Valentine's Day Kisses : Boxed Set

by Addison Moore

“Really?” That surge of hope takes over again. A weight lifts off my chest as if this entire mess were already behind me.

  “Yes, really. And to top it off, Marley had some psycho relative working against us. It wasn’t all a bed of roses, but we’re in love. This is it. She’s my forever, and come this June”—a giant grin blooms over his face—“we’re making it official.”

  “What? Congratulations, man.” I pull him in, slightly stunned and happy as hell for him.

  “There’s actually more to it. Annie and Blake are getting married, too. Annie thought it was sweet the way Baya and Laney had a double wedding, and she and Marley are best friends, so when they found out they were both destined to be June brides, they asked if we wouldn’t mind teaming up.”

  “You and Blake biting the dust on the same day? Geez.” I pull him in again and shoot Blake a thumbs-up as he wails into the mic. He shoots one right back with a wink.

  “So that’s what they’re doing over there.” He taps his knuckles over the bar. “Spending some money.”

  We share a dull laugh.

  “I can’t believe this.” It’s the first time I’ve smiled in two solid weeks, and a coat of guilt fills me, heavy as marbles.

  Holt wipes down the counter in front of us, and Wyatt nods to him. “And you know about this guy, right?”

  “No way,” I groan to Holt before offering up a fist bump. “Are you taking one for the team, too? When’s the big day?”

  “August lucky thirteenth.”

  “Man.” I give a wistful shake of the head. “You guys are falling like flies.”

  Holt pushes out a short-lived grin. “You don’t know how lucky I feel. I used to dream of being with Izzy, and now I am. It’s like something I waited for my entire life I finally have right here in front of me. Gift wrapped. It’s Christmas morning every single day.” Someone calls for his attention, and he swats his towel over his shoulder before taking off. My stomach falls to my feet. I know exactly what he’s talking about. Being with Cassidy would feel like just that, Christmas morning over and over again.

  “I’d better get back there.” Wyatt’s chest bloats with his next lungful. “I hope you find what we have. You deserve it, Cade.”

  He takes off, and I lose any desire to sit on this stool for another second. Instead, I make my way to the back, to the poolroom in hopes of finding Owen hanging out with his buddies, and sure enough, there they are, Piper and her two girlfriends included.

  “Big brother!” Piper gifts me a running hug. “Can I get you anything? Do you want me to get you some soup?” Her big blue eyes expand twice the size.

  “No, that’s okay.” A dull laugh rattles in my chest. For the last week and a half, Piper has been plying me with comfort foods, and for the last week and a half, I’ve been trying to convince her I don’t have the flu. I’m sick both physically and emotionally, yes, but that’s because I miss the hell out of Cassidy. I’m concerned for her. She’s been my one singular thought from the moment I met her right here at this bar.

  “Where is she?” I plead with my sister. For as often as she’s been trying to hydrate me with fluids, I’ve been begging her for answers to no avail.

  Something in her loosens as she looks to Owen for help.

  “Dude”—I head straight over and try my hardest not to shake the hell out of him—“tell me where she is. I’ll do whatever you want.” I’m this close to bribing him with cash and prizes.

  Owen looks over my shoulder at Piper while his two buddies, Jet and Rex, flank him on either side, offering up their sympathy to me as if there’s been a death in the family, and in a way it feels as if there has been.

  Owen shifts his pool stick from one hand to the other. “She’s at Stilettos.”

  I bolt out the door and make a mad dash for my car. I hop inside and shout “Stilettos” into the GPS, and before I know it, I’m headed to Jepson.

  Nobody is more startled than me to be circling a strip club on a Friday night in hopes to track down the woman I love. I hit the rear of the establishment and park in the boonies before running like hell to get inside.

  “Whoa, cowboy.” A roided-out bouncer holds up his stump of an arm, barring me from the entry. Something about the way he called me cowboy makes this feel like a good omen. “Pay up. Cover’s fifty bucks.”

  I whip out a Benjamin, and he lets me in without blinking.

