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When he continued to stare, muscle ticking in his jaw, Cassie tried her hardest not to wilt under his powerful presence. His gray T-shirt stretched over taut muscles, and she instantly recalled him taking her against the wall.
“Look, you’re going to be here for a while,” she said, reality sinking in. “I’m going to be here for the most part except during races. We’re going to see each other.”
His eyes roamed over her as if he were recalling last night, too. A shiver crept through her, but she remained still, waiting on his response.
“I wish you were different,” he told her, his voice low.
Stunned, Cassie crossed her arms. “What?”
Cursing, Ian turned for the door. “Nothing. You’re right,” he said, gripping the handle and glancing over his shoulder. “We have to see each other, so why make this harder than necessary? Last night was a mistake, so let’s just forget it happened.”
He walked out the door and Cassie resisted the urge to throw something. For a second, when he’d said he wished she were different, she’d seen a sliver of vulnerability in his eyes. But he’d quickly masked it with his cruel, hurtful words. Fine. She didn’t need anybody, especially someone who acted as if her child was a burden. Emily came first in her life. Period.
And no man, not her ex-husband and certainly not this sexy stranger, would make her feel ashamed.
Cassie turned toward her bedroom and cursed her body. She hated Ian Shaffer for his words, his actions, but her body still tingled from everything he’d done to her last night. How could someone so passionate and gentle turn into someone so hurtful?
Something about Emily had triggered such a dramatic turnaround. Unfortunately, Cassie didn’t have the time or the energy to care. Whatever issues Ian had didn’t concern her.
Now she just had to figure out how to see him on a daily basis and block out the fact he’d made her so alive, so confident for a brief time. Because now she didn’t feel confident at all. She wished she could have a do-over of last night.
This time she’d keep her clothes on.
Seven
Ian may have had the best sexual experience of his life last night, but any desire he felt for Cassie was quickly squelched when he’d discovered her with a baby. A baby, for crying out loud.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like children. Kids were innocent in life, innocent in the actions of adults. How could he not love them? He just didn’t see any in his future. And Cassie having a child certainly wasn’t a problem in and of itself.
No, the issue had been when he’d seen her holding her child and he’d instantly flashed back to his mother, who would drag him from sitter to sitter while she went out at night.
But he wouldn’t blame his past for his present problems. His body seemed to forget how angry he was and continued to betray him. Cassie was still sexy as hell and he’d forever be replaying just how hot their encounter had been.
But now that he knew she had a daughter, messing around on a whim was definitely out. He wasn’t cut out for the long term, and he refused to be the lover floating in and out of a kid’s life the way his mother’s lovers had floated through his.
Shaking off the unpleasant memories seeing Cassie with her baby had inspired, Ian approached Max Ford. His client had recently married his high school sweetheart and the couple had adopted a little girl. Ian couldn’t be happier for the guy, but he wanted no part in the happily-ever-after myth himself.
“Hey,” Max greeted him as he headed toward the makeup trailer. “Coming in with me?”
“Yeah.”
Ian fell into step behind Max. The actor tugged on the narrow door and gestured for Ian to enter first. After climbing the three metal steps, Ian entered the cool trailer and nodded a greeting to the makeup artist.
Max closed the door behind him and exchanged pleasantries with the young lady. Ian took a seat on the small sofa across from the workstation and waited until the two finished their discussion of the day’s events.
“You’re working out in the stables and field today?” Ian asked. “I saw the script. Looked like the scene with you and Lily when the first horses were brought onto the estate after the wedding.”
Max nodded as the makeup artist swiped over his face with a sponge full of foundation. “Yeah. It’s a short scene. This afternoon and evening we’ll be shooting some of the wedding scenes at the small church in town.”
Ian settled deeper into the sofa, resting an arm across the back of the cushion. “Everything going okay so far?”
“Great,” Max told him. “Raine is planning on joining me in a few days. She was excited I was shooting on the East Coast.”
