Cade could tell himself he wasn't falling for her, but he would be lying. All week she worked late and each day he missed her more. Leigh stopped by with takeout on Wednesday after work.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I haven't seen Meg since Sunday."

"Where is she?"

"Working on a deadline."

His sister laughed. "So you called me. For weeks, you've been too busy."

"If you dated, you would understand."

"I've dated and stupidly got married."

Cade frowned. "I would have warned you, but he fooled me too."

"Whatever. You and Meg, is it the real thing?"

He smiled. "I hope so. Is it too soon to ask her to move in?"

"Do you love her?"

"I think I might. How do I know for sure?"

"Don't ask me. I'm no expert on love."

Cade knew Leigh loved her ex. "I'm sure as hell not going to ask our parents."

"Ask Joe or Eden. She was engaged in a month."

Cade laughed. "Not a month. I just know I miss her and wish she was here."

"I hope the sex is good."

"Private!"

"Your blush gave it away. I'm sure kissing is better than when you were three."

"And you made me cry."

"You should thank me. I taught you not to be one of those boys in kindergarten who kissed the girls."

"I was too shy in kindergarten."

"You still are." She laughed.

"And I have to go to a black tie charity event."

"Just smile. With those eyes you'll look like you belong. Don't say hi to the ADA. I beat him again."

"I hope he's not there. I wish I was coming down with something, but I care too much to cancel on Meg."

Leigh laughed. "Don't quote me, but I think it's love."

By the time she left, Cade couldn't concentrate, so he took Confetti for a long walk.

On Friday, Meg left work in time to run. Confetti jumped into the front seat when Meg sat in the car. There wasn't enough room for him. As she hugged the dog, Cade commanded, "Confetti, go lie down."

"He missed me."

Cade pouted. "I did too."

As her arms went around his neck, and their lips touched, he felt complete. His chest filled with a pleasant feeling. Could it be love?

"I missed you too, blue eyes."

Blue eyes. Pink cheeks. As he pulled the car from the curb, he asked, "How was your week?"

She sighed. "Okay. Long. Unrewarding."

"Quit."

"And do what? Be a kept woman."

He laughed. "You want kids."

"I want to advance in my career first."

"Did any of the resumes you sent out get a response?"

"Not a good one. What about you?"

"Me, what?"

"Are you in a rush for kids?"

"No. I don't want to teach them to be neurotic."

She laughed. "You put yourself down. I know you can jump at outside noises, but you have a reason. I think you are getting better."

"I sleep best with you."

"I'll stay over anytime." The musical sound of her laugh made his heart beat faster.

"You were too busy all week."

"I know. Ironically, I kept wishing I was going to your house each night."

"You did?"

She nodded. "Next crunch week, maybe I'll do that."

"I'd, um, love that."

"You will."

"Yes, and stay over whenever you want."

"You don't have to drive me and pick me up."

"I like that part. Especially with the cold weather on its way."

The following evening, Cade fumbled with his cufflinks as he dressed in his new tuxedo. A car was coming for him and he felt like a kept man. Ironically, he had enough money to have a car service every day, and he didn't mean an Uber.

When his phone buzzed, his hands were sweaty as he looked at it. A text from Meg, the car was there. She asked the driver not to go to the door.

With one last look in the mirror, he said goodbye to Confetti who was already in his crate. Cade hated to leave him for long periods, but wondered if it was his excuse to stay home.

As he slid in the opened door, he stopped when he saw Meg. His mouth went dry. "You are beautiful." After he watched her blush, he noticed Brian in the car. "Sir."

"Cade, nice neighborhood. You grew up in the suburbs?"

He nodded. "North Hills."

"Did you go to the academy?"

Cade shook his head. "No, I doubt we would have even without the divorce. I didn't care since I was into art, not sports."

Brian chuckled. "You made an art degree pay off."

Meg squeezed his hand. He cleared his throat. "Any news on Pacheco?"

"Not that I've heard. Eli might know something, but I haven't seen him recently."

"The writer at the magazine didn't have any updates."

Cade shook his head. "He needs to be careful."

"He just listens to him at a restaurant."

"I know but he's bound to notice. Can you ask him about my mother?" He regretted his need to ask the question.

"If you want, I will. I haven't told him I know you."

Brian cleared his throat. "We're here. Together you'll turn heads."

Cade kept waiting for the older man to tell him he wasn't good enough for his daughter, but he kept accepting him. As they emerged from the car, Meg took his arm. He felt like an imposter in his newly purchased tuxedo.

"I feel like the prom, but you're more beautiful than my date."

"What was her name?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter, I haven't thought of her in years."

Cade didn't ask about her prom suspecting it involved Tyler. When they entered the hotel ballroom, his feet stopped. The elegant room wasn't the spectacle, but the people. When Meg slipped off her wrap, he took in her sapphire dress. The beading and plunging neckline contradicted preppy Meg.

"Who are you?"

She laughed and put her hand on her chest. "You know me."

As they walked across the room, he saw a familiar face. The tall man was older than him, but they had lived across the street when Cade's family was intact.

"Hey, game boy. How are you?"

Meg laughed. "Game boy?"

Ben Lynch said, "He's made the old neighborhood proud with his games. My sister's kids love them."

"Do you know Ben Lynch? He's married to CEJ's cybersecurity expert. Former."

"She's over there with..."

"Mr. Whitby. I've met him. I'm Meg Rice."

Ben slapped his back. "I remember feeling uncomfortable at events. How's your dad? I always liked him."

"He's happy in San Francisco."

