Love Irresistibly (29 page)

“Very deep,” Cade said.

“Exactly. And I’m feeling proud of myself for that one, until she points to the book and says, ‘Oh, that wasn’t a question. I was just quoting a line from the poem.’”

Cade covered his mouth to hide his smile. “Well, that’s . . . awkward.”

“You think? I’m mortified at that point, and thinking that I’m never,
ever
listening to your advice on getting a girl again . . . but then she asks me what I think our football team’s chances are of beating our rival, McKinley Tech, this year.”

“She likes football? Sounds like this girl’s a keeper.”

Zach shook his head. “That’s the thing—we started talking and, dude, she doesn’t know anything about football. But I think she wanted
me
to think she did.”

Cade thought about this. “Let me get this straight—you secretly pretend to like poetry to impress the smart girl in your English class, while
she’s
secretly pretending to like football to impress
you
.” He paused. “That’s gotta be the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I guess her subconscious finds my subconscious pretty irresistible,” Zach said, all teenage confidence right then.

“You were lucky to pull that line off once, Garrity. I wouldn’t push it.”

Zach laughed, and then the two of them segued into a conversation about football, and what the chances were, in fact, that his team would beat their rival. They finished their lunch, and Cade checked his watch and realized he should get back to the office.

Zach cleared his throat. “Oh, hey, before you head out I wanted to mention that I’ve been thinking more about telling my dad that you and I have been hanging out.”

Cade tried not to let the mention of Noah dampen his good mood. “That’s your choice, Zach. I’m not telling you to lie to your father.”

“
Our
father,” Zach said pointedly. His expression turned more serious. “You can at least acknowledge him.”

Cade could hear the frustration in his brother’s voice. He’d suspected, for a while, that Zach secretly was angling for some heartwarming father-son reunion. But it had taken Cade a long time to get past the anger and resentment he’d felt over Noah’s abandonment, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to reopen the door to those emotions.

But before he could answer Zach, someone called his name.

“Cade—hey! I thought that was you.”

Cade looked past Zach and saw a lanky guy in khakis and a short-sleeved polo shirt crossing the crowded plaza toward them. It took him a second to realize it was Brooke’s friend, Charlie, whom he’d met at the Cubs game.

“Great minds think alike, huh?” Charlie said, holding up a carryout bag and gesturing to the blues band.

“Good to see you again, Charlie.” Cade quickly made the introductions. “This is my brother, Zach Garrity.”

When Zach looked over, Cade half-smiled because the significance of the moment had struck him, too. It was the first time he’d introduced Zach as his brother.

“Another Rose Bowl champ in the making, I hope?” Charlie said, shaking Zach’s hand.

“Zach’s a wide receiver. He also likes to wax poetic about love and has a thing for girls way out of his league.”

“Story of my life,” Charlie said, with an easy grin.

The three of them chatted for a few moments until Cade mentioned that he needed to get back to the office for a conference call.

“Bummer. I think I’ll play hooky awhile longer,” Charlie said, gesturing to the sun-drenched plaza.

“I didn’t realize they let bands play here,” Zach said.

“You can’t beat this city in the summer.” Charlie shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know what Brooke is thinking with this Charlotte deal. It’s sounds like a great job opportunity, but she can’t be seriously considering moving to a city where she’ll have to root for the
Panthers
.” He shuddered, then looked at Cade. “You need to work your magic, Morgan, and convince her to stay.”

Cade stood there, completely caught off guard as Charlie’s words sunk in.

Brooke was thinking about moving, but she hadn’t said one word to him about it.

A wave of disappointment rose up inside him, a sharp jab in the chest, but he immediately, fiercely crushed it.

That was . . . just fine.

Good for her. Really. If this job, whatever it was, was that great of an opportunity, she
should
take it. He’d seen her in action; she was an incredible lawyer—she deserved an opportunity like this.

Sure, obviously, this development came as a bit of a surprise to him, especially since he and Brooke seemed to be getting close lately. But it also served as a quick reminder that perhaps they’d been getting a little
too
close.

