Chapter 48

Since Jocelyn didn't take his calls all day, Caden wondered if he had misread her signals, or maybe the romance had been all in his head. He had texted and called Jocelyn alternately all day, but her phone kept going straight to voice mail. Then his phone rang. For a moment, he hoped it was Jocelyn, but frowned when he saw that it was Mallory.
He sighed as he clicked on the phone. "Hello, Mallory. What do you want?"
"Well, that's a fine way to greet an old friend," she replied on the other end.
"Friendship has to be earned." Caden shook his head, not in the mood for more of Mallory's shenanigans. "As I asked, what do you want?"
There was a pause and, for a moment, Caden almost regretted being so abrupt with her- almost. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me." When he didn't answer right away, she added, "You know, for old time's sake."
Convinced that everything with Jocelyn was all in his head, he relented. "Sure. Why not? What time shall I pick you up?"
"Yes!" Mallory squealed on the other end. For the life of him, he couldn't imagine what he had ever seen in her. She really was nothing like he had imagined her to be. "Pick me up at eight." Before he could answer, she added, "See you then! Bye!" Then the phone went dead.
Although he had no intention of pursing her, he thought that maybe they could be friends. After taking a shower and dressing in clean clothes, but nothing special, he checked his phone for any messages from Jocelyn.
Nothing.
He sighed and clicked off. He really messed things up this time. If he hadn't tried to take it farther with Jocelyn, they may still be friends. But deep down, he knew that old saying was true: You can't go back. Caden knew they couldn't go back to being just friends, the way that they had been. He was too attracted to her. But as he drove over to their house, he found that he missed her, so much so that his heart ached.
When he got there, Mallory's car was setting in the driveway and Jocelyn's was nowhere to be seen. He pulled to a stop and got out of the car. But before he could walk around, Mallory had bounded out of the house and was already headed toward him.
"Ready to go?" Before he could answer, she opened the passenger-side door and slid in.
"Well, I guess so," Caden replied.
Mallory reached up to the dashboard and started adjusting the dials, including the heat and the radio. Caden reached up and clicked it off, not in the mood for hip hop. "So, where do you want to go?"
"The Blue Hawaii?" she asked, batting her eyes.
The Blue Hawaii featured hula dancers and Hawaiian food, and it was also the most expensive place in town. "Mallory, let's get something straight."
She looked up at him with wide-eyed innocence. "What?"
"Stop trying to manipulate me with batting your eyes and coming on to me." He placed his arm over the steering wheel. "But if you want to go out as friends, then I'm game. Otherwise, I'll leave you right here."
"Well!" Mallory huffed, folding her arms across herself, wearing an indignant look.
"Take it or leave it," Caden added, waiting patiently.
"Fine," she huffed, and then straightened her shoulders. "Then where would you like to go?"
"Not The Blue Hawaii this time of year," he replied.
"Okay, but nothing Christmassy." Mallory pulled down the visor and adjusted her lipstick. "With the pageant, I've had enough of Christmas for a while."
Caden smiled as he started the car. "That we can agree on." He turned the car around, headed toward town. "What about Mario's?" Mario's Italian Pizzeria had the best pizza in town. "I haven't had any pizza for a while."
"No?" Mallory asked, raising an eyebrow.
Caden shook his head. "No, my mother is on a kick with buckets of fried chicken lately."
Mallory laughed. "Really?"
"Really."
"How is your mother?"
Caden was surprised that she truly looked concerned. "You know she had a stroke. But she's doing well." He chuckled, remembering his mother. "She still goes down to the tree lot with my father every day."
Mallory's eyes flew open in concern. "They didn't go in today, did they?"
"No, and I'm glad they didn't. It was freezing out."
"And snowing," Mallory added. "I'm just glad it stopped for a while."
Caden chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Me, too."
Since she didn't say anything against or for going to Mario's, he took it as a yes. He knew that whoever wound up with Mallory would have to be rich enough to keep her. He was glad that Jocelyn wasn't that way. But he pushed the thought to the side, determined to try and enjoy himself. He had spent way too much time thinking of Jocelyn, and he needed a break.
Within minutes, they pulled into the Mario's parking lot, located just inside of town.
Before he could say anything, Mallory flung her car door open. "Let's go inside. It's freezing out here." Then she quickly jumped from the car and headed toward the front door, her high heels clicking along the pavement.
Caden was about to yell to her to be careful that it was probably slick, but he wasn't in the mood. After all, she was a big girl and if she fell on her ass from stupidity, then so be it. He took his time walking across the filled parking lot. Mallory hadn't waited for him. "Figures." When he walked in, she was standing by the hostess stand, batting her eyes at the ma?tre d. Caden and the gentleman pretended not to notice.
"Right this way, madame." The ma?tre d walked away, expecting them to follow.
Caden knew he should have been mad at her for flirting with the ma?tre d, but he found it amusing instead. At that moment, he realized that Mallory no longer had any effect on him.
"Here you go." The gentleman laid the menus on the table and then turned to Caden, ignoring Mallory completely. "Your waitress will be with you in just a minute."
"Humph!" Mallory huffed as she pulled out her seat herself, sat down, and started perusing the menu.
Caden smirked. "Thank you."
From the smile that he was concealing, the gentleman knew that Caden was thanking him for much more than seating them. He nodded and then walked away, heading back up front to help another couple.
When Caden took his seat, Mallory looked up at him with a smile plastered across her face. "So, what are you going to have?"
"I'm not sure." Caden opened his menu. "But one thing is sure. You're going to have to start being yourself and not who you think people want you to be."
Mallory closed her menu and looked into his eyes. "Caden, I'm not even sure I know who that is anymore."
Caden shrugged as one corner of his lips curled into a smile, glad that she was finally telling the truth. "Well, there's no time like the present to find out." As Caden closed his menu, he knew that was the only way that he and Mallory could ever be friends. But if she continued to try and manipulate him and everyone else to get her way, then they didn't stand a chance of even being friends. "So, what are you going to have?"
"Want to split a pizza?" she asked. For a split second, he saw a glimpse of the girl he had once loved.