Текст книги "From Ashes"

Автор книги: Molly McAdams

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

Chapter Ten

C ASSIDY

I WAS JUST rinsing out my mug in the sink when there was a hard knock on the door. It was only six thirty in the morning, for crying out loud; who was crazy enough to go around waking people up this early? Not that we weren’t awake. Gage had come to check on me before he left for his run not long ago and I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. I tiptoed over to the door and looked out the peephole.

“What the hell?”

He knocked again, and even though I was watching him, the loud sound made me jump back.

“What do you want, Ty?” I practically growled as I swung open the door but stood in the doorway so he couldn’t come in.

“God, Cassi, I’ve been going out of my mind. How are you? Are you feeling okay?” He reached his hand out toward my face and I smacked it away.

“I’m fine. Why are you here?”

“Baby, I’m so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. Please let me in so we can talk about what happened.”

“There’s not much to talk about. You brought a girl home to screw because I wouldn’t. That about covers it all, don’t you think?”

“I—” He ran both hands through his hair and pulled them out hard, leaving his hair sticking up in all directions. If I hadn’t been so upset from seeing him again, I might have laughed. “I fucked up! I’m sorry, I was wasted and pissed because of what you called me—not that that’s an excuse, I know you had been asleep, I just wasn’t thinking. I mean, I was . . . but—”

“Wow . . . this is already starting off so well. You were wasted, you weren’t thinking, you were thinking. You know, you seemed pretty coherent to me.”

“Cassi—”

“No, I need you to go.”

“Can we please just talk about this? I’m sorry, Cassi.”

I put my hand on the door and started to step back. “I would say I’m sorry too, but I can’t, Ty. I’ll never be sorry for not giving you my virginity, especially when it made me realize what kind of guy you really are.”

“I’m not that guy!”

“Are you serious right now? Ty, you are that guy. I wasn’t ready and you kept pushing me. When I wouldn’t budge, you not only found someone else, you made it a point to insult me in front of her and then kick me out of our place.” I began shutting the door but he put a hand out to stop me. “I thought you did a pretty good job of saying this, but it seems we aren’t on the same page. So let me try. We’re over, Tyler.”

“Cassi, please! I’ll wait as long as you need! Cara was a mistake.”

My body was shaking and I was dangerously close to crying. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. Saying good-bye to my Tyler. I was literally seconds from giving in and rushing into his arms and begging him to make this better, the way he always had. I wanted what we had before, before I made the mistake of agreeing to turn our friendship into something more. But that was gone now. “It’s too little, way too late, Ty.”

“Babe,” he pleaded, and his eyes took on a strange heat as I began closing the door farther. Before I realized what he was doing, one arm was wrapped around my waist, the other hand curled around the back of my neck, and his lips were hard against mine.

I struggled so roughly against him that when Gage suddenly appeared behind him and pulled Tyler from me I landed hard on my butt with a low “Oomph.”

“You okay?” Gage asked. His bright green eyes were fixed on me and he was still trying to catch his breath from his run. Even in the situation I couldn’t help but admire his amazing body. His long-sleeved shirt was soaked and clinging to his chest and abs, and his loose mesh shorts showed his tight . . . calves.

“Yeah.” I nodded and pulled myself up. “Fine.”

One hand reached out and slid down my arm until it wrapped around my hand, and his eyes roamed over my face for a few seconds before he spoke again. “Go get back in bed, Cass, I’ll be in to check on you in a minute.”

“This is why you won’t talk to me? You and him?! How long has this been going on?”

My eyes went wide when I looked over at Tyler. Was he serious? He knew better than anyone how Gage felt about me, or—didn’t feel about me. “Ty—”

Gage pulled me so I was somewhat hidden behind his back. “Don’t even try throwing this onto her for something that isn’t even happening. You messed up. Your actions are what brought her here to me. You’re the reason y’all are no longer together.”

“I told you from day one, man, I told you to stay away.”

Before I could ask what Tyler meant by that, he was stepping up so he was chest to chest with his cousin, and I knew this was going to escalate quickly. “Tyler, just go,” I demanded as I pulled on Gage’s arm to move him back toward the entryway; his hands clenched into fists and I swear his body started vibrating. “Gage, come on. Let’s go inside.” Please, please, please don’t fight. I honestly couldn’t stand to watch anyone throw a punch, and Tyler knew that. I knew he wanted Gage to be the one to start it, because he figured it would freak me out enough to make me want to leave. “This is what he wants, please just shut the door.”

