The Billionaire's Game(3)

Kade sighed heavily and continued to stare at the picture, wondering what it was like to feel that type of passion. Yeah. Sure. He liked sex. What guy didn’t? But the desire was short-lived and easily resolved. Granted, he hadn’t had to resolve that problem for two years. There was something about nearly losing a leg and two years of grueling rehabilitation that pushed that particular desire onto the back burner.

The woman’s not real. It’s just a picture.

Kade closed the drawing pad with more force than necessary, disgusted with himself. He’d never been a romantic sort of guy. He was a jock. He’d been with Amy since college, and she’d hated open displays of affection. The only things she’d ever really liked were the expensive gifts he’d lavished on her and the extravagant parties he was forced to attend because of his celebrity status and endorsements. And now that he was lame, he wasn’t the type of guy to ever have a woman look at him like he was the only man in the world for her, wealthy or not. Not that any woman ever had looked at him that way, even before he’d fucked up his leg. He was, after all, one of those crazy Harrisons with the old man who had offed his own wife. Although a woman might appreciate his monetary assets, he was fairly certain no woman would covet him. He was damaged goods, unable to ever play football again—the one thing that had made him feel valuable. He might have money, but that was about all he had to give anymore. Honestly, maybe it had always been that way for him; maybe he just wasn’t capable of having a woman who felt that way about him. He wasn’t exactly any woman’s ideal of a knight in shining armor and he was pretty doubtful that he was entitled to own that kind of love. He’d had a batshit crazy old man who beat up his kids and his wife often, and his father had eventually killed Kade’s mother, and then himself. Was there ever a happily ever after for a fucked-up and dysfunctional family like his? Mostly, all he, Travis, and Mia had concentrated on was survival.

Mia found her happily ever after with Max. She’s happy now.

Kade released a heavy breath and stuffed Asha’s meager belongings back into her bag. His younger sister, Mia, was happy. But her road to bliss had been pretty damn rocky. His sibling deserved every bit of happiness she now had with her husband, Max. God knew she’d suffered dearly for it.

Kade wished his older twin, Travis, could find some peace, but Kade knew that he and Travis shared the same darkness, a dimness of their souls that would probably always keep them isolated and alone. Travis wore his blackness like a mantle; Kade tried to hide his own. But it was still there, the yawning, dark emptiness that never went away; his accident had only made it worse, blacker and emptier than it had ever been before. His football career had kept him busy, given him a purpose. Without that, there was nothing that stood between him and the shadowy memories of his past.

I’m different. I’m just not cut out for a relationship any deeper than what I had with Amy.

He’d always known his relationship with Amy had been superficial, but it had always suited both of them. What the hell did he know about love? He was fairly certain he wasn’t even capable of really loving a woman. Since his break-up with Amy, he’d been alone. Strangely, he didn’t feel much different than when he was in the relationship. Her cruel words had hurt, but had he really expected anything different? He’d broken all the unspoken rules of their relationship when he’d had his accident, and his recovery had taken close to two years. Had he really expected her to stick it out with him, to stay by his side when everything had changed? Amy was a beautiful supermodel, and she hadn’t signed on to take care of a critically ill man and then two years of rehabilitation. She’d wanted the parties, the expensive presents, the recognition of being the girlfriend of a famous quarterback, a man who didn’t walk with a limp and count his blessings every damn day that he actually still had his right leg. Not surprisingly, she’d taken up with another rising star quarterback soon after his accident—ironically, one he’d introduced her to at a party—and never looked back.

Kade rolled off the bed and stood up, telling himself that it didn’t really matter. He’d always had Travis and his friends while he was recovering. The rehab was over and his life was moving on. He had Mia back in the family fold again after having gone missing for two years, and he had a favor to do for Max—a favor that he was determined to see through to the very end. Kade knew that Max would be haunted by not knowing if Asha was his lost sibling or not, so he’d agreed to go find Asha Paritala and discover the truth. It wasn’t like he had much else to do since his days as a quarterback were over, and the distraction had been a good one, something he’d desperately needed.