let fly with a punch that thwacked satisfyingly into Cade’s left mitt.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘And I’ve been wanting to know …’
‘Yes?’ she ground out.
‘If you’ve come up with a strategy for the cruel remarks that’ll be headed your way at the wedding?’
Thwack! Thwack! ‘What comments?’
He assumed a mocking high-pitched voice. ‘You’re putting on a very brave face, dear, but I can imagine how you’re really feeling.’
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
‘Put some feeling into it,’ he ordered. ‘Put your whole body behind it.’
Her whole body, huh?
He lifted his chin and assumed that voice again. ‘This wedding must be a nightmare for you, I know, but even you have to admit that the bride is glowing. They look so happy together, don’t you think?’
Thwack!
‘I bet you fifty bucks that Diane throws the bouquet to you.’
She paled at that one. Thwack!
‘Don’t worry,’ he simpered in that high-pitched voice again, ‘I expect Brad will two-time her too.’
‘Stop it!’ she croaked. ‘Stop saying such cruel things.’
‘It’s what people will say.’ He lowered his mitts.
‘And you think I’m so pathetic that I won’t be able to cope with it or defend myself?’
‘I think you ought to be prepared, that’s all.’ His eyes suddenly flashed and his hands came back up. ‘But while we’re on the subject, I think your ex is a two-timing, cheating scumbag and your best friend a back-stabbing witch!’
Nicola wasn’t even aware that she’d thrown the punch until it connected with Cade’s jaw and sent him sprawling to the ground.
NICOLA stared at Cade, sprawled at her feet and with a little cry she shook off her boxing gloves and knelt in the dirt beside him, wrung her hands before touching his face. ‘Oh, my God! Did I hurt you? Cade?’
Those blue eyes, normally so piercing, stared up at her, slightly dazed.
She’d meant to throw that punch, but she’d thought … Well, she’d thought he’d block it!
She swallowed. Who’d have thought she had such lightning reflexes? That punch had been fast … and … um … hard. Put your whole body behind it. Oh, she’d done that.
Nausea swirled through her. She’d thought he’d block her punch, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d lashed out in anger.
‘Cade?’
He didn’t speak. Guilt, regret and remorse pounded through her and, before she could think better of it, she pressed her lips to his in an effort to take away the pain, to communicate her remorse and apologise.
He smelled of dust and sweat and horses, which should have turned her off, only it didn’t. His lips were an intriguing combination of firmness and softness and they parted slightly as if he meant to deepen the kiss. Then he froze and his hands came up, gripped her arms and pushed her back as he sat up. ‘What do you think you’re doing? Kissing me better?’
His scorn almost scorched the flesh from her bones. ‘I …’
‘I’m not a child, Nicola.’
It was too much. His anger … Her guilt and remorse. That final punch had torn the lid off the emotions she’d bottled up for the last three months. She tugged herself out of his grip and stumbled blindly across to a wooden crate and collapsed on top of it, her back to Cade as she tried to tamp down on the pain and numbing sense of loss that cut deep inside her, but now that it was freed it seemed to grow in both volume and intensity.
She’d punched Cade in anger!
And then she’d kissed him. What on earth had she been thinking? The expression on his face …
I think your ex is a two-timing cheating scumbag and your best friend is a back-stabbing witch.
The words ripped off the poorly formed scab she’d tried to place over her heart and, try as she might, she couldn’t control the sudden shaking of her shoulders or the silent sobs that clawed free from her chest or the tears that scorched her cheeks as her body tried to find a way to lance the poison that tangled her in knotted torment. Dropping her head to her hands, she could do nothing but give into it.
Somewhere, in a dim place of her consciousness, she was aware of embarrassment and her mother’s scornful voice. Nicola Ann, pull yourself together! You’re not a child any more. What a display! You’re making a spectacle of yourself. But none of it had any effect. It didn’t stop the shaking and the sobs. It didn’t help the pain.
An arm went about her. Her face was pressed against the thick scratchy cotton of a work shirt encasing a warm chest that smelt of dirt and sweat and horse. A hand rubbed her back and a rich voice murmured words that didn’t make sense except for their rhythm and depth, and very slowly the pressure in her chest abated. The shaking of her shoulders slowed. The sobs eased and the tears dried.
She remained where she was, drawing as much comfort and strength as she could until the internal voices grew too loud to ignore and she finally drew back, scrubbing her hands across her face in an effort to erase the traces of her tears. She didn’t dare glance at Cade. Instinct told her his expression would score her too-vulnerable-at-the-moment heart, and she refused to cry again today. She’d need more deep breaths before she could face that.
‘I went too far.’ His voice broke the afternoon silence. ‘The thing is …’ he drew in a shaky breath ‘… I wanted to insult Brad and Diane. I don’t know them and I have no right to say anything, but I am so dirty with them for what they’ve done to you. Nobody deserves what they did. Especially not someone like you, Nicola.’
She had to look at him and he gave her a rueful half smile and it didn’t make her flinch or cringe. It helped her lift her chin and push her shoulders back a fraction.
‘I think,’ he continued, ‘you would be a great friend to have. And I think you were probably a lovely fiancé, and you sure as hell didn’t deserve what Brad and Diane did.’
His words put strength back into her spine. ‘No more than you deserved what Fran dished out to you.’ She moistened her lips and glanced down at her hands. ‘I’m sorry I hit you. Did I hurt you?’
He shook his head. ‘I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. But I deserved it. I was deliberately trying to rile you. You thought I was going to block it.’
‘I wasn’t thinking at all, that’s the problem. I just lashed out.’
They
