Today was my first day off all week and I planned on relaxing by the pool for once. The weather was ideal, although a touch too hot. Dad and Linc were at the club, Mom was at work, and Zander was out and about somewhere. I had the entire place to myself, which meant peace and quiet.
Grabbing the book I was currently reading, I snatched a towel and some sunscreen from the closet before heading outside. Even though I had a nice base tan, I lathered on protection before reclining in my seat, shielding my eyes with some shades before reaching for my book. I wasn’t five pages in when I heard a car pull into the driveaway, then another, and another. Instead of relaxation, intuition told me annoyance was going to take center stage very soon. Before I could get out of my lounge chair, the gate to the backyard opened and at first the only person I saw was Lincoln. But then Kaden strolled in right behind him and then someone I’d never seen before. This guy was tall, dark-haired, and very handsome.
He laughed at something my brother said, and while I wanted to avert my eyes to Kaden, to see his expression, I kept my eyes on the cute stranger.
“Hey, sis. Hope you don’t mind, but I invited a few people over. It’s fuckin’ hot out here.” Linc strolled toward the house with the stranger following, but Kaden lingered behind. I’d never been so thankful to be wearing shades before, hiding my eyes from the one guy who could read me well, even though he always complained he couldn’t. I just never let on that he was right about my moods most of the time.
“Hi, Riley.”
“Kaden,” I curtly replied, picking up my book to continue reading. Problem was, there was no way I’d be able to concentrate on a single word with him standing so close to me, even if I’d just come upon the hot sex scene in the story. No amount of clothes-tearing, hard-bodied goodness would hold my attention long enough while Kaden’s focus was on me.
“I didn’t know if you’d be here,” he said, shifting from one foot to the other, his shades hiding his blue eyes from me, which was probably for the best. Ever since he’d shown up at the salon and then cornered me outside afterward, I couldn’t get him out of my head. Then again, I didn’t believe Kaden had ever completely left my thoughts, even after he appeared done with our relationship.
“I was hoping for some peace and quiet on my day off, but that looks like it’s not gonna happen.”
“How have you —”
“What the hell?” Chelsea shouted as soon as she entered the backyard, interrupting whatever it was that Kaden tried to ask me. “I’ve been texting you for like an hour, woman.” She strolled toward me in her cream-striped bathing suit, her oversized tote thrown over her shoulder. My bestie wasn’t shy in the least when it came to her body, a confidence I sometimes envied. While she was small in stature, she had an amazing figure. I, on the other hand, had struggled with maintaining a steady weight, having gained a few extra pounds over the last two years. Whenever I voiced this to my mom, she’d tell me I was crazy, that I looked fantastic and one day I’d look back on these years and wonder why I’d complained at all.
“I left my phone in the house.”
She was next to me in seconds. “What if there was an emergency?” With her hands on her hips, she squinted down at me before looking over at Kaden. “Is Ace here yet?” she asked him, trying to appear casual with her question, but I saw the glimmer of excitement in her eyes. I supposed she wasn’t so concerned about there being an emergency after all.
“Not yet. I think he’s on his way.”
“Wait.” I gently tapped Chelsea’s leg with my own. “How did you know people were coming over?”
“Ace texted me. That’s why I was callin’ ya. To make sure you were home.”
“Looks like you were comin’ here regardless.” I smirked, but I was happy she was here. I might need her to distract me in case something happened.
“I wanted to test out my new bathing suit.” She twirled around before striking a comical pose, her right arm extended toward the sky with her hip popped out.
“You look great.”
“Thanks.” She glanced toward the house. “You got anything to drink?”
“Yeah, check the fridge.”
“Want anything?”
I pointed to my ice tea. “All good.” She looked to Kaden, but all he did was shake his head.
Chelsea disappeared, leaving Kaden and me all alone once again. Refusing to engage him in conversation, I picked back up my book and turned the page, silently yelling at him to leave me alone. He took the hint soon afterward, mumbling something about going to get changed.
Watching him walk away was good and bad. I always thought he had a sexy gait, one filled with confidence, bordering on cocky. So, to be able to witness that after this long made my insides turn gooey, but the second he was gone, I was reminded that I had no claim over Kaden. Not anymore. Even when we were together, we had to keep our relationship a secret, which was probably one of the reasons I’d taken it so badly when we were no longer in each other’s lives. Because I couldn’t tell anyone about us, I had no one to lean on for support, no one to dissect why things didn’t work out between us. I had to deal with it all on my own, which was hard.
And just when I’d gotten used to the numbness encasing me on a daily basis, the bastard had to go ahead and start fucking with my head again.
Why was he attempting to talk to me after all this time?