01 Cade by Paige Tyler Page B

she said. “That would be fine.”
    He looked relieved. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”
    As she watched him walk away, Riley tried to tell herself not to read too much into Cade’s wanting to see her, but she couldn’t suppress the surge of excitement that began to course through her.
    Riley changed clothes half a dozen times that night before finally settling on a simple skirt and camisole top. She had no idea why Cade had asked to come over, and told herself again not to read to much into it. For all she knew, he might be bringing over that paperwork that Deputy Chief Conner had mentioned. God, she hoped not!
    The doorbell rang then, interrupting her thoughts, and Riley felt her pulse quicken. Smoothing her hands over her short skirt, she gave herself one more look in the mirror before hurrying to answer the door. Once in the entryway, however, she paused to take a deep, calming breath. She couldn’t ever remember being so nervous! Wetting her lips, she ran her hands over her skirt again, and then threw open the door.
    Cade was dressed and jeans and a button-up shirt, and looking even more gorgeous than Riley remembered, and she must have stood there gazing at him for a full minute before she finally managed to find her voice.
    “Come in,” she said, taking a step back so that he could do so.
    He took in her outfit, his gaze lingering on her legs for a moment, and Riley felt herself blush. “You look nice,” he told her.
    “Thank you,” she said softly.
    He cleared his throat. “I didn’t know if you’d eaten already, so I stopped by to pick up some Chinese food,” he said.
    Riley glanced down at the bag in his hand in surprise, realizing that she hadn’t noticed it before. This was definitely not an official call, then. “No, actually I haven’t,” she said. Giving him a smile, she took the bag. “I’ll get some plates.”
    “That’d be great,” Cade said as he followed her into the kitchen. “But I was hoping we could talk about what happened the other night first.”
    Riley’s heart plummeted, the smell of the food wafting up from the bag making her feel sick all of a sudden. This was the part where Cade told her that he hoped she hadn’t read anything into what had happened between them at the hotel, and that while they couldn’t have a relationship, he hoped they could still be friends, she thought.
    Swallowing hard, she set the bag down on the counter and turned to look at him.
    Cade cleared his throat again. “I know that we didn’t really get off on the right foot, and that there was a lot of stuff that happened between us at the safe house, but I think we have a connection,” he said, and then immediately held up his hand. “Before you say anything, let me finish.”
    Riley almost smiled. She hadn’t been going to say anything, but it seemed obvious that Cade had rehearsed whatever he was going to say quite a bit and didn’t want her to interrupt him. In all honesty, she didn’t know where he was going with this, but the part about them having a connection definitely made her pulse quicken.
    “Actually, there’s more than a connection. As cliché as this is going to sound, I think we were meant to be together,” Cade continued. “I know that when this started, you were just a witness I was supposed to protect, but even though you drove me crazy most of the time, I found myself drawn to you. And that feeling got stronger the more we were together. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I do know that for my part, I want you in my life.”
    She blinked up at him, suddenly unable to breathe. “What are you saying, Cade?” she asked softly.
    Cade reached out to gently brush a strand of hair back from her face. “I’m saying that when you were in danger, I could barely think straight, and that made me realize what you mean to me.” He paused and took a deep breath.
    “What I’m trying to say is that I’m in love with you, Riley Barnett.”
    Riley caught her breath,