Kiss Me That Way: A Cottonbloom Novel by Laura Trentham Read Free Book Online

you were friends.” Monroe looked back and forth at them.
    Friends. Cade suppressed a guffaw.
    Andrew piped up. “We both played quarterback our freshman year. Cade here was good. Might’ve had a shot at a scholarship if … well, if he hadn’t dropped out.”
    Cade wasn’t sure if the dig was intentional or not. “I heard you followed your daddy into law.”
    “That’s right. Tarwater and Tarwater. You come see us if you get yourself in legal trouble while you’re home.” Andrew shuffled in his dash before his hand extended out the window with his card between his index and middle fingers.
    Cade squeezed his hand into a fist. Punching the local lawyer in the face would likely require legal representation. “I can find you if I need you.”
    The card disappeared back into the recesses of the car, but the thousand-watt smile remained on Andrew’s face. “I heard you turned into some inventor of some sort. Makes me think of crazy Doc Brown in Back to the Future . Is that about right?”
    “Except for the fact I make way more money.” Cade hated that he stooped to mention money. Andrew Tarwater was like chiggers under his skin.
    “Do you hawk your stuff on the Home Shopping Network? Invent anything I’ve heard of?” Maybe the man was trying to make small talk, but the hint of condescension—and Cade had grown up hearing the tone often enough to become fluent—set his path forward.
    “My stuff is too complicated for you to understand.” He dropped his lips close to Monroe’s ear and whispered, “I need to get off my leg.”
    She tilted her head, exposing the line of her jaw to his lips. He breathed her in, narrowing the sweet scent to the heat of her neck and chest.
    She directed her words toward Andrew. “Maybe another time.”
    “Sure. Not a problem.” The man ran a hand through streaked blond hair that Cade guessed wasn’t entirely natural. “You haven’t forgotten Mother’s cocktail party, have you? She has something real special planned.”
    “Of course not. I’ll text you sometime soon.” Monroe’s dismissive tone wiped the smile off Andrew’s face while the satisfaction of winning brought a smile to Cade’s.
    Cade let Monroe maneuver them a few steps down the sidewalk. Andrew hadn’t moved. Over his shoulder, Cade nudged his chin and barely kept his middle finger from popping up from behind Monroe’s back. “Later, Tarwater.”
    Any pretense of politeness on Andrew’s face was gone. Cade didn’t care. He wasn’t home to make friends and sing “Kumbaya.”
    The testosterone-driven nuances of the exchange didn’t seem to register with Monroe. She waved down the street. “I’m the black SUV at the end.”
    Only a couple of years old, the car was well kept and clean, inside and out. With his arm still around her shoulders, he pretended to lose his balance while easing onto the seat and pulled her into him, between his legs.
    He was playing dirty. It’s the only way the world worked for people like him. The Andrew Tarwaters of the world could traipse up the ladder on their family name, money, and looks. Cade had scraped and clawed his way out of poverty, dragging his brother and sister with him, doing his best to protect them by fair means or foul. He hadn’t wanted Sawyer and Tally to end up jaded and manipulative. Like him.
    Monroe fell into his chest. Her mouth brushed over the hair of his beard. What would her lips feel like against his neck or, even better, on his lips? He hoped the spark between them wasn’t a figment of his imagination. Her hands came between them, and she pushed on his chest. He dropped his arm from around her, but she didn’t immediately retreat.
    “You’re in denial.” Her soft voice sent skitters up his spine.
    “About what?” He said the words slowly, wondering if she’d caught him at his game.
    “You think you can push yourself until you’re in control of your body again. It’s not going to work that way this time. You need to concede to