Wedding Vows: I Thee Wed: Back to Mr & Mrs / Reunited: Marriage in a Million / Marrying Her Billionaire Boss. Shirley Jump
It was familiar, yet as new as the first time. Their crescendo built quickly, fueled by the year apart, and before she knew it, she was crying out Cade’s name in concert with him. When the sensations finally ebbed, Cade rolled to the side and pulled Melanie into his arms. She couldn’t remember feeling warmer, or more secure.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Those same three words lingered on the tip of her tongue, but as she came back to reality, Melanie held them inside and pretended she hadn’t heard Cade. She couldn’t say them back. Because in the morning, all of this would go back to what it had been. Once before, Melanie had lain in Cade’s arms, sure that everything would change, then been shattered when it didn’t. She couldn’t bear to go through that again.
Instead she raised herself onto one arm and glanced at her bedside clock. “We’re going to be late.”
The magical spell between them dissipated.
“You’re right.” Cade released his hold on her and rolled away, clearly hurt.
And broke the spell.
He slipped on his clothes while she did the same, neither of them speaking. When she was done, Melanie fixed her hair in her dresser mirror. In the reflection, she saw Cade wrestling with his bow tie, cursing under his breath. “Let me do that,” she said, crossing to him.
His dark gaze riveted on hers, making her fingers jumble her first attempt at the tiny silk neckpiece. She dipped her gaze and concentrated on the tie, finally getting it back into proper order. “You’re all set.”
“Thanks.” Cade reached up and brushed a tendril of hair away from her face, weaving that magic around them once again. For a long moment, neither of them said anything.
Melanie tore her gaze away from his. “We have to go.”
Cade nodded, disappointment clear in his features. Together, they headed out of the room, the bed linens as tangled as her emotions.
Melanie grabbed her clutch purse from the bench by the door, then walked with Cade out to his car. He opened the passenger’s side door—something he had never failed to do in nineteen years of marriage—then waited until she was seated before shutting it and coming around the other side.
“I’ve missed that,” she said when he got in the car.
“What?”
“Someone opening the door for me.”
Cade only murmured an agreement before he started his Volvo.
Melanie slid a glance his way. The second the statement left her, she’d expected that he would say something about how she could have him opening her door every day, if only she’d take him back. But he hadn’t.
Had that moment in her bedroom been a final fling between them? His “I love you” more of a goodbye than a return to the old days? And if it was, why did that thought send a little shiver of disappointment through her?
During the two-hour ride to the hotel hosting the Westvale High reunion, Cade kept the conversation impersonal, sticking mainly to the subject of buying Ben’s building and her plans for the expansion.
He’d clearly been paying attention—to her thoughts, her business ideas. “Thank you,” Melanie said.
Cade flicked a glance her way before returning his attention to the road. “For what?”
“For listening.”
“I’m making up for lost ground,” Cade said.
“With Emmie, and with you. And while we’re on the topic, I’ve been meaning to thank you. For letting me work at the shop this week. I really enjoyed it.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure those cappuccino skills will come in handy when you go back to Fitzsimmons, Matthews and Lloyd.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to get a machine for the break room.” He cast his gaze toward the road before them for a moment, then back at her. “I needed that opportunity to do something else. I’ve worked for my father for nearly twenty years and never had as much fun there as I did in your coffee shop.” He reached for her hand, gave it a short, tight squeeze. “You’ve accomplished so much with your coffee shop. I’m really proud of you, Mellie.”
Something softened inside her, giving room for hope to expand its reach. “I appreciate that,” she said softly. “I enjoyed having you there, too, this week. Except for Ben, I haven’t really had anyone to talk to about the business.”
He glanced at her again. “You miss your grandparents, don’t you?”
Tears sprung to her eyes, and she nodded, surprised that he had read that in her.
“They’d be proud. Really proud, honey.”
Melanie whisked away the tears that dropped from her lashes. “You’re going to make me ruin my makeup.”
“You’ll still be beautiful,” Cade said, his words seeming a hundred times more intimate in the darkness. “You do a great job with that shop, Mel. You have just the right mix of location and atmosphere to make it work.”
She sat back against her seat and studied him. “I never expected you to say that.”
“The truth isn’t so hard to say.” He grinned.
As Melanie watched the world pass by in a muddled blur of inky night and spots of light, she had to wonder whether that was so.
When they walked into the gaily decorated ballroom at the hotel that was hosting Westvale High’s reunion, several people hurried over to Melanie and Cade, calling their names. Even after so many years apart, Cade recognized several of the faces, but was still damned glad the reunion committee had stuck name tags on everyone’s chests.
“Paul Klein!” Melanie exclaimed, striding forward, Dave at her side to greet their old friend. At six foot six, he still towered over Melanie, even if his long curly hair had become a buzz-cut. “How have you been?”
“Great, great,” he said, giving Melanie a warm hug, before turning to shake Cade’s hand. “It’s been a long time since those double dates in Cade’s Mustang, huh?”
“You guys are finally here!” Jeannie enveloped them in a double hug, then pulled back to indicate a trio of class officers behind her. There was a flurry of introductions, of catching up. Somehow, Cade lost track of Melanie, separated by the flood of people.
Then, he caught sight of her, standing to the side, chatting with a brunette whose face rang a familiar bell; Cade didn’t remember her name. He wasn’t aware of anything really, except for Melanie. In that deep crimson dress, with her hair loose around her shoulders, Melanie managed to pull off both sexy and elegant, the fabric skimming down her curves, making him wish it was his hands running along those feminine lines again.
Their lovemaking had been as intense as it had been in those early days when passion overrode every thought, and yet this time, it had the added depth of years of connection. Cade had thought—hell, prayed—that in the afterglow, Melanie might have been tempted to try again. But her silence when he’d said he loved her spoke more than anything else she’d said in these last few days.
Melanie was right. One kiss, or even a hundred kisses, wasn’t enough to rescue their marriage. Making love to his wife had only been a temporary mask for their problems.
On the way over here, he’d intended to play by her rules. To keep it cool and impersonal, but the longer she stayed in his sight, the more impossible it became, especially as his mind replayed the moments in her bedroom, the sweet ecstasy of having his wife in his arms again.
Still, if he rushed her, or he pushed too hard, he knew he could end up driving her away. His fists clenched at his sides, keeping him from reaching for her, drawing her back into his arms. Then she smiled at him, and something within Cade tightened.
Maybe