“And so you did.”
Yes, she had. Even knowing that Doug would probably hit Kade, she’d walked away and left them there. She wouldn’t defend herself on that. She’d been scared back then, lost and confused. But she’d never forgiven herself for what had happened. She and Kaden had been on a sinking ship and she’d saved herself. She hadn’t even thrown him a rope.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a choked whisper. If this was supposed to be some sort of punishment, she deserved every bit of it. He was probably here to tell her that the job was a fake, that her charity really wasn’t going to get help, and that he’d only pretended interest in her to get revenge. “Say whatever you want to say to me. I’ve earned it. I was stupid and a selfish coward.”
Kade’s hard expression melted away, and he moved into her space, cupping her shoulders. “Hey, look at me.”
She forced her teary gaze upward.
“Don’t cry, Tess.” He brushed thumbs across her cheeks. “I’m not here to make you atone for something that happened back then. You did what you had to do. If you had taken a stand on my behalf, they would’ve pounced on you like wolves, torn you to bits like they did with me. I see now that I had nothing to really offer you back then. It was stupid teenage bravado to think I could compete and fix it for you. You needed concrete security not a wing and a prayer, and Doug had the money to give you that.”
She shook her head. “Kade—”
“I buried Kaden Fowler and what happened that night long ago. Really. My life changed after that. For the better.”
Tears slipped by. “How? After that night, you were just . . . gone. I heard you were hurt, that they found you—”
“I had to get out of there,” Kade said, cutting her off like he couldn’t bear to hear the rest of the sentence. “I needed to get away from that school. Away from my asshole stepdad. Away from Doug and his friends. And away from seeing you every day. I couldn’t handle it all. When my mom found out I was planning to leave, she dropped a bomb on me that she knew who my real father was and gave me an address in Dallas. I showed up on the doorstep of a man who hadn’t even known I’d existed and he took me in.”
She blinked at him. “Oh my God.”
“Walt Vandergriff changed my life and made me the man I am now. So, no, I didn’t bring you here to punish you. I brought you here because I needed to tell you the truth, and I wanted to remind you how much fun we had together when we didn’t have to worry about other people watching.”
She made some sort of laugh-sniffle sound, overwhelmed by all this information and the memories. “You mean like the time you kissed me, and I acted like a total snot?”
He smiled and glanced toward the darkened door of the cabin as if seeing the ghosts of their younger selves. “But you came back for your next tutoring session and apologized, groveled even. I enjoyed that a lot, by the way.”
She sniffed—not from the crying this time.
“I’d decided to leave you be at that point. Keep it a tutoring thing only. But three sessions later, you brought in a B plus on your term paper. You were so excited and proud of yourself, and you hugged me. Really hugged me. Like I meant something to you.”
She glanced downward, remembering the day she’d been overwhelmed with joy over her grade. One second, she and Kade had been in a laughing embrace, the next he’d given her a look that had zipped right down to her toes. She’d backed away, scared that if she didn’t, she’d ruin everything with Doug right then and there.
“I saw how you looked at me that day. You wanted to kiss me. And even when you didn’t, I knew I hadn’t been wrong about that kiss we’d had.” Kade’s eyes glimmered with mischief in the moonlight. “That was a great day. Worst case of blue balls ever, but a great day.”
She smacked his chest and laughed. “Hey, I was trying to be a good girl.”
“Thank God you’ve moved on from that awful phase,” he teased, sliding his hands downward and molding his palms over her backside. “I much prefer wild and liberated Tessa who lets me lick olive oil off her naked body and agrees to let me have my deviant way with her.”
She pressed her forehead to his shoulder. “Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re here again.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Mmm, but this will be much more fun than deciphering British poetry. Promise.”
The image stirred all kinds of decadent possibilities in her head. She’d been fantasizing about Kade since the first night she’d been with him. But now it all had an added layer. A few sexy nights with some suave stranger had been risky enough. A few sexy nights with someone she used to care about was far more dangerous. Especially when she’d be working at his company for the next few months. She’d turned her back on Kaden all those years ago, but it hadn’t been because she didn’t have feelings for him.
She let out a breath, and he pulled back a bit. “What’s wrong, my little overthinker?”
She tilted her face to his. “This changes things and scares me. I need to know what you want from this. Is this really about one more night?”
The smile that lifted his lips was a wry one. “I told you. Kaden Fowler is gone. I’m not some lovesick kid. Everything I told you before this still stands. I want to have fun with you—whatever that turns out to look like. The only reason I’m rehashing our past is because you deserved to know who I was. I needed to get this out in the open and bury it for good so that we can move on.”
She rubbed her lips together, considering him. He’d given her a nonanswer about the one-night thing, but part of her was okay with that. If he really just wanted to have fun, maybe this could be a good solution for her. No pressure. A friend with benefits—someone who she already knew and trusted on some level. No one else would have to know. They’d a
lways been better behind locked doors anyway. “I can’t believe I finally slept with Kaden Fowler.”
He dragged her body against him, the heat of him bleeding through the thin fabric of her dress. “No, you didn’t. You slept with Kade Vandergriff. And I think it’s time I remind you of the difference.”
Her pulse picked up speed, and she peeked at the cabin. “Your family still owns this place?”