  It’s dark inside, or rather extremely dimly lit. A red sequined sign at the entrance shines like a jewel spelling out the name of the establishment. The place is thick with topless women walking around on proverbial stilts while serving cocktails to the mostly wasted patrons. Gobs of men from all walks of life sit entranced around the elongated runway that unfurls itself down the center of the room. A couple of girls wearing nothing but G-strings take turns dancing and pretending to wrestle. I find the first seat and scan the room trying to figure out exactly what I’m doing here when the music dies down and the girls prance their way offstage. The one with a hot pink feathered boa has so many bills stuffed into that string tucked against her bottom, she leaves a trail of green in her wake.

  The lights go nuts, and a shirtless man pumps up the crowd as he struts the catwalk with his glittery top hat and ridiculous gold pants. “Let’s all make some noise for the fabulous Caila Jace!”

  The crowd loses their minds as the announcer does a disappearing act, and the music comes on with a backbeat so hard you feel it thumping in your chest. It’s as if it’s trying to kick-start my heart, but it’s a futile effort. Not even a set of paddles could electrocute me back to the land of the living. The only thing I need is—that I’ll ever need is…

  A drop-dead gorgeous blonde sashays out onto the stage swirling her hips, grinding them to the music, and my jaw goes slack.

  The only thing that I need is—“Caila Jace?” Her name comes from my lips in a foreign whisper. “What the heck?” I sit stunned for a few minutes as she begins to sing into the mic, and that sweet country twang takes me by the balls and wrenches the hell out of them.

  Is this something new? It couldn’t be. She looks poised and polished, for lack of a better word, seasoned. How the hell did I not know this? But then, why would I? Cassidy kept her entire life under lock and key. It’s a miracle I knew as much as I did.

  She teases the crowd by taking off her belt, and her silver robe falls open in the front, revealing a matching set of bra and panties.

  “Hell,” I grunt it out as my eyes drift to the throngs of salivating bastards all beckoning her to take it off while fisting dollar bills at her.

  Cassidy—Caila—at this point, I’m not sure what her real name is, sings like an angel, beautiful and strong, and it’s only when she looks in this general direction do I notice that her scar looks as if it’s been miraculously healed. My stomach sours for a second. I’m damn sure this is her, but she just looked right through me as if I were made of glass. Not that I’m here to disrupt her routine, but, then again, I’m very much here to disrupt her routine if need be. I can’t stand the thought of all these men chanting obscenities at her, just waiting for a glimpse of what she has to offer.

  She looks my way again, and this time I lift my hand in an effort to gain her attention. Cassidy winks and offers me a squeeze of the fingers mid-air before continuing to fill the place with her beautifully haunting voice. She tosses the mic out to someone on the other side of the runway as the guitar solo goes off overhead. Cassidy peels her robe off, balling it up and tossing it in my direction. She hugs the pole in front of her and squats, licking a line along the phallic metal tube as she shimmies her way back up. Her hips grind into the base of it as she tosses her head back and moans into oblivion while the music breaks free in a frenzy. Cassidy looks every bit as if she’s pleasuring herself right there on stage in front of a house full of drunks, each one drooling at the opportunity to watch the very public display.

  I can’t do this. I can’t sit here while the woman I love, the woman I’ve been dying to see, hol
d, and speak with continues like this. Something isn’t right, and I can’t put my finger on it. It’s as if I’ve exited one nightmare only to find myself fully awake in another.

  “Cassidy!” I do my best to shout over the music, but my voice is drowned out by the network of drunken cheers.

  She bends over, spilling her golden hair to the floor a moment while her fingers work the back of her bra, and once she stands abruptly, her girls bounce out in turn as if happy to finally see the crowd themselves.

  “Oh crap.” I wrestle my way through the thicket of limbs. I whip off my jacket and toss it over to her. “Cassidy!” I shout with everything in me. “I love you!” I climb up and pull her in, examining her features for a trace of the woman I thought I knew.

  “Cade!” a familiar female voice screams from below, and I turn, fully expecting to see Piper, but instead I’m met up with…

  “Cassidy?”

  A swarm of beefed-up security guards tosses something that amounts to a blanket over my head, and I’m thrown offstage, wrangled out to the cool night air before I can process what just happened.

  “Crap.” I struggle for air as they pull the blanket off my face.

