The Billionaire's Game(31)

The images were copied from pictures of his glory days, and Asha brought them to life with her extraordinary talent. Rather than making him depressed about what he could no longer do, the paintings accented the camaraderie of the team, and the poignant moments he’d had with the guys from the Cougars. They were all happy, upbeat scenes that made him smile rather than making him feel depressed that he couldn’t play football anymore. Most of the men who were with him on the wall were retired now, and Kade suspected that Asha knew that; she had probably researched every photo. The design was an upbeat tribute to some great football players who had moved on to do other things with their life.

Smiling in the dark, Kade wondered if her project in that particular room was Asha’s way of telling him to celebrate, but move on. All of her designs meant something, and he was pretty sure she was trying to kick his ass into accepting reality and dealing with it via her artwork in the gym. Well, it was working, and he knew he needed to find a new purpose in his life. He just wished he knew exactly what it was.

Flipping onto his side, he punched his pillow, determined to get some sleep. He wouldn’t think about Asha lying in her bed, right across the hall from him. He wondered if she was still wearing the new nightgown he’d gotten her when she was sick, or if she’d graduated to what Maddie and Mia had bought her. He had to admit, his sister and Maddie had much better taste when it came to clothes. Even so, he loved seeing Asha in the clothing he’d bought her while she was sick, and he hadn’t yet seen her wear anything other than the shirts and jeans he’d bought her in Nashville—except for the day when Maddie, Max, and Mia had come visiting and he’d handed her one of the shirts his sister had bought.

His stomach growled, reverberating noisily under the covers.

“Shit! I’m hungry,” he said irritably, knowing he wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon. He’d burned so much energy in the gym today that his body was clamoring for more food.

He tossed the sheets and blankets from his body and rose to his feet, striding to his bedroom door and yanking it open. He stopped for a moment, staring at Asha’s door. Everything was dark, including her room. There was no light under her door, and he flipped on the hall light and made his way downstairs, stopping abruptly at the entrance to the kitchen.

Kade could see a sliver of light coming from the refrigerator, and it illuminated Asha’s face as she stared at the contents within, a look of longing on her face.

What the hell is she doing?

Staying silent, the minutes ticked away as she seemed to be agonizing over something, but she didn’t reach for anything. She just stayed immobile, her eyes roving over the inside of the fridge.

Unable to stay quiet any longer, Kade flipped on the light, causing Asha to let out a surprised squeak and slam the refrigerator closed. Holding a hand over her chest, she told him nervously, “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. What the hell are you doing? And why didn’t you turn the light on? You could have hurt yourself skulking around in the dark,” he grumbled, unhappy with the thought of Asha tumbling down the stairs because she couldn’t see where the hell she was going.

“I guess I didn’t think about it,” she answered, agitated. “I’m sorry. I’ll go back to bed.”

“Were you hungry? I’m starving. Do you want something?” he asked, walking to the fridge and opening the door. Mia had made sure the house was well-stocked with groceries before he came back from Nashville. Not only had she picked up the things he’d asked her to get for Asha, but she’d stocked up on groceries because he’d been gone for two months doing a favor for her husband.

“We already had dinner,” Asha replied, shifting from one foot to the other nervously.

“Yeah. And it was delicious. But that was hours ago.” Kade looked at Asha curiously. She had cooked tonight, making him some traditional Indian food, and he’d scarfed down the homemade dinner greedily. Asha was an excellent cook, but she hadn’t eaten much. Come to think of it…she rarely did. “I made a pig of myself on your food. Did you get enough to eat?” he asked solemnly. “I thought there was food left over.”

“You mentioned you were going to eat it for lunch tomorrow,” she said uncomfortably.

Kade thought back to other meals. He’d grilled again the night before, and she’d eaten sparsely then, too. “I meant I’d eat it if it was still around. I’m not picky. I’ll eat just about anything.”

Asha stayed mute, staring up at him, her dark eyes confused. “I didn’t want to eat your food.”