He opened his arms and waited, seeing how she would react. To see if she’d come to him or if she was already too far out of his reach.

She gazed at him for a long moment, clearly deciding.

Then her face crumpled and she flung herself in his arms, weeping.

Relief burst through him, and he stroked her hair, her back. “I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he told her. “I’ve got you.”

EIGHTEEN

It felt incredible to have Kylie in his arms. It didn’t matter that she’d sent him annulment papers. It didn’t matter that she’d hesitated.

The moment she fell into his arms and clung to him? He knew they were still good. He knew she still needed him just as much as he needed her.

“Love, don’t cry,” he murmured. He cupped her face in his hands and studied the ugly bruise on her forehead. It was purple and yellow at the edges, a sign that it had looked worse at one point and was now starting to fade. Just thinking about that made him even more furious than before. He forced himself to remain calm. “I’m here. I’ll take care of you.”

But she shook her head, and fresh tears poured forth. “I c-can’t have you, Cade.”

“Why not? Who’s stopping us?”

She bit her lip, and for a moment she looked so sad that he thought she was going to burst into fresh tears. It was breaking his damn heart.

“Tell me,” he said softly. “Trust me.”

Kylie looked pained. Then she glanced around, her fingers curling against his shirt as if she were loath to let him go. “Cade. I’m . . . I’m supposed to tell you that you can’t choose me. You have to choose Daphne, okay?” She gave a pitiful sniff. “You and I aren’t supposed to happen.”

Not the Daphne stuff again? Cade’s temper flared once more. “Is that what this is about? About Daphne being a spoiled brat?”

Kylie was silent, averting her gaze. But he knew the answer, just from that small motion.

“Did someone find out about us, Kylie? Is that why the sudden annulment? The silent treatment? They’re pressuring you to end it with me because Daphne doesn’t like it?” he guessed.

A new tear rolled down Kylie’s cheek. “I’m not allowed to say anything,” she whispered. “It’s in my contract.”

And that banked fury just kept growing. “So that’s what this is, then. It’s not you deciding to break up with me, it’s Daphne deciding that even if she doesn’t want her toy, she doesn’t want anyone else to have it, either.”

The look Kylie gave him was pure misery and heartbreak. “I’m stuck,” she admitted. “And I don’t know what to do.”

He cupped her gorgeous, beloved face. “Then you let me handle it,” he told her in a soft voice, and kissed her sweet mouth. “You let your husband take care of you.” The fact that she still looked skeptical after those words broke his damn heart. “You want me to choose Daphne over you? It’s never going to happen. Not now. Not ever. And you know why?”

“Why?” Kylie’s voice was soft.

“Because she’s not one half the person you are.” At Kylie’s wince, he realized she probably thought of that as a size comment, and he continued on, determined to make her believe him. “When I was younger, I was in love with Daphne. She was bold, and brilliant, and could light a room up with her smile. When people said she was going to be a star, I believed them, because no one could meet Daphne and not fall in love with her. She was the most charming person I’d ever met, and I was madly in love with her. Ever since I was a broke fifteen-year-old kid from the wrong side of the tracks, I waited for Daphne to notice that I loved her and for her to love me back. Half my damn life.” His mouth curved into a wry smile. “Fifteen years wasted. You know why?”

This time, Kylie was silent.

“Because while I was busy working to become someone worthy of her, she became someone else. Someone mean. Someone who calls her staff stupid, hurtful nicknames because she can’t be bothered to learn their real names. Someone who thinks about no one but herself. Someone spoiled and petulant and selfish. Someone that lashed out at people just to get attention. And I thought to myself, it’s all right. It’s a phase. She’ll grow out of it at some point, and then we can be together.”

Kylie closed her eyes. Her makeup, normally perfect, was smeared around the corners of her eyes and threatened to run down her cheeks. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.

“And then, that night that Daphne’s tour started, I realized she was never going to grow out of it. That it was who she was now, and I was the blind one. And you know how I realized this? Because I met someone else. Someone who was thoughtful enough to see my pain and tried to keep me company, even though she didn’t know me. Someone who drove me home to make sure that I wouldn’t get hurt, because she cared what happened to me. Someone who gave herself so sweetly when I asked and wanted nothing in return.” His fingers caressed her soft cheek, cupped her jaw. Forced her to look up at him. “And I realized that I’d been chasing the wrong kind of person all my life.” He watched her lip tremble, her eyes close. And he kept speaking, because he needed to get it all out, needed to make her understand. “I thought I wanted a selfish brat because I remembered who she was once upon a time, and that under the glamorous shell, maybe she was still the same person. I forgot that people change, and maybe I did, too. Because even though I was supposed to be obsessed with her, I kept thinking about Kylie. And Kylie’s kisses, and the way Kylie always made me smile even when I wanted to be melancholy. How even when Kylie gave in to my bullying, she was never cruel or awful. She was always kind, and giving, and loving. And I find myself wondering what I would do if Kylie ever left me. And you know what I would do?”