And he didn’t do
too
close.

Too
close, in his opinion, was for the naïve.
Too
close was for people who got caught up in a moment with someone, without acknowledging the very real possibility that all the feelings and emotions that made the moment so great and perfect were entirely one-sided. So if Brooke had somehow managed to get
in
, to be on the verge of
too
close, then that, unfortunately, meant one thing.

It was time for him to say good-bye.

He and Zach left Charlie to enjoy the concert, and then walked in silence for a few moments.

“You didn’t know about the job offer, did you?” Zach asked quietly.

Cade stared at the stoplight ahead. “No.”

And, being brothers, they left it at that.

Twenty-nine

BROOKE CHECKED THE
clock and began to wonder whether Cade was going to show up after all.

She’d texted him earlier, asking if they could meet. He’d said he needed to work late, but that he would swing by her apartment afterward. That had been over three hours ago, and she hadn’t heard from him since.

She planned to tell him tonight about the job opportunity with Spectrum. She was still shocked by Palmer’s offer, and hadn’t yet made any decisions. On the one hand, she hadn’t been looking to leave Sterling, but on the other hand, they were talking about a position where she’d earn $825,000 a year. She’d have be a fool not to seriously consider that.

Since Monday, she’d done a lot of thinking about what to say to Cade, and in the end had decided to simply go with the truth. Unless she was completely misreading the situation, they’d crossed beyond just-having-fun territory and had wandered into true, genuine feelings, and so she owed him that much.

She liked Cade; she didn’t deny that. But whether it was at Sterling—or more likely, Spectrum—her career needed to come first right now. After all her hard work, and with the opportunities available to her, she needed to stay focused on that. To keep her eye on the proverbial ball.

Knowing that, however, wouldn’t make this conversation with Cade any easier. But he, too, was a logical person, and they’d been honest from the beginning about their relationship hang-ups. If they kept going down this path, it would only lead to bigger disappointment in the end.

This was for the best.

Just before nine thirty, Brooke heard a knock at her door. Cade flashed that charming grin of his when she answered, the same one that had caught her eye the moment they’d first met at Sterling.

“Sorry I’m so late,” he said. “I got caught up in a witness interview that ran a lot longer than expected. Plus I had to make a stop on the way here.”

“It’s fine, I caught up on e-mail,” she said with a wave. “You know me—always something to do.”

He shut the door behind him. “I heard that congratulations are in order, Ms. Parker.”

Brooke cocked her head, not sure what he could be talking about since she hadn’t yet told him about her meeting with Palmer Green from Spectrum. “Congratulations?”

Cade reached into his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “From what Charlie told me about your big job offer, I figured it was my turn to buy.”

Brooke’s hands fells to her sides. “
Charlie
told you about the job offer?” How the heck did he know? Then she realized that he must’ve heard about it from Ford.

“Sure did,” Cade said, taking the bottle into her kitchen. “I ran into him at Daley Plaza yesterday, during my lunch break.”

Brooke followed him into the kitchen, feeling horrible after hearing that. “Cade . . . I didn’t mean for you to learn about it that way. I just got the offer on Monday, and I wanted to tell you in person. That’s why I asked to see you tonight.”

He gave her an odd look as he grabbed a corkscrew out of a drawer and went to work on the champagne bottle. “It’s no problem. You don’t owe me an explanation. Sure, I was surprised to suddenly hear you might be moving to Charlotte, but I’m really happy for you, Brooke.”

He popped open the champagne, filled two glasses, and handed one over to her.

Brooke took the champagne flute. She’d been hoping Cade would understand what a great opportunity this job offer was for her, but she hadn’t expected him to be
this
cheery about it.

“So. What are we toasting to?” he asked, raising his glass in celebration.

She paused before answering, remembering how she’d said the exact same words to him just two weeks ago, when he’d found out he would be the acting U.S. attorney. They’d had a good time together that night. Actually, they’d had a lot of good times together.

