Love And Money (Love Series - Book 2)

by K. L. Prince

  Caden’s request being honored so quickly and without hassle isn’t something that has gone unnoticed. If she had shown up and made the same request, she is sure that the hostess would have laughed in her face. She and Caden didn’t even have a reservation. They just showed up and were immediately given a table. Caden has more pull than she thought. She realizes that he is more powerful than she thought and the realization kind of frightens her. She wonders how well known he really is and how it will eventually affect her if there relationship progresses.

  The hostess gives them each a menu and disappears. When she opens the menu, she starts to feel embarrassed because she can’t read anything that it says. It’s all in French and she barely knows how to say hello in the language, let only read a full menu.

  As if reading her mind, Caden says, “You can’t read the menu, can you?”

  “Not a word,” she says and chuckles from embarrassment.

  “No worries. I’ll read it to you,” Caden says and smiles at her.

  “Thank you,” she says, grateful that he hasn’t made a big deal about her lack of knowledge of the French language. She listens to Caden read the menu to her and she decides on a dish. When they have ordered, she asks, “How did you learn French?”

  “I went to a private school where learning French was mandatory.”

  “So, you’re fluent, then?” she asks, intrigued. She wonders what other things about Caden are hidden between the layers.

  “I am. I don’t get to speak the language very often, but I can speak it very well when I need to.”

  “Do you ever travel to France?” she asks, curious about whether or not he’s traveled the world. She has always wanted to travel and see different parts of the world and different cultures, but she’s never been able to have the opportunity because of time and money. She always hoped that one day she would be able to see Paris, France. Seeing the Eiffel Tower has been a childhood dreams of hers.

  “I have been to France many times, but not recently. I’ve been too busy with work. I would like to go back someday. Maybe you could come with me,” Caden says and reaches across the table and takes her hand.

  The thought of going to France and making her childhood dream come true makes her heart beat a little faster. It would be amazing to walk the streets of France, but there is no way that she could ever afford to take a trip like that. How could she afford to take an extravagant trip like that when she can barely afford to keep groceries in the fridge?

  “Maybe,” she says, which is the only response she can get out. She doesn’t know why she just doesn’t tell him the truth about her life and her financial situation. He’s told her that money isn’t of the utmost importance in his life, so she doesn’t know why she just can’t be truthful.

  As if reading her mind or feeling her deception, Caden says, “So, we’ve talked a lot about me and my life. What can you tell me about you? You’ve barely said one word about your life.”

  “What do you want to know?” she replies, starting to get nervous and squirming in her seat.

  “Well, for starters, what do you do? Tell me something about your family.”

  It’s her opportunity to tell Caden the absolute truth, but she can’t go through with it, so she lies. “Well, like you, I work for my father, helping him run his businesses.”

  “You’re kidding!” Caden explains. “That’s awesome. We have something in common. What kind of business does your father run?”

  “Like your father, he’s really big into real estate and construction,” she says, continuing to lie and dig a hole for herself. She knows that now the lies are just going to have to keep coming and coming. She knows that she is going to have to lie to cover up lies and she hates what she’s done, but she doesn’t want to correct the situation. She finds that she wants Caden to like her, and seeing the way his face lit up when she told him that she was in business with her father like him, was priceless. She likes that he thinks that they have something in common. She likes that he thinks of her as someone on the same wavelength as him.

  “That is so great. What is your father’s company’s name?”

  She starts to feel nervous. She hasn’t been given enough time to concoct a strong lie. The best response she can come up with is, “Well, my father is a very private man. He likes to stay in the shadows, so his companies are not under his name. He stays behind the scenes and he doesn’t like me to tell anyone about his business dealings. I hope you understand,” she says and searches his face for his reaction. She has no idea if what she has said is even plausible, but she goes with it.

  “I totally get it. I understand completely. What fascinates me about what you’ve told me is that not only can I open up to you and talk to you about my feelings, but I can talk to you about the stresses of business and you’ll get it. I’m starting to think that you were sent into my life by a higher power. This is going to seem…probably offensive, but do you come from a wealthy background?”

  She contemplates telling him the truth, but she decides that not ruining the moment is more important, so she lies again, “Well, everyone’s definition of wealthy is probably different, but I do come from a family that has more than the average person. I can buy whatever I want, whenever I want, and I don’t have to worry about the cost.”

  While she listens to herself tell Caden the bold-faced lie, she stares down at the napkin that sits in front of her. When she has finished saying the last words of her lie, she looks up and looks at Caden sitting across the table. There is relief written all over his face and she knows why. She’s met the requirements that his father laid out for him. She is everything that Caden wants and she is everything that his father wants. She imagines that Caden must feel like he’s won the lottery because he can pursue a relationship with her without the weight of his father expectations sitting on his shoulders.

