Chapter Seven

Cade

Just as I'm about to ring the doorbell for the fifth time, Abbie pulls the door open. She freezes the moment she sees me, her eyes registering surprise, then a pointed hostility directed solely at me.

"What do you want?" she asks quietly, not meeting my gaze. She looks as gorgeous as ever despite the dark circles under her eyes and her disheveled hair. Seeing her now, I realize all over again how much I've missed her. It's been a whole damn week since she suddenly disappeared from my estate without a word and blocked me, and I feel like I've been drowning ever since.

At some point, I thought I'd go crazy if I didn't see her… It was hell. And now all those feelings of frustration and anxiety that I felt in the past week come rushing at me.

"Can I come in, kitty?"

She folds her arms over her chest and takes a defensive stance. "I don't believe we have any more business together, Mr. Kings."

"What the hell is going on, Abbie?" I ask, raking a hand through my hair as my chest constricts with confusion. "You left without a word after that night. I thought we had something nice going on there…"

"Nice?" she repeats with a loud scoff. "Please, just leave."

She steps inside and makes to slam the door, but I react quickly, grabbing the knob to stop her from slamming it in my face. "Please, Abigail… talk to me."

She closes her eyes for a moment and lets out a resigned sigh, then steps back and gestures for me to come inside. Once inside the apartment, I try to take her hand, but she steps back stiffly, blinking rapidly as if to stop herself from crying. I feel my heart shatter at the tears in her eyes.

"Hey…" I say helplessly. "Please, talk to me. Did I do something wrong that night? Did I hurt you?"

The thought that I might have caused her pain that night makes my stomach tighten with anxiety. I've thought about a hundred possible reasons why she left that morning, but none make sense except for the fact that I hurt her. I could never forgive myself if that's the case.

"I need to know, Abigail," I say gently, searching her face. "Did I do something to hurt you?"

She sighs heavily and shakes her head. "No."

"So what went wrong?"

"What the fuck do you want from me, Cade?" she asks, throwing her hands up with an exasperated sigh. "Are you here for more evidence to use against me in court? In case I snooped around your home and published some dirty secret from your past? Well, I know you think all journalists are disgusting and distrustful, but at least give me some credit!"

I stare blankly at her face, trying to make sense of her words. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, classic! Now you're going to pretend like you don't know," she scoffs. "I heard you on the phone with your secretary. Didn't you say you were done with me? I don't mean anything to you. So why are you here?"

"Oh dear…" I murmur, relief and exasperation washing over me all at once. "Is that what this is all about? Abbie, that conversation had nothing to do with you."

"What?"

"Amber called to inform me about an undercover journalist disguised as an intern in my company. The girl did really well in her first six months, so I trusted her with an important task, and she almost messed it up. Amber asked if I wanted to give her another chance, but she's already broken my trust once. Anyway, Amber wanted to know what to do about the situation, and so I asked her to run it by the company's lawyers."

"Oh my God!" Abbie gasps, her face growing beet red. "I-I'm so sorry. I thought… Oh God," she mutters, dropping her face into her hands.

I laugh lightly and pull her closer to me. "Hey, look at me."

She shakes her head, groaning loudly when I laugh harder.

"Abbie?"

She drops her hands and sighs. "I'm so sorry, I assumed… Jeez, I'm sorry," she mutters, not quite meeting my gaze. "God, I feel so embarrassed."

I laugh again, shaking my head. "Damn, you're so adorable, kitty. Now, look at me."

This time, she obeys, and I look into her beautiful eyes, enraptured by the sincerity and vulnerability in their depths. I cup her face in my palms, trailing my right thumb slowly over her lower lip.

"I'm never going to be done with you, Abbie," I say, gently, looking deeply into her eyes so she can feel the earnestness of my words. "You mean more to me than anyone ever has."

"What do you mean?" she whispers, her voice shaking.

"I love you," I say, keeping my tone steady despite the tumultuous beating of my heart.