  “Don’t come back, dude.” It’s the bouncer that I bothered to tip with a fifty. “Next time bones get broken, if you know what I mean.”

  “I have to get back in there.” I pull my wallet out and toss a few hundred dollar bills at him.

  “Keep your money, man. It’s not good here anymore.” He pushes me out to the curb as I try to leap past him.

  “Cassidy!” I shout so loud my voice echoes down the empty street.

  “Do that one more time, and I’m calling the cops.” He shakes his stiff neck without making eye contact. “Believe me, the chick’s not worth the trouble.”

  “This one is.” I try to dive past him just as his oversized mitt connects with my jaw.

  The last thing I see is Cassidy Clayton running out screaming—that beautiful face of hers staring down at me in horror.

  If that’s the last thing I ever see, I’m good with that.

  Then the world claps to darkness.

  Making Hay of the Situation

  Cassidy

  Cade James lies cold and dead in my arms as I wail into the night like a creature that’s just been skinned alive. I might as well be. My beating heart has fallen right out of my chest and is rolling around somewhere by my feet—or at least it feels that way.

  A hard groan comes from him as he bucks in my arms.

  “Cade!” I howl into his face and slap him silly until his lids flutter and dance. He gives a groggy-eyed stare up at me, and I slap him one more time just for the heck of it. “Wake the hell up right this minute!” I shout so loud my voice rubs raw.

  Cade grunts and moans, struggling to sit, just as a car pulls up and out spills Piper.

  “I knew you two would work it out!” She gives a smug grin just as Caila struts from the side of the building.

  “You need an ambulance?” My sister breaks that last word into three distinct parts far better than I could have. Sometimes, I think Caila beefs up her accent just for the hell of it. On second thought, it’s most likely just for the hell of her tips.

  “No,” Cade growls as Owen helps him to a standing position.

  Piper comes over and helps me to my feet as well. “Everything fine and dandy?”

  “Piper”—Cade touches the back of his hand to his cheek and inspects for blood—“we haven’t had a second together.” He winces over at me. “Cassidy,” he presses my name out with such heartache I can’t help but bleed for him—for the two of us.

  “He sort of had a conversation with my sister.” I nod over to Caila as Piper squeals like a little pink piglet full of Sunday joy.

  “Did she get you?” Piper howls and claps up a storm. “I remember when I thought she was a stripper myself.” She glances to Caila. “No offense.” She turns back to her brother. “I about had a heart attack. Did she take off her shirt? Did you see her boobs and die right there?”

  “Yes.” Cade nods incredulously at his baby sis before glancing to mine. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m sorry about getting on stage and disrupting your routine.”

  Piper sucks in a hard breath. “You went up on stage?”

  “He sure did.” I glare at him a moment, still not quite sure what to make out of his runway routine. I know he was trying to protect me—but that declaration of love. Was that real? Or just a ploy to get me—Caila—to put my shirt back on? “Well, I’m here, and you’re talking to me. Go ahead, Cade. Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of the people here. I don’t think we have anything else to hide.” I swallow down the heart-shaped lump in my throat. I’m sort of hoping he breaks into song again—the one with the words I never thought I’d hear from a man.

  Cade looks around before landing those steel blue beams square over mine.

  “I love you.” He staggers forward, landing his strong, warm hands over my arms. His eyes bear into mine with a desperate look of longing. “I mean it, Cassidy. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life. What we have is real. I swear to you, it’s too good to pass up. Please, can we go somewhere alone and talk?”

  That knot builds in my throat ten times harder than before as I glance to my sister.

  “You want to go anywhere with him?” Her eyes cut like glass. I’ve been holing up with Caila this last week and a half. It’s been some long overdue sisterly bonding time, and I don’t regret a minute. Piper knew where I was the entire time, but I swore I’d pop her hot little head right off her body if she uttered a single word. And, true to Piper form, she was loyal to a fault. A part of me wishes she had uttered a word. I’m pretty sure she’s not the reason I’m standing next to her brother at the moment. Only the good Lord knows how, but that boy tracked me down on his own.

  “I guess we can go somewhere.” My entire body lets out a sigh of relief. It’s as if the moment I left his presence I was holding my breath again, hacking my way through the woods of life just struggling to survive.

