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Cade hung his head. "Ma'am, I can't say I'm proud of a lot of things I did in high school, but I've matured a lot since then."
Mom laughed. "That you have, young man. Meredith, your dad and I will be in the living room, not listening to a thing."
"I'm so sorry about that," I said as soon as Mom was out of the room.
"About what? Your mom catching us and you not denying anything, just like I didn’t with Grandmother? Or that I found out your secret?"
“Ummm... all of the above.” I was hoping to distract him from the last part.
“Tell me about that crush. You’ve been holding out on me.”
I swallowed hard. "It was nothing," I said, trying to wave it away. “Just a high school crush.”
"Meredith." He stepped closer to me, putting his fingers under my chin and tilting my head up. "I was a blind moron. I didn't know any better, but now I do."
I bit my lip, holding my breath. I loved every word coming out of his mouth. And yet the part of me that had crushed on him all those years ago was alive and well. My poor heart had hurt for him once before. I couldn't put it in the same position.
His eyes were fixed on mine. I nodded. I wasn't even sure what I was agreeing to, but I was powerless to fight it—at least right now.
He seemed to know there was something on my mind, though. "Tell me what you're afraid of."
I shook my head. "Not now."
"Later, then." His voice was strong, like it wouldn't allow an argument. And though I liked to verbally spar with him, I couldn't deny that I also liked it when he unleashed that alpha voice on me. It definitely made my knees weak and set my panties on fire.
I nodded again and stepped back. "Okay."
"And I'm not going to come anywhere near you again while we're in your parents' house."
"Why not?" I asked, miffed.
"Because I can't seem to keep my hands or mouth off you. Being caught once by your mother is enough."
"Oh yeah, I agree," I said.
Wits, hello? Where did I lose you? Thank God Cade has some left.
"How rough of a time are your parents having?” he asked.
“Enough that they had to downsize. Selling the old house crushed them. They’d hoped to rent it out instead, but there were no takers. So my brother-in-law and I flipped that house and sold it. My sister also helped in the early months of her pregnancy. Most of my savings went into it, but it was worth it. They used most of the money they got for the house to pay the debts they still had from the store.”
Cade looked straight at me as we opened one of the boxes that revealed plates and cutlery. "You're a great person, Meredith."
"They're my parents. Of course I’ll help them," I replied. "Anyway, that's why I'm going to spend the better part of next week here, helping them unpack and put together the furniture. It's a good thing they have the bed, otherwise they couldn't even sleep here, and getting the kitchen situated is important too."
"No moving company?" he asked.
I shook my head. "It's just us. Maybe my sister's husband, but he’s been working overtime.”
“I’ll help.”
"No. No, come on,” I protested, shocked. “You don't have to do that. There's a lot of work yet to do."
"Precisely."
I swallowed hard, totally speechless. "Thanks. But just so you know, if you change your mind, it's also okay."
"I don't make promises I can't keep, Meredith."