“What?” Tyler taunted. “Too good to hit me this time?”

I froze. Gage had hit him?

“For all the shit you’ve put her through, you deserved it and more.”

“What are you waiting for? I’m standing right here.”

Gage gently pushed me farther back and straightened up to look down at Tyler. “Darlin’, go into your bedroom.”

I watched Tyler’s smirk grow into a wide smile; he’d hinted at Gage’s temper before, but he knew I’d never seen it . . . and I didn’t want to. My body was shaking, and though I felt like I was nailed to the floor, I forced my feet to move and stepped right in between them, facing Gage but keeping my head down so I wouldn’t see the way he was looking at Tyler; his stance was telling me all I needed to know.

“Darlin’.”

“Please.” My voice was soft and shaky as I made myself reach out and grab his clenched fist. I ground my jaw as I held it and tried to stop how my body was violently shaking. Seeing this side of Gage would change everything; I couldn’t let him do this. “Just don’t.”

Gage’s body tightened before he hunched down, his hand going under my chin to tilt my head up. I had squeezed my eyes shut and they slowly opened when I heard his soft voice. “Cass.” His green eyes were wide as they looked all over my face.

“Please,” I whispered again, and he nodded. The hand not holding my chin relaxed and squeezed mine as he moved us away from Tyler.

“You need to go. Don’t show up here without an invite first, you got me?”

“Cassi—” Tyler began, but Gage shut the door and flipped both locks before wrapping his arms around me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Gage, I don’t want what’s happening between me and Tyler to ruin your relationship. You’re family. Maybe I should go—”

“Nope. You’re staying here. I don’t care if he’s family—hell, I’ve already dropped too many things he’s done because we’re family. But not this, not the way he treated you.”

“But—”

“We’ll be fine, Cassidy. He’s being a dumbass, I’m allowed to not want to see him.”

I just nodded my head.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry I scared you.”

“I’m fine, I just—I’m fine.”

His hand trailed soothingly up and down my back. “I’d never hurt you.”

“I know that, Gage,” I said on a sigh. He wouldn’t hurt me, but he didn’t understand I couldn’t see him hurt anyone else either.

G AGE

THINGS WERE NEAR perfect over the next few weeks. Cassidy had gone back to work the Monday after Tyler showed up, and he hadn’t bothered her since. I still saw him at school, and we were back on for going to breakfast Saturday mornings, but even though things were getting back to normal, they were still strained. I was taking Cassidy to and from work, and failing at helping her in the kitchen at night, but damn if it wasn’t one of my favorite times with her.

All the guys came over to my place for her cooking about once a week and I was glad it was less than what they’d been doing at Ty’s. I knew I was being selfish, but I loved our time together, and having a bunch of people over just got in the way of that. When it was just us, we’d curl up on the main couch and she’d watch TV while I did homework, and more often than not, I got to carry her to bed at night. If others were over, she always kept at least a foot between us, and even though it was small, I hated any distance from her. We didn’t touch a lot, but knowing I couldn’t put my arms around her sucked. Like now. We’d gone out to grab dinner with a bunch of our friends, and even though she was in the seat next to me, there might as well have been a damn table between us.

“Yo, Gage.”

“Hmm?” I reluctantly tore my gaze from Cassidy to look at Grant and throw back the chip he’d thrown at me.

“Shit, I thought you’d gone deaf for a minute.”

“I was distracted. What?”

“I bet you were.” Adam and Jake laughed next to him and Grant pointedly looked at Cassidy. My foot shot out and connected with his leg when his look turned hungry. Grant grunted and fixed his eyes back on me. “Guys’ night tomorrow, you in?”

“Yeah, sure.” Cassidy laughed at something Jackie said and like an addict drawn to heroin, I couldn’t help but look over to watch her. My first observation still held true; it sounded like damn angels when she laughed.

Ethan looked past Jackie and Cassidy. “You’re going tomorrow?” When I nodded he continued. “All right, as long as I don’t have to be the only one to deal with their drunk asses at the end of the night, I’m in too.”

Cassidy laughed softly and turned to look at me with a smile that had me fighting not to lean over and kiss her there in front of everyone. Wait, tomorrow? Tomorrow was Saturday. “Ah, never mind, sorry, I forgot what tomorrow was. I can’t go.”

