“You can do whatever you want. I have no control over you or Caden.”
Disappointment pinches her lips, and a scathing look transforms her lovely face. “He was sleeping with you and kept all of this from you. You know… Nothing about us. He kept me a secret. Aren’t you upset?”
She wants a fight. She’s geared up for it, but I have no intention of giving it to her.
I nod and say quietly, “I am upset. But this isn’t your fault. I’m not going to use you as a punching bag to deal with my anger and frustration at Caden.”
“But…” Her brow furrows. “We’re enemies.”
I shake my head. “No, we’re not. We’re the same, and I’m not about to tear you down because of Caden.”
“Oh…okay.” Her tone has lost its edge.
I walk toward the door. “Thanks for the time, and take care of yourself, Meredith.”
“Wait.” Her voice is urgent.
I pause, turning to look at her. “Yes?”
“I don’t understand you. Why are you being so nice?”
I give her the only answer that springs to mind, even though I don’t think she’ll understand. Just like I didn’t understand last night when Uncle Beau said it to me.
I shrug. “I want to be happy more than I want to be right.”
Not that I’m happy. Or know when I might be happy again.
But this is the path, and I’m walking it.
Caden
I talked to Wyatt, Jackson, and Gwen as best I could after Cat left. Maybe they don’t understand why I did what I did, but they don’t seem inclined to take any immediate action. I’m grateful, considering none of them are particularly pleased with me at the moment. I suspect if we weren’t preparing for the private event and Toulon’s opening, the story would end differently, but right now I will take what I can get.
I’m not ready to move on, not ready to climb into that old truck again and start over.
If Cat wants me gone, I’ll leave. But I hope I’ll get a chance to fix everything.
If she’ll give me a chance to talk to her, maybe I can explain. I’ve called her about a million times this morning, but each time it’s gone straight to voicemail. I don’t know if she blocked me or has her phone off, but either way, she doesn’t want to talk to me.
There’s a soft knock, and I look up in time to see my office door swing open.
Like I conjured her, Cat’s standing in the doorway. She looks tired and pale, but she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
A rush of relief—so great it would knock me over if I wasn’t sitting—washes over me.
“Cat.” I breathe out her name like she’s a salve on my skin.
“Can I come in?” Her voice is soft.
“Yes, Jesus, come in, please.” I usher her in with a gesture of my hand and stand. “We need to talk.”
“We do.” There’s a steeliness in her tone that matches her eyes, wiping out most of my relief and filling me with dread.
“I know you’re upset, but let me explain,” I tell her.
“I’m not sure that’s necessary.” She closes the door and sits down on the chair across from my desk, crossing her arms and legs. Needless to say, it’s a lot of closed off body language.
I sink back down and rush to fill in the silence. “Since you left, all I’ve been thinking about is where to start, and now you’re here, and all I can think about is how much I need to see you on a daily basis.”
She doesn’t look swayed, instead her chin tilts. “I went to see Meredith.”
My heart beats double time. “Oh.”
Cat raises a brow. “That’s all you have to say?”
“I know it looks bad. It’s hard to explain.” All this time to think about my plan, and I sit here unable to form coherent speech.
She shrugs. “It doesn’t seem that complicated to me.”
“Meredith…she, well…” I shake my head. “Let me start at the beginning.”
Cat holds up a hand. “Not necessary. Let’s see if I have it straight. You worked for them. She took an interest and charmed her way into your heart. But then she started to show you who she really was—and you realized it wasn’t you she loved, but how you fit into her plans to steal control of the company from her brother. When you figured that out, you tried to break things off, but she threatened you in