“Yeah? To Cane?” I giggled.
“Yes, and he immediately told me to relax—that it was his office, and he had an extra shirt hanging up that I could wear. It was a white button-down shirt. He gave it to me and then stepped out of the office to let me change. When I was done, I met him outside the door, and he took me to the bar and ordered all the drinks I had requested before, but this time he had someone bring them up to us. I felt horrible about what I’d said to him. He was only trying to help me, you know?
“So I finally chugged down a few drinks because at that point, I needed them, but the whole night, I felt someone watching me, and I just knew it was him. Every time I looked up, I would spot him watching. He played it cool in his own way. He would keep his head bowed, but those eyes would be right on me.”
I tried not to sigh. I knew all about the eyes. That searing hot, hungry glare he gave when he wanted something and was trying to figure out how to get it. He was like a beast trying to catch its prey. Watching. Circling. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When the beast finally got its prey, there was no running, no hiding, no denying what would happen. You either craved every single inch of him, down to the cell, or you died trying to pretend you didn’t want anything from him at all.
Cane had that kind of power over women, and he knew it. He knew when to use it and when not to. He’d used it on me many times.
“So by the end of the night, the girls are demanding that I go talk to him and get his number. The bride-to-be was more determined to hook me up than she was about celebrating her upcoming wedding. It was a fun, hilarious, insanely embarrassing night, but if it hadn’t happened, I never would have caught his attention and never would have spoken to him.”
“Wow. That’s nice.” I lowered my gaze. The next question slipped out before I could think to stop it. “Do you love him—I mean, are you in love with him?”
She gave me a puzzled looked, as if she weren’t sure how to answer it. “I…do love him, yes. And I think I’m starting to fall in love with him.” She sighed, and her bangs swayed. “I just…don’t think he feels the same.”
“So why stay with him? Why stay with someone who doesn’t love you back?”
She thought on it for a moment, her eyes a little wider. “Because Quinton is a complex man. He comes with many layers. What he shows you is just one of the layers—the person he wants the whole world to see, which is his good side. But after spending several months with him in a bed, listening to the things he says in his sleep, and even watching him wake up out of nowhere, gasping like his life depends on it…well, it’s understandable.” She paused for a moment, studying the table. “I’m a patient woman, I suppose. And I know it will take time for him take the next step and love someone that way because—,” she smiled, as if it pained her, “if you don’t love everything about yourself, how can you possibly take on the task of loving everything about someone else?”
24
CANE
The last thing I expected to see was Kandy walking into the house, laughing, with Kelly trailing closely behind her. I had to blink hard twice, just to make sure my eyes hadn’t deceived me.
“Did you see that guy?” Kandy laughed. “He was staring so hard at Frankie’s butt! Freakin’ perv!”
“I saw! I can’t believe it! He had to be my dad’s age!” Kelly chimed.
They both laughed again and as they passed by the living room, Kelly looked my way, winking with a smug grin. Wow. When she said she could handle it, I didn’t think she’d actually be able to pull it off.
I put my attention on Kandy, but she didn’t even look my way. It was like I wasn’t even there to her. “I’m going to put my bags in the room,” she announced, switching glances between Kelly and her mother. “You guys want to come lay out with Frankie and me at the beach?”
“Sure, sweetie.” Kelly smiled graciously, like she was happy about the offer. “I’d really love that.”
“Cool. Meet you down here in twenty.” She and Frankie hustled up the stairs, squealing and laughing about God knew what.
Kelly met up to me, sitting on the arm of the sofa as Mindy went to her bedroom. Derek was already in there, taking a shower.
I closed my laptop when she eyed it. “You aren’t supposed to be working on vacation, Mr. Cane,” she said playfully.