“What?” Jake and Grant said at the same time, and Grant continued. “No. Guys’ night. Which means both of y’all need to be there.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged; I was anything but sorry. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, I already have plans.”

“Bro. Two words. Guys’. Night.” Grant looked at me like I was missing the hidden meaning and losing my damn mind.

I knew what guys’ night entailed, but until a few months ago when I realized that Cassidy and Tyler were really together, I hadn’t cared for guys’ night much. And was kind of relieved I had a legit excuse to not go now. “I have a date. Sorry.”

Adam stopped kissing Dana’s neck and looked at me with one brow raised and shot a quick glance to Cass, then back to me, and shook his head. He knew about all the girls I’d been with at the end of last year, why I’d been with them, and how I felt about Cass. I’d spilled everything in my truck on the way back from punching Tyler that night. It was obvious he thought I was going out with some random girl; I’d have to clue him in that my date was with Cassidy. I turned to say Ethan was on his own but stopped when I saw Cassidy’s stiff posture. Her face was completely blank. If it weren’t for Jackie shooting daggers at me, I would have thought Tyler had shown up. Even still, I looked around me and couldn’t figure out why Cassidy’s mask would be back. Didn’t she want to have our Saturday night together? We’d started watching movies every Saturday night when I lived with her and Tyler, and we’d easily fallen into the same routine since she’d moved in with me. Maybe she’d made plans with Jackie, and that’s why Jackie was looking at me like she was about to go psycho firecracker on me.

My confusion only intensified, and by the time Cassidy got back from getting groceries with Jackie the next day, I was completely dumbfounded. She hadn’t said a word the entire way back to our place last night, hadn’t gotten up for our morning hug before or after my run that morning. And I cut breakfast with Ty short so I could be home when she got back. She still didn’t say anything and kept taking the groceries I was trying to help put away out of my hands and doing it herself. After she finished putting everything away, she walked into her room and shut the door.

I finished the rest of the homework I had for the weekend and decided to order pizza so she wouldn’t have to cook that night. After hanging up the phone, I walked over to her room and knocked on the door.

“Yeah?”

I turned the knob and pushed open the door, worrying when I saw her curled up in bed. “You feeling okay, darlin’?”

She sighed and turned so she was facing me. “What’s up, Gage?”

“Uh—I ordered a pizza.” It sounded more like a question, but I was so damn confused I didn’t know what to say or do anymore.

“Thanks, but I’m pretty sure I can fend for myself when you’re out. I’ve been known to get in the kitchen every now and then.”

Man, with that tone, she’d skipped snarky and gone straight California bitch on me. “Um . . . I’m not going out.”

Her eyebrows shot straight up and she mashed her mouth together tightly before forcing a smile that looked pained. “So your date’s coming here. Did you want me to leave?”

“Cass, seriously? It’s Saturday.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So . . . ? It’s movie night.”

“Wow, um . . .” She shook her head slightly and her whiskey eyes got even wider. “I’m sorry, but I’d rather not be watching movies with you and your date.”

Holy shit, she really thought I had a date with someone other than her? I knew this wasn’t exactly a date, and she lived with me, but these were my nights with her. She had to know I wasn’t about to let someone come between us and our night together, much less another girl. I mean honestly, it’s not like I was subtle with everything I felt about her. I was pretty damn pathetic when it came to Cassidy; anything involving her and I was there with a smile on my face. Not that I cared; I was in love with the girl, and everyone knew it even if I hadn’t told them. Shit, even the guys last night were talking about how I couldn’t stop looking at her, and she’d been right there. “Darlin’,” I said softly, “you are out of your damn mind if you think I have a date with some chick tonight.”

Her face scrunched up and she looked so damn cute I had to force the corners of my mouth not to turn up. She had been upset because she thought I was going on a date. Everything from last night through today finally made sense, and yeah, it felt damn good to know she’d been jealous. “But last night . . . you told everyone—” She stopped and tilted her head to the side. “You don’t have a date?”

“Oh no, I do. But apparently my date would rather spend the night alone in bed than on the couch with me, a movie, and a pizza.”

“You didn’t go out with the guys because of our movie night?” she asked softly.

God, I was in love with this girl. “Uh, yeah. Now are you gonna come out there with me, or do I have to throw you over my shoulder, hold you down on the couch, and force you to watch a movie with me?” Damn if my pants didn’t get tighter thinking about pinning her down on the couch.

She failed miserably at hiding her smile and slowly got out of the bed, making her way toward me and the door. When she passed me she paused and turned her head up to look back at me. “Thanks, Gage.”

