But then he said he loves me. He said it first, he said it again, and all I said was that I don’t believe in love at first sight.
Least I can do is say it back.
He won’t answer his phone, so I grab my purse and I drive to Moonlight. George gives me a narrowed-eyed look, then pours me a gin and tonic, although it’s still midday.
Grabbing my glass, I sit on a stool and sigh. “I’m looking for Kaden.”
“I swear he’s not hiding behind t
he bar.”
“Any idea where he might be? He won’t answer my calls.”
He heaves out a breath. “That’s a bad sign.”
I know. “Where would he go if he needs to think?”
He lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. “The cemetery. His dad’s grave.”
I’m already getting off the stool. “Where is it?”
“Saint Louis. Mount Olive cemetery.”
“Thank you,” I tell him fervently and run off to find the man I love.
Chapter Six
Kaden
The sun is shining from between the clouds. Coming and going. Like my thoughts.
The grass is very green, the tombstones white. The letters stark.
“What would you have done, Dad?” He’d never been much of a talker, or even much of a father, but he’d kept my mom happy, and this place calms me down.
It’s the quiet. The symmetry. The openness of the place.
The fact that nobody is replying to my endless questions.
“I love her,” I tell him, standing over his tomb, arms folded over my chest. “I’ve never felt this way before in my life, so that has to count for something. And I told her the bad things about me. She stayed.”
The wind whistles. Cold slices through me. I fight a shiver.
“She stayed, but she went behind my back to ask about me. She asked goddamn Eva. And then called Matt without telling me. Checked my phone without asking if it was okay. But then…” I shiver. “She brought him back to me. Not sure I could have done it on my own. My pride was hurt. I’m stubborn. Hell, all of us are in this family. Took after you, I guess.”
A slender figure of a woman is wandering on the far side of the cemetery. For a fleeting moment she seems familiar.
I look back at the tombstone. “She didn’t know me well when she asked Eva. I have to remember that. Still doesn’t know me well. She heard the rumors, but didn’t back away. I told her the things I like and she didn’t get scared. She did trust me. I fucked up by running, didn’t I?”
“Not really.” Her voice is cheerful, and I spin around to find Hailey standing there in her long coat, cheeks flushed from the cold. “You had every right to be upset.”
“You found me.” I bet she went to George, and the thought somehow makes me smile. I’d been lost. She held on to me.
“I did. And I wanted to say I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I talked to Eva and your brother. Thing is…” She shuffles her feet on the grass. “I love you. So much, it scares me. I’ve held back, to protect myself, but I can’t…” She meets my eyes. “I can’t hold back anymore. I’m in love with you, Kaden Hansen.”
I curl a hand around the back of her head and press our foreheads together. My heart is hammering in my chest and I’m smiling widely. “That’s good. Because I have no walls when it comes to you.”
“Merry Christmas,” she whispers, stealing a kiss, and I cup her face to kiss her back properly and thoroughly.