Page 25 of Suddenly Yours

“That’s the one.” He tried for casual but failed spectacularly. His voice cracked. “Sarah said that she’s blocked out a suite for me for the night since it might take a few hours to do everything I need to. And she, uh, she gave me a big one too. It’s got two bedrooms and a living room and a balcony. Plus, probably more square footage than your whole bakery.”

I arched a brow. “Are you bragging or stalling?”

He flushed. Actually flushed. “Neither. Both. Look…” He exhaled, then finally met my eyes. “I thought… maybe you’d want to come with me.”

My brain hiccupped.

Come with him? To a luxury resort? Overnight? With Cade?

Dangerous, ridiculous butterflies took flight in my stomach.

He rushed on before I could find words. “You haven’t taken a day off since you started working on this place months ago. You’re exhausted. Anyone can see it. And Sarah said she’d give you the full royal treatment if you came. Massage, spa, food, whatever you wanted. You could read a book in peace, or sleep for twelve hours straight, or… I don’t know… do nothing.”

His voice had softened on that last part, almost reverent, like he was offering me something sacred.

I stared at him, at the hopeful uncertainty in his eyes, at the way he was trying so hard to appear nonchalant when his fingers were tapping an anxious rhythm against his thigh.

Cade, nervous? Over me? No. I was imagining things. Completely hallucinating.

Still, warmth curled through my chest.

“I’d like that,” I said softly. “I just have to check with the staff to make sure someone can cover while I’m gone.”

His shoulders loosened, like I’d lifted a weight he’d been silently carrying. “Yeah. Of course. No pressure. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”

But there was something vulnerable in his voice that made me feel like it would matter.

More than it should.

He cleared his throat again, then glanced toward the back door, almost like he was making sure Levi wasn’t lurking nearby. “Plus, with him in town, you may want to disappear for a day anyway.”

“Right,” I agreed as my pulse kicked up. Great. I’d almost forgotten about Levi saying he’d be in town for a while. I hated knowing that there might be more drama waiting around any corner I took.

I quickly looked down at the cupcakes. “We should finish these.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “We should.”

But when I glanced up, his eyes were still on me, soft, knowing… and something else I wasn’t ready to name.

Not yet.

Chapter Seven

Cade

I was a wimp. Even though Missy was standing less than five feet from me and we were alone, I couldn’t bring up the subject of the kiss we’d shared.

The one that had knocked my brain sideways for hours—no, days—afterward. The one she hadn’t mentioned once.

Instead, I focused on the last of the cupcakes, smoothing the frosting with a motion I’d somehow mastered in the past hour. When I finished the final one, I set it on the tray and stepped back.

“Done,” I announced quietly.

Missy didn’t look up. She was piping a delicate pink rose onto a frosty white surface, her brows pulled together in that way that meant she was hyper-focused, blocking out everything else, including, apparently, the giant neon sign blinking above my head that said we needed to talk about that kiss.

I grabbed a stool and dropped onto it next to her, my elbows resting on my knees as I watched her work. I watched the way she held her breath every time for the final twist. The way a strand of her hair kept falling forward into her face, no matter how many times she shoved it behind her ear. I noticed the way her shoulders subtly rolled like she was trying to work out a knot after each cupcake was done.

Why hadn’t I noticed things like this before?