Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six

by Rachelle Ayala

  “Including me.” Andie folded her arms across her chest. “He read me the riot act, and now I’ve gone and hurt him. But I truly didn’t know. I thought I was free. I am free in my heart. I’d do anything to fix this. Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

  Barbara patted Andie’s shoulder and nodded, her lips tight. “He forgave me, didn’t he?”

  Chapter 7

  Pain lanced Cade’s heart as he scoured the internet for information about “Antoinette Marie Wales.” She’d given him a phony name, well, not exactly, but she’d left out important information. True, she thought she was divorced, but she’d never once mentioned that Declan was an ex-husband and not an ex-boyfriend.

  In fact, she’d once mentioned that she almost married a guy who was a man whore. Why had she felt the need to cover up the fact that she had married him, unless she still had feelings for him?

  It was always the same pattern. He’d get into a foster home, the parents and siblings would treat him with fake kindness at first, and then, he’d fall into a pattern and begin to feel accepted. He’d cling to his foster mother and father and try his best to get them to love him, and then pow! He’d be transferred and no one would tell him why. And despite hoping and praying he’d be adopted, he never once got that magic nod. It was always the other foster kid who outbid him and got taken in, adopted and loved, while he, no matter how hard he’d tried, had been left out. Was it any wonder he’d turned to petty crime and gangs before finding football at one of Dick Davis’s charity football camps? That was where he’d met Ronaldo, who was a counselor, and started to see a way out, channeling his aggression and rage onto the football field.

  A larger question. Had Ronaldo known? Cade brought up the Facetime app on his tablet and placed a call to his former tutor. If it hadn’t been for Ronaldo, Cade wouldn’t have known the ins and outs of applying for college, financial aid, filling out a rental application or handling a checking account—things that other people’s parents taught them.

  “Hey, bud, what’s up?” Ronaldo’s smiling face popped up on the screen. “You look tired. Baby doing okay?”

  “Yeah, Rox is out of the hospital and vegging out at her brother’s house. She’s fine, baby’s fine.” Cade wiped his hand over his five o’clock shadow. Now that he was back in Los Angeles, he’d gone back to the clean-shaven look. His hair had also grown to a decent length, and the beard was long gone. No more ex-convict look for him.

  “You still look beat.” Ronaldo’s eyebrows creased as he moved his face closer to the camera. “So … everything really okay? You know …”

  Cade cleared his throat and rolled his head to loosen the tightness around his neck. “I found out about Andie and Declan. Did you know?”

  “I did, but I wanted to see if she’d come clean. Did she?”

  “She didn’t tell me until I found Declan at my door trying to get in to see her. He wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

  “If it makes you feel better, she tried to deny Declan the position—recommended against it when he was clearly the best actor for the role.”

  Spirals of hope rose in Cade’s heart. “But you still hired him? Now, they’ll be working closely day by day.”

  Ronaldo shrugged. “I’ve a film to direct. The two of them are the best people for the job. Declan’s also a big King David fan, and he and Andie used to go to the historical reenactment clubs as David and Michal. They were quite a pair. Unfortunately for Andie, the woman who used to go as Bathsheba hooked up with Declan. After finding out about them, Andie jealously cut him out of her life and retreated into her fantasies.”

  Hope curdled into sour clods inside Cade’s gut. Andie had wanted him to role play David, but had admitted he was more like Goliath than David. What if every time they’d been in bed together, she was imagining not just the ancient King David, but the very much alive and present Declan Reed?

  Ronaldo snapped his fingers into the camera. “You’re better off without her. Can you honestly picture her in the stadium with the other players’ wives and girlfriends? They’re all into fashion, makeup, and spa treatments, and she’s thinking about the Ark of the Covenant and King David dancing through the streets like a whirling dervish.”

  “What should I do?”

  “What you’ve always done. Go out, party, have a good time. You don’t need to get tied down to anyone. I’ve got a pair of Dutch twins I met in Amsterdam coming over for Twin Day. Offer you a breakfast sandwich.”

