”
Her fingers clenched in his shirt as she continued to cry. “I’ve missed you so much!” she admitted. “I hated being without you.”
He lifted her up and carried her over to the sofa, letting her cry herself out while she curled in his lap. He didn’t say a word. Just let her cry and stroked her back soothingly.
When the storm was over, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. The same ring that he’d put on her finger back in Miami. The one she’d left on the counter with the note.
“Don’t you ever take this off,” he ordered. “If you’re afraid of something, then you come to me and we’ll work it out.”
She pressed her face into his neck, inhaling the deep, clean, male scent of him. “What if you’re not around to talk to?” she asked.
He froze, then pulled back so he could look into her face. “Is that what this is about?” he asked, hoarsely. “Is it because of what that woman did in Miami?”
“Yes. It was too close,” she told him. “I still can see that gun in his hand. And I was too far away to get it away from him.”
He wrapped his arms around her again. “Frankie!” he groaned. “Damn you, woman!” He laughed harshly. “Damn it! Why didn’t you talk to me? Why did you put us through this hell?”
She curled up against him, missing him so much that it actually hurt to feel him now. “Because I was too scared. I didn’t even realize how scared I was until I got back here. And then you weren’t here to talk to.”
After Hours Desire (Forsaken Sons Book 3) Page 12