I wrinkled my nose. “Really? Isn’t it supposed to start in like five minutes?”
He nodded. “Yep. I poured a round of champagne and carried it out to greet the early arrivals, and no one was there. It was way creepy.”
“What kind of party? Who did the setup?” I wondered if someone had pulled a prank on us. I hated being pranked.
Devon shrugged. “There’s only a couple tables out there. And it’s dark. There’s a small stage up front.”
“What? Really?” I was completely baffled as to what could be going on.
He nodded. “Yep. I’ll go check again, but I haven’t heard anyone come in.”
“I’ll come with you,” I volunteered.
I grabbed the tray of champagne glasses and followed him out. The lights were turned down low, just like he said. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I was confident we were being pranked or it was the setup to a grizzly murder. This was how horror movies started out.
“I’m out of here,” I said. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m getting the hell out of here before this gets any weirder.” I put down the tray on a table and slowly backed out of the room.
“Don’t go,” I heard a deep male voice say from directly behind me.
I shrieked and spun around, staring into dark blue eyes of a man that towered over me. He exuded wealth and prestige as he looked at me with amusement.
His black hair was a little too long for a rich guy. It had a bit of a Johnny Depp thing going, which would have been sexy if he wasn’t a creep sneaking up on me in a dark room.
“Who are you?” I snapped, my heart pounding as my mind raced through the closest exits.
He smiled. “My name is Maceo Vitalis, and I would love it if you and your coworker could take a seat.”
I shook my head. “Nope. No way. Not going to happen. I know karate, and I will throat punch you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I raised my chin. “Yes, really. We are not alone. I suggest you move out of my way and let us leave.”
He grimaced. “I can’t do that. Please, have a seat. Grab one of those glasses of champagne.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “Are they drugged? Do you plan to drug us?”
He chuckled. “You tell me. You’re the one who brought them out here.”
He had a point. “I don’t want any champagne.”
“Fine. I’m going to ask you again. Please have a seat.” He looked behind me to where Devon was standing. “You too.”
I turned to look over my shoulder at Devon. The kid looked terrified. He was obviously not going to be any help. “Fine. We’ll sit. If anything weird or creepy happens, I will throat punch you. With a chair.” I tossed my meanest glare his way.
He grinned and nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I spun around, jerked a chair out from one of the tables, and flopped down. I crossed my arms across my chest and continued to stare down my captor. I wasn’t going to go easy. I was going to show him what a real Greek woman was made of. We were descended from gods. Technically, he was also Greek and looked a lot more like a god than I did, but I could by scrappy when needed. I hoped.
Music started to play, and the lights above the makeshift stage came on. Were we actually being kidnapped to watch a show? People were weird. That was my only guess.
The guy probably had too much money and was too much of a dick to get friends, so he was going to force us to play along with him. It was probably his birthday party, and he had no one to invite. “Loser,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What?” Devon hissed.
“Nothing. Way to stand up to the guy.” I frowned at him.
Devon shrugged. “I don’t mind drinking champagne.”
I stared at the stage, silently praying it wasn’t anything terrifying. The two waiters that had been hanging out in the kitchen were escorted to one of the tables by what I was convinced was our captor. He grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne and handed them to the waiters. He was certainly a hospitable kidnapper.
A curtain parted to reveal a man wearing a purple suit and what had to be the ugliest red hat I had ever seen. His back was toward us, but if and when he turned around, I was expecting to see his face painted like a clown. The only thing he needed to complete his outfit was a pair of big red shoes.
“You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips,” the man crooned.
The singing was as bad as the outfit. I cringed, feeling horrible for the poor man that was attempting to be an entertainer.
“And there’s no tenderness like before in your fingertips,” he belted out, his voice cracking and screeching as he tried to hit a high note.
“We’re being tortured,” I whispered to Devon, who was staring at the stage with a mixture of confusion and disgust.
“Indeed,” he said, nodding.
Just then, the man on stage spun around. My mouth fell open. “Cade?” I whispered with shock.
He was really singing, heading into the chorus as he walked toward me. I wanted to melt into my seat. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I looked to my left and saw Devon staring at me. I looked right and saw Maceo grinning as he watched the scene unfold.
“You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling, whoa that lovin’ feeling,” Cade sang, dropping to his knees in front of me.
I stared at him, not sure what to say or do. He continued singing—if that was what it could be called. It was awful, but I couldn’t deny the gesture was very moving. I found myself smiling as I watched him jump to his feet and finish his song before putting the microphone on the floor.
Maceo started clapping, prompting the rest of us to clap. I had no idea what was going on, but I clapped along with the others. Cade bowed, taking off his hat and throwing it into the air. He walked toward me, his eyes locked on mine. I had no idea what he was going to do or what I would say or do.