Chapter Eleven

C ASSIDY

GLANCING DOWN AT my watch, I almost sighed in relief when I saw there were only five minutes left of my shift. It was Friday and, for whatever reason, this Friday seemed like a Monday. We had angry customers in the drive-thru who yelled at Lori because it took her almost three minutes to get their six-drink order out to them, then a snotty kid threw his hot chocolate on the ground because it had whipped cream—seriously, what kid doesn’t like whipped cream?—and his mom demanded we make him another for free, even though she’d never mentioned anything about the whipped cream before I’d made the drink. Lori had gotten emotional after the six-drink order, and we’d traded spots right after, so she had gone out to clean up the mess while I started on another hot chocolate, and in her barely two months of preggo glory . . . she proceeded to get morning sickness, right there in front of everyone. This, incidentally, made said snotty kid throw up right next to her as well. If that hadn’t been enough, the mother started yelling that she was going to sue us for causing her child to throw up from, and I quote, “forcing that awful whipped cream into my baby boy.” I hadn’t meant to, but I was so over the day already I’d snorted out a laugh when she said that, and she decided to take her anger out on me. Said that it wasn’t saying much for Starbucks if they’d let a drugged-out child with track marks make their customer’s drinks as she pointed to my tattoo of Ursa Major on my arm. Yay me.

I was just slipping off my apron and punching in my code when Stacey walked in with an older woman I’m assuming was her mother. Stacey looked amazing; she was glowing and couldn’t stop smiling, exactly the way a girl should look the day before her wedding.

“Hey! Didn’t expect to see you today, but I must tell you, you missed one awesome day.”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes getting bright.

“No. It was awful, be glad you weren’t here.”

“Oh.” She scrunched up her nose at me and smiled. “Well, we’re meeting up with my girls to get our nails done but I’m glad I caught you before you left. I was wondering if you’re going to bring a date tomorrow. I know things with Tyler ended a few months ago, so I didn’t know if you planned on bringing someone else . . .” She trailed off.

“Huh. I hadn’t even thought about that. I guess I’ll just go by myself. If this is about the price for catering, I’ll totally eat for two if you want me to.”

She and the older woman both laughed. “No, it’s not that. Well, I was talking about you with Russ, and he said there were a few guys from his fraternity coming who are single, and that I should set you up with one of them.” My eyes got wide but she kept talking. “Obviously, I would have rather talked to you about this first, but Christian, one of his frat brothers who’s coming, was sitting right there and one thing led to another, they got on your Facebook page . . . safe to say Christian is dying to meet you now.”

“Uh . . .”

“He’s really cute, Cass, he’s twenty-two, he’s a baseball player—”

“I’m taking Gage,” I blurted out when I saw his truck pull into a parking spot.

Stacey sucked in a deep gasp and her eyes got wide. “Oh my God. Really?” She squealed. She actually. Freaking. Squealed. “How come you didn’t tell me about this? Oh, Cass, when I get back from my honeymoon you are telling me everything!”

Oh crap. “Um, well, it’s new.”

“Cassidy, this thing with Gage is not new. It may have taken forever, but it sure as heck isn’t new.”

Gage got out of his truck and started making his way in, so I hurried around them so Stacey wouldn’t get a chance to say anything to him, especially since Gage knew nothing about Stacey’s wedding or our relationship, which was so new, you could practically say it was nonexistent. Since it was. “Yeah, well . . .” I smiled and hugged her hard. “We’re being kind of quiet about it right now because of Ty, so—” I broke off when Gage walked in and smiled his heart-stopping smile, dimples and all. “See you tomorrow, Stace!”

Gage’s arm had just settled around my shoulders when Stacey called out in a singsong voice, “Good-bye, Gage Carson, I’ll see y’all later.”

His smile stayed but you could see the confusion in his features at the way Stacey was speaking. “Bye, Stacey.” It came out more of a question and he cocked his head to the side as I hurried us out the door. “She seemed like she was in a good mood,” he stated as he opened the passenger door for me.

“Uh, yeah . . . something like that,” I mumbled, and tried to figure out how I was going to ask him to the wedding and keep him out of the loop about our “relationship.”

“GAGE?” I TIMIDLY called from the hallway. I knew he would come with me, but if I was being honest with myself, I was afraid he’d see just how much I wanted him to be my date to this stupid thing.