  “Uh … no.” Cade rubbed the back of his head. “I’m going to bow out.”

  The only sandwich he wanted involved his head between Andie’s legs, and dammit, if he couldn’t enjoy her, he’d turn into a monk first.

  “Let me know if you change your mind.” Ronaldo lifted his jaw and smirked. “You were one power hitter back in the day.”

  “Well, I’m going to be a daddy soon, late nights changing diapers, that kind of thing.”

  “Sounds kinky.” Ronaldo leered. “Nothing like some wet wipe action.”

  “You’re nuts.” Cade shook his head and moved his finger to hang up. “Exercise tomorrow?”

  “Sure, talk soon.” Ronaldo’s image disappeared.

  Talk soon.

  The jitters invaded Cade’s bloodstream. He owed it to Andie to hear her explanation. The stricken look on her face when he’d turned away from her gripped his heart like the jaws of a vise. She hadn’t known that the divorce had fallen through, although she should have checked, and she definitely should have come clean about having been a married woman.

  Rotating his sore shoulder, he ambled to the door and went looking for Andie. Every inch of him yearned to tuck her in his arms, cradle her to his chest, and rip her away from that punk. He’d claim ownership over her, fill her with his love, his seed, deep into her womb. Except for that damn piece of paper and the fact she’d chosen Declan to be her lawfully wedded husband—till death do they part, no thank you very much.

  The story of his life. Rejected before he’d even been met. Reverse karma, no fate. No magic. He’d better control himself around another man’s wife.

  # # #

  Andie dangled the sparkling ruby red slippers necklace Cade had given her only a few nights ago. How had everything changed so drastically?

  Truth to tell, it wasn’t entirely Declan’s fault. He’d never received the papers, but now, what was this bullshit about still being in love with her?

  She’d spent two lonely years exorcising him from her hopes and wishes, two years, dateless, to focus on her research and theories. Two years with her father traveling from dig sites to museums, only to end up back in Itasca where she’d gone to school with Declan. Her father now lay bedridden, paralyzed from a stroke, and her mother was exhausted to the bone caring for him.

  She came to Hollywood to make money to help them, not to fall in love with a man who was having a baby with someone else, and definitely not to rekindle a relationship with an ex who’d forsaken her for movie starlets and models—the same kind of women Cade hung with before losing the Super Bowl.

  There was a soft knocking at her door, and Andie couldn’t help catching her breath in a small gasp. It was probably Cade’s mother bringing her a mug of warm milk or maybe wanting to sit and chat. She seemed to be making up for all the motherly acts she’d missed while Cade was growing up.

  “Andie, are you awake?” Cade’s voice was low, almost as if he dreaded waking her if she weren’t.

  She rushed to the door, her heart tripping over itself while her nerves sizzled with jitters. Without waiting for him to enter, she threw herself into his arms.

  He was stiff and nonresponsive—like a side of beef hanging in the slaughterhouse.

  “Cade? Don’t be angry, please.” She buried her face into his hard chest, holding on. “I’m sorry. I screwed up, and I’ll do anything to fix it. I should have told you, but there wasn’t a good time.”

  “Don’t blame yourself.” His voice finally rasped from his throat. “You didn
’t know.”

  “So, this doesn’t change anything?” She scanned his face, anxious for a sign.

  His eyes were hooded and expressionless as he tightened his lips and regarded her. “How can it not? You’re a married woman. I can’t carry on with you.”

  “But, I didn’t know.”

  He exhaled sharply. “You know now.”

  She tilted her face up and kissed his chin. “I don’t care. It’s only a technicality, and I’ll be getting a divorce soon.”

  His eyes closed, and he huffed through his nose. “Is this what you’d say about me someday? That I’m only a technicality and you don’t care?”

  Andie’s head whipped around, and she blinked as if he’d slapped her with a two-by-four. “Why are you comparing yourself to Declan? He’s nothing to me. You’re everything.”

