Blaze (Heat #3)(11)

"It's the most important thing, Cadence. I want us to be honest with each other."

Until now, I had no idea that he wasn't being completely honest with me. I guess I assumed he was based on the fact that he's so blunt and uninhibited when we're together.

"I'm falling for you," he declares before I have a chance to respond. "Losing you at Nova is one thing. I'll get over that. Losing you outside Nova is something else and I'm not going to let it happen."





CHAPTER 12


I look over at him. We're sitting next to one another on the couch. We've been like this since he told me that he doesn't want to lose me. He may think that now but as soon as I start confessing my sins to him, he'll be out that door, tablet in hand.

"I said some things to you when you came to see me last night," he goes on, "I lost it when Sergio said you were the love of his life."

"The first time I remember him saying that to me was when I was five or six years old." Sadness softens my voice. "His relationship with my mom was over before I was born. I asked him when I was a kid why they weren't together. I wanted to know if she was the love of his life."

"Is that when he told you that you were?"

I nod. "He told me that he always imagined having a daughter that he'd love with his whole heart. He said that the day I was born I became the love of his life."

"Has he ever had another child?" He leans back against the couch.

"No." My mouth thins. "He devoted a lot of his time to me when I was growing up. My folks never had a formal custody agreement in place. Sergio always took care of my financial needs and my mom would drop me off after school and on most weekends at whatever restaurant he was working at then."

"You saw him a lot then?"

I take a deep breath and release it quickly. "Enough. He took me to Italy to meet my family there a few times. We'd see my nonna together every Sunday after he moved her here from Rome. I was part of his family. He was my family."

"What happened, Cadence?" He cocks his head to the side. "What changed between you two?"

I can skirt around this by telling him what I've been telling everyone, including Sophia. It's a half-truth that's been enough to quiet the usual follow-up questions about why I don’t try to contact him or why I've let things get to this point.

I want this to be different. I want him to know even if it means he gets up and walks out. I'm tired of hiding. I'm exhausted from the weight of carrying this on my shoulders for as long as I have.

"I got into an altercation with his wife one day." I don't try and hide the regret in my voice. "She called the police. I was arrested and my dad was forced to make a choice."

"He chose her," he whispers.

I stare into his eyes. "He told me that we'd stay in touch but we didn't. He moved back to Rome, I went to culinary school and time passed."

"You had to deal with the arrest without him?" He reaches for my hand. I don't stop him when he tugs it into his. "You didn't get thrown in jail or anything, did you?"

I know he's trying to find a way to lighten the mood but it's not working. Talking about this is painful and embarrassing. "Asta, his wife, accused me of stealing from my dad. There was some theft at the restaurant she was managing. I was there often to see Sergio. There were times I was alone in the office with the nightly receipts and she assumed I was helping myself."

"That's ridiculous." He clenches his jaw. "How can anyone accuse you of something like that?"

"There's more." I rub my temples, trying to release some of the mounting tension I feel. "It gets worse."

"How can it can get worse, Cadence?"

My eyes fill with tears. "Asta lunged at me the day she brought up the missing money. She grabbed my neck so I pushed her away. She stumbled back. That's when she fell."

He squeezes my hand. "Was she hurt?"

"Her elbow smashed against a cabinet. It was enough to gain sympathy from the police and Sergio."

"But not enough to charge you with anything?" His voice is hoarse.

"No. I was never formally charged. I explained it all to a sergeant. I was sent home from the police station and the next day I found out that Asta had filed for a temporary restraining order against me. That eventually became permanent."

"Shit." He inches closer to me, his hand circling my waist. "You've been through hell. No wonder you two haven't talked. I'm sorry, Cadence. I'm sorry that you had to deal with shit like that."

I collapse into his chest from the sense of relief that overtakes me. "Thank you for understanding. Thank you for not thinking that I'm a monster."

"You're a beautiful woman." His lips press against my forehead. "You're an incredible woman who got dragged into the middle of a f*cked up mess. You did nothing wrong. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise."





CHAPTER 13


His lips slant over mine as he lowers me to my bed. I brought him here, after he'd kissed me softly in the living room in an effort to quiet my sobs. Resisting would have been a waste of my time and his. I want him like this. I need to feel his body as much as I need to see his acceptance in his eyes.