I tell her everything. Meeting Jax, the incredible attraction between us…going to the hospital, staying at his place.
“You were in the hospital and you didn’t call?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. It wasn’t—it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.”
“It’s a big deal, Cate!”
“I know. I know.”
“Is there something else?”
“Jax and I got into a fight last night.”
“Over what?”
“He wants me to take time off work.”
Bee shakes her head. “He’s right.”
“How can you be on his side?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m looking at you right now. You shouldn’t be at work. Have you seen your own face recently?”
“I do my makeup every day, don’t I?”
“Right. So how are you so blind to this?”
“I know it’s a problem, okay? I just—I can’t stop, Bee. If I stop, everything comes crumbling down.”
“Are you hearing yourself? It’s not that extreme, Cate. It’s just not. Listen to your boyfriend. He’s rich, not stupid.”
A burst of anger gets the better of me. “Every single person is on his side with this, and it’s making me fucking furious.”
Bee bursts out laughing. “Cate! Take a minute and think about what you just said. Everyone is on his side because he’s right.”
“I don’t want him to be right.” My voice is small, and I hate it.
“Them’s the breaks.” A little voice calls to Bee from offscreen. “I gotta go, Cate. Forgive me for being on his side? Even if it’s because I love you?”
“I forgive you.”
She blows me a kiss and disconnects the call, and someone sits down next to me on the bench.
It’s Jax.
“Your sister?” he says carefully.
“Yeah,” I say. “Bee.”
A long moment goes by.
I hate being in the wrong, but I hate not touching him more.
After a long moment, I slide over and rest my head on his shoulder.
“I haven’t been myself.”
“It’s all right. I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“Let me show you a good time. Forget about all this for an evening. It’ll be a reset.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“If you’re free.”
“Can I come home with you afterward?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Jax
I’m a man of my word, and when I tell Cate I’m going to show her a good time, I goddamn mean it.
Friday evening, she leaves the office at 6:00, and when she gets back to her apartment I’m already there—along with the most highly recommended masseuse in the city and a full hair and makeup team, along with a stylist I’ve hired for the evening.
“Jax,” she says when she walks in the door, her face lighting up. “What is this?”
“The first part of your good time.”
The masseuse has set up in her bedroom, and while he’s working on her I finalize the details for the evening. Thirty minutes later, she emerges from her bedroom freshly showered, wrapped in a brand-new plush robe that I left on her bed.
The team, which has been milling around in her living room, springs into action.
For once, Cate’s making all the approvals—and they’re for no one but herself. Her cheeks are pink from the heat of the shower and she can’t stop herself from grinning.
When we step out of her apartment an hour later, she is a fucking vision in a champagne dress, her hair in a sleek twist behind her head, jewelry glittering on her wrist, around her neck, earrings twinkling on her earlobes.
“Stop,” I tell her, my tone teasing and light.
“Stop what?”
“You’re taking my breath away.”
The cheesy line makes her laugh, and she’s still smiling when we get down to the car waiting at the curb. It’s a brand new Jaguar. It’s a beauty—all sleek lines and curves and power. I know Cate doesn’t have the time or energy to care about cars, but even she can appreciate this one.
“Wow—you’re really pulling out all the stops!” she exclaims as I open the passenger door for her. I’ll be driving tonight.
“You have no idea.”
Our first stop: Haute, one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. I’m friends with the chef, who sends out dish after dish of a menu customized to Cate’s preferences.
“How does he know?” she whispers to me across the table, and the sweetness in her face—still a little pale underneath the flawless makeup—breaks my goddamn heart.
I lean forward as if I’m about to tell her a state secret. “I gave him a list of all of your favorite things. He’s tailoring everything that comes to this table to your specific tastes.”