32. Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

T hree weeks later

Annie

We’re on our way to Fair Shot a new axe throwing bar that opened this year. Cade was nice enough to pick up Briar and me since Briar’s car went into the shop for service.

“So, what are your plans for the holidays?” Cade asks. I’m sitting in the front seat and Briar is in the back.

“I’m heading home to my family’s farm,” I say. “Nothing too exciting to write home about. There may be some parties in town. Seeing some old friends and that’s about it.”

“That’s sounds really nice,” Cade says. “Do you guys sit around a tree and drink egg nog?”

That’s a weird question.

“We do,” I say and when I look over at Cade he seems oddly impressed.

Briar doesn’t answer Cade. I wonder if maybe she doesn’t have any plans this year but I make a note to ask her later.

“How about you?” I ask.

“Going to the Mayan Riviera with my parents. They aren’t really into the whole family sitting around a tree,” he explains.

“That sounds gorgeous,” I say. “I haven’t ever left mainland USA.”

“My parents like to travel. It kind of gets old. I’ve been to a lot of places,” he says which sounds so exciting but the way he describes it seems dry and boring.

Cade parks the car outside the axe throwing bar and we head inside. The whole group is meeting here tonight since Finn and Charlie are having a little lovefest back at the hockey house and they wanted privacy.

We meet our other friends at the entrance.

“Hey,” Ruby says walking over and giving each of us hugs.

“It feels like forever since we’ve been here,” I note.

“It has been forever,” Ruby agrees, since we were here months ago with our other friend Charlie. She and Finn got off on the wrong foot and things were tense back then.

We all head inside. The guys booked two lanes. We divide up with Cade, Hayden, Ruby, and Briar on one lane; and Me playing with Luc, Aaron, and Macklin in the other.

The waiter comes around and we all order beer.

Then we start throwing some axes. We are all hanging out and having fun when Cade whips around and says, “What the fuck?”

His reaction makes all of us look in the direction he’s zeroed in on. Scarlett is here and her tongue is down some guy’s throat. Scarlett is his long-time girlfriend. Charlie said she was a bitch and she was pretty sure that she cheats on Cade. My stomach twists into knots. I know how it feels to be cheated on. Worse I know what it’s like for it to happen in a public place. My high school boyfriend Ford comes to mind. A shiver rolls down my spine. I haven’t told anyone that he’s transferring to Riverside in the winter. He wanted me to help him find housing but I told him I was sure he was capable of finding it on his own. He and his father have been helping daddy with the lawsuit and I’m grateful but I would never get back together with Ford. I now realize how messed up our relationship was. I was partly to blame in the sense that I put up with a lot of the crap he was dishing. I’m not that girl anymore besides I don’t want a relationship. Watching how dysfunctional my parents are has led me to the conclusion that happy ever afters don’t exist.

Cade walks away without saying a word. Briar gives me a wide-eyed look and my heart hurts for Cade. He is such a sweet guy. His girlfriend is a bitch. He charges toward Scarlett who is sitting at one of those high bar tables. Her long blond hair is covering her face so she doesn’t see Cade standing beside her with his arms across his chest heaving looking peeved. This is bad. Poor guy. The guys follow Cade over to the table.

“What should we do?” I whisper. “I feel so bad for him.”

I nod for the girls to follow me. They do because these girls are my ride or die. We get a little closer to the guys to hear Cade clearing his throat. Finally, Scarlett stops the tonsil hockey she was playing with the other guy and she slowly pulls away from him. Her blue eyes turn round as saucers when she takes in Cade beside her. “Honey, this is nothing. It was a dare.” Her laugh sounds like a freaking hyena.

“I’m fucking done, Scarlett. This is bullshit. I don’t know how I’ve put up with your lies this long,” Cade bites out as tension burst from him in scary waves.

Scarlett quickly gets to her feet and walks over to Cade. “Honey bunch,” she places her palm on his chest. Barf. Her long red fingernails splay across his chest like claws.

“Take your fucking claws off me,” he barks, radiating anger but also hurt and betrayal lace his tone. Huh, they are claws. I was right.

I need to do something. He must be feeling so humiliated in front of everyone. Old memories come back to bite me in the ass. I will not let Cade drown when I am around. “Cade, there you are, babe,” I say, walking up to his side. I place my palm on his chest causing Scarlett to take a step back. Then I move in front of him. I’m not thinking just acting on impulse when I lean in sealing our lips together. I think the kiss is going to be a peck but his full lips are warm and inviting so I tug on the back of his head, bringing him closer, and he deepens the kiss as warmth bursts through my body. Something tightens deep in my belly as he slips me tongue. My tongue comes out to mingle with his and a fire sparks through my body. Cade is a good kisser. No, he’s an amazing kisser and everything around me blurs into the background as I take everything he is giving.