“Yeah, Cass?” The door to his bedroom swung open to reveal Gage in nothing but mesh shorts, his hair still wet from a shower, a few drops of water running down his broad shoulders and chest.

I failed at stifling a gasp and tried to focus on his eyes. That didn’t help either; I could get lost in those dark green-and-gold eyes. “Um . . .” I realized I was biting my lip and looking at his well-defined stomach again. Get a grip! This is not the first time you’ve seen him half-naked. I mentally shook myself and looked at the floor instead. “So Stacey’s getting married tomorrow, and before everything happened, I’d already RSVP’d with a plus-one for Tyler. But since that’s obviously not an option, I was wondering if you’d maybe be my date? As a friend, I mean! Go with me as a friend.” Okay, this was going exactly how I hoped it wouldn’t. I’d managed to get lost staring at his body, I’d asked him to be my date, and I knew my entire face was beet red from embarrassment.

He didn’t say anything, but I could practically feel his silent laughter making its way through my body. I sighed and turned back toward the living room. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you’re busy tomorrow.” No, he wasn’t. Tomorrow was Saturday, our movie night.

“What time is it at?”

I stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “Starts at five.”

“Well then, it’s a date.” His next laugh wasn’t silent.

I grimaced thinking about our “date” misunderstanding last week when it came to our movie night and actually smacked my face as I walked into the living room, groaning into my hand. “Awesome,” I mumbled to myself.

Flopping onto one of the couches, I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything but Gage’s amazing body. I’d seen him without a shirt on hundreds of times, and of course my pulse had started racing every time, but I’d always been in control of myself. Unfortunately, I was once again letting myself believe a relationship could happen between us and stupidly thought that Gage wanted me too. I silently cursed myself for the thousandth time for thinking that living with Gage could possibly be a good idea.

CRACKING MY EYES open, I glared at the sun coming through my window. I grabbed an extra pillow and put it over my face. Wait . . . extra pillow? I was in my bed, and it was now morning. Gage. Didn’t matter how many times he put me in my bed, I was thoroughly embarrassed each morning after I woke up. Who knows if I was snoring, drooling, or talking when he did it? I dragged myself out of bed and toward the kitchen, where I could smell fresh coffee.

“Morning.”

“Ugh.” I slumped into his chest as he pulled me in for my morning hug. Not gonna lie, it was still my favorite part of each day with him.

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. We both stiffened for a moment and I had to rein in my smile before I stepped out of his arms. It wasn’t the first time Gage had pressed his full lips to me since the ranch, but usually it was a peck to my cheek or forehead when he was putting me in my bed, and even then I was still mostly asleep, so I always figured I was dreaming it.

“Coffee ready?” I asked while scrounging around the fridge for the creamer that was hiding.

“Yep.” He leaned over me to pluck the creamer out of the fridge from directly in front of my face. “Looking for this?”

“Whatever, it’s too early.” I grabbed my mug and went to sit on a bar stool.

We drank our coffee in silence as I continued to mull over the kiss and stress about Stacey saying something to Gage about our “relationship” tonight. After he was done, Gage went to his room to get ready.

“I’ll be back in a while, but after I’m heading out for breakfast with Ty.”

“All right, I may not be here when you get back, I have some errands to run. But so you know, we need to leave around four fifteen, ’kay?”

“I’ll see you later then.” He smiled at me as he picked up his iPhone and headed for the door.

One of these times, that smile was going to make me come completely undone.

I GLANCED AT my phone and cursed the speeding time. We needed to leave in ten minutes and I still hadn’t tried on my dress. After Gage left that morning I’d taken a shower, gone with Jackie to get our nails done, and done some quick shopping for a new summer dress since it was the middle of March and the weather had been in the mid-seventies all week. I would’ve had more than enough time to get ready, but I’d spent twice as long on my hair trying to make it look perfect. I couldn’t think of one time in my life that I’d ever spent so much time on my appearance. The entire time I told myself I was just trying to look nice since we were going to a wedding, but I knew I was doing this for Gage. And that was a bad thing.

