I glower at her. “I put her in danger, Kitty. I let her down. I told her I’d protect her, keep her safe, and I didn’t. I failed her so it makes sense to me that she’d want to get away.” I release a heavy sigh. “I’m surprised she stuck around as long as she did.”
“She didn’t want to get away, though. She was looking for a sign,” she argues.
I rub my eyes. “What kind of sign?”
“That you cared!”
“I do care. Of course, I care.”
“Did you tell her that?”
“I showed her.”
“Dick-in-pussy action doesn’t tell a woman she’s loved,” she scoffs. “Did you not pick up on that memo? And here I was thinking that having three sisters would give you some insight into womankind, but you’re just as behind as every other dick out there.”
I have no idea what it is about my expression that reveals it, but slowly, so slowly that I know to be wary, she rasps, “Did she tell you she had feelings for you, Cade?”
I grunt.
“She did, didn’t she? And you, being a moron, didn’t say anything back, did you?”
From out of nowhere, my head is slamming into the bed and my other pillow is being used as a missile.
Snatching it from her with a growl, I hug it to my chest so she can’t steal it again. “What should I have said?”
“That you love her, asshole. Don’t be such a guy. Christ on a cracker—”
“Be grateful Ma doesn’t hear you blaspheming.”
“I think on this occasion, she’d forgive me. You’re an idiot, Cade.”
“You said that already.Repeatedly.”
“You admitted that you were in love with her!”
“I didn’t say it outright.”
“She saidyousaid you did.”
“Well, not...” I clear my throat. “Not to her.”
“Why not?”
“It didn’t seem… There didn’t seem to be a right time.”
“When she was leaving you, it didn’t seem like the right time?”
“The opposite, actually.”
She throws her hands in the air. “You brought her here.”
“I had to hide her—”
“Bullshit. You could have taken her to a hotel.”
“I tried! There was a traffic jam.”
“You suck.”