Chapter 79. Unraveling

ARDEN

Sister? Honey was… Cade’s sister?

The word rang in my ears like a soft bell. For a moment, I stood frozen, staring at the two of them. The way she hugged him, how she looked at him like he was a star in the sky. How she hid behind him, making him her shield and her warmth.

Before Cade could explain further, the same nurse from earlier popped her head through the open door.

“Cade, dear?” she called out kindly. “Could you help get the ball out of the maple again? I swear the wind here has a personal vendetta against our afternoon games.”

Cade turned to her, already smiling—a smile that was soft and boyish, one that made my heart stutter all over again. “I’ll be right back,” he told me, gently releasing Honey’s hand.

“Wait—” I tried, but the words slipped out too late. He was already out the door, leaving me alone in the room with the sister I had mistaken for someone else entirely.

Honey watched me with wide, uncertain eyes, her fingers