Kitten Caboodle (Clover Hill Romance Book 12), page 8
Eventually, though, they had to break apart to breathe. Daphne grinned.
“What do you say we go have some of that fun now? The food will hold.”
That was the best idea he’d heard all day.
eight
Daphne threw her car into park and climbed out almost before the Bug finished rocking. She can’t believe how late she’d let her meeting with Amber and Hari go.
They were lovely women and she’d been having so much fun she hadn’t even looked at her phone until her alarm had gone off to remind her to leave. She was sure she had made quite the impression as she scrambled to get out of there.
She dashed inside and up the stairs, noticing the music playing but not stopping to listen. Cade was home. That would make things easier.
She still had to change, pack her bag, and make sure Cade had everything he needed for the weekend. At this point, she was going to be pushing the line of late for the last meeting with Rook and Lily’s hotel’s wedding coordinator. That left very little time for the goodbye she had been craving all day, which she hated. She also had to rush, which she hated even more.
Maybe if she hustled, she could make it just a little longer. Undressing with a speed she hadn’t known she had, she slid into a royal blue dress that always made her feel great. That would help her feel less stressed about the time. She ran through the list of things she’d need and packed them, other than her wedding planning binder. Which… she didn’t see anywhere.
Maybe she had left it in the living room. She grabbed her suitcase and ran downstairs, not caring how much noise she made as she hunted for it. But there was no sign of it in any of her usual places, even in the couch cushions, and she was starting to panic.
The bright red binder that held all her notes, plans, and contingencies for the wedding she was in charge of. She absolutely had to have it to do her job properly, and if it wasn’t here…
Maybe the kitchen? She had been going over the plans with Kav during lunch. Maybe she had left it in with the weekly flyers from local businesses and other mail that she hadn’t dealt with yet.
She walked into the adjoining room, expecting to see the mess she had left a few hours before. Instead, the room was so clean it nearly sparkled. There were even fresh flowers in the window above the sink.
Daphne was no slouch when it came to housework, but the room in front of her could have been something out of a magazine spread, if not for the giant man standing next to the sink chopping vegetables and singing along to his music.
“Oh, wow.”
Cade nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun toward her with the knife raised. Daphne put her hands in the air while she tried—and failed—to keep herself from laughing.
He lowered the knife as he realized who had spoken. “Jesus Christ, you scared me! You can’t sneak up on a man with a knife like that!”
That made her laugh even harder. “I don’t think you can call it sneaking when I’ve been in the house for fifteen minutes. You didn’t hear me come in or any of the noise I made while I was rummaging around the living room?”
Now he laughed with her. “I really didn’t! Why were you rummaging around in the living room? That was next on my cleaning list.”
“I’m looking for my binder for this wedding. It’s red and it’s got all my notes and contracts and everything in it. Did you see it when you cleaned?”
He looked around the room with a frown. “I didn’t. All I saw were some flyers for Holly’s Groceteria and some box stores. I thought it was here last night for dinner, though.”
She grimaced. “I thought so, too. But Kav was here earlier for lunch and to get their mail and now I don’t know where I put it—oh. Kav was here. Maybe they know where I put it.”
She whipped out her phone and dialed her best friend, hoping beyond hope they would answer.
It was Bryan’s baritone voice coming through the speaker before she could say anything, though. “Hey, have you left yet? I was about to call you. Kav is on their way over there now but left the phone here. They accidentally grabbed your wedding binder and just realized it.”
Oh, thank fuck. Judging by Cade’s snort, she’d said that out loud. She cleared her throat, trying not to be embarrassed. “Thanks for letting me know, Bryan. I’ll see you tomorrow for the rehearsal dinner, right?”
“Yep, we’ll be there—early to help you with whatever you need.”
“You’re the best! See you then!” She barely heard his reply as she ended the call. If Kav had already left, she had fifteen minutes max to pack her car and say her goodbyes. That was way more time than she had planned on taking, but it was out of her control. She and her therapist had done a lot of work over the last few years so she could handle situations like this without panicking.
She took a deep breath and turned to Cade. “Can you help me bring all of my things to the car?”
He smiled softly at her. “Of course, Daphne. Lead the way.”
Cade could see Daphne freaking out. He could also see she was working hard to bring herself back to normal while they packed the car. She hadn’t really needed his help with her suitcase and purse, but he was glad to take a little bit off her shoulders.
She reminded him of where Sushi’s food was and when she was to be fed.
“Oh, I wish I had my binder already,” she lamented. “I’ve got a copy of my itinerary for you in there so you’ll know when I’m available to return calls. Hopefully nothing will go wrong, but if it does, you’ve got my number.”
“Why don’t you tell me the general schedule and I’ll put it in my phone?” he offered. He had never been particularly good at keeping track of paperwork.
She blinked at him, as if the idea surprised her. Then she did something to surprise him back—flung her arms around his neck with so much force his back pressed against the car, and kissed him with passion.
