Page 96 of Love, Hate, Love

“Leah, I know it’s true because he paid off this apartment too when they called your loan.”

He looked too scared to be lying.

“You said Tiffany’s cousin?—”

“I know what I said. He made me lie. He was convinced you wouldn’t accept his help or you’d feel weird.”

I walked to the other end of my white sectional and dropped down onto it. “Why? Why would he do that?”

“Same reason he called me to work out a deal so you wouldn’t go to prison. Same reason he called in a favor with the judge so that he’d sign off on it. Same reason he’s done everything he has. The man is in love with you.”

“You’re saying my judge in NY owed him a favor? That’s how this weird deal came to be?”

“Yes.” Monroe put his coffee down and sat back on the couch. “You have no idea how good it feels to unload all of these secrets. They were killing me.” His arms flopped to the side as if he’d just run a marathon.

“You’re telling me Kade is the reason I didn’t go to prison andyou didn’t tell me?” By the end of my question my voice had gone up a couple of octaves.

He tilted his head back to me, looking a little less relaxed. “Yes. Don’t hit me. He swore me to secrecy. He never wanted you to feel indebted to him.”

“But he was miserable when I got there. None of this makes sense.” I fell back on the couch too, baffled, stunned, my head spinning faster than a hummingbird flapped.

“I don’t know why he acted the way he did. You two are both a little crazy. I do know that man loves you. Still loves you, if Alec is correct.”

“But he didn’t fight for me?” Why did he just let me walk out if he cared so much?

“He didn’t try to buy your love, but from where I’m sitting, he’s been fighting for you this whole time. He fought to keep you out of prison, fought to save your home, and fought to clear your name. That’s a whole lot of fighting. I don’t know, but as far as I can see, he loves you. So the only question is, do you love him?”

“I do. I tried to be angry at him, but I can’t seem to be.”

“Then what the fuck are you doing? Go get your man and stop moping around this place.”

* * *

Kade

When Leah movedinto the main house from the shed, and I’d seen her on my swing that first morning, a ripple of annoyance had shot through me. This was my place of solitude to regroup every morning before the day started. But somehow I’d come to like seeing her there, and way too fast. She’d smell like strawberries and she’d tuck her little feet up underneath her, staring at the same sunrise, the corner of her lips always rising as the sun glimmered over the mountains and light the sky. She’d become part of the morning routine, the best part. What had felt complete before now felt empty.

Now I didn’t even want to get out of bed because she wouldn’t be there.

But I had to. So I did.

It was still a half-hour or so before sunrise when I walked out of my bedroom and the smell of coffee hit me. Chuck must’ve come by early for something. Every now and then if he had to go through something in the office, he’d put on a pot. I poured a cup and then walked toward the porch. It was freezing, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from hoping that one of these mornings, Leah would somehow be there.

When I did see her, for a second I thought I was imagining things. But there she was. I blinked a few times, assuring myself she was real.

“You’re here? Why are you here?”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No. Most definitely not,” I said, ready to tackle her if she took my words wrong and tried to leave.

“We have some things we need to settle, and a phone call didn’t feel right. You lied to me. You told me you didn’t believe in grand gestures.”

“I don’t.” I couldn’t stop staring at her. Somehow she looked even more beautiful now, and I hadn’t thought that was possible.

“Then what have you been doing? You saved me from prison, called in favors to get me here. You cleared my name and even saved my home. For someone who doesn’t believe in grand gestures, you haven’t stopped making them. Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

“I never wanted you to feel that you owed me anything.”

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