Meeting His Match (A Match Me Novel) (Entangled Lovestruck) (13 page)

His father was willing to throw away thirty-five years of Caine trying to please him the first time he actually stood up for himself and the woman he cared about? It shouldn’t have been a surprise, and it sure as fuck shouldn’t have hurt, but apparently he was a slow learner when it came to family.

Nothing he did would ever be good enough for his father.

Realizing that made him so goddamn tired. What was it all for? His dad should want him to be independent and happy. Yes, he should be able to juggle that while pushing McNeill Enterprises to the next level, but those two elements had never even factored into what his father considered a success. If he wasn’t doing things exactly like his old man—down to the smallest detail—then he was failing.

There was a time when he used to love this job, but it had been years since he truly felt that way. To have his father trying to sabotage the first good thing to walk into his life… No fucking way. “You’re right, Dad. It does end now. I quit.”

There were three gasps in the room, but was Addison who spoke first. “You can’t quit.”

“Aha! I knew you just wanted him for his money.” His father turned on him. “But the woman’s right—you can’t quit. You’re the CEO of McNeill Enterprises.”

“So find a new one.” The more he thought about it, the freer he felt. If he wasn’t the CEO, his life was his own for the first time. He could do anything. He could go back to school. He could move somewhere else… Like even New York City. “I think it’s best you two leave.”

“This isn’t the last of this conversation.”

Each breath he took felt freer than the last. “That’s the beauty of quitting, Father. It actually
is
the end of this conversation.”

His old man pinned him with a glare, and then sent an even more vicious one in Addison’s direction. “You’ll be hearing from me.” Then he took his wife’s arm and led her out of the room.

Even then, Caine didn’t take a full breath until he heard the front door slam shut. “That went well.”

Chapter Eighteen

That went
well
?

Addison was afraid to move her head to look at Caine. How in God’s name could he have thought that went well? His parents thought she was a prostitute who was going to steal him away, and he responded by confirming all their fears and telling them he was going to quit his job. That was so far from
well
, it wasn’t even in the same universe. In reality—or at least her reality—this had been nothing short of a disaster.

Finally able to move, she shoved his arm from her waist. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me? I thought you’d be happy.”

Which proved he didn’t really know her at all. However he felt about the lack of free time, he cared about his job. Maybe he didn’t like everything that came along with it, or the constant pressure from his father, but he enjoyed the challenge of it. She’d have to be deaf, blind, and mute not to hear it in his voice when he talked about putting these deals together. For him to quit because of her? Absolutely not.

“Call your father right now and apologize.”

Caine jerked back, his gray eyes going wide. “I’m not fucking apologizing.
He
should apologize. He insulted you.”

“Yes, he did. I was handling it. I didn’t need you to act like a rampaging caveman in response.” This was just proving her original theory right. They might match up really well in the bedroom, but true soul mates matched up in other areas as well. Even if there was more than one soul mate per person, there was no way Caine could be hers. And, damn it, as much she didn’t want to leave, it was painfully obvious that as long she stayed here, he wouldn’t search out his rightful soul mate.

And he’d keep sabotaging his life as a result. Just like Grandmother had warned the last time she’d tried to prove the soul mate theory wrong. Caine might have feelings for her now, but the longer she stayed here, the uglier things would get between them, until they hated each other.

Which meant she had to leave as soon as she possibly could, no matter how much it hurt.

Caine looked ready to shake her. “You can’t seriously expect me to sit back and let him talk to you like that.”

“I can fight my own battles. I always have.” Ever since Aiden died, anyways.

As if sensing her thoughts, he closed in on her. “You don’t have to. That’s the whole point of sharing your life with someone—you get to lean on them when you need it.”

Which was more attractive than she would ever admit aloud. Addison sidestepped his reach. If she let him touch her now, he’d kiss her, and then it would be all over. She’d forget all the reasons why this thing between them wouldn’t work, and she’d cheat him out of his chance at finding true happiness.

That
got her moving when nothing else would have. She couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t be that selfish. Already, her being here had disrupted his life in the worst way possible. All she’d been trying to do was help him, and she’d managed to piss off his father and get him to quit his job inside of two weeks. It would be impressive if it weren’t so terrifying. There was only one way to fix this, and that was to leave.

So she backed up, her head held high. “I’m going to my room.”

He froze, gray eyes searching her face. She forced herself to give him nothing. “Just like that? You’re done with the conversation, so it’s over?”

She wasn’t done, not until she’d put the final nail in the coffin that was their fledgling relationship, but she couldn’t do that while in the room with him. “We can talk more tomorrow if it would make you feel better.”

“It would make me feel better to talk right now.”

Well, that was just too damn bad. “I need some space to think things over.” With that, she turned around and marched out of the room, determined to put as much space between them as possible. Even this entire empty house wasn’t enough, but there was no help for it. She locked herself into her bedroom and snagged her computer off the nightstand. From there, it was quick work to find the number she was looking for. She dialed before she could talk herself out of it.

“This is Brenda Nickle.”

Her breath left her in a whoosh. “Brenda, it’s Addison.”

“So great to hear from you. What have you got for me? Please tell me he’s a cowboy who wears Wranglers and doesn’t believe in shirts.” Brenda had been a client for nearly six months, and gone on quite a few dates, but nothing had clicked yet. She was damn near perfect for Caine—poised and polished with a wicked sense of humor.

Her heart tried to lodge itself in her throat, but she managed to croak out, “Not a cowboy, but he’s from Tennessee and has an accent that will make your knees weak.”

“Sounds like my kind of man. When do I meet him?”