Finally happy with the big spiral curls in my hair, I ran to my closet and slipped on the dress. It was a deep-green halter that had reminded me of Gage’s eyes, so naturally I’d fallen in love with it. It was formfitting on my chest with a V-cut, making me have cleavage for practically the first time ever, and lightly flowed out to a few inches above my knees. It was the perfect mix of cute and sexy. I desperately wanted to pair it with the cowboy boots Gage’s sister had bought me last summer but grabbed a pair of black heels instead. Glancing in my full-length mirror, I slowly turned to make sure there were no more tags on it and smiled at my reflection. I wasn’t normally one to think this, but dang, I looked good.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my door and tried not to trip over myself as I took in the sight of Gage. He looked beautiful, in the most masculine way possible. He was wearing khaki slacks with a black button-up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I looked up to his face and tried not to smile at his openmouthed stare.

“Wow, Cassidy. Just . . . wow.” His eyes slowly raked over every inch of my body.

I tried to sound like he wasn’t making my heart race and my stomach do flip-flops. “Not so bad yourself, G.” Does he even know what he does to me? “You ready?”

He simply nodded and led me out to his truck. The ride to the outdoor ceremony and reception was intense, to say the least. Neither of us could say anything; we both just kept looking at each other from the corners of our eyes. You could feel the tension between us and it took everything in me not to slide over toward him. Once we arrived and were around other people, the tension quickly left and we easily slipped back into our familiar banter. I only knew a handful of people there, other coworkers, and though we were all pretty close, I was immensely grateful that Gage had agreed to go with me. It would have been awkward without him, especially when Christian introduced himself; after one look at Gage’s arm around my waist, he smiled politely and walked away. Stace was right, that guy was seriously cute, but he was no Gage. The ceremony was quick and moving, and Stacey looked stunning in a strapless mermaid-style dress.

Not long after the reception started, Stacey and my other coworkers pulled Gage and me onto the dance floor with them. I figured he would go to sit back down but he stayed out there having fun with the rest of us, and he never left my side. We joked and danced crazy with each other as everyone made up their own moves to some oldies, as well as newer music that you couldn’t exactly dance to, not that anyone cared. I sucked in a quick gasp when Gage put his arms around my waist and pulled my back against his chest after a new song started. The song had a sensuous beat and it caused the tent to get a clublike feel. As our bodies slowly started moving together, I became hyperaware of every part of my body that was pressed against his and couldn’t stop my breath from quickening. His hands were on my thighs, clutching the bottom of my dress, and I put my left hand back, sliding it through his hair. I dragged my hand out of his hair and down his cheek before putting both my hands on top of his, wishing he’d grab me harder, but wishing he’d let me go. This could only break my heart when the song ended. Putting a hand low on my stomach, he pushed us closer together as his other hand moved all of my hair to one shoulder. My head dropped back to his chest as his lips touched the base of my neck, a soft groan escaping my lips. My heart pounded in my chest as my insides tightened—was this really happening? Flashes of his coldness the day after our night on the hill at the ranch danced through my mind but I tried to push them away. He wouldn’t do that to me again, right? I left my head resting against him until the song ended, allowing him to press his mouth to my neck and shoulder a few more times. I wanted to turn to look into his eyes, to question what was happening, but Lori grabbed my hand and pulled me to where the bride and groom were about to cut the cake before I got the chance.

I didn’t see Gage again until after Russ had flung the garter and Stacey threw her bouquet into a sea of single women. I was starting to worry when the DJ stated there was only one song left before the happy couple would be taking off, when his warm hands found mine.

“One more?” he mumbled, his face a carefully composed mask.

“Of course.” I tried to smile but his look was worrying me.

He put a hand gently on my waist and grabbed one of mine with his other, clutching it to his chest. I laid my head next to our joined hands as we swayed back and forth to our first slow dance of the evening.

Halfway through the song he spoke again. “Cassidy.” I looked up into his eyes and he forced his gaze on something behind us, shaking his head slowly back and forth. “Look . . . I—”

I cut him off, not wanting to hear whatever regrets he was having from today. “Don’t, Gage.”

“No, I need to tell you this.”

He held me close as I quickly tried to back away from him. I shut my eyes so he wouldn’t see my hurt. “I get it. You don’t—”

“I’m in love with you,” he blurted out.

There was no way I had heard that correctly. My eyes popped open and I studied his face. “You– What?”

He blew out a long breath before looking at me again. His voice was so deep and full of emotion it caused a warm shiver to go up my spine. “I’m madly in love with you.”

My eyes grew even wider as I let that sink in.

“I’ve tried to keep my feelings to myself, and I know I’m no good at it, but I can’t keep doing it anymore. I don’t just view you as a friend, Cass. I never have. I thought you should know. I know you don’t feel the same but I’m tired of lying and hiding it from you.”