One side of Cade’s mouth curved up. “How’d you sleep, Darling?”
Something about the soft way he murmuredDarlingmade my pulse stutter, and I swallowed.
“Best sleep of my life,” I whispered, quoting his words a few days ago even though last night hadn’t involved much sleep.
His smile widened, which was totally distracting.
I averted my gaze to stop myself from immediately jumping his bones, and the skyline out the balcony doors snagged my attention. The veryfamiliarskyline. I lifted my head. “Hey, that’s Westport! We’re already back?”
Cade picked up a strand of my hair and played with the end. “We dropped anchor about an hour ago.”
My brows rose. Did that mean he’d been lying here awake for an hour?
“No morning swim today?” I asked, surprised he hadn’t slipped away while I slept.
A soft laugh rumbled in his chest. “I got more than enough of a workout last night.”
Ridiculously pleased by his answer, I grinned like a fool before another realization sank in.
Our deal ended today. Would we even see each other again after this? All the sex could’ve been a goodbye, but it didn’t feel like one. It felt like the start of something, not an ending.
My quickly spiraling thoughts were interrupted by a little fluffball headbutting my foot. Whiskey carefully crawled through my and Cade’s tangled legs, wiggling to get between us.
“Hey, buddy. How’d you get back here?” I scratched under his chin, then frowned. “Wait. How’dIget back here? I thought we fell asleep out on the deck.”
“I carried you,” Cade answered. “Figured you’d want to see Whiskey when you woke up, so we picked him up on the way.”
I bit my lip. That was thoughtful.
After pulling Whiskey into my lap, I gave him his morning rubdown while studying Cade. The hard lines of his face had softened, and his hand moved from my hair to play with the hem of my borrowed T-shirt. This was the most peaceful I’d seen him all week.
“You seem extra relaxed this morning,” I observed, tilting my head as I studied him. “And not just the kind that comes after a good cuddle or what we did last night.”
Cade’s lips twitched at the corners before a smile cracked through.
“Our plan worked,” he said, shoulders loosening with a heavy sigh. He sank back into the pillows. “I got the promotion.”
I froze midpet, earning a displeased huff from Whiskey. “What? When?”
“Grandfather told me last night.”
A surge of happiness and pride andreliefflooded me. “Oh my gosh, Cade!”
We’d done it. The plan had worked—he’d gotten his promotion.
Overcome with joy, I launched myself at Cade—earning a grumpy chirp from Whiskey before he scampered off the bed. Ipeppered Cade’s face with kisses, giving him the biggest hug I could manage. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you.”
“There’s something else,” he said, gaze turning serious. I leaned back to straddle his waist, and his hands settled distractingly on my hips. “I have another offer for you.”
“Yeah?” I asked, smiling so wide it hurt.
My heart ricocheted off my ribs. Maybe this wasn’t a fling for him either. Maybe he wanted to see where it went, too.
Maybe he would ask me out for real.
“How do you feel about seeing our deal all the way through?” he asked, eyes focused on me and not betraying a hint of his thoughts.
I blinked, not following. “What do you mean?”