Her eyes met Cade’s over their champagne glasses. For the briefest moment, she could’ve sworn she saw his smile falter, and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

But then the moment was gone, and his voice turned teasing. “You’re speechless, Ms. Parker. It must be something really good, then.”

“The CEO of Spectrum North America offered me the position of executive vice president of sales and business development.”

“That’s incredible.” Cade tipped his glass to her. “Congratulations. It couldn’t have happened to a more-deserving lawyer. Albeit one who once basically told me to stick my obstruction of justice threats up my ass.”

Brooke laughed at that, and took a sip. This was how it should be, she reminded herself. No need for an angsty good-bye—they would end things on a good note, joking around and teasing.

Then she pulled her glass away, and when their eyes caught again she remembered what had happened the last time they’d toasted with champagne.

How is it?

Not bad. Have a taste.

I think I will.

“So tell me more about the job,” Cade said.

Brooke blinked. Right. The
job.
“I don’t have all the details about the position yet—the CEO wants me to fly down to Charlotte to meet with the rest of the executive team. But we discussed the compensation package, and it’s—wow
.
”
She took a deep breath and exhaled, still unable to believe it.

“That good, huh?” Cade said.

“That good.”

His next question got right to the heart of the matter. “Do you think you’ll take it?”

Brooke rested one hip against the counter. “I don’t know. I’ve been at Sterling for less than two years, and I’ve been so focused on developing the company that I hadn’t given any thought to leaving. And I love the work I do there.”

“But?”

“But . . . I’m not sure I can say ‘no’ to an opportunity like this. Spectrum is an eleven-billion-dollar corporation. To be an executive VP there would really launch my career into a different stratosphere.” She paused. “It just seems weird, though, the idea of leaving Chicago.”

They both fell silent at that.

Brooke set down her glass. “Speaking of which, I was thinking we should probably talk. About what this means for us.”

Cade set his glass down as well. “I had the same thought. Since there’s a good chance you’ll be leaving, I was wondering if we should cool things down.”

Brooke felt a pang of disappointment in her chest. Which was completely
silly
, obviously, since that was exactly what she wanted, too. “I was just about to say that.”

“You were?” He spoke quickly. “I mean—good. Glad we’re on the same page. Better to end things now, before the situation gets, you know, complicated.”

Brooke nodded, quickly regrouping based on his reaction. “Right. Of course.” Seemingly, she and Cade had not been on the same page—here she’d been thinking things already
had
gotten complicated—but there was no reason for him to know that now. As it turned out, they didn’t need to have any messy “feelings” talk, after all.

Which was just . . . great. Absolutely.
Whew.

She saw him watching her, and felt the need to say more. “I mean, we both knew from the start that this wasn’t a permanent thing, right?”

“Exactly.” He gestured between them. “It’s not like either of us has had a lot of success when it comes to serious relationships.”

“Very true.” That silly pang of disappointment poked at Brooke again, but she ignored it and kept right on going. She even went for a joke. “And hey—there’s always phone sex. Probably all I’ll have time for, from the way Palmer described the job.”

Cade studied her, then stepped closer. “Just tell me one thing, Brooke. You’re sure that this is what you want?”

She assumed he meant the job at Spectrum. And that was an opportunity she just couldn’t walk away from. “Yes.” Her voice came out quieter than she’d expected, so she cleared her throat. “This is what I want.”

He nodded. “So this is good-bye, then.”

She exhaled. “I’m not good at this part.”
Especially not with you
, she suddenly wanted to add.

But she didn’t.

Cade’s voice turned deeper. “Maybe we shouldn’t say anything, then.”

Falling silent, they looked at each other.

She reached for Cade at the same moment he pulled her closer, her lips parting eagerly as his mouth swooped down on hers. He edged her back against the counter, and she gasped at the feel of his hard, strong body against hers. The sound seemed to ignite him more—his tongue plundered her mouth demandingly as one hand cupped her bottom and pressed her against the hard length of his erection.