"What?" she asks dazedly, blinking at me in disbelief.

"Honey, I know this may sound absurd, and…"

"No… No," she says, shaking her head. "I mean… I feel the same way about you."

I stare at her, wondering if I heard wrong. "Really?"

"Yes," she replies with a jerky nod, a slow smile illuminating her face. "I thought I must be crazy for falling for you in two days, but I couldn't do anything about it. I've missed you like crazy, and I couldn't stop thinking about…"

I crush my lips to hers, unable to help myself. The kiss is short, yet staggering in its intensity, conveying everything I cannot yet put into words. When I pull back, we're both laughing and breathing hard.

"Marry me," I blurt, pulling her body closer to mine.

She laughs and shakes her head. "What?"

"Marry me, Abbie," I repeat, my conviction growing with each passing second. "I don't have a ring right now, but I promise to buy you the prettiest and most person one in the world. I'll make a stone out of the moon if you so desire."

"But we barely know each other…"

"And yet I haven't met anyone that makes me feel this way until you," I reply, gently caressing the worry lines on her forehead. "We have forever to learn all we need to know about each other, baby."

"I must be even crazier for this but... yes," she says, laughing. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

I let out a loud whoop, pick her up, and spin her around. She squeals in excitement, bracing her hands on my shoulders when I start to bounce her around. "Cade! Oh my God, let me down!"

I put her down and lean forward to kiss her firmly on the lips. "I'm so glad I found you, Abbie."

"Me too," she replies, raising a hand to my cheek. "You make everything make sense."

"I feel the same way," I reply, thinking about how different things were just a couple of weeks back. It feels like a lifetime ago that everything seemed bleak. Now, life couldn't be any more perfect.

"By the way, how did you find me here?" Abbie asks, her brows furrowing slightly with curiosity.

"I tracked your twin sister down and she gave me this address."

Abbie sighs softly, her expression turning guilty. "I should probably call Grace to apologize for being MIA the past week. She must have been so worried. God, I feel bad for ghosting everyone like that, but with everything that happened, I just needed to clear my head. Having to quit my job was the last straw."

"About that…" I drawl, grimacing lightly. "I might have done another crazy thing…"

She chuckles. "What's it this time?"

"Well, you're officially the Editor-in-Chief of Opaque Magazine. Effective immediately."

"What are you talking about?"

"I bought the company."

"What?!" she splutters, her eyes widening with shock.

"Well, after you left, you weren't taking my calls, so I went to look for you at your workplace. A kind colleague of yours informed me of the situation. A little market analysis revealed the state of the company, and it wasn't good at all. It was sinking, and I decided to save it. I know how much your career means to you, Abbie and I wanted to help."

"Oh, Cade…" she mutters, tears filling up her beautiful hazel eyes. "You shouldn't have gone through the trouble."

"Make no mistake, I'm assigning you to that position after a thorough employee assessment revealed you to be the best candidate," I say, smiling. "It has nothing to do with my feelings for you... Well, okay. Maybe a little."

She laughs and I laugh too. And at that moment, I discover what the little joys of life are all about.

"By the way, the magazine has to be out of the red by the end of the year or you'll have to answer to a board of directors," I say with mock seriousness. "You have to pull your weight, kitty."

"Sir, yes, sir!" she replies, clicking her heels with a salute. "I promise to do my best."

I lean forward to kiss her forehead. "That's my girl."

"I still can't believe you bought the company," Abbie says, shaking her head at me in awe. "God, you're crazy."

"Yes, my kitty," I say, returning her smile. I sweep her into my arms and she squeals in surprise, instinctively wrapping her arms around my neck. "Yes. I'm crazy about you," I say, kissing the tip of her nose.

"Oh, dear," she murmurs, her smile growing even bigger. "The next sixty-something years is going to be a hell of an adventure, but you know what?"

"What, baby?" I ask, already heady towards where I hope is the bedroom.

"I would have it any other way," she says, laying her head on my chest, directly over my heart.