He reached for my hand. I let him take it. He pulled me up to stand. Suddenly, there was more soft music coming through the speakers, but fortunately, no one was singing. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Maceo herding Devon and the other two out of the room.
“I was hoping we could talk,” Cade said, his hands still holding mine.
“You went through a lot of effort to just talk,” I told him with a small laugh.
He grinned. “I didn’t want you to shoot me down. I had to do something grand in order to get your attention. Did it work?”
I laughed. “I don’t know. That singing—” I stopped, not wanting to insult him, but my god, the man had to know singing was not something he was good at.
He nodded. “I know. I know. It was a risk. I was hoping you would take pity on me.”
“Oh, is that what I’m supposed to do? And that outfit? Is that to be pitied as well?”
He grinned, running a hand down the front of the garish suit. “I wanted to make sure you saw me.”
“I fear I might be blind after staring at it for so long.”
“You were staring?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“It was like watching a train wreck. I couldn’t look away.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “I did this because I want to talk to you, but first, I want to feed you,” he said, slowly turning me around.
My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. Devon and the others, along with Maceo, were carrying around plates of food and setting them on the table. Maceo reached out and lit the candles before giving me a sneaky wink and shooing everyone back into the kitchen.
“Who is that?” I asked Cade when they had left.
He smiled. “That is Maceo, someone I met the same night I met you. He’s been a good friend these past few weeks.”
“I see.”
“Can we please have dinner?”
He’d gone through a lot of trouble. I figured the least I could do was sit down to dinner with him. “Yes.”
“And then I would really like to talk to you,�
�� he said. “But not here. We can go to my place or your place if you’d prefer, but I’d rather not have an audience.”
I owed him a real explanation. “Okay.”
“Perfect,” he said, relief flooding his face.
The dinner was amazing, which wasn’t surprising. I was flattered by how much work he had gone through to get some time with me. We kept the conversation at a very surface level and avoided the topic of our last conversation. I wasn’t sure how to explain my reservations to him, but I decided I would try.
“This is all very impressive Cade, but you didn’t have to go through this much trouble to talk to me,” I said.
“I think I did. I wanted to do something big to show you just how serious I am about you. I know we have some things to talk about. I screwed up when I lied to you, and I will apologize a million times, but I am ready to be nothing but honest with you from this day forward.”
I heard a hint of sadness in his voice. I wasn’t going to let him carry the burden of our failed relationship alone. “Why don’t we go to your place, and we can talk?” I said.
He nodded. “Let me tell Maceo, and we can go.”
He jumped up from the table and disappeared into the kitchen. I took a deep breath and looked around the room. I was still amazed he had gone through so much trouble. It couldn’t have been cheap to rent the venue. I hoped he didn’t pay a lot for the suit. That thing belonged in a costume shop.
I stood up and started to clear the table out of habit. Devon came rushing out and slapped my hand when I reached for one of the empty plates.
“Hey!” I protested.
“I’m busing the table,” he said with a laugh. “You’re the guest tonight. Soak this up. Your man is amazing. I’m going to remember this when I need to impress a woman.”
“Don’t forget the singing,” I said. “You have to sing.”
He winced. “I don’t think I could be any worse than your man.”
I laughed. “You’re probably right about that.”
Chapter 35
Cade
I thanked Maceo for his excellent idea and shook hands with the servers before rushing back into the dining area. I didn’t want to take a chance Eliana would get cold feet and run away from me. I seemed to have a hard time keeping her in my good graces for long. I wanted to take advantage of the mood she was in.
“Ready?” I asked, coming back into the room.
She nodded. “I am.”
I walked her to my car, opening the door for her and doing everything I could to be the perfect gentleman. Deep down, I knew it was my last chance. It was now or never. If she rejected me again, I would accept it and move on.
I drove to my place, parked in the tiny little driveway, and looked over at her. I half-expected her to tell me she had changed her mind. I got out of the car and opened her door before she could tell me to take her home.
“Can I get you a drink?” I asked her.
“Um, yes, please, anything,” she murmured. I understood her need for a drink.
I nodded and went into the kitchen, opening my fridge and finding a couple of cold beers. I carried them into my small living room and sat down in my favorite recliner. She was sitting on the edge of my couch, looking incredibly nervous.
“How’ve you been?” I asked.
She nodded. “Good. You?”
It was nervous small talk. I offered her a small smile. “I’ve been better.”
“I’m sorry, I—”
I held up my hand to stop her from talking anymore. “It wasn’t anything you did. I was dealing with some personal stuff. I would have tried to talk to you sooner or at least stalked you at your work,” I laughed nervously, “but I was out of the country.”
“What? Out of the country? When?”
“All week. I was in Italy. My father was sick.” I found it difficult to actually say the words.
“I’m sorry. Is he better now?” The concern on her face made me care about her even more.
I shook my head. “No. He passed away Sunday evening.”
