Page 55

Oh shit.
“You said you would tell her,” Cade said.
“Someone better tell me now,” Lucia demanded.
“Earlier this week, before we left for Vegas…” Natalie began. She told her sister about Colton’s challenge, how she’d overheard, and how she’d sworn Jack would never win. “I planned to tell you,” she added. “After the wedding. After Jack lost. Only he didn’t lose…”
And I’m terrified I’m falling for him.
Only she couldn’t say those last words to her best friend and sister—two people who’d found love and fought for it.
“Cade.” Lucia turned to her fiancé. “Maybe you should visit your dog. Natalie and I need girl time.”
Her sister turned to her, and Natalie braced for a rush of angry words. They’d just started to rebuild their relationship, and she’d kept a secret from her sister—one that was blowing up the night before Lucia’s wedding.
Natalie closed her eyes. When was she going to stop messing up her little sister’s life? Ever since their parents had died, she’d managed to rain chaos and pain on her little sister. This was exactly why she’d kept her distance from Lucia for so long.
But Lucia didn’t yell at her, or turn into Bridezilla. Her sister waited until her fiancé picked up his phone and the stack of room keys. She remained silent while Cade kissed her long and hard on the lips before slipping into the hall.
Then Lucia turned to her, her eyes shining with deter
mination. “We’re going to fix this, Natalie.”
Impossible.
But one question chased that thought like a cool drink of water following a shot of burning whiskey.
“How?” she murmured. “I ran away, left him in the middle of… It wasn’t a good time to go. And I took his shirt.”
The phone’s shrill ring was like an alarm bell punctuating the rising panic in her voice. Lucia walked to the nightstand and answered it.
“Yes, she’s here with me. Cade went to look after his dog,” she said, her words tight and sharp. “You might want to wait and return her clothes in the morning.”
Jack.
Of course, any man with half a brain would call around to make sure the woman who’d raced out of his room half-dressed was all right. And Jack wasn’t stupid. Not by a long shot.
Her sister hung up the phone and crossed the suite to the sitting area.
“Lucia, I’m sorry—”
“I’m sorry Cade’s stupid teammate bet he could sleep with you.” Lucia sank into the chair across from her. “But if he hadn’t, you’d probably have ignored him while he fought for your attention.”
“I think that would have been better than this,” she muttered. The chaos. The fear. “I ran down the hallway without my underwear.”
“What happened? Why did you leave in the middle…” Her sister waved her hand in the air.
“I gave myself one more night with him.” She closed her eyes. “But then we…in his bathroom…the shower was running, and I was so close to saying, ‘Yes, I trust you.’”
Lucia’s brow furrowed. “And that’s a bad thing? He’s a good guy, Natalie. The bet was stupid. But we all have our Achilles’ heel. I’m guessing Jack’s brothers are his weak spot. That doesn’t mean you can’t trust him. Cade trusts him to cover his back while they’re off fighting who knows where.”
“I know.” Natalie had faith that he’d keep her safe. But this went beyond his physical demands. She trusted him not to hurt her while she had her arms behind her back and her body hovered over the bathroom sink. But—
“I don’t trust him with my heart.” There. She’d put the massive roadblock into words. She could give up physical control and admit that she liked it when he gave orders in bed. But she couldn’t give him free rein to trample her emotions. When he said those words—trust me—she’d known that she needed to escape.
“Did he ask you to hand it over?” Lucia asked.
“This isn’t just sex for the sake of winning a bet, or even for the sake of sex. Not anymore. I care too much. And I think he might feel the same way. He lost that bet for me, Lucia. He wanted me more.”