  Piper offers up a tight embrace and whispers hotly into my ear, “Be nice to him. If Cade says he loves you, he means it. You already know that I love you.” She pulls back with tears in her eyes. “I love you both.” She gives a little shrug as Owen takes her by the hand, and they take off into the night.

  “Well, I’m starting to feel like a third wheel.” Caila steps up to Cade with her arms folded tight across her chest. If Cade thinks his little sister is a pistol, he’s about to be bested by my personal AK-47. “Nice to finally meet you, too, Mr. Cade James.” Caila may sound sweet enough, but that hard-as-galvanized-steel gaze of hers lets you know exactly what she’s thinking, or at least the not-so subtle hint of it. “Rumor has it, you like your women in pairs.”

  Cade closes his eyes a moment and bounces a soft nod. “No, I like my women singular. I don’t have anyone else.” He reaches over and brushes my cheek with his thumb. “This girl, right here, is all I need.”

  “Good answer.” Caila is not impressed. That little smirk she’s giving him is a telltale sign. “You do realize Cassidy is special.” Her entire demeanor softens, and I freeze just looking at her in horror as she readies to sell me out.

  “I’m not special,” I hiss the words as if they were dirty. “I just needed some space.”

  “You are special—to me.” Cade draws my fingers to his with apprehension. “I’m not going to hurt your sister, Caila. I promise you that.” He doesn’t break his gaze from mine.

  “I’ll leave you two alone. Cass, if you need me, you know where to find me. Don’t take crap from anyone. If that little Tennessee tart gives you a hard time, you know what to do.” Caila struts off with her shoulders back, head held high as if she’s just conquered the world, and here I am with my tail between my legs, the man of my dreams declaring his love for me, and I don’t know what to do with it. Romantic love has always been a far-off concept reserved for other people—a
nd here I am, the square peg trying to fit into a round hole. It won’t work. It can’t. Right?

  “I guess this is the part where I apologize.” It comes out breathy as I glance to the ground. “Cade, I—”

  He shakes his head. His brows dip into that sexy hard V I adore, and his lips bleed a sad smile my way.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for. You were honest and upfront with me the day we met. You said you wanted to keep things low-key. I’m the one who tried changing the rules, so I apologize.” The moon kisses his dark hair, giving it the illusion of blue icicles slicked back in smooth shards. He lays his hand over his heart, his eyes never leaving mine. “Cassidy, if all you want from me is what we had going, then that’s what it will be. I’ll take anything you’re willing to give me.” His Adam’s apple rises and falls with so much drama my stomach sinks at what he might say next. “But—”

  “I knew it!” I break free from his hold on me. “I knew you were just fishing for some excuse to wrangle out of this. Well, I’ll spare you of it! Go ahead and take off and don’t ever come back!” My words ricochet down the alleyway. “I get it.” My voice breaks as I struggle to keep it together. “I have had a lifetime of rejection. You’re perfect, Cade.” It comes out less than a whisper. “You don’t need this mess in your life.” My finger darts to my face. “I’m just the girl to keep on the side for kicks—a six-pack they called me in high school. Well, I understood it then, and I get it now. I’m still a six-pack, and you know why?” I give him a hard shove to the chest. “Because that’s how stupid and shallow this world is. It’s not concerned with how smart or intelligent you are, or if you’ve got a heart of freaking gold!” I’m back to shouting. “All people care about is how young and beautiful you are. You have one scar eating up the side of your face, and suddenly, opportunities disappear, people feel sorry for you, hate you, make fun of you—be you for Halloween! Well, I’m sick of it!”

  “Cassidy.” Cade tries to wrap his arms around me, but I’m hysterical, delirious with mind-numbing pain. I’ve waited fifteen long years to vent my fury, and I’m not letting up anytime soon. “I see you!” he riots into my face, his panting matching my own. “I see you—the real you.” His voice softens a bit as he presses me close by the small of my back. Our hips connect, and I would swear on my momma’s soul that sparks just lit up the night sky. There has always been something electric about Cade’s touch. He touches his finger to my chin and sears his gaze over mine. “When I said I love you, I meant it. I love the inside, the outside, and I especially love your heart of freaking gold.”