“Violet,” he greeted her cheerfully. “You look lovely this morning.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, stepping out of her room and making sure the door was locked behind her. She didn’t see Jonathan, and strangely enough, she was disappointed. “Are we alone?”
“No—” Cade began.
“Why? Did you want to be?” From around the corner, Jonathan walked slowly toward them, sunglasses covering his eyes. He scowled at Cade, who only gave her an oblivious smile.
“Why, no,” Violet said, surprised. “I was just curious. What crawled up your ass and died?”
“Everything, if my brain is any judge of things,” Jonathan said bluntly. “My head is f**king killing me.”
“That’s your own fault.” She couldn’t stop staring at his hair. It was an absolute disaster, and several days’ worth of beard growth was lining his jaw. He looked like a mess. A deeply, deeply hungover mess. So she increased the volume of her voice. “I’m starving. Shall we go down and eat?”
Cade offered her his arm with a smile, and she took it.
Jonathan just scowled at both of them.
When they got to the hotel dining room, Cade insisted on pulling her chair out for her so she could sit down. That earned him a sharp word from Jonathan. What was Cade’s game? He seemed unruffled by Jonathan’s increasingly sour mood, but it had to be an act of some kind. She spread her napkin on her lap, curious, and watched the men.
Jonathan more or less slumped in his chair and put a hand to his forehead. It was clear he was feeling his drinks. Cade, however, seemed cheerful and alert.
When the waitress came over, Jonathan ordered whiskey.
“Um, I’m n-not sure we s-serve it this early,” the girl stammered, looking at him with alarm.
Cade frowned at him. “Are you sure you want to do that? We need you sober.”
“Fuck off,” Jonathan told him and then pointed at the waitress. “Whiskey. Hundred-dollar tip for you if you bring it in the next two minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, flushing. “Can I get anyone else a drink?”
“Orange juice,” Cade told her.
“Same,” Violet said, opening her menu.
“Now, Violet, remember, breakfast is on me,” Cade told her, and reached over to pat her arm. He smiled at her and clasped her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze.
Jonathan frowned at the two of them. He ripped his sunglasses off and glared at her over her menu, his eyes bloodshot. Then, he stared at Cade. “Why is breakfast on you?”
This was a good question, but Violet was going to play along with it. “Thank you, Cade. I appreciate it.” She pulled her hand from his and pretended to consider the menu.
But Cade remained cheerful. “I told Violet that since I was taking the reins on this project, I’d also handle her expenses.”
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed even as the waitress brought his drink over and placed it carefully in front of him. He ignored her, his eyes still fixed on Cade. “What do you mean, you’re taking over this project?”
And now she understood Cade’s plan. He was going to make Jonathan jealous.
Part of her wanted to throw her napkin on the table and smack both of the men silly for acting like this. After all, she wasn’t an object for them to fight over, and making Jonathan jealous wouldn’t establish anything other than prodding an already irritated bull. And what did it accomplish, really? So he was jealous? So what? It wasn’t like she was going to launch herself at Cade or Jonathan. She just wanted to go home and pick up the reins of her quiet little life.
But she couldn’t help but peek through her lashes at Jonathan to see how he’d react. And she couldn’t help the weird, excited little flutter in her belly when he glared at Cade as if he wanted to rip the man’s head off.
Which was ridiculous. Why did she care that it bothered Jonathan?
Perhaps there was some sort of girly bone in her body that enjoyed seeing a guy go all alpha-male caveman on her. But she couldn’t resist prodding the situation. So she pretended to consider her menu a bit longer, and then gave Cade a brilliant smile. “You’re so sweet.”
“Why,” Jonathan growled, his voice gravel in his throat, “the f**k is he sweet? What’s he doing?”
“Violet told me about her situation,” Cade said, smiling at the waitress when she set orange juice down in front of him. “That she wants to return to her school but she’s obligated to remain at your side until the mystery is solved. And since you’re indisposed and determined to remain here, I thought I’d step in and assist her.”
That got a response from Jonathan. The whites of his eyes showed, and his nostrils flared. “Cade,” he gritted. “Back. Off.”
“Why?” Cade wouldn’t be deterred. He gestured at Jonathan’s drink. “It’s clear what your plans are.”
“Back. Off,” Jonathan repeated, clearly furious.
“He’s just trying to help me out, Jonathan,” Violet interjected, unable to resist rubbing salt in the wound. “I asked him to come. You’ve been impossible to talk to the last few days.” To her horror, a knot formed in her throat and she had to blink repeatedly to keep from weeping like an idiot. She hadn’t realized how stressed she was until she said it aloud. “I didn’t know what to do. All you do is drink and yell at me.”
The look Jonathan gave her was utterly tortured. “Violet, please—”
“No,” she said, and her voice wobbled. She got to her feet. “I can’t do this, all right? I can’t stay here forever, not when I’m needed at the school. And I can’t sit here and watch you drink yourself into a coma like my mother did. You forced me to do this stupid scavenger hunt when all I wanted to do was forget that my father existed. So now I’m here, and you need to decide what it is you want, because either we finish this or I get to go home.” She threw her napkin down on the table, her appetite gone. “I’ll be in my room.”
As she stormed away, she heard Jonathan’s low voice behind her. “Damn you, Cade.”
—
A half hour later, Violet had neatly repacked her luggage and brushed her teeth again, and now sat in her room, waiting for the phone to ring so someone could tell her what was going on. When a knock came at the door, she was relieved; being in limbo was emotionally exhausting.