33 - Princess

Maybe it wasn't fair to take her anger out on Cade. Meg thought he would help her, but he had only insulted her. No, his girlfriend wouldn't find her threatening.

Through clenched teeth she said, "Meg, your running buddy."

Cade looked over at her amused. "Now you're mad because I said I wouldn't be like the other guy who you're mad at." He threw his hands up in the air. "Like I said, men are much easier to understand."

Their pace had slowed to carry on their discussion. "Yeah. I've heard that before. Men are simpletons. Just keep one piece of their anatomy happy."

He looked over. "Are you goading me, because you can run alone. If I learned anything from my experience, it's that I have complex feelings."

He gave her just the right jab. "Okay, I'm sorry. I want to spend time with Blue, but I feel pathetic. I'll be stuck on the couch because I'm not about to sleep in his bed."

Those days were over even if their friendship went back to the way it was. Cade didn't respond and she let it go. As they ran, he looked over at her occasionally. He was sealed up like a bank vault. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

After a few miles, the silence bothered her. "What are you up to for the rest of the day?"

Cade shrugged. "Laundry. Clean the house. Weekend stuff."

Meg never had to do chores. Aside from cooking she wasn't very domestic. Growing up with a housekeeper, she never had to. If she married Tyler, they would hire people just like Tyler did.

"I cook, but I don't do the rest."

He laughed. "Princess."

"Hey, you can afford to hire any help you need."

He smirked. "If I wanted to, I would."

Once again, they focused on running. Her conditioning had improved from running with Cade. Most days her mood did, but she had been feeling low since Tyler texted her details about his weekend away with Ariella. Not details of their plans. Sex, obviously. The text listed when they were leaving and returning along with some instructions. The instructions bothered her the most, because she had been taking care of Blue since she was a little pup. He treated her like his dog walker he paid. As she went over his text, she exclaimed, "I can't believe him!"

"What, now?" Cade had a small smirk.

"He doesn't want me to stay over. He said I can crate her between nine and seven."

"So he expects you to stay until nine."

She nodded, "And come back at seven. Except she sleeps on the bed."

"He definitely doesn't want you in his bed."

She bit her lip. "Maybe my mother will let her in my bedroom. Do you sleep with Confetti?"

He shook his head. "He gets in trouble unsupervised."

"Blue used to, but he doesn't crate her during the workday. He definitely doesn't want her sleeping with me." Meg would make sure she smelled like her. She hated feeling petty.

As they approached Confetti's bench they slowed. Cade had led them another way from their previous runs. Meg looked at her wrist to see how far they ran. "Wow! That didn't feel like ten miles. It's more fun running with a buddy."

"Is that your hint to meet tomorrow?" Cade's eyes twinkled.

Meg's heart soared. He can joke. "I promise not to complain about men." He laughed, and she felt it in a place deep down.

"I have plans so if you want you can keep going, but I'll cut out at six miles."

What plans? She nodded, "Sounds good. See ya tomorrow."

She walked away without saying goodbye to Confetti.

After she showered, she went to the kitchen for coffee. The large custom kitchen held memories for Meg, especially on the weekends when she cooked with her mother.

Shannon sat looking through pieces of paper. "What are you doing?"

"Looking through some recipes. Chickie and Arthur are coming for dinner."

"Just the two?"

"We invited the family."

She smirked. "Tyler probably has a date, and Eli." She cleared her throat. "Who knows what Eli does?"

"He likes to talk about legal things with your father."

"True. True." If Eli came, his focus would be on her father. "Speaking of Tyler, I have a big favor to ask you." Shannon gave her full attention. "He and Ariella are going away next weekend. I'm dog sitting, but he doesn't want me to stay over."

"That's foolish."

"Can she stay in my room, please? I promise she won't make a mess."

"We've never wanted a dog."

"You've never wanted one. I always have. This is for two days and I'll keep her outside most of the time."

"I don't know."

"Please. Consider it."

Meg fixed her coffee and took it out to the patio. The air was perfect for September. It felt the same temperature inside as out. When her phone buzzed, she wished it was Cade. It was Mick. Cade had no reason to text her, except to cancel their run. Mick asking to meet for Sunday lunch was as unexpected as if Cade had. She was tempted to see if Mick was free for Saturday dinner instead.

Sitting at the table with the woman who had wanted to be her mother-in-law was going to be like a root canal without novocaine. Meg dressed to please her mother. Before everything changed, she enjoyed her mother's casual dinner parties. Casual meant Shannon cooked, and she allowed guests in the kitchen. Some formality existed, including eating in the dining room. Only the immediate family and guests under eighteen ate in the kitchen. Shannon's rules of decorum were endless.

Meg was still upstairs when their guests arrived. She heard Chickie's laugh along with male voices. Her pulse raced, had Tyler surprised her? When she stepped into the living room, Eli looked up.

She greeted him. "I thought you would have more important things to do on Saturday night."

He shrugged. "Believe it or not, Harrison has a date."

Meg laughed. "Poor girl."

Arthur said, "My son is too busy to date. Meanwhile, his brother is making a splash with what's the girl's name?" Eli and Meg both answered. "What kind of name is Ariella?"

Eli chuckled, but Meg said, "I think it's pretty." Better than Margaret.

She stayed in the living room to avoid facing the mothers alone. Once they sat for dinner, Chickie started. "I wanted Tyler to come. You two have been friends for so long."

"I'm sure he and Ari had more important things to do."

Eli added, "I doubt he wanted to come. He needs to forgive Meg."

Meg glared at Eli, but an idea formed out of her mortification. "He trusts me with Blue. If only I could keep her in my room, because Tyler wants her to stay alone overnight."

"You can't do that. What if there's a fire?"

She's not a child, Eli. She bit her lip, as her father looked at her mother. "I don't see why not?"

Chickie smiled. "That's wonderful you're taking care of our grand dog. I doubt I'll ever have grandchildren."

Eli spoke up. "Don't rule Tyler out."

"Your brother's date is career minded."

Meg smiled. "Today was a beautiful day. I ran ten miles along the river." Hopefully, she changed the subject for good.

After dinner, Eli pulled her aside. "You've seen Maloney again?"

She nodded. "We run together on weekends."

"Ten miles?"

"Today. Tomorrow, not as long. I'm having lunch with Mick."

"Does Ty know?"

She shrugged. "Not my problem. He's living his life, I'll live mine."

"You sound jealous."

"I'm not. I just miss him."

Eli returned to discussing legal precedents and Meg slipped away upstairs. She needed to get up early. Her plan was a little reading before turning in.

In the morning, Cade was waiting for her. She smiled. "I'm not late."

"I was early. I, um, was up early."

She studied his face. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. Let's go."

Cade's pace was too fast for Meg to keep up with for more than a mile. He was in a zone, so she dropped back to find a pace she could sustain. She worried about Cade. Although she never knew how talkative he would be, this mood was new. She trusted Eli, he couldn't have meant Cade was the new suspect. No, just the thought was preposterous. The distance grew until she couldn't see the man and his dog anymore. When she rounded a bend, Cade was running towards her.

"Sorry. I, um, never meant to take off. Next time, tell me I'm too fast."

"You can run fast if you want to. I never want to hold you back." Meg resisted the urge to ask what was wrong.

"I like your pace. Otherwise, I'll be the one with the injury."

They rounded back and she hugged Confetti. "Next weekend I'll have Blue."

Cade nodded. "We'll have to introduce them, but he likes female dogs. Have a good week."

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