Page 62 of Love, Hate, Love

I poured myself a cup before it was finished brewing and grabbed a throw blanket off the couch, then settled onto the swing on the front porch.

The sun hadn’t made its way over the horizon but the sky was beginning to lighten, showing off the mountains in the distance. If nothing else, this was a beautiful place to get stuck.

I sipped my coffee, swinging back and forth with a single toe on the ground.

A few minutes later, the front door opened and Kade stepped out onto to the porch.

“Good coffee,” he said, and then sipped from his mug. He looked at the swing. “Are you going to scream bloody murder if I sit there, or are we still firmly in truce mode?” he asked, his voice light and playful.

“I guess I can share.”

“Technically, I’m the one who’s sharing, since this is my usual morning spot.” He sat down beside me and took over the rocking of the swing. I tucked my chilly toes under the blanket.

I didn’t mean to stare, but as he sat there, sipping coffee in his worn-out jeans, there was something about the dark lock of hair falling forward and his deep-set eyes that made it hardnotto stare at him.

“The view never gets old,” he said, as the sun began to creep its way over the horizon.

I forced myself to focus on the mountains instead of him. “It’s beautiful. Reminds me of one of those made-for-TV movies where everything wraps up in a perfect bow and ends with a grand gesture.”

He gave me the side-eye and then scoffed.

“What?You’renot into grand gestures? Who would’ve thought it?” I laughed softly.

“If a man did something lousy enough to need a grand gesture, it’s time to cut bait and run,” he said with confidence.

“Why do you say men?” I’d known plenty of women that could stand to use a few grand gestures.

“Because that’s how ninety-nine percent of those movies end up. It’s always the guy who screwed up and is begging for forgiveness.”

I thought of the last ten I’d seen, and he did have a point, not that I’d give it to him. He was already too cynical.

“You don’t have a romantic bone in your body. I can’t imagine why Melissa stayed with you,” I said.

He shook his head. “I think you’re overselling what our situation was, which makes sense, considering you obviously like those mushy movies that are all sappy.” He smirked as he drank his coffee, teasing me the way he used to.

“Well, I guess now I know why it was so easy to kick her out of your house for the foreseeable future. Did Melissa know that you weren’t really together?”

“Of course.I’mnot a liar.”

Unlike me, at least according to everyone that read the news, and probably according to Kade as well.

I sipped my coffee, losing my interest in our conversation and trying to pay attention to anything but him, which was difficult when I could feel him staring at me.

“Don’t do that,” he said, his voice almost as soft as the early morning sky.

“I’m not doing anything,” I said, trying to keep my tone as normal as possible.

“I wasn’t implying that you were a liar,” he said, his voice not only soft but husky in a way that made my toes curl.

“I didn’t say you did. We’re in truce mode, right?”

“Yes, truce mode, and there will be consequences for whoever breaks it first.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that,” I said.

“It was implied.” The mischievous smirk on his face told me to avoid this conversation at all costs.

Nope, not going there. I needed to focus on how he obviously used and discarded women without a thought.

---