  Seeing the relief on Caden’s face makes telling the lie seem not so bad. If she’s perfectly honest with herself, she lied for Caden, but she mostly lied for her own benefit. She wants to spend some more time with Caden before she is forced to reveal the truth about herself. She knows that her reasons are selfish, but she has never had a man like Caden be interested in her before. He intrigues her and she is drawn to him like a magnet. They are drawn together like magnets. Even when she didn’t want anything to do with Caden, he showed up in front of her.

  She wonders if they are meant to be, like soul mates or something. She can’t help but wonder, do soul mates lie to each other? The only answer that seems reasonable is - probably not. She is sure that soul mates are always honest with each other, no matter what, and wouldn’t think of deceiving each other because of the love that is shared between them. Soul mates love each other unconditionally and there is nothing that one could do to the other to sever that love. If she really believed that she and Caden were soul mates and meant to be together, she wouldn’t have lied to him, right? She is confused, but she continues in her lie. She doesn’t stop the conversation and tell Caden the truth. She keeps her lips zipped and lets the lie she’s told begin to fester, because that is what lies do. They get planted and then they grow into big, monstrous wounds filled with pus and infection, until you simply can’t ignore them any longer.

  She realizes that not telling the truth to Caden will eventually blow up in her face and she should just tell him the truth right away, but as she looks across the table into his eyes, her selfishness prevails. She wants the moment and the connection they have at the moment to continue for as long as possible. She wants to continue being the woman of Caden’s dreams. She likes being cast in that role. She likes being desirable and sought after by Caden.

  They spend the meal talking and getting to know each other. As they eat and share conversation over the meal, she comes to find out that they have more in common than she initially thought they would. She’s found out that they are both only children and love the beach. They both love music and have an obsession for all things U2. Caden promises to take he
r to a U2 concert sometime in the future. His offer is like a dream come true. She doesn’t let on, but she could never afford to go to a U2 concert and him taking her, would be the first and probably the only opportunity for her to go. When Caden asks her why she’s never gone to a concert before, she acts like the reason she’s never gone has do with time management and not money. Inside she groans as the lies keep building up.

  As they enjoy a meal that tastes unlike anything that she’s ever eaten and they sip from glasses of wine, she can’t help but feel a tinge of jealously at the life that Caden gets to lead on a daily basis. Before she even met Caden, she would constantly asks herself why someone people get to be so lucky and get to have everything they want out of life, and then there are those people, like herself, that have to struggle for everything that they want in life. There are people that will never get to experience the exquisite meal that sits before her and taste the wine that shimmers in her glass. She may have never had the experience herself, if not for Caden. Sitting in the fancy restaurant with Caden is a reminder of how life simply is just not fair. Staring at the waiters, whose uniforms are probably nicer and more expensive than some people’s everyday clothing, is a reminder how the balances of life are just not fair and things are definitely not weighed in her favor. It pains her heart to sit across from Caden and know that soon she is going to have to return to her life, which doesn’t consist of diamonds and pearls. She has stepped into another world and she wishes that she could stay.

  She never knew how much money actually mattered to her, until this moment. She has always been content to get through the day and have food on the table to eat at the end of it. She has always been happy to have a roof over her head and somewhere safe to go, but now that she’s met Caden, she feels like she’s missing out on something.

  It’s as if she’s standing on one side of the river, he’s on the other, and the river that divides them is too unsafe to cross. She feels that her lies have created a bridge. Her lies are the only way that she is able to cross the murky and rough waters to get to him. She’s willing to lie to cross the bridge because of her blooming need to be next to Caden.

  She hopes that he will understand why she needed and wanted to build the bridge to get to him, when the truth comes out about her. She hopes that he doesn’t walk away and that he will be able to forgive her when the truth surfaces.

  When Caden pays the bill, it takes everything inside of her not to gasp at the amount. Their dinner cost hundreds of dollars. She has never eaten anything so expensive and she’s not sure that she is comfortable eating food that cost more than a weeks worth of groceries for her and her mother.

  When Caden tips the waitress a hundred dollars for serving them dinner, her feeling of jealously intensifies. She wishes that a customer would tip her a hundred dollars for serving them their bacon and eggs, but she doesn’t work in an upscale restaurant that caters to the wealthy.

  She shakes her head to push the thoughts of how much she lacks out of her mind. She tries to calm herself by telling herself that life is not a competition. She knows in her spirit that comparing herself to what other people have will result in her ultimate unhappiness, but it’s hard to accept when everything that she doesn’t have is staring her directly in the face. She tries to be grateful for all that she has, but everything that she doesn’t have seems to be being thrown in her face at the moment and calling out to her.

  When she and Caden are back in his luxury car, which is yet another reminder of the things that she lacks in her life, Caden turns to her and says, “Did you have a good time?”

  The sweetness of the tone of his voice causes the tension she feels from being bombarded with negative thoughts to soften. “I had an amazing time,” she replies. Putting the extravagance that surrounds her aside and just focusing on the time and the conversation that she and Caden have shared, she really did have a good time with him. In fact, she really enjoyed being with him and wishes that their time together didn’t have to end. The peaceful feeling that Caden’s presence gives her has been prominent since the moment she met him at the charity dinner.

