My skin warmed, and I basked in his attention like it was the sun. I pulled my legs up on the seat, and settled my chin on my knees. “Feel free to tell me again, as often as you like, really.”
He stretched an arm out on the couch cushion behind me, and said, “I could do that.”
I leaned back until my head brushed his arm. My blood still pumped too fast from the fight with Mace, and the damaged, angry part of me really wanted to prove how much Mace’s anger didn’t bother me. I turned toward Cade, and leaned my legs against his.
“So . . . I—”
The door swung open and Spencer came trotting in with two people behind him. A tall, attractive blond guy with a little brunette tucked into his side. I heard Cade’s sharp intake of breath a second before the brunette said, “Cade? When did you get back from Texas?”
23
Cade
Bliss.
I swear, every time things get remotely good, the universe puts me back in my place.
“Hey, Bliss. Garrick.”
The two of them crossed the room toward us, and Max whispered, “Who is that?”
“Remember the alternative Thanksgiving plans I mentioned?”
“The ones better left in the past?”
I nodded and stood to greet my friends. I shook Garrick’s hand, and gave Bliss an awkward one-armed hug.
“I didn’t end up going back to Texas. Sorry I didn’t tell you. Things changed at the last minute, and I decided to stay.”
Bliss asked, “Your grandmother got better?”
I cringed. “Yeah, she’s good.”
“Why didn’t you come over for Thanksgiving, then?” She gripped my arm, and I took a step back out of her grasp. I watched her face fall and could see the pity that she was so bad at hiding. I could just imagine the scenario going through her head—me, home alone and miserable for the holiday. Of course, that had been my plan until Max blew into my life. I opened my mouth, unsure of what excuse I was going to use. Was I sick? I could have been sick.
Then Max said, “He was with me.”
She slipped an arm around my waist, and on instinct, I put my arm over her shoulder. She pressed close to me and held out a hand toward Bliss. “My name is Max.”
Bliss’s eyebrows disappeared underneath her side-swept bangs, and I saw her eyes scan Max’s tattoos and outfit. I tried to see what she was seeing, imagine what Max must look like to someone who didn’t know her. When I looked at her, all I saw was the black bra that showed through her ripped white shirt, and I decided it was better if I kept my eyes off her for the moment.
Bliss shook Max’s hand, a little in shock.
Garrick recovered faster. He greeted her, “Lovely to meet you, Max.”
When she heard Garrick’s accent, her eyes met mine, and I knew she had put the pieces together. She smiled up at me, and I tried to express my gratitude in a look. Her smile widened, so I thought she understood. “Max, this is Bliss. We went to college together. And this is her boyfriend, Garrick.” I left out the part where he’d been our professor. Things were weird enough already.
“It’s so nice to meet friends of Cade.” She nudged me playfully. “I was beginning to think he’d never introduce me. Did he invite you guys to see the show tonight?”
“Actually”—her band mate, the one with the punk bow tie, stepped up—“I invited them. Garrick is a friend.”
Max said, “Oh, I didn’t realize you knew Spence.”
This Spence was looking between Max and me like the world had spun off its axis. I didn’t blame him. With me in my button-down and her looking like a rock goddess—we didn’t exactly match. He pinned me with a stare and said, “And you are?”
Max jumped in. “This is Cade, my boyfriend. Don’t act like I haven’t been talking your ear off about him, Spence.”
“Right.” Her friend nodded. “Cade.”
I decided it was time to help Max carry the burden and asked, “What did you think of the show?” I looked down at Max and said, “She’s pretty amazing, isn’t she?”
She leaned up and placed a kiss on my cheek, no doubt leaving a print of her ruby red lips against my skin. I knew she was pretending, but damn she was good at it.
“It was . . .” Bliss tore her eyes away from me and smiled at Max, “It was awesome. You have a great voice.”
Garrick said, “How come you haven’t introduced us to Max before now, Cade?”
Max answered, “Oh, well, we’ve not told many people. We wanted to take things slow, spend some time with just the two of us before broadcasting it to the world.”
Bliss smiled up at Garrick and placed a hand against his chest. “We can definitely understand that.”