Page 31 of Scarred

I feel my mom’s eyes on me, and I avoid eye contact, pretending to be interested in my lunch as I spear another piece of lettuce. She can read me like a book, and I doubt very much I can hide the fact that Cayden does something to me.

What that something is…

I’m not entirely sure yet.

“You like him,” she observes.

“It doesn’t matter what I’m feeling,” I shake my head with resolve. “I won’t mix my business and personal life. Besides, he’s made it perfectly clear with his standoffish ways that he’s not interested.”

My phone chimes on the table, and I immediately reach for it, needing to be saved from this conversation.

It’s a notification from my work scheduler letting me know I just got a booking for tomorrow. I click on the time slot to see who it is and freeze.

Cayden Blade

2:00 p.m. Yoga Restorative

Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I glance up at my mom and show her the screen.

A knowing smile breaks out on her face as she reaches for her wine. “I guess he didn’t hate it as much as you thought.”

“No, I guess not,” I murmur, setting my phone down and contemplating what this means. He obviously got something from the session, or he wouldn’t be coming back. “I was afraid I pushed him too hard or said something wrong to scare him off,” I admit quietly.

“Your work isn’t always easy, love. It’s your job to help people feel things they’ve spent a long time avoiding,” she says softly. “He’s been through a lot the past three years.”

“He told you?” I ask, surprised he would tell my mom about losing his wife.

“No. I already knew. Didn’t you?” Her forehead scrunches up in confusion as I shake my head.

“Not until he told me. How could I have possibly known that? We just met.”

“You know who he is, right? That he plays hockey?”

“When I asked about the pain in his hips, he told me he plays hockey.”

“Do you know what team he plays for?” She prods, making me even more confused with all these questions.

“Well, no. I didn’t ask, and he didn’t tell me. It doesn’t really matter, does it? I mean, his hip pain has nothing to do with what team he is on, so it wasn’t important to ask.”

My mom shakes her head and laughs at my lost look.

“What am I missing that you’re not telling me?”

“Nothing, love…nothing,” she grins. “I’m a firm believer in letting things fall into place as they should.”

Picking up her fork, she finishes the rest of her salad, but I can’t shake the feeling that she knows something I don’t.

Deciding to let it go for now, I eat the rest of my meal, lost in thought about seeing Cayden tomorrow. Part of me is excited to see him again and dive deeper into who Cayden really is, and the other half of me is terrified of what I might find.

Looking out at the water, I watch a wave roll in and disappear into the shore. It’s almost as if I can sense him nearby, which is ridiculous because he lives in Bayside. I can’t help but get the feeling, though, that he was here.

The wind picks up, lifting my hair from my neck as I breathe in the salty breeze. Green eyes burn into my vision, causing a fire to spread throughout my core. I have no clue what tomorrow will bring, but one thing is for certain…

He won’t be the only one fighting something he can’t control.

I nervously glance at the clock again.

1:58 p.m.