One and Only

Cade

She’s leaving?

I’m such an idiot.

I let my heart get in front of my logic with her again.

We never should have gotten married. I had always known she had ambitions bigger than what she could achieve in Sweetbriar, but I had convinced myself I could love her enough to make her happy. And like the stupid, lovesick fool I had always been for her, I’d just done it again.

“So, you’re not staying? I thought since you had your own place this time—”

“Cade, let me explain—”

“You know what? Let’s not bother.” My heart constricted painfully. I pressed a hand to it and stood. “Obviously, this was a mistake. Sweetbriar will never have what you need.”

I will never have what you need . . .

Her feet hit the floor, she stood and tried to catch my eye. “No, that’s not it at all—” Her gorgeous blue eyes glittered like she was about to cry. I had to look away. Her tears had always bent me to her will. I couldn’t never bear to see her cry.

“We should just quit while we’re ahead. Don’t you think? Dragging up the past, old feelings, memories . . . It’s all pointless when you were never planning to stay. Why would you—”

“Please, I didn’t mean—”

“You made a fool of me, Charlotte. I can’t believe you would do this to me again and I—I fell for it. How could you?”

“I would never. I—it isn’t what it seems. Trent and I—”

“Save it, please. I don’t want to know about you and Trent. The thought of you loving somebody else, marrying someone else, being in a bed that isn’t mine—it all makes me sick to my stomach. I know we’re divorced, but I can’t help how I feel.” I had no claim over her while we were separated, I knew I was wrong, but I couldn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth.

“Okay, but it’s not what it looks—”

“I loved you, Charlotte. More than myself. More than the entire world. I would have done anything to make you stay with me. Why wasn’t that enough for you?”

“It had nothing to do with you! You knew it then and you damn well know it now,” she bit out. “And it isn’t true anyway. You wouldn’t do anything for me. You let me leave without you!” She bent, slipped her boots on, then stood up to head for the door.

“Yeah, that’s right, I guess I did. So leave again. Typical.”

“Who are you right now, Cade?” Eyes flashing blue fire met mine as she turned back to glare at me.

Her temper burned beneath the surface just as hot as I remembered it, scorching me alive as I stood there like a fool waiting for her to explain herself and desperate for her to make me believe it.

“I’m not the man you used to know, Charlotte. You broke me.”

“You broke me too. I had a full scholarship to NYU, my dream school. I told you I wanted to go to college, and you told me we should break up. I loved you too, you know. I put off my dreams and married you, hoping I could make you change your mind and come with me. I didn’t have to wait years to resent you for it, Cade. I resented it almost immediately. Staying here was slowly killing me, and you refused to see it. You wouldn’t wait for what you wanted so I could have what I needed. All you cared about was yourself. Sweetbriar is still here, you know. You could have gone to college with me! You got accepted too! Then we could have come right back here and started our lives together—”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I stepped around her, picked up our plates and headed for the kitchen.

“I’m not trying to fool you or hurt you. Please believe that.” Her voice was faint, but I heard her.

I didn’t answer. No words would be adequate enough to describe the pain I felt at this moment, and being vulnerable in front of her was the last thing I wanted now.

“I’ll leave. I’m sorry.” She snatched her purse from the counter behind me.

“Goodbye, Charlotte.” I scraped our plates into the sink then opened the dishwasher to load it.

Her footsteps clicking over the wood floor gave me a sense of finality that burned. I was tempted to stop her, to talk it out and understand where she was coming from. Or maybe try to get her to stay this time. Clearly, I was a glutton for punishment.

A shuddering sigh escaped me, and I looked out the window for a distraction. It was dumping snow like crazy out there and judging by what my backyard looked like, it had been doing it for hours.

“Hey, wait!” I ran through the house to catch her, but she was gone. Opening the front door, I stepped outside to the porch. She was in her Jeep but hadn’t started it yet. “Charlotte, stop!”

Her hands swept beneath her eyes. Shit.

“I’ll be fine, Caden,” she shouted. “I know how to drive in the snow, remember?”

“Not in that old Jeep. You don’t even have snow tires on it. Let me take you home. Please.” I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her. “I’m getting my boots. Do not start that Jeep.”

She bit her lip and nodded.

I got my things and clicked the garage door open. She met me inside but refused to meet my eyes. I couldn’t blame her. “It’s safer this way.”

“I know. That Jeep would never make it up the hill on Maple, and I do not want to spend the night freezing my butt off in the street. So, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” We got in my SUV. I cranked the heater up. “Warm enough?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.” She didn’t look at me. Her gaze was stuck outside the passenger window as I backed out and turned around.

The drive into town was quiet, the warm breeze from the heater and the crunch of my tires over the road the only sounds. It was dark, but the glare my headlights created through the swirling white outside lit up the cab. She was upset. The tilt of her jaw, her hand tucked beneath her chin, and the stiffness in her posture told me she couldn’t wait to get away from me and I felt terrible for reacting so poorly before.

I pulled into her driveway. The need to apologize to her burned in my heart. “We’re here. Charlotte, I—”

“I don’t want to talk anymore, okay,” she choked out. “Not right now, anyway.”

“I understand. I’m—” She turned to glare at me, and I shut my mouth. My apology could wait. Dad always said an apology given to someone who was still hurt and angry could sometimes be seen as self-serving and he was right. I’d hurt her, and she was entitled to her feelings.