A triumphant-sounding laugh startled them into taking a breath. “I knew it! I knew something was going on there! The best-friend psychic bond is correct once more!”
Cade looked up to find Kav nearly hanging out of their car window as they parked. He knew he should be embarrassed, but he couldn’t find the energy. He was just sad when Daphne stepped away from him.
“Mind your own business, Kav. Or else I’ll tell Cade about the time I caught you and Bryan in flagrante right here on the porch swing. And quit stealing my binders! You know I can’t function without them!”
“Why do you think I hauled ass to get this to you before you left?” They ducked back into their SUV. When they re-emerged, they held a binder that very nearly matched the car’s paint job.
Daphne nearly sprinted to snatch it from them, then back to where he stood.
“Thank you so much, I’ll see you tomorrow for the rehearsal dinner. I have to leave now, though. Cade—send me pictures of Sushi throughout the weekend, please?”
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Of course. As many as you want.”
She pulled a piece of paper from the binder and thrust it into his hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I really have to go now, though.”
He was already looking forward to it. “Drive safely!”
Without another word, she climbed into her tiny car and backed out of the driveway, waving at him and Kav both before driving toward the sun.
When her car disappeared around the corner, Kav called him over to them. “I'm not going to do the if you hurt her song and dance. You two are adults and I’m not about to get in the way of your fun. I just wanted to ask you to be careful with her. She puts up a good front, but she’s less guarded than she pretends to be.”
Cade couldn’t help but smile. Even though he was a full foot taller than Kav and more than double their weight, he had no doubt they could hurt him.
“I will keep that in mind,” he said solemnly. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep from hurting her. You have my word.”
“Good. Then I’m off to call and rag on her for keeping you a secret.” They grinned wolfishly. “Take care of Sushi. That’s her baby.”
“I’ll do my best!”
Warning given, Kav gave him a wave and drove off. He made his way inside, glad Daphne had friends so willing to look out for her. He knew that, if they were in his town, Michael would have given Daphne the same warning.
When he finally looked at the itinerary she’d handed him, he was amazed. She had a lot packed into three days—a wedding party brunch tomorrow morning, the rehearsal dinner that evening, and then the wedding on Saturday. Daphne planned to return home on Sunday morning, which made sense to him. He would have been exhausted by just attending all of them, let alone working them all.
Cade resolved to make sure nothing went wrong while she was gone. He was going to make sure that everything at home was taken care of, and have a nice lunch ready when she got home. It would be just the thing.
Daphne knew the instant Kav got home, because her phone began to ring. She took her hand off the wheel to pinch the bridge of her nose and sighed before answering.
Kav’s voice warbled out of the speakers, to the tune of “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”
“I will hang up this phone if you don’t stop,” she warned. Kav laughed, marking the blessed end of the terrible singing. “Now, do you want to brag about how right you were or do you want the details? Because I would desperately love to think about something other than how late I’m going to be to this meeting.”
“Details please!” they answered, as she’d known they would.
nine
Cade woke from the best dream of his life, one where Daphne had been bouncing on his strap-on with abandon, calling his name as she came.
His reality was a lot less fun. The only pounding going on here was on the door, and he knew it wasn’t his girlfriend.
He rolled out of bed, grabbing and sliding into the pair of sweatpants he always kept handy in case of emergencies.
In a feat of physical prowess that impressed even him, he managed to get all the way to the third step from the bottom before he tripped over the hem. He slid to the bottom from there, cursing all the while.
“Where is the goddamned fire?” he growled as he flung the door open. And found himself staring into the eyes of an older woman he had definitely never met before. And she was soaking wet, even though it wasn’t raining.
“Hello? Can I help you with something?” His voice was rough with sleep.
“You… are not Daphne.”
“No, I’m her roommate. She’s out of town. Are you okay?”
“Oh! Nice to meet you finally! I’m your landlord, Tabitha Spencer. I also live next door?”
He remembered now that their landlord lived in the other half of the house. Daphne had said she was traveling. But whatever, he could roll with it. That wasn’t the most pressing concern.
“Nice to meet you. Are you okay, though? You’re soaked through.”
She looked down at herself, as if she’d forgotten. “Right. I need your help. I was going to ask Daphne but I guess you’ll have to do. I woke up to find a pipe had burst, but I can’t climb down into the basement with my knees the way they are. Can you help me?”
“Oh shit, of course.” He slid his feet into his shoes and walked outside, glad it was only a few steps to the other brightly colored door. The chilly morning air on his bare chest left him shivering as he entered Mrs. Spencer’s half of the house. It was laid out in a similar way to Daphne’s, except when she led him to the open door next to her kitchen, water was running down the stairs in much larger quantities than he’d expected.
He could instantly see why she couldn’t manage the stairs on her own—they were steep, poorly lit and covered in what he hoped were cobwebs.
But he wasn’t letting himself think about spiders. She had come to him to ask for help. He wasn’t going to chicken out over a mere possibility.
