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Her stomach dropped "I don’t want your money, Cade"

"Well, that’s nice, but this isn’t my money This is yours" He pressed the envelope into her hand Wary, she opened it

Inside was a check on the record label’s account It was the exact aed her for Daphne’s concerts

"How"

"Like I said, I non the label" He corrected hi his head "Well, actually, I own the majority share But they wanted to make me happy and this hat I insisted upon"

"Th-thank you" She stared down at the check, numb

"Don’t thank me," Cade said "Talk toaway" He clasped her hand in his "I’ht? You could have coiven you the money"

She flinched and pulled away from him "That’s just it I don’t want a handout I don’t want to be a burden"

"There’s that word again," he said, and his voice was hard "I don’t knohy you see someone you love equates to a burden"

"Cade," she protested "They were co after me for thousands of dollars Hundreds of thousands if what they toldI have billions" He shook his head "It’s not about the money Tell me what it is, Kylie Make me understand"

Kylie stared down at the check, then looked over at hiht?"

"You did"

"Well" Her lips were dry She licked the uncomfortable and anxious "My nana isn’t the mosthappy of people Her husband died when she was fifty, and then her only child died ten years later So when she inherited me and I was all of ten years old, she really didn’t knohat to do with me Not only that, but her husband didn’t have life insurance, and neither did my parents, so not only did she have me to take care of, but she had to work outside of the house for the first time in her life She hated it And she hated me because of it" Kylie’s stomach churned uncomfortably at the ly, and she had to work two jobs because oflike my mother, as beautiful and smart and thin I was a burden, and she told rew up, well, I decided that I’d never be a burden to soave him a faint smile "Want to know the ironic part? When I hit twenty or so, Nana Sloane slipped into full-on de home with round-the-clock care because her mind can’t stay focused on the present Now she’s h was bitter "And she’s a really expensive one I can’t see for both her and ive, and she can’t work, so it falls back to ripped her hand in his "That’s a horrible story Didn’t anyone love you, growing up?"

She shrugged, feeling uncomfortable "My parents did I never felt unwanted with them And I always had friends in school It was just hard after they died" Because Nana Sloane hated Kylie

Such a burden So useless Look at how fat she is She’s not even trying to take care of herself I can’t believe I got stuck with her I should have just called the state and had them take her away, but family always handles their own, no matter hoful it is She’s my own albatross, a fat little liability that"That night ent out for wafflesYou told me about the ex that dumped you on the street Does this have to do with hi my issues, am I?"

"Are you afraid I’d do the saain, I didn’t think he would, either I justI can’t be so about all the hurting, ugly things in her past was giving her a headache But she had to She had to make him understand that it wasn’t hie

"I’d never--"

"But you did blackmail me," she pointed out with a rueful smile "I still don’t have my panties back"