his arms, lacing his fingers across the small of her back, securely locking her to him. She rested her forehead against his strong chest.
“I need you to look at me so when I tell you there’s nothing wrong with you, you believe it at least half as much as I do.”
She still couldn’t bring herself to lift her chin. Being stuck in the middle of an emotional meltdown with Cash Latham holding her was not how she’d anticipated spending her Friday night. Her skin burned with embarrassment.
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore. Caleb won’t want me anyway.”
“Anyone who doesn’t want you, Kenadi Russell, hasn’t seen you. And if they can’t see you and how beautiful, smart, sexy, funny, and completely amazing you are, then they never deserved you to begin with.”
Cash’s voice was raw and rough, leaving little doubt to his sincerity, giving her just enough confidence to look him in the eye again.
Cash’s hand moved from her back to push a few braids behind her ear, but his eyes never left her face. His lips were pressed into a thin line as she watched him clench and unclench his jaw. She knew she looked a mess with her red eyes and puffy face, but he didn’t say anything, nor did he let her move away.
“You’re so beautiful.”
The soft kiss he placed on her forehead made her feel more than she had in a lifetime. She leaned into him fully. Resting the side of her face over his heartbeat, she sniffled and listened to the rhythm. It was strong, steady, and constant—just like him.
“You’re making me feel better, but I still want to be grumpy.”
Cash’s chuckle was soft as he released her from his embrace just enough to pull her onto the couch alongside him. She tucked herself into his side.
“You can be grumpy all night so long as you let me stay.”
SEVEN
Cash
“WELL, WELL, WELL…the kid cleans up pretty nicely.”
“Thanks, Max.”
Cash ran his hand over the lapels of his tux. The all black ensemble, along with his fresh cut and beard trim, should have made him feel amazing. But since the moment he arrived at the party, all he’d felt was nerves as he watched for Kenadi to arrive.
“How are things? Everleigh doing well?”
His agent beamed at the mere mention of his wife. “Yeah. She’s amazing. She’s in the house talking, but I wanted to check in and see how the off-season has been treating you. Everything cool?”
He looked over Max’s shoulder to scan the crowd, but came up short.
“Oh, yeah. You know me…”
Cash wished he’d been able to convince her to ride with him to Bryce’s, but it had taken a lot just to convince her to come. She’d been thrown completely off her axis of confidence by her mother. Having issues with people who were supposed to love you unconditionally was a beast he knew too well.
His twisted feelings had begun to knot up.
Football was the only thing in life that gave him people who finally stuck.
Now, it had led to Kenadi…
And he really wanted Kenadi to stick.
He thought about the other night. She had curled into his side while they spent hours talking about their childhoods and eventually falling asleep on her small sofa. Caleb had woken up with a crick in his neck, a cramp in his leg, and an arm that had fallen asleep hours before.
It had been the best sleep he’d had in years.
Cash vaguely heard Max say something about calling next week about a big deal in the works. Normally, he would’ve been pumped to hear those words coming out of his agent’s mouth, but he barely cared because Kenadi was here.
In a sea of females wearing all white, she was the only one he saw. Instead of a white dress, she’d changed it up with a white tux of her own. The jacket was unbuttoned to reveal a lace bodysuit. Her body was stunning. He didn’t know how she could look in the mirror and believe otherwise.
And her face...
Under the soft lights strung across the yard, her eyes looked even more captivating set against her flawless brown skin. The braids were gone, replaced with her natural curly coils pinned back on one side by gold pins.
It took him a minute to realize she was smiling at him. Without hesitating, he closed the gap between them. Once she was in reach, he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet for a second and whispering in her ear.