"Great to see you. My dad will be glad to hear I saw you."

Cade watched him walk away. "You know he's our first baseman."

Meg smiled. "Tyler would be jealous. He likes baseball."

Tyler would be jealous that Meg clung to Cade. Before they turned away, Another man walked towards Meg. "Still looking to leave my favorite magazine."

"Only because I'll never get ahead."

"I'll introduce you to Oliver Sumner. He's here tonight." He turned to Cade and reached out his hand. "Monty Whitby."

"Cade Maloney, Meg's date."

"He's joking. He's the creative genius behind CEJ Games."

Monty let a low whistle. "I heard about that sale. It was impressive."

"Thank you."

Cade had never been a person people knew. Ben didn't mention his criminal past. Did Whitby know about his murder accusation? Cade kept waiting for someone to accuse him or tell him he didn't belong. Instead, he followed Meg to a crowd of people.

A blond guy said, "Monty, where's your wife?"

Cade took Meg's hand. Just the accusation made him want to protect her.

"She's at our table. Don't worry JJ, I'm here on business. Oliver, do you have a minute?"

"For you, I have more than one. What's up?"

"This is Margaret Rice."

The man raised his eyebrows. "I think my mother serves on a board with your mother."

Meg laughed. "Probably. This is one of her projects, but she has many."

"Ms. Rice is at Beantown, as an editor."

"Assistant editor in features."

"I loved the article on secrets behind the Freedom Trail. I took the trek a few times as a kid and plan to take my kids."

Meg smiled. "It's part of our childhoods. I enjoy features, but I've been told I'm too valuable to advance to editor in another department."

"I'm guessing the features editor isn't near retirement." She shook her head. "So you are wondering what's available outside of the magazine." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a card. "Send me your resume."

Meg bit her lip. "I sent it a while ago."

He smiled. "Even better. I'll dig it up on Monday morning. How do you feel about nonfiction?"

"Like Trista Mongomery's books."

The man laughed. "Not those."

"I'm open to it."

"We have more turnover there."

"Thank you for your consideration."

Cade observed the conversation glad to stay in the background. When Oliver smiled at Meg, he nodded at Cade, before turning back to his friends at the word duff.

Monty had walked away during their conversation leaving Cade and Meg on their own. "Who was that exactly?"

"Oliver Sumner from the publishing house. Instead of articles, I could work on books."

He pulled her to his side. "Anything to make you happy. If there was an editing business, I would open one for you."

She chuckled. "People work as consultants but I'd rather stay at the magazine."

Cade nodded. "Working alone gets lonely. It works for me so I can hide."

She put her hand on his beard. "You don't hide. You run and look at you tonight. So handsome and..."

"Meg?"

They both turned to see Tyler with a tall woman who looked like a piece of cucumber filled her up.

"Tyler!"

Cade felt his pulse increase in his heart. He reminded himself of how it would feel to lose Eden as a friend.

The other man eyed him. "What are you two?"

"We're dating. Yes. You remember Cade?"

Three words were like Big Bertha; they held so much power and history. Hopefully, they wouldn't detonate.

"How could I forget?"

His scowl was worse than Cade's second grade teacher when he made bubbles in his chocolate milk and it went all over the table. Her displeasure wasn't worth the laughs he generated. Although having Meg by his side was worth a billion times Tyler's displeasure.

Meg had turned her focus to complimenting his date. Cade thought she was being overly generous. "You look beautiful, Ariella."

The skinny woman sputtered. Tyler scowled. "This is Brianne."

Meg covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry. How long have you two?"

The woman smiled. "We've been together a few weeks."

His gut tightened when Meg said, "Hey, Ty can we talk?"

The man who loved her looked at Cade, and he nodded. Two things hit him. First, Cade couldn't be jealous if he wanted a future with Meg. Her happiness depended on regaining her friendship with Tyler and he wanted a future with her. The second was that both men loved her. He could try to define what love was, but he knew it was letting her walk away to talk to a man who she had shared a bed with, but also most of her life. He trusted her completely, because he knew the goodness she possessed. His heart soared as he watched Meg face off with Tyler. She was brave and vulnerable, and he loved her.

He jumped when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Turning to see Eli behind him. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Hopefully, how much better I am for her."

Eli laughed. "I dated the wrong woman once, but my little brother has a habit of it. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. My sister mentioned she keeps beating you."

Eli rolled his eyes. "It's hard to convict an innocent person. If she goes against me with a guilty one, she'll be singing a different song."

Cade laughed. "Leigh can't carry a tune."

Eli laughed. "Thanks for the ammunition." Cade wasn't sure if he was joking, but didn't take time to consider it. Meg walked to him without a smile. Eli said, "Looks like my brother's still stubborn." He slipped away.

"What did Eli say?"

Cade shrugged. "Nothing. Are you okay?"

She looked to her left. "Can we dance?"

Cade nodded. "I'll try not to step on your toes." She clung to him in a way that was only appropriate on the dance floor. "What did he say?"

"He warned me about you. Like he knows anything about you. He said you will hurt me like I hurt him."

"No. I won't. You might hurt me."

She looked at him. "I won't. The person who is going to get hurt is his date while he's stuck in the past. That's not the one he went away with. I asked if I could see Blue again."

"What did he say?"

"Maybe if he needs a dog sitter."

"A free one."

"I don't care. At least I would see her. Confetti fills the void, but I still love her."

Cade bit back his words. She would make an amazing mother. He saw a future, but the hope part scared him. It was too much for a man who thought he had no future several months before. He held her tight as they moved in a circle on the dance floor. 

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