“Fine,” she conceded, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “But I reserve the right to safeword at any time.”

“Naturally.” He nodded at the pad of paper. “Write your list. I’m going to get dressed, then we’ll figure out if we need help.”

“Okay.”

He set his coffee cup in the sink, pleased when he heard the scratch of pen on paper behind him. He glanced back to see her bent over the counter, her hair swinging forward to brush the countertop. She listed her belongings in neat, flowing script, her brow wrinkled in concentration.

Unable to resist, he rounded the counter and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “It’s going to be okay, fofa.”

She looked up. “Thanks, Cade.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and forced himself to go upstairs before he gave in to the urge to make things complicated.

* * * *

Cade climbed out of his truck in front of Olivia’s former apartment and lifted a hand at the man leaning on the building. “Jack. Thanks for coming.”

“No problem.” Jack stepped forward, dressed in worn jeans and a gray T-shirt that bared the ink on his right arm. His hair, brown with lighter streaks of gold, was longer than Cade remembered, tied back in a low tail. A thick beard shadowed his jaw, and aviator sunglasses shielded his eyes. “It’s been a while.”

“It’s construction season,” Cade offered by way of explanation, and Jack nodded in understanding.

“So, what are we looking at here?”

Cade shoved his sunglasses to the top of his head. “The short story is, Olivia and Kyle broke up, so we’re here to get the rest of her stuff.”

Jack nodded. “And the long one?”

“Is not mine to tell.”

“Fair enough.” Jack slipped off his glasses and hooked them in the collar of his shirt, his dark eyes narrowed against the sunlight. “Is Kyle here?”

Cade shook his head. “Don’t know. I called him, but he didn’t pick up. I didn’t leave a message.”

“You expecting a fight?”

“I don’t know what to expect.”

“Well, let’s find out.” Jack turned to his truck, parked in front of Cade’s, and hauled a flat stack of boxes, a thick ream of oatmeal-colored packing paper, and two rolls of packing tape out of the bed. “After you.”

Kyle didn’t answer the door, so Cade pulled Olivia’s key out of his pocket and used it.

“Kyle,” he called out. “It’s Cade and Jack. You here?”

They waited for a moment, and when no one replied, Jack stepped inside. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home.”

“I’m going to check it out, just to make sure,” Cade told him, and headed down the hall.