“I really want to spend the entire day with you today, but Max is dealing with some stuff at Benjamin Estates and we have a delivery at AH this afternoon that can’t be rescheduled.” Cane stuck his bottom lip out and I reached up and bit it lightly.
He eyes heated immediately. “Keep it up. Fuck up our day. It would make me really happy.”
He leaned out of my Jeep, grabbing hold of the doorframe.
The morning sun was shining happily, reflecting our moods, even though we got very little sleep the night before and was up early. Cane had driven me to Kari’s so I could get changed before I headed back to the hospital.
“I want you to pull out of here first. I’ll follow you to the freeway.”
“Cane, really?”
He winked as he began to shut the door. “Just humor me, okay?”
I blew him a kiss and started the engine. He slammed my door shut.
“You have the key I gave you to my house, right?” He asked as I rolled down my window.
I nodded. “Do you want me to meet you there this afternoon?”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice taunting. “Go ahead. Make yourself at home.”
“We will discuss this later.”
“We will discuss this tonight.”
I blew him another kiss and backed down the driveway. Cane jumped in his Denali and followed me to the freeway, before turning right when I turned left.
The day had been long, emotional, and all-around draining. The only bright spots of the day were Cane’s texts every hour.
The doctor had come in and explained the results to Kari in all kinds of medical lingo. She had translated it to me to mean that he had a heart attack, but the permanent damage had been minor. They were going to keep him overnight to monitor him while one final test result came in, but with better diet, exercise, and stress management plans, he should be fine.
By the time I got into my Jeep in the late evening, I was spent. The families in the waiting room, crying and worrying left and right, were downright depressing. I didn’t know how Kari did that day in and day out.
I sat in my car as the sun sat beautifully in the sky just above the horizon. It was a mix of blues, purples, and rosy pinks, like a painting hanging above me.
I picked up my phone and dialed Cane. It rang twice before he answered.
“Hey, baby! Is everything okay?” His voice was laced with concern and it made me smile.
“Yeah. Dad’s going to be all right, but they’re keeping him overnight. I’m just leaving the hospital now.”
“I’m on my way home now, too. I had a few things to take care of at Benjamin Estates that I didn’t expect, but everything’s okay.”
I flipped my visor down as I pulled out of the parking lot. “Do you want me to grab something to eat on my way home?”
Cane chuckled.
“What?” I asked.
“You just referred to my house as ‘home’. You just made my fucking day, baby.”
I laughed, my energy waning by the minute.
“You sound beat. How about I pick up dinner and you grab a bubble bath until I get there?” His voice was low and sexy. I just wanted to make it to his house, get undressed, and lay in his arms.
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
I knew he was grinning. “I am driving through Gilbert now, so it’ll be a little bit, but I’ll be there.”
“I love you, Cane Alexander.”
“I love you, beautiful girl.”
CANE
I turned the radio up, the beat to the random hip-hop song on the radio matching my mood.
Lighthearted, optimistic, fucking happy.
I’m listening to fucking hip-hop?
I leaned back in my seat and couldn’t help the smile on my face. In a few minutes I would be at home—home—with Jada.
Don’t fuck this up, Alexander.
I laughed out loud. At least I knew myself.
The sun dipped below the horizon as I made my way west, towards my house and my girl.
She called it home. There’s hope for me yet.
I exhaled some nervous energy, knowing that the next day was going to make it or break it. It had to go right, I had too much damn time and money invested in it. Not that I gave a shit about the money. It was made to be spent. But I wanted her to want what I had to give her. What I had to offer her.
Besides my heart. Because she already fucking owned that.
An excitement I couldn’t remember feeling before sparked through me, reminding me vaguely of Christmas morning as a little boy. The feeling of knowing something great could possibly happen, if the stars aligned and everything panned out like you planned.
But just like a little kid on Christmas morning, I really had no control over how this went. That would be up to Jada.
My phone lit up on the dash and I recognized Lucy’s cell number.
“Hey, Lucy.”
“Good evening, Mr. Alexander. I just wanted to remind you that I’m off work tomorrow. You haven’t been in the office for a few days, so I wanted to make sure you remembered.”