Page 83 of Even Odds
“Rio found out and benched you?” I ask.
His face darkens under my poor excuse for a porch light. “Actually, I benched myself.”
If I weren’t sure I was wide awake, I’d probably pinch myself. Cade choosing not to play baseball doesn’t sound possible. Not after everything I’ve learned about him and what he’s gone through during his baseball career. It doesn’t make sense.
My silence must stretch for too long because he says, “Is that okay? Are you upset with—”
I hold up my hand. “Why would I be upset about you prioritizing your health?”
He doesn’t have to say a word. The rigid line of his shoulders tells me his answer, and I swallow down the urge to scream.
Fuck Jon Sweeney.
“That’s why I apologized. I’m sorry for not coming to you earlier about my hip. I was worried that all agents were the same.”
The accusation shatters my heart. “You thought I could belike—”
“Hell no,” he spits, leaving no room for discussion. “Not for one second did I think you could be like Jon, Shay. You never would’ve tried to convince me that pushing through an injury was the only way I’d live up to my name. I know that. I think I always have. Then I saw your text, and it snapped me out of the hypnotic spell I’ve been stuck in. Jon may have only cared about himself, but you care aboutme. All of your clients. Selfishness isn’t who you are.”
These are the moments I remember that Cade knowsme.
As an agentandas a person.
“You said I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, and I believed you. Ireallybelieved you, so I walked into Rio’s office and told him I couldn’t play.” A tremor cracks his voice and my resolve simultaneously. “I’m not good at this. Having someone see me when I’m not so golden. When I feel like I could break at any moment. And I know it’s midnight, but I had to talk to you. I messed everything up between us once by not being honest, but that was my own fear. You never failed to show me that you were there, and I hate that it took me so long to trust that.”
Any residual anger over our breakup fizzles at his words, melting the ice block around my heart faster than an ice cream cone in the middle of baseball season.
“And I do trust you,” he continues, as if he hasn’t already rocked my whole world. “With my career, my family, my future. My heart too. You’re the best agent I could ask for. Hell, you’re my best friend, Shay.”
Bestfriend.
I never thought I’d call Cade my friend again after what happened. It was brutal to go from strangers to friends to everything and then back to nothing. Even though every professional bone in my body tries to convince me he’s like the rest of my clients, my heart knows the difference.
The Cade I loved then isn’t the same man standing in front of me. Old Cade hid behind a smile that boasted everything was okay, when in reality, nothing had been for a long time.
ThisCade is real, full of emotion and honesty and confessions as he lets me deeper into his world.
He’s on my doorstep in the middle of the night to tell me something he could’ve hidden forever. If that isn’t proof that Cade has changed, then I don’t know what is.
And with that knowledge, I feel myself start to fall for him again.
“Can you say something?” he asks.
I blink out of my stupor, catching the shade of red coloring his cheeks. The words I want to say can’t be spoken out loud. Not if I want to keep this professional boundary up.
“Thank you for telling me. And for trusting me.”
His brows furrow. “That’s it?”
My back presses against the front door. “Do you want me to yell?”
“Sorta.” He drops his gaze to the ground. “You still haven’t been angry with me about how things ended. We both know I deserve it.”
I spent a lot of time thinking I’d never get answers from him, and now I’ve gotten more than I could’ve ever imagined. If anything, I’m mad at myself. For not trying harder. For leaving him alone. For not saying I knew something was wrong.
In anger’s place is something I didn’t think I’d ever feel again.
“The only person I’m upset with is me.” Opening the front door, I glance at him over my shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I only have a few more hours until my phone starts ringing again. Get home safely, and take care of that hip.”
