Page 29 of Broken Love (Love 2)
Fuck that. I don't need to get my ass kicked by her brother. Her running off last night kicked it enough.
Shaking my head, I head to the gym. Carter and I meet most mornings, working with the same personal trainer, and they get pissy when I'm late.
He's not here when I arrive, so trainer Tom waits a few minutes then decides to punish me with squats.
Carter strolls in dressed in a suit and without his gym bag.
"You not working out today?" Tom asks him.
"Tom, could I speak to you for a moment in private?"
I wonder what the fuck is up, but I can't deal with any possible brother drama right now, so I continue my punishment, pushing my body until my muscles start shaking.
"Cade," the same voice from the message says to me.
I turn around and see Pike, my former best friend, confidante, and teammate, hobbling into the room on crutches while my traitorous brother holds the door for him. Pike looks rough. We've both had a lot of injuries over the years, but I've heard the news. This one is different. This one will probably end his career. And more than likely he knows I've been seeing his sister again. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here.
I flash a glare in my brother's direction.
"Just hear him out," Carter says, quickly exiting the room and shutting the door tightly behind him.
"Chicken shit," I mutter under my breath.
Pike doesn't move, just stands by the door, leaning on his crutches.
"Why are you here?" I ask him.
"Because I owe you an apology."
I sit down on an exercise ball, mostly from the shock of it. That wasn't what I expected him to say.
"That's good," I joke. "I'd hate to have to whoop on a guy with a cast."
We stare at each other in an awkward silence. Pike seemingly lost in thought.
Finally, he says, "Look, this isn't about me. It's about Palmer and her happiness."
"So you know we've been seeing each other again?"
He nods. "I do."
"So why are you here?"
"When you and I stopped being friends--when I punched you--it was because I got some incorrect information."
"I don't understand."
"I thought you cheated on her."
"What? I never would have cheated on her. I was in love with her! I fucking proposed!"
"You've always loved her, haven't you?" he asks softly.
No point in trying to deny it now. "Yes, I'm in love with your sister. I have been since she was fifteen. But I waited six excruciatingly long years before I acted on it, because I knew you would see it as a betrayal."
"I just want my sister to be happy."
"That's all I want, too."
"She came home upset last night."
"I was pretty upset myself. She won't return my calls. I'm not sure what to do." I run my hand through my hair in frustration. All these years, he thought I cheated on her? No wonder he beat the shit out of me. I would have done the same.
"Fight for her."
"I thought you said you owed me an apology?"
"I do. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. You were my best friend. I owed you the chance to explain."
I nod, accepting it. It's all I need to hear.
"How's the leg?" I ask.
"Fucked."
"How are you taking that?"
"I'm living with my sister and can barely stand and pee by myself. How do you think I'm doing?"
"Do you know why she ran off last night? Did she tell you anything?"
"Yeah, I know why. Because she can't marry someone her brother hates."
"Meaning it's on you."
"Yeah."
"And how do you feel about that?"
"Well, Mom's always liked you," he says with a grin.
I stand up, take a few steps toward him, and hold out my hand to shake his, glad this is behind us.
"Screw that, bro," he says, throwing a fisted arm around me in a man hug. "Now, what are you going to do about my sister?"
November 17th
Palmer
I moped around the house all day yesterday, crushed by my actions, but knowing I did the right thing. I honestly thought that Cade would text me, call me, come over--something. But other than his text the other night, I haven't heard from him.
Thank goodness I didn't let him propose or tell him about the baby. It's obvious now that it was just about the sex. Old feelings I thought were still there because the sex was so amazing.
I open my eyes and focus on the script changes in front of me. I've got to approve them and get them back to the production company today.
"Hey," Tory says from her desk directly across the room. "Ashlyn Roberts and I just had the most lovely conversation. She really is delightful."
"Yeah, she's a sweet girl."
"She said she tried to call you, but you didn't answer."
I look down at my cell and see I missed her call. "I didn't hear it vibrate, I guess." I point at the script. "Trying to get this done."
"She wants to invite you to dinner tonight. We got to talking, and she invited me, too. I think we should go. It will be fun."
"I've got too much to do," I reply, putting my head back down to continue my work.
Cameron wanders into the office. "Hey, I just talked to Ashlyn. She said she invited you all for dinner, too." Cameron has become a permanent fixture at my house, it seems.
"What's the dinner for?" I ask.
"She has a new house and wants to show it off. Cash has something work-related to do tonight, so she thought a girls' night was in order."
Pike hasn't said much to me since I told him I'm pregnant. I thought he'd lecture me about it, but he's hasn't, seemingly giving me the space I need.
Or it could be because I locked myself in my room all day yesterday.
"I didn't know you two were friends," I say to Cameron.
"Is it because I'm old?" she laughs. "Just kidding. Ashlyn and I did those 'beauty at every age' makeup ads together, where they highlighted every decade. She was twenties, and I was thirties. We had a blast together."
I nod my head, thinking it through. I like Ashlyn a lot. Yes, she's now Cade's sister-in-law, but if Cash is out, and she's inviting girls over, it's not like Cade would be there. It might be good for me to get out of the house.
"We'd need to leave the house shortly," Tory says to me. "What do you want to do?"
I make a snap decision. What the hell. "Let's do it."
"Um," Cameron says, scrunching up her nose at me. "You might wanna go change."
I look down at the yoga pants and T-shirt I put on when I got home from Cade's the other night. I wore them to bed, kept them on all day yesterday, and repeated last night. I didn't bother to change when I came to work this morning. I just put my hair into a messy bun and then walked across the courtyard to the guest house I turned into my office. Honestly, I'm not sure if I even brushed my teeth. I've just been going through the motions.
"Yeah, I probably should," I agree.
The shower water running over me is not only cleansing my body, but it's purifying my mind. When I emerge, I feel better.
I look in the mirror at my naked body and study it. Other than a teeny bruise where Cade gripped my hip the other night, it looks completely normal. My boobs don't look bigger. My stomach is still flat. I'm certainly not glowing.
I blow out my hair too quickly, which causes it to look frizzy, so I throw it into a messy braid. I focus on doing my makeup carefully--doing it so that I look naturally beautiful even though I'm wearing a lot of makeup. My makeup artist always says the key is blending and contouring. Ashlyn loves to take pictures, and I don't want Cade to see a photo of me looking anything other than amazing.
After my makeup is done, I realize that I look like I did the night of my first party as a Hollywood actress. The night I stopped by Cade's office all done up, hoping his plea for me stop by and sign a contract late at night was just a ruse to get me there so he could seduce me. I was disappointed when he actually had a contract waiting.
I dig through my closet and pull out the pink bandage dress he said he fantasized about, hoping it still fits right. I pull it on and take a look in the full-length mirror, adjust my boobs in my push-up bra to give me more cleavage, and throw on silver heels.
I don't know why, but this dress makes me feel like a powerful woman who is in control of her life, and it improves my mood.
When I meet up with Cameron and Tory in the kitchen, Cameron lets out a whistle. "Damn, girl. You've got it going on. It's too bad I like dick."
Tory bursts out laughing. "You and me both."
"I'm glad Cameron likes dick, too," Pike chuckles, causing the girls to giggle.
"Is it too much?" I ask.
"No," Pike says from the couch. "You look beautiful. I called a car for you girls, and it's waiting out front. Have fun."
Cameron leans over the back of the couch and gives him a steamy good-bye kiss. "You're the best," she says, mussing his hair.