“What the hell is this, Cade?” Scarlett shrieks and I become aware of the world around us again but now I don’t want to stop I want to give Scarlett a taste of her own medicine.

“Let’s get out of here, Calvin,” Scarlett says. I hear her but Cade doesn’t pull away. He seems to be enjoying the kiss as much as I am or maybe he is enjoying the fact that he can stick it to Scarlett. I sense her walking away with the guy but Cade doesn’t pull away. He brings me closer with his arms wrapped around my waist. People around us begin to holler and cheer and I know this has to end but with Cade’s tongue down my throat and the warm feelings inside me I tune out again and focus on his tongue and the feel of his strong shoulders beneath my hands.

“Show’s over, she’s gone,” Macklin calls out. Cade groans into my mouth but doesn’t pull away right away and that vibrating animalistic sound coming from the back of his throat causes a little moan to escape me. It scares the shit out of me so I pull away from him. We are both breathing hard with flushed cheeks as we take each other in. I smile at Cade feeling kind of shy.

He licks his lips. “What was that?”

“You’re welcome.” I wink, pat his chest, and walk away back to our axe throwing booth. My heart is ricocheting in my chest. That may have been the hottest kiss of my life and my head is spinning but I plan on keeping my cool. I’m not the girl who falls apart anymore. I’m not the girl that can be walked over anymore.

Briar and Ruby follow me and I hear the guys asking Cade if he’s okay. He seems to be in shock. I’m in shock too. My lips are swollen in the best way and a wetness pools between my thighs. It’s been a long while since I’ve been with a guy. After I swore off my last boyfriend freshman year, I decided I was never going to be in a relationship again.

“Um, do you want to explain what just happened there?” Ruby asks.

Briar waits expectantly too.

“Come on, the guy was drowning. He needed a lifeline and that was me.” I shrug like it’s no big deal when it’s a big freaking deal.

“Um, holy shit. That was hot,” Briar agrees her eyes popping.

“No big deal.” I repeat brushing them both off.

“No big deal, my ass,” Ruby adds.

I laugh too because this was so unlike me. “He’s a good kisser. I did a good deed.”

“Annie, you don’t just go around kissing guys,” Ruby reminds. As if I don’t know myself.

“True,” she agrees.

Ruby’s brows pinch together. “What is going on, Annie?”

“My high school boyfriend is transferring to Riverside starting next semester,” I explain knowing it is a poor explanation but my head is still spinning and in some way my erratic reaction to Cade has to do with Ford. He wants me back. I could see it in his eyes Thanksgiving weekend.

“So?” Ruby asks.

“So…” I wince. I’ve never told the girls about Ford because it was so messed up and after what happened freshman year with Chase I didn’t want them to see the pattern but now I have to come clean. “We were together for three years and it was a really messed-up relationship.”

“What do you mean?” Briar asks.

“Do you guys remember how things went with Chase?” I ask. My relationship with Chase was a shit show. He would screw up and I would take him back.

“It’s hard to forget,” Ruby says, and Briar agrees.

“Well, my relationship with Ford was kind of the same. I’m broken. Like I can’t find a good guy.” I frown. “Ford was older and handsome as hell. I just kept taking him back. He was attending Harvard. Who the hell switches out of Harvard Law?”

“Riverside has just as good as a reputation,” Ruby reminds. “And you aren’t broken. You’ve just had bad luck. You shouldn’t talk about yourself that way.”

The guys walk back over to the booths, which are side by side.

Cade walks up to me. “Am I supposed to thank you?” he asks, touching his lips.

“I would say so,” I reply feeling the apples of my cheeks burning.

“Thank you,” he smiles.

We all get back into our lanes and throw some axes. No one talks about the crazy situation and Cade seems to be doing okay.

I catch him eyeing me a few times. Truth, is I didn’t think the kiss was going to go that far. My initial plan was to peck him on the lips and show Scarlett he’s one upping her but somehow the plan for a simple kiss deepened. I’ve never made out with someone publicly before and now this whole situation feels hella awkward.

“You good?” Briar leans in whispering.

I blink and nod. I don’t know if I’m okay. Things back home are a mess. The Attorney General has filled the lawsuit. Apparently, daddy was ignoring suggestions from regulators about the amount of cows we had and our waste disposal system for some time, like years. My parents are fighting more than ever and Ford’s dad William has assigned one of the lawyers from his firm to the case and is charging my parents a fraction of what the real cost is. I know Ford and his family. They aren’t helping because they care. They want something and I have a feeling that what Ford wants is me but I will never be that woman again. My mother may put up with my father’s bad behavior. With him putting her down and being a flirt but I will not be that girl any more. After I broke up with Chase I was able to get counselling through school. I understand now that I had to learn my self worth which I am still actively working on.

We say goodbye to Ruby and the guys.

