Breaking Mr. Cane (Cane 2)

“Steak?” His brows shifted, nearly touching his hairline. “Wow. He must really mean business. I don’t think we’ve had steak since the very first time I had dinner here.”

“Wow. How can you remember that?”

“Because it was the best steak I’d ever had. Homemade. Fresh.” He put on a lazy, lopsided smile.

I had the urge to hug him, kiss him even, but instead I let him come inside. When he made it into the foyer, I shut the door behind him and looked up to meet his eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this? We don't have to, you know? He can't tell me what to do anymore.”

“I know he can’t, but out of respect for the friendship I had with him before, and for you, I have to.”

I sighed. He was right, but I didn’t want to see him being hounded.

I heard the patio door slide open. “Kandy! You almost ready?” Mom called. Not even two seconds ticked by before she was trotting around the corner from the kitchen and into plain view. “Oh!” she exclaimed, like she was surprised to see Cane standing there. “Wow, you’re here early!”

Cane smiled. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not!” She walked closer. “I'm glad to see you made it.”

Cane smiled, eyes softening, then he lifted his hand, holding up the bottle of wine that I didn’t even realize he had. “I brought your favorite again.”

Her laughter chimed, bouncing off the walls. “Aw! That will go great with dinner. Thank you.”

The patio door slid open again, and Dad stepped around the corner too. He looked up as he dusted his hands off on his jeans. When he saw all of us standing there, he froze a little, looking between the three of us.

When he looked at Cane, I saw a spark of fury light his eyes, but it quickly subsided when they fell down to Mom’s. She smiled for him in a way only he would be able to understand. Dad's face softened and he drew in a breath, exhaling slowly.

“Cane,” he acknowledged.

“How are you, D?” Cane put on a wary smile.

“Fine. Could be better, you know…” Dad ran a hand over top of his head, focusing on me. “Food should be ready in twenty. Just waiting for the steak to finish grilling.”

“Okay, Dad.”

“Cane, let me grab that from you,” Mom insisted, reaching for the bottle of wine. “I'll pop it open, grab us some glasses.”

“Sure.” He handed it to her. “Sounds great.”

Mom forced a smile at him then dropped her eyes to me. She smiled at me but it didn't touch her eyes. Turning on the spike of her black heels, she headed back to the kitchen.

The tension was at an all-time high. I knew Cane was uncomfortable. I remember when he used to come over for dinner, before we got too serious, he would make himself right at home. Now, he was walking around, completely unsure of what to do with himself.

“Help me set the table.” I grabbed his hand and led the way to the dining room.

He drew in a deep breath, going straight for the silverware on the middle of the table. Silently, we placed the utensils outside of each plate. My heart drummed, and I couldn't help peering up at Cane every few seconds, hoping he would say something to make things less awkward.

His shoulders were tense, and he avoided my eyes for the most part, but when our eyes would latch, he would give me small smiles to ensure he was okay.

After setting the table, we walked into the kitchen, Cane trailing closely behind me. We stood there, not touching, and not really looking at each other. Just standing.

It felt strange not touching him after being alone with him so many times before. I wondered what was going through his head. There were plenty of other places he could have been, yet he was there with me—for me—and knowing that he would put himself through something like this and lower his pride for my sake, when he truly didn't have to, made me admire him even more.

Mom came back into the house, grinning at us both. That was Mom, always smiling through awkward situations. She reached into a cabinet and pulled down some wine glasses.

“So, how have things been, Cane?” she asked, uncorking the bottle he’d brought and pouring some into a glass. She handed him a glass and he accepted it with a gracious nod.

“Things have been great. Work is picking back up. Also have some really great opportunities happening in North Carolina. I may be relocating there actually.”

“Really?” Mom seemed surprised to hear that. I was too. He never told me that.

“Yes. We’ll be opening a building for Tempt there with bigger offices, more work space—much more accommodating than the one here.”

I figured he must have been doing this because of Buck being out. Still, I wondered why he hadn’t said anything to me about it. He had to have been planning this for a while.