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Her heart almost wilted when he closed the door behind him, and quietly, she stayed there, setting her phone aside and staring up at his ceiling, the ceiling she had stared blindly up at a dozen times as he thrust his powerful body inside of hers.
She felt as unseen and blank as that ceiling to him.
“Come here, Genghis,” she said softly, and he was instantly hopping up on the bed. She curled her fingers into the dog’s hair, and fell asleep on Cade’s pillow, thinking she belonged here.
* * *
Cade called Daniel on his drive to the gym. “Hey, man, I need you to box with me.”
“Now? I’m actually just finishing at the gym, but I’ll wait up for you.”
Cade stormed into the huge building, rented privately for two hours a day just for six of them—a group of billionaires called the Sexy Sixpacks among the gym owners—so they could work the shit out of themselves without having a dozen women ogling, and other dickheads just staring. Graves, Daniel, Luke, Cade, and Andrew, and another billionaire whose name remained anonymous to all.
Today, only Daniel was in the premises as Cade flung his duffel to the floor, yanked off his T-shirt, and shoved his hands into his boxing gloves. Daniel was one of his oldest friends. He was the most centered, focused man Cade knew, and after Luke, the second to get engaged recently.
Cade wished he were the sort of man who could ask for advice from a man like Daniel. But the times when he most needed advice were the times when Cade felt even more withdrawn and reclusive, the words proving too hard to find. And whenever some words did manage to get past the labyrinth of his chest, they only seemed to be curse words to insult and lash out.
But then, he knew his friend would understand what Cade needed right now without even having to say a word. Daniel was already putting on his gloves. He was as tall and broad as Cade, except he was blond rather than dark haired, and since he’d already put in an hour’s workout, he was at a slight disadvantage and was probably going to get his ass kicked.
They jumped into the ring, each on opposite ends, and as soon as they hit the center, Cade landed the first powerful punch and knocked him down to the ground.
Scowling, Daniel spit on the floor and jumped back up, then used one glove to urge Cade back down to the boxing heavy bag. “Work it out first, man, what the hell’s wrong with you? What the hell happened to warm-up?”
“You’re already warm, dickhead, and I feel like getting killed tonight.”
“Shut up and hit that sucker.”
Cade immediately pummeled the hundred-pound heavy bag for a couple of minutes until he was sweating and breathless and his ab muscles were aching. But still, he was tormented. Ivy was going to be okay, the doctor said, but he was so angry he couldn’t calm down, was afraid to believe it, was afraid she was lying to him, still hiding things from him.
“Ivy,” he said after a couple of minutes, panting as he hit the dangling red leather bag again and again.
Daniel watched him with a slight frown. “Luke told us you’re with someone, man. I’m so happy for you, Cade. You deserve it.”
No, he didn’t deserve it. Obviously he didn’t.
He punched the bag, alternating, right hook, left hook, right jab, left jab, then faster, faster, until he sucked in some air and hugged his arms around the bag, closing his eyes as he struggled for breath. “She had … cancer.”
“What? What do you mean? She had cancer? Is it gone now?”
Cade angrily gritted his teeth, pushed back and pounded the heavy sack so hard it started swinging side to side with each punch. “Fucking holy fucking goddamned shit!” He hit it until the blows made every muscle in his body work, made his heart pump, his lungs burst. “Fucking holy fucking goddamned fucking shit, Daniel!”
“Cade, shit man, calm down! We’re all at risk here. Hell, the roof could fall on me any second now and I’d be dead. Come on, man, box with me, I feel like getting my face rearranged.” Daniel hopped back into the ring, and Cade followed him up, tapping his gloves together as they got into their positions.
He swung and missed when Daniel ducked. Daniel landed an uppercut that sent pain up to his brain. God, it felt good. Good.
“Are you afraid it will happen to you all over again? Like with Laura?” Daniel asked.
Cade rubbed his jaw and then got in position. “No, man, this time it feels so much worse.”
He jabbed Daniel’s ribs, then slammed his friend’s jaw with a hook that shot his head sideways. Danny spit out some blood, then straightened, shook his muscles, and positioned
again. “That serious, huh?”
Cade bounced boxer style as his eyebrows drew low over his eyes, keeping his guard up as Daniel swung his way. “We’ve never said it,” Cade growled as he ducked and halted a hit with his right arm, then he squatted and swung back up to slam a good one on Daniel’s jaw again. “We pretend it’s not serious.”
Hell, they said they were playing, but now Cade knew the only one being played had been him.
Cade’s guard faltered as he thought of her in his bed right now, with that strange little wig and her big vulnerable eyes, and Daniel hit him right in the gut. Cade oofed as his breath left him in a single gust.
