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He was silent, but still looming. She peeked up at him.
“You put people ahead of yourself a lot,” she pointed out. His hands rested on the countertop and she admired his knuckles. His blunt nails. The hair on his forearms. How was it that every inch of him was undeniably attractive? She thought of his hands and his arms on another woman. Knowing he’d written “Lightning” about someone he’d cared about deeply made her want to wail. But this wasn’t about her.
“Honestly, Pres. What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t.” She let out a defeated breath. “I’m sorry. I was just...carried away. Blind ambition and all that,” she said, which sounded like an excuse even to her own ears. “That probably sounds lame.”
He let out a deep sigh. “Believe it or not, I understand how chasing success can make you do something stupid.”
Was he talking about the way he’d left her in Florida to chase his own success? That seemed like too much of a leap, so she instead rerouted to ask, “Do you want me to stay home today rather than go with you to the barbecue?”
She’d been looking forward to spending the day with the Sutherland family, and not only because she’d planned on snapping a few candid photos for her article while she was there. She wanted to meet Cash’s parents, hang out with Hannah, who was arriving with Will. And she’d wanted to say goodbye to Luke and Gavin, and Hallie if she showed up. But, given her egregious behavior, she wouldn’t blame Cash if he disinvited her.
His hand cupped the nape of her neck and he looked down on her, sadness still swimming in his eyes. Then he bent and kissed the crown of her head.
“We leave at noon.” He let her go and walked to the staircase.
“Cash?”
He paused at the foot of the stairs, head down, fists clenched.
“Are you all right?”
He didn’t look at her. He simply repeated, “Noon.”