  “He’s your husband.” Cade’s voice rose. “You loved him enough to marry him. You’re not someone who takes these things lightly.”

  “Apparently he did.” Waves of acid seeped up Andie’s throat. “He didn’t take his vows seriously—slept with every bimbo in Hollywood. Think I didn’t know from the gossip websites? The twitter feeds? He partied like it was the end of the world, and he ate it up—like King David dancing in his underwear in the streets of Jerusalem. People say Michal was jealous—not at all. She thought he degraded himself with the serving maids and the women of the street. Well, she thought too highly of him. He was scum at that point, and later his affair with Bathsheba proved it.”

  Cade’s mouth opened wide and his jaw shook. “I don’t give a fuck about David, Michal, or Bathsheba. If this is some kinky threesome you’re fantasizing about, I’m out of here.”

  He turned toward the staircase, bumping into Gollie who’d been waiting on the landing.

  “No, Cade, don’t.” Andie grabbed his shirt, but it ripped from his back as he ran down the stairs. “Cade, come back. Please, I want to talk to you.”

  But his footsteps departed to the other side of the house.

  A flashback hit her.

  This must have been how King Saul felt when he’d ripped Samuel’s mantle from his shoulders. The old prophet had turned away from him and said that the Lord had torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to a neighbor much more deserving—the neighbor who turned out to be the young and upcoming David.

  Andie fell to her knees and squeezed the ruby red slippers charm so hard it dug into her palm, hurting like the inside of her heart—cut and jagged with drops of dark, red blood.

  I’ve sinned and am no longer worthy to be called your girlfriend.

  Chapter 8

  After a hard morning’s workout, Ronaldo and Cade grabbed towels and headed for the showers.

  “I made you eat dirt back there,” Ronaldo bragged. “How are you going to keep up with the Dutch twins? They’re both Olympic beach volleyball players.”

  “Beach volleyball?” Cade wet his lips, picturing long, firm legs and boobs bouncing with perky ponytails waving in the sun. Tall women he could kiss and fuck without scrunching his back.

  All night, he’d been ordering himself to man up. To get rid of thoughts about Andie. To stop obsessing over someone he couldn’t have—another man’s wife. He’d tossed and turned, punched his pillow, his bed, and resisted grabbing himself when all he’d dream about was fucking the cuss out of her, taking her three ways, ten, heck fifty shades ’til Sunday, and then some. What the hell was wrong with him?

  Of course, he had a strong sex drive. It was the way he was built. Ever since puberty, he’d had a woman under him—foster sisters, neighborhood girls, and later on, groupies galore, fan girls, bar maids, all beautiful and slick. But he’d drawn a line in his mind that he wasn’t getting attached to anyone. Because getting attached led to exactly this kind of fucked up mess he was in—being screwed and abandoned.

  Ronaldo punched his forearm, reminding him about the twin volleyball players. “Endurance, power, and pure sexy. Hard to handle one, much less two. You man enough?”

  Cade cranked the water to hit his chest. Maybe he should get back into the party scene. He’d been depressed way too long, hiding out in Itasca after he threw the game losing interception, and then worried about Roxanne and the baby. Andie came along at a time when he was most vulnerable, feeling like the biggest loser in the world. What if she’d only been a bandage for his ego, a temporary place to hide? Maybe he, too, had been fantasizing about a life he wasn’t meant to have—one with a stable marriage and a loving family—which wasn’t going to happen with Roxanne, the baby, and now Declan hanging onto Andie.

  “Blonde and tan?” He entertained the idea of the Dutch twins. It wasn’t as if he, at six foot five and two hundred twenty five pounds couldn’t handle two beach volleyball players.

  “Much better. These babes are redheads, quick to the trigger, pop the big ‘O’ faster than blondes and brunettes.”

  “Redheads …” Cade turned the hot water higher and dunked his head under the stream, burning his scalp and back. He couldn’t even handle Andie. What was he thinking? Besides, he’d walked out on her yet again while she was explaining in her own cute way. She really was different from the other women he’d known, the way she’d launch into ancient history and draw parallels with modern life.

