Broken(58)

“Yes.”









Chapter Eleven

“I could strangle you right now. I really could. And take that ridiculous smirk off your face,” Jocelyn grumbled as her friend flat ironed her hair. “Ouch. Be careful with that thing.”

“You have to be still, unless you want to lose a chunk of hair. You keep fidgeting. Besides, beauty hurts.”

“But no one said anything about it burning.”

“Stop bitching. The end result will be well worth it. You’re going to knock Cade’s socks off. He won’t be able to keep his hands off of you.”

That was what Jocelyn was worried about. She knew Cade wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want, but what if things did get hot and heavy and she couldn’t respond to him. It was one thing wondering about it, but to have it confirmed would be a whole different animal. Jocelyn didn’t know if she was strong enough to see his disappointment if that was to happen. She loved him too much to have to condemn him to a life without sex.

“I’m not sure if seeing him tonight is such a good idea. And frankly, I still owe you a piece of my mind for telling him what happened to me. It wasn’t your place.”

Kyla sectioned off a clump of Jocelyn’s hair and clamped the flat iron over it. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have told him, you should have, but since you weren’t going to do it, someone had to. It may as well have been me. I couldn’t sit back and watch you hurting over him. I saw the pain in your eyes when you saw him with that other woman. And when he looked at you, I knew he still had feelings for you as well. A guy who’s spent seven years apart from a woman and still looks at her the way Cade did you had to be in love. I know I broke your trust when I went to him, but I couldn’t sit back and do nothing about it.”

Jocelyn knew Kyla’s heart was in the right place, making it difficult to really be angry with her. “I know you meant well, and I love you for that, but now I have to deal with Cade’s misguided notion of giving up everything he’s worked hard for to come back to New York with me.”

“If that’s your main concern, then stay here. You’re a designer, Jocelyn. You can move your operation anywhere you’d like. There would still be some traveling involved, but I don’t see why you couldn’t live here. You’ve probably already figured that out for yourself though. What’s the real issue here? This man is willing to do anything for you. He’s handsome, hardworking, wealthy and loves you to distraction. Most women would kill to find a man like him. Besides that, he didn’t turn you away when he found out about what happened to you. Girl, why are you trying to mess up a good thing?” Kyla placed the flat iron down and knelt in front of Jocelyn. “I’m your friend. You can tell me anything.”

Jocelyn moved her mouth trying to form the words she had difficulty getting out. “Deep down, I have this feeling that I don’t deserve him, that I don’t belong with any decent man, especially Cade.”

“Honey, yes, you do. If anyone should have a slice of happiness, it should be you. Hell, you should have the entire cake for what you’ve suffered.”

“I can’t give him children and I’m not completely sure if I’d be any use to him in bed.”

“You could always adopt, and even if you decide not to go that route Cade doesn’t seem to care. As for the other issue, you can’t know that for sure until you’ve tried.”

“I did go out that one time—”

“One date in seven years hardly counts.”