“Cade, Briar and I can just call an Uber,” I tell him since he brought us here. After the night he’s had I assume he’ll want to be alone. I don’t want to burden him.

“You don’t need to take an Uber when I have a car right here.” He tilts his chin to the midnight blue Mercedes.

“Are you sure?” I ask. I don’t mean to be annoying but he’s been keeping his cool all night if that were me and my boyfriend was kissing someone in public in my face I would hold it in just like I have in the past and then I’d wait until I was alone to break down.

“I’m driving you both home,” he answers.

“If you insist,” I grin. I get into the passenger side and Briar gets into the back seat. Cade’s dad is some famous retired NHL player.

The car ride to drop off Briar is awkwardly silent. I keep trying to think of something to say to break the silence but nothing comes to mind.

We stop in front of Briar’s house. “Have a good night. Thanks,” she says before leaving the car.

Cade nods and waves and then it’s just me and him in the car. The air in the car feels dense now and it almost seems hard to breath.

“Thanks Annie,” he says finally breaking the silence. “Everyone must think I’m a big fool but you helped me save face.”

“It’s not on you Cade. Scarlett is the one who looked bad tonight,” I say looking out the window. We really don’t know each other very well. We just have friends in common who are dating.

“Trust me when I say it’s on me. I had a feeling she was cheating. I just buried it under the rug instead of dealing with it,” he confesses which seems odd.

I turn to finally look at him. He’s a very handsome guy with high sharp cheekbones and a slight slant to his hazel eyes. His mother is Korean, and his father is Caucasian and Cade must have taken the best of both worlds.

“I’m not sure I understand. Were you trying to avoid conflict?” I ask.

“Maybe. . .I don’t know. Scarlett was always so convincing. We had similar family dynamics. We understood each other,” he says.

“I’m not judging Cade. I’m sure seeing her tonight making out with another guy felt like a sword going through your heart.”

He grips the steering wheel tighter and I watch his jaw pulse.

“She isn’t going to give up on me. Even after I caught her red handed,” he says. He pulls in front of my house and places the car in park. “That kiss. . .”

I feel my cheeks heat remembering it.

“I was helping out a friend,” I say to him.

“Well, friend if I can ever repay the favor, please let me know,” he says with a slight tilt to his lips. Damn he’s hot.

I reach for the door handle and open the door to the cool night air when an idea strikes.

“Actually. . .” I get back in the car and close the door. Cade looks confused. “There is something you can help me with.”

“There is?” he asks seeming surprised. Maybe he didn’t think I would call in the favor so soon.

“Yes,” I bite my lip. “This is a little out there but I’m feeling desperate. . .”

“Oh Annie, I don’t think I’m up for taking anyone to bed right now,” he says.

My eyes bulge and I get embarrassed. “Oh no . . . that’s not what I meant. Like at all,” I clarify.

“Oh sorry.” He squeezes his eyes shut. “Tonight is not my night.”

“It’s fine. I um was going to make you an offer. We both seem to be in a bit of a predicament,” I begin.

He turns to look at me his dark brows pinching, and his forehead is creasing. He looks a little worried too. “What did you need help with?”

“My ex from high school cheated on me and treated me like shit and I kept taking him back. I don’t want to get into any of it I just. . .” How the fuck do I ask this?

Cade is watching me expectantly like I am some lose cannon not that I can blame him. “I’m not sure where this is going.”

“Right.” I tap my lip with my pointer finger. Just spit it out Annie. “Ford that’s my ex. He recently waltzed his way back into my life. It’s a whole complicated story but the point is I think he wants me back and there is no way I would ever go back to him, but he isn’t the type of guy to walk away when he wants something. . .”

“Are you scared of him? Because I can kick his ass,” Cade offers. I don’t know much about hockey but Ruby and Charlie have explained that Cade is the guy to throw down on the ice for his teammates. He doesn’t seem like a fighter but on the ice, he’s known to throw fists.

“No, not that kind of help,” I clarify. “Ford is transferring to Riverside, and I wouldn’t mind sending him the message that I am in a committed relationship,” I splutter. “And you well it seems like Scarlett still thinks she has a chance with you. She may still try to convince you to take her back.”

“I don’t know where this is going but I am slightly worried right now,” he replies. The confuzzled look on his face causes a burst of laughter to escape me. Really, I think it’s just my nerves.

“Just relax Cade. All I’m proposing is that you become my fake boyfriend, and I can be your fake girlfriend. That way I deter Ford, and you can keep Scarlett at a distance.”

I wait for a response from Cade. He looks frozen but I can see the wheels turning in his mind. I feel like I am holding my breath but it’s a brilliant plan. Ford’s father will help my dad and Ford will keep his distance from me and Scarlett will have the message driven home that Cade isn’t on the market. It’s a win win.

“Cade?” I ask when he’s been silent for too long.

He turns to me and extends his hand. “It’s a deal.”