  As if reading her mind once again, Caden says, “I really don’t want our time together to end, so why don’t we continue it?”

  “What do you mean?” she asks, curious about what he has in mind.

  “I have to go to another charity event, and as you know, I hate them and would love nothing more than to get out of going, but since I can’t, it would make me really happy if you would come with me and turn an incredibly boring night into an exciting one,” he says and smiles at her.

  “Well, if you put it that way – sure,” she says and returns his smile.

  The minute she answers him, fear starts to creep in. The most predominant fear is that she doesn’t have anything to wear. She makes a mental note to call Olivia right away and makes plans to raid her best friend’s closet.

  “Awesome,” Caden says and starts up the car. “I look forward to the event now. I think that it’s the first time I’ve ever been excited about a charity event in a very long time,” he says and chuckles.

  “I look forward to it, too,” she says and stares at Caden while he drives.

  She quickly pinches herself to make sure that she’s not dreaming. She can’t wrap her head around the fact that she is sitting next to such a handsome and amazing man. Caden has everything going for him that every man wishes they could have. He’s amazingly funny and smart. His wit is quick and he laughs so easily, but most importantly, he’s humble when he has more than enough right to be arrogant and conceited. Caden could spend time with any woman that he wants, but he chose her. He not only chose her, but he chased after her with no signs of giving up. She feels flattered.

  Since the first moment that she’s met Caden, he’s made her feel so special. The things that he says to her and the way that he speaks to her and about her, he makes her feel like she is the only woman in the world. He’s so charming, almost too charming, which has made her question his intentions and genuineness at different times, but she doesn’t believe that he is putting on a show with her. She doesn’t believe that he has any ulterior motives or designs on simply getting into her panties and leaving her in the dust. She believes that he is truly interested in her as a human being and as a partner. She can see a future with Caden, but she wonders what will become of them when the truth about her comes out. Will he still think she’s as wonderful as he thinks she is? Will he still want to take her to fancy lunches, concerts and on vacations?

  When they pull up to the garage, Caden pulls out his cell phone. She’s curious as to who he would be calling right in the middle of their date, but it doesn’t really matter. She relaxes into the softness of the car seat and lets her mind begin to wander while Caden makes his call.

  Thinking about her and Caden’s date makes her smile. She is finishing up her first date with Caden Mason and it was absolutely wonderful. When she hears Caden say her name, she begins to really listen to the conversation that he is having. Who in the world is he talking to?

  “Yep. Everything that needs to be fixed is on me,” Caden says and hangs up the phone.

  “What was that about?” she asks.

  “Your car is ready. It was something minor and I’ve picked up the bill,” Caden says and smiles.

  “Caden, I can’t,” she says and shakes her head.

  “Too late. It’s already done and it was something small. It really didn’t cost that much money. You can protest as much as you want, but it’s a done deal.”

  “Caden, it’s really very generous of you. Thank you,” she says, giving in. It’s hard to say no when she’s been so stressed out about how she was going to pay and now the problem is solved and she doesn’t have to worry any longer. Caden has swept in and saved the day and she is secretly very grateful. Him paying the bill is a huge relief.

  “It’s my pleasure,” he replies with a comforting smile on his face.

  “Well, I better get going,” she
says, even though she would rather stay by his side.

  “Okay. Thank you for a wonderful afternoon and I can’t wait to see you later on in the week,” Caden says and leans over, kissing her on the cheek.

  “I can’t wait to see you, too," she replies, wishing that he would have aimed for her lips.

  “Bye,” Caden says and unlocks her door.

  “Bye,” she replies, getting out of the car and gently closing the door.

  She watches Caden drive away. When he is out of sight, she lets out a huge sigh. The entire time they were together, it was like she was holding her breath. The entire time, she felt like the truth police were going to jump out, call her out on all of her lies, arrest her and then drag her off to prison for liars. She imagined the look of horror on Caden’s face when he discovered that he had spent the afternoon with a bold-faced liar. She imagined the sound of her shackles as they clanged together as she was quickly led away and placed in the back of the police car.

  She is so glad that Caden hadn’t stayed and come into the garage with her. If he had accompanied her, he would have seen her rusted, old, beat up Honda. I’m sure he would have had some pressing questions for her. She’s sure that the question of the day would have been, why does a woman, who comes from a family of means drive a car that wasn’t made this decade? She would have had to come up with some more lies, but would he believe her? Caden is a smart man. She doubts that he would be gullible enough to believe any more of her lies.

  She groans as she makes her way in the garage. What has she gotten herself into?

  Chapter 4

  Harper is sprawled across Olivia’s bed, while Olivia sits in front of the mirror, lining her lips to try on a new shade of lipstick. “So, tell me what happened with you and Caden,” Olivia says after she has outlined her top lip.

  “Well, I was on my way home for work and my car broke down. I had it towed to the nearest garage and I ran into Caden. Apparently, his father owns a few garages around town. I really wish that you would have told me that,” Harper says, propping herself up with an arm and scowling at Olivia.