Anyone But Rich (Anyone But..., #1)(15)

Cade saw straight through my feeble deception. “Oh no. One, you’re a terrible liar. Two, I will never stop until I know what you were about to say. I can see it in your eyes. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it?”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Yes, I probably will. I like laughing, so tell me.”

“No. I mean you’ll laugh at me.”

“I promise, if I laugh, it’ll be with you. But I also promise I will never drop this so long as I’m breathing. I need to know.”

“I was just going to say as long as I have thread, I’m happy. I have a side hobby. That’s it. So can we talk about something else now?”

“Not so fast. A side hobby? Do you make clothes or something?”

“Yep. Exactly.”

He waited, eyes narrowing. “That’s not the whole story. Spit it out, Kira. There’s more. I know there is.”

“I make rodent sweaters, okay? I sell them online. It’s seriously not as weird as—”

That was as long as he lasted before throwing his head back and laughing.

I grinned as I watched him. His laughter was contagious, and pretty soon I was laughing right along with him.

“So, wait,” he said, still smiling wide. “People buy them?”

“Some people do, yes. Hairless rats really like them, but some people just want something nice to put on their rodents for pictures or even just for wearing around the house.”

His lips were quivering, and I could tell he was making an effort not to burst out laughing again. “Right. Because a mouse has to have something slick for those lazy days around the house.”

“Don’t make fun of it,” I warned. “And people dress up their dogs, so it’s really not as out there as you’re making it out to be. Not everyone has a big enough place for a pet dog. Some people can only have a small pet.”

He held his hands up. “I’m not judging. It just feels a little like someone opened a window up on a part of the world I never knew existed. Does this mean you have a pet rat with a massive collection of sweaters too?”

“I wish. I live in a condo with a strict no-pet policy.”

“Do I even want to ask how you got started making rodent sweaters in the first place?”

“The first one was just a joke. I had a pet rat back in college, and I wanted to do a funny photo shoot for my profile picture. You know, the kind where someone’s face is huge and kind of transparent in the background and everyone’s staring off into the distance? Anyway, I realized that every time I got stressed about finals or just about life, making the little clothes helped calm me down. I liked it, I guess, and . . . yeah, the rest is history.”

He was grinning. “History might be a slight overstatement.”

I rocked sideways to bump him with my shoulder, but I was smiling too. “Jerk.” My smile faded as a comfortable silence stretched between us. The sounds of the party drifted across the property to where we sat.

On so many levels, I felt guilty sitting here with Cade. It wasn’t because of Rich. That man could go screw himself for all I cared. He’d proven what kind of person he was seven years ago, and I had no space in my life for somebody spiteful and cruel. I felt guilty because I knew what Miranda and Iris would think if they saw me here. I knew in my heart that I’d never let anything physical happen between Cade and me, but it felt like I was dangling my foot in the waters, just to get a taste of what it would feel like. It was the emotional equivalent of cheating, except I wasn’t cheating on a person. I was cheating on the promise.

Cade popped one of the desserts in his mouth and smiled over at me, wiggling his eyebrows as he chewed. “Damn,” he said once he swallowed. “That one was good.”

“They’re all good.”

We sat for a few minutes longer, just eating and watching the sky while distant music and laughter washed over us.

“It’s kind of romantic,” he said finally. “Sitting just outside parties, I mean. I’ve always liked this. Even back in the high school days. Some of my favorite moments were the quiet ones when I’d slip away from a dance or beneath the bleachers after a football game. Just somewhere quiet.” He laughed softly. “Not too quiet, though, I guess. I actually think I had to hear the sound of the party or the crowd not too far away. Like I needed to know it was there waiting for me when I was ready to go back. It sounds kind of pathetic when I put it like that.”

“No,” I said. I was surprised to hear Cade King opening up like this. I was surprised by a lot of what I’d seen from him tonight. The Cade I remembered in school was wild and always causing some kind of trouble. Tonight, he seemed more thoughtful and introspective. I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised that seven years could change a man. “I get what you mean. I think it’s just human nature. Most people would feel weird just saying, Hey, wanna go sit on a hill and stare at the stars while we talk? Wandering off from the party gives us an excuse to do something we wanted to do all along.”

He nodded slowly. “It’s too bad it doesn’t give us an excuse to do everything we’ve wanted to do all along.”

My skin prickled a little at the tone in his voice, and when I met his eyes I felt all the unspoken promise there, dangling between us like candied poison. I looked away, smiling as if he’d said something funny. “What about the girl you were with?” I asked.