Her face paled. “Oh my god. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. I should have told you I was leaving town. Things were kind of hectic, and before I had a chance, I was in the air, and then it was the hospital. Is that why you said you didn’t want to see me anymore?”
She closed her eyes. “I feel like such a bitch. I didn’t know what you were dealing with. I’m so sorry I dumped that on you.”
“I just want to know why. I thought things were okay between us. Did I do something that offended you? Was it the sex in my office?” I was still hung up on the idea, especially considering it was the last time I had seen her before she dumped me. Again.
She blushed. “No, it wasn’t that. I don’t want to sound cheesy, but I promise you, it has everything to do with me and nothing to do with you. I’m not ready for a relationship. You are better off without me in your life. You have to trust me on this.”
I shook my head. “Why aren’t you ready? Have you been hurt in the past? Have you been in a bad relationship?” I was relying on what my mother had suggested could be the reason for her trying to cut me out of her life.
She shook her head. I could see the turmoil on her face and almost wanted to let her off the hook, but I had to know. I had to know if it was me or truly something she was hung up on. “Cade, I don’t want to do this.”
“Why?” I snapped, trying not to get angry.
“I don’t want to hurt you!” she blurted out.
“How are you going to hurt me?” I asked with complete confusion.
She took a long drink from the bottle of beer before leaning forward and putting it on the small table in front of her. “I’m going to be honest with you. I haven’t had a great week either. While my mother didn’t die, our relationship did. It’s a good thing, but it is still a loss, and I’ve been kind of struggling.”
“I don’t understand. What happened?” I got up to sit next to her. I could see she needed comforting, even if she was trying to appear otherwise. The woman looked like she had been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. I wrapped on arm around her and gave her a side hug before turning to face her, our knees touching.
She blew out a breath. “My mom and I have never really gotten along. She was not really a mother to me at all. I was always alone while she flitted around from man to man. She was always hooking up with a new guy—rich men only for her. I told you about her leaving me alone all the time. I kind of always knew she didn’t want me, but there were times I thought maybe I was wrong. I think I just assumed she wasn’t a great mom, but she wasn’t any worse than others. I learned what I know about relationships through my mom.”
I nodded with understanding. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”
“I’m not telling you this to be pitied,” she said. “I’m telling you I can’t be with you because I don’t know how to be with anyone. I don’t know how to trust. I don’t know how to love. You’re a good, good man, and I do care about you, which is why I don’t want to hurt you. I’ve seen the destruction that can be caused by someone like me getting mixed up with someone like you. You are so out of my league.” She smiled.
“No,” I said firmly. “No way. That is not going to work for me.”
“Cade, you’re a great guy,” she said. “You can find a woman a million times better than me.”
“I don’t want anyone else. I want you. You are the woman I want. You are the woman I’m going to keep fighting for. I don’t want you to be perfect. I don’t expect us to be perfect together. God knows, I am far from it. But I do know you are different from any woman I have ever met, and I want you like crazy.” I forced her to look in my eyes.
“I’m not good enough for you,” she said softly. “I’m probably going to end up like my mother, except I won’t be going after rich guys.”
“Eliana, you are not your mother. You have a quality about you that is warm
and tender, and yet, you are so strong. No one knows how to love. They just do it. There isn’t a book—well, scratch that. There are like a thousand books on navigating love and relationships.” I laughed. “But I’m not an expert. I don’t have a loving background to fall back on either. We can muddle through it together.”
She groaned. “Why are you so damn good?”
The way she said it made it sound like it was a bad thing. “I can be bad.”
She laughed. “I doubt that.”
“Are you going to tell me you can’t be with me because I’m a nice guy?” I asked, feeling frustrated. “This is where the nice guy finishes last?”
“I’m not saying I can’t be with you because you’re a nice guy,” she said. “I’m telling you I don’t want to be with you because I do care about you and I don’t want to drag you through the pits of hell, where I’m sure to be hanging out.”
“You can’t drag me anywhere. I’m at least twice as big as you.”
She rolled her eyes. “You are always laughing. I wish I could be like that. You manage to find the light in every situation.”
I shrugged. “I try. I don’t like to be in the dark.”
“And there you go again.” She giggled.
I liked hearing her laugh. “Eliana, I want to tell you something, and I don’t want you to freak out.”
She immediately stiffened, her shoulders going back. “What is it?”
I grabbed her hand and held it in mine. “I’m falling in love with you. I’ve been trying to talk myself out of it, telling myself it is too soon, but it doesn’t change. I can’t deny the feelings. They are there. I get that you’ve got some issues to work through, and I’m okay with that. I want to be in your life. Don’t worry about me getting hurt. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”
She stared at me. I saw my moment and took it. I leaned in and kissed her.
She didn’t slap me or pull away, which I took as a good sign. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her closer. I felt her relax into the kiss. I wanted to show her I could be more than just sex. I wanted her to see that what we had was special.
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