He steeled himself. “Where do I go to find the shutoff valve? I’ll try to be fast.”
“Down the stairs, all the way in the far back corner. You’ll probably have to climb over some boxes and crates, I’m afraid. It’s pretty stuffed down there, as I recall. When you find it, just turn it clockwise and the water will turn off.”
Turn it clockwise. He could handle that. He hoped.
Cade’s phone rang just as he finished loading the last of the towels into the dryer. He’d known there would be tons of water to clean up, but he hadn’t realized it would take every single towel in the entire duplex and then some.
Daphne’s face smiled up at him from the phone screen, and he had to smile back as he answered. “When did you have time to put a selfie into my phone?”
“The other night at dinner when you went to the bathroom. Do you like it?”
He had to admit he did, and the laugh he got in return warmed him to his bones. “How was your brunch?”
“Oh, wonderful. Rook always had the best taste in friends, in my entirely biased opinion. I also learned they’re both still looking for jobs for when they move back to Clover Hill next month. I thought it might solve a problem for the clinic, since Lily does medical billing and she’s very personable.”
Cade blinked. Was this how people got jobs in small towns? They just knew someone who happened to fit the requirements? “That would be convenient if he could afford her. I know Bryan’s been having trouble finding someone qualified for his budget.”
“I know. I figured it was worth a conversation, though. What’s been happening with you? You hadn’t replied to my texts this morning.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve actually spent it with Mrs. Spencer.”
“Our landlord? I didn’t even know she was back in the country! Is there a problem?”
“Not on our end, mostly,” he tried to reassure her. “She had a pipe burst this morning and couldn’t get to the shutoff valve in the basement. We just finished cleaning up most of the water, so she’s calling plumbers to see how fast they can get it fixed.”
Judging from the cursing he heard from her kitchen, it wasn’t going well.
“That turns the water off for our side of the house, too, doesn’t it?”
“Yep. She says if she can’t get it fixed today, she’ll book us a room at the Bluestem until it is. Here’s hoping it won’t be necessary.”
Daphne told him where the carrier was, just in case, then wrapped up the call with a promise from Cade to keep her updated.
The rehearsal went as smooth as butter. Daphne liked to think it had a large part to do with her masterful conducting, but realistically, it was more like the couple had chosen a very simple, heartfelt ceremony.
Still, when she sat down to the dinner she’d been invited to join, she felt a bone-deep relief that her job was finished for the night. She had seated herself with Kav and Bryan and a few of their former classmates and plus-ones, and everyone was having a great time catching up.
Just before the first plate was served, though, two familiar forms slid into the empty chairs opposite Daphne.
She looked up and froze with her wine glass halfway to her mouth. The woman sitting across from her was none other than her ex-girlfriend, Isobel Merino. And she was here with Rhys, who Daphne had grown up with.
Isobel looked good. Her cropped black hair curled ever so slightly over her forehead, showing off her perfect golden skin, immaculate makeup and a lush mouth that always seemed to be smiling.
It wasn’t now, though. It was hanging open, as if she hadn’t realized Daphne would be there, either.
They said each other’s names at the same time. Daphne’s voice sounded strangled. Isobel’s was a quiet gasp.
“Oh, I didn’t know you two knew each other,” Rhys said.
Daphne closed her eyes and counted to ten before she spoke. “We, uh, used to date. I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
Rhys took a sip of his own drink. “What a small world. Isobel and I started dating a few months ago.”
Isobel’s mouth opened and closed like a fish as she looked between Daphne and Rhys, at a loss for words for the first time in Daphne’s memory. She took pity on her ex.
“Ah, well, Rook hired me to plan the wedding. You know I could never turn xem down, especially given my experience.”
“None of us ever could.” The whole table, except for Isobel, laughed.
Rhys looked at his date, seemed to realize she was struggling to figure out where to look, then looked over Daphne’s shoulder. “Oh, I see Miles. Excuse us, I’ve been wanting to ask her about something.”
They rose and he tugged her around the back of the table.
“Well, that was awkward,” Kav deadpanned. “Are you okay?”
Daphne didn’t know how to answer the question, so she just shrugged. She had been shocked to see Isobel, sure, but that was the biggest emotion in her chest. There was none of the hurt and heartbreak she had felt the last time she’d seen her.
Someone else at the table decided to fill the silence with a story about how they’d met Rook and Lily. Everyone focused on the story, taking the spotlight off Daphne until the food arrived. She had never been so grateful to see a plate of food in her life.
After the toasts and speeches were finished, Daphne excused herself to use the restroom. Her two glasses of wine had run through her faster than expected, and she wanted to check in with Cade to see how Sushi was doing.
Daphne flushed and stepped out of the stall, only to squeak and step back at the unexpected appearance of the one person she hadn’t really wanted to see.
“Oh my god, I can’t seem to stop running into you tonight. I’m so sorry.” Isobel said as she recognized her. Daphne stepped around her to the sink and began to wash her hands while the other woman continued to apologize.
