One Funeral (No Weddings #2)(23)

“That sounds promising, Hannah. I’m proud of you for putting yourself out there.” She jotted a quick note on her pad, which she seemed to do every time I mentioned a new person’s name. “Anything else?”

I nodded. “Saturday night, we had one of our usual event-planning sessions at Kristen’s house. She’s Cade’s oldest sister. His other two sisters, Kiki and Kendall, were there too. Kiki’s the one I told you about last time. She and I’d met in a college art class. On a whim, while handing her a beer, I invited her to go out together sometime, just her and me. And she agreed.”

“And how did you feel each time?”

“With Lila, I was surprised. Trying to start a friendship with Chloe felt forced and awkward. But with Lila, there was an instant chemistry. Wanting to spend more time together came naturally from it.”

I tilted my head, staring at the woven rug in the room for a moment in thought before meeting Abigail’s gaze again. “It was different with Kiki. We’ve always had an easy connection, sharing creative interests as well as having something in common through our work together with Invitation Only. Asking her had been even easier than with Lila. We should’ve tried to connect as friends sooner.”

“Why do you suppose you didn’t?” More quick notes on her pad.

“I think I closed myself off to trusting anyone after Brandon dumped me. Cade gave me the impression that I’d been standoffish when I first met him at his bar’s grand opening, which was the same timeframe I’d been taking art classes with Kiki. Maybe I’d given a closed-off vibe to more than just him.”

“And now?”

I smiled. “Now I feel like I have a very open vibe.”

Abigail nodded. “I feel that about you too. How are things with Cade?”

“Good, I guess.” I let out a sigh. “One thing is bothering me. He seems to act differently with me in private than when we’re around his sisters.”

“Different how?”

“He is so open and flirty with me when we’re alone. But when we’re with his sisters, he distances himself, rarely touching me and only when they might not be looking. It’s as if he’s hiding his intentions with me from them.”

“Are you and Cade together around other people besides his sisters?”

I nodded. “Twice a week, we make dinner at his place with his best friend, Ben, and his roommate, Mase.”

She pulled her pad closer and made a couple of notes. “And does he distance himself from you in front of his friends too?”

I gave a slow nod, reflecting. “Now that I think about it, he does seem to treat me platonically in front of them. He’s a little possessive, but that could be construed by them as him being possessive of his friend and not anything more.”

“Why do you think Cade might be hiding your growing relationship from his friends and family?”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly drying up. “I’m not sure. But it makes me feel like he doesn’t trust moving forward with us, even though he says the opposite.”

“Could it be anything else?”

Confused, I furrowed my brow. “Like what?”

“We tend to jump to our worst fears when we’re unsure about someone else’s behavior. When we give them the benefit of the doubt, a better alternative sometimes presents itself.”

“Maybe he wants to keep it a secret so that whatever we have is just ours, no one else’s?”

She nodded. “That sounds plausible.”

“But not likely?” Maybe she knew something. She was counseling Cade separately from me, after all.

She smiled. “Even if Cade divulged something to me—and I’m not suggesting he has—with separate sessions, each of you have decided to keep what you’re working on private until you share details from the sessions with each other.”

“But what if it’s my worst fears, or something I hadn’t even thought of?”

“My suggestion is to not give in to your fears. You’re both feeling your way around a relationship together, but maybe neither of you have fully given in to the idea of a relationship. My understanding is that’s why you are here. To get beyond your past and be able to move forward with Cade.”

“It is.”

“Then trust in Cade until he gives you a valid reason not to. And pay closer attention to how he acts in front of his friends and sisters. Rather than broach the subject, when you’re ready, maybe take a brave step and be the one to initiate contact. See what happens. If it still seems like an issue and it bothers you, then I suggest you talk to Cade about it.”

She made the idea sound easy. Putting my apprehension aside and actually doing it would be another thing altogether.



The following night at Cade’s, the boys were in rare form. Needing a breather from the heated discussion about who would play in the World Series in October, I grabbed the makings for dessert. Since it was the first time we’d been with his friends after my last counseling session, I was paying careful attention to how Cade treated me in front of them.

Mase shook his head. “The Yankees have it. With their star player retiring, he’s motivated to go out on top.”

Cade leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “And he wasn’t motivated last year? Or the year prior? He’s been making seventeen million a year for the last three years, but this year’s contract is for twelve mil. The Yankees know he’s a gamble with all his injuries last year.”