  He switched off the hot water and blasted himself with the cold. Every nerve screamed and moaned with relief at the same time. Redheads were more sensitive to heat and cold, and pain, and emotions. He’d read a scientific study online, explaining why redheads had more sex and were more passionate lovers.

  Could it be that Andie felt such extremes of pain and joy, that she lived on an entirely different level than he, with every feeling exaggerated and so intense that she had to hide behind her fantasy life?

  Ronaldo turned off the water. “What’s with the cold shower? Thinking of a three-layer cake?”

  “No, sorry. No twin towers for me. I’ve got to get this shoulder looked at and check in with Roxanne—make sure she’s eating. She looks like a noodle with a big bump in the middle.”

  “You coming to my Twin Day party?” Ronaldo slapped him with his towel. “Bring your own babe, or be your own best friend.”

  Cade yanked the towel from the rack and rubbed himself hard. He couldn’t even be his own best friend, never mind Andie’s. His entire body ached to touch her, to hold her and tell her everything would be all right, but those would be empty words. Declan held all the cards.

  Besides, he couldn’t allow her to toss away a marriage like it was nothing. He hadn’t grown up in a stable home, but he’d always wished for one, and marriage was sacred to him.

  If only Andie had waited for him. But how could she when she hadn’t even known him?

  He threw the damp towel into the hamper full force, knocking it down. He couldn’t deal with her problems right now. He was on call in case Roxanne went into labor. The baby was real. His son was real.

  He and his son were all the family he needed. Women came and went, but the bond between father and son was forever.

  # # #

  A week went by, and while Andie stayed at Cade’s place along with his mother, Cade was always out. He was polite to her, but distant, and from the conversations with his mother, Andie gathered he’d been spending a lot of time with Roxanne. Some evenings, even Barbara had gone to be with them.

  Meanwhile, Declan had been notably absent from work. According to Leroy, he and his agent were holding out on the contract, trying to extract better terms. He’d been auditioning other roles and called her every evening with an update. He’d go over the part and ask her whether she thought that role would further his career or not. He avoided every mention of the divorce, and acted as if he was her best friend from back home. They’d talk about their old neighbors, classmates, and professors, and he’d ask after her parents, turning up the charm any chance he got.

  Which didn’t mean he was worming his way into her heart. No way. But if Andie were to be friendly, maybe, just maybe, he’d rel
ent and act reasonably. It would be better to part as friends than enemies, right?

  It was another hot, dry, summer evening in the Hollywood Hills. Dry, being the operative word. The yard was dusty, and the grass had long ago turned brown due to the California drought. Even the eucalyptus trees were droopy and flapped listlessly. A row of pine trees were dead, and Andie longed for the humidity and greenery of upstate New York, her home in the Fingers Lake region.

  Still, she’d make the best of living at Cade’s and take an evening walk with the dogs. It was about the only thing she had to look forward to after work these days.

  She slathered on sunscreen and grabbed the dog leashes. Sure, Red and Gollie had been walked already, but they were always happy to go for a jog with her.

  Andie was slipping on her sneakers, when Cade’s mother called from down the hall, “You heard? Roxanne’s had the baby.”

  “She did? Isn’t it too early?” Andie dropped the leashes and rushed toward Barbara. “Is the baby okay?”

  “Apparently, he is. He’s a big boy for being premature—takes after my son, I guess.”

  “Is he …” Andie didn’t want to come right out and ask if the baby was Cade’s for sure. After all, Barbara had already been suspicious that the starting quarterback for the Flash, Todd Irvin, had been seen at the OB’s office.

  “Yeah, it’s Cade’s all right. Big blue eyes, light brown hair, cute as a button, like a little doll.”

  Andie’s heart clenched. How she wished she had had Cade’s baby and that at this moment, they were gathered around her bedside with the cute little doll.