Not without someone apologizing for Daphne’s shitty behavior and letting him know that they cared that he’d been hurt.
She ran and caught up with him down the long hall leading out to the parking lot. His shoulders were slumped, but he was walking in a straight line, at least. It didn’t matter—she knew he’d drank quite a bit. “Cade?” she called. “Are you okay?”
He kept walking, his hands shoved into his pockets.
“I’m sorry,” she said, falling into step next to him. “I’m told she’s not like this when she’s clean.”
He paused and looked over at her. “How long have you worked for Daphne?”
“A month now.”
“Have you ever seen her clean?” There was a wealth of pain in his eyes.
Kylie bit her lip. Should she lie to make him feel better?
A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “Your hesitation tells me everything I need to know.”
“I’m sorry,” she said again, even as he began to walk again. She started to walk, too, unwilling to let him leave.
“Why are you sorry? You haven’t touched a thing all night. I noticed that, just like I noticed her behavior.”
So he’d been watching her? Kylie’s skin prickled with forbidden pleasure. “I feel like someone should try and apologize for her.”
He laughed and shook his head. “That someone should be Daphne, but we both know that won’t happen.”
Kylie said nothing, just kept walking alongside him. If anyone needed a friend tonight, it was Cade, and she wasn’t leaving his side. Daphne had enough sycophants—and drugs—to keep her busy until dawn.
“Thing is,” Cade said in a low voice, “I know Daphne. I know how exciting and warm and wonderful she can be when she’s clean. She’s brilliant. I think that’s why I’ve always loved her.” He looked over at Kylie, and there was sadness in his beautiful eyes. “But that’s not the woman I saw tonight. I’m starting to wonder if she’s gone for good.”
“Don’t give up,” Kylie said. Her heart ached for him, for the pain she saw in his eyes.
“I’ve held on for years wondering when it’s the right time to give up,” Cade said, voice soft. “I’m getting tired of wondering. I think it’s time to move on with my life, and let Daphne go. For good.”
“She’s still going to need friends,” Kylie cautioned. “I imagine when she wakes up from whatever it is she’s doing to herself, she’s going to need people she can trust.”
“If any of them are left.” Cade shook his head and looked over at Kylie. “I’ve known her for so long. I shouldn’t be surprised by anything she does and yet every time I see her . . . it still hurts.”
Kylie ached for him. Impulsively, she laced her arm through his and gave his arm a little hug. She didn’t know him well enough to be on hugging terms, she suspected, but she knew a person in pain when she saw one and she couldn’t leave him out to dry. “You’re a good man for even trying,” she told him.
He gave her a sleepy smile. “Or a stubborn one.”
“Or that,” she said, smiling back.
The pink car was all alone in the near-empty parking lot. “That’s my ride,” Cade said.
Kylie frowned. “How many drinks did you have?”
“I’m fine,” he told her. Then, he pulled the keys out of his pocket, fumbled, and dropped them on the ground.
“Bullshit you’re fine,” Kylie retorted, leaning over and scooping up the keys before he could. “How many drinks did you have again?”
His eyes narrowed at her, but she wasn’t fooled. She’d thought they were bright and shiny because he was upset over Daphne—which he probably was. But it was more likely that he was just wasted and hiding it really well.
“I had several drinks,” he admitted. “And normally I’d say it’s irresponsible to attempt to drive back to my hotel with as much as I’ve had to drink, but after what I’ve seen tonight, I still think I’m far more responsible than anyone else I’ve seen.”
And he gave her a dopey, gorgeous grin that told her, yup, he was plastered.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Kylie retorted, unable to keep an equally silly smile off of her face. God, he was cute.
“You are entirely too good for this motley crew tonight.”
Sweet man. She held the keys away from him when he reached for them. “Well, this entirely too good woman is driving you back to your hotel, because she hates the thought of you as a smear on the pavement.”
He snorted. “I can drive myself. Seriously. There’s no need to babysit me.”
It was on the tip of her tongue that she’d been doing a lot of babysitting tonight, and what was one more? But she suspected that it would hurt him more than make him laugh. He was putting on a brave face, but she knew that Daphne’s behavior had to be bothering him more than he let on. “Just consider it a friend looking out for a friend. Now, get in.” She clicked on the remote and the car’s security lights flashed.
“Really, Kylie, I’m fine.”
“I insist.”
One corner of his mouth curved up and then he was giving her another panty-melting smile. “Who am I to resist such a beautiful woman?”
Um, an equally beautiful—if not more so—man? But she didn’t say it aloud. At least he was getting into the darn car. Kylie got in on the driver’s side and put the keys in the ignition, then adjusted the mirrors. Cade was several inches taller than her, so she had to pull the seat forward, too. But when she was buckled in, she looked over at him. “Ready to go?”