Addison gave her the details, promising to have her on the first flight the next morning. She did some quick math in her head—that would put the woman on their doorstep around eight. Just in time to kill any chance of her and Caine being together.

…

Caine was tempted to hunt Addison down as soon as he woke up, but he made himself take a shower and get ready first. The acts did nothing to cool his temper, but they gave him the distance to realize he needed to take a step back and listen to what was bothering her. Though she had damn well better get used to him defending her from assholes—even if that asshole was his father.

He headed downstairs, frowning when the first strains of piano echoed through the corridor. Why was she playing that song again? He’d looked up the lyrics of the original version after she told him the title, and it was so damn sad. Knowing she picked it specifically made his chest feel hollow.

An unfamiliar woman’s voice stopped him just outside the room. “That’s beautiful, Addison. I didn’t know you could play.”

“I don’t do it often.”

What the hell was going on here? A sneaking suspicion wormed through him, but he told himself he was jumping at shadows. Surely she hadn’t brought in another goddamn woman…

There was only one way to find out. He took a deep breath, feeling like he was about to step onto a battlefield, and walked through the door. Addison once again sat on the piano bench, her fingers playing over the keys. She didn’t look up as he walked over. “This is Brenda Nickle. She’s flown down from Philadelphia to meet you.”

Jesus fucking Christ. “Why are you doing this?” After everything they’d gone through, he was sure that he’d gotten through to her. Last night wasn’t the best of evenings, but what his parents thought of her didn’t matter in the least to him. All Caine cared about was how
he
felt about her.

Except apparently, even after everything, she didn’t feel the same way. There was no other explanation for why she had flown yet another woman down here to date him. He didn’t even glance at the woman. “Answer me, Addison.”

She finally looked up, and the shadows in her eyes staggered him. “Because it’s the only way. I had my chance at a soul mate. You should have yours, too.”

“Careful there, darlin’, you’re clinging to that soul mate bullshit so hard, your fear is showing through.” Because that’s what this was—she was afraid. That was the only explanation that made sense when he looked back over the last week.

“It’s not bullshit.” She took a shuddering breath and carefully lowered the cover over the piano keys. “I can’t change the way I feel. And I don’t feel like that with you.”

“Liar.” She jumped, but he didn’t relent. “You aren’t willing to at least
try
with me, which makes me wonder what scares you more. That we won’t work out—or that we will?”

“We won’t work. Last night proved that. Your father insults me, so you quit your job like a pouty child throwing a tantrum.” She carefully stood. “I won’t be the reason you ruin your life, especially when it’s not meant to be between us.”

He wanted to prove her wrong. Hell, he’d been fighting
so damn hard
to do just that, and she was shooting him down before he got a word out. “I didn’t quit my job for you.”

The delicate sound of a feminine throat clearing broke through. “Uh, do you want me to leave?”

He leaned back and crossed his arms, staring at Addison. “I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to get you to consider being with me, so you need to tell me the truth for once. Is it all for nothing? Is this something you’re never going to get over? Say the word and I’ll take
her
out.” He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

She lifted her chin, her dark eyes giving nothing away. “I think Brenda would be an excellent match for you.”

Fuck. She wasn’t going to back down, and he wasn’t fool enough to continue beating his head bloody on the brick wall that was Addison. “Fine. Have it your way. Let’s go, Brenda.” Without another word, he turned and stalked out the door. He made it three steps before he slowed down so the woman trailing behind him could catch up.

She didn’t say anything until they crossed the threshold of the front door. “I might be a little slow on the uptake, but I get the feeling there’s something going on between you two.”

“Not anymore.” Even as angry as he was, he couldn’t stop himself from holding the Jaguar’s door open for her. It wasn’t
her
fault that his life was falling apart around him.

He gunned it and tore out of the driveway. Damned difficult woman. What was she so afraid of? They had a good fucking thing going between them and she’d just thrown it all away under the flimsiest excuse she could come up with.

Quitting his job might have been impulsive, but it wasn’t like he didn’t have other options. He just needed to sit down and figure out what they were. There was no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater just because things had gotten a little bumpy.

Caine made it to the first light inside the city limits before it hit him. She’d made her excuses—just like she had been doing since they met—and he’d just left. He’d told her that he’d fight for her, and the first time she got scared and started talking about how it would never work, he went and proved her right.

“Christ.” He looked at the woman in the passenger seat. She was classically gorgeous, even with her caramel hair blown a thousand different ways by the drive. She deserved better than to have been used as a pawn in the ongoing thing between them. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”

She smoothed her hair back and lifted her sunglasses so she could meet his gaze. “She’s got you all twisted up in knots, doesn’t she?”

He gave a strained smile. “Is it that transparent?”

“You’re not exactly trying right now.” She shrugged. “I’ve known Addison a while now, and she deserves the best. If she’s got you this messed up, you must really care for her.”

He did. She was a giant pain in the ass and too stubborn by half, but she’d changed his life. “More than you can know.”

Brenda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m getting that. Then what are you waiting for? Put this monstrosity of a car through its paces and go get your woman.”

Damn it, she was right. “You’re a peach.”

“Yeah, yeah. If you really want to thank me, I don’t suppose you have a sexy friend around here you could hook a girl up with?”

He didn’t, but he seemed to remember that Agnes had a son a few years younger than Caine. “I’ll see what I can do.” The light turned green and he practically burned rubber pulling a U-turn and flying back the way they’d come. It hadn’t been that long. He’d sit Addison down and they’d figure things out. All it would take was one conversation.

Except when he screeched to a stop in front of his house, the first thing he heard was the damn dogs sending up a chorus of howls. Caine knew the truth even before he searched the house and came up empty.

Addison was gone.