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Her inner battle shouldn’t make him happy, but he couldn’t help but admit he liked the fact she had no control over her feelings for him.... At least he wasn’t in this boat of emotions alone.
“I don’t want you to be the rebound guy,” she murmured. “But I’m so afraid of how you make me feel.”
Stroking her silky skin, wanting to kiss her trembling lips, Ian asked, “How do I make you feel?”
He shouldn’t have asked. Cassie pursed her lips together as if contemplating her response, and Ian worried he’d put her on the spot. But he had to know. This mattered too much. She mattered too much.
“Like I’m special.”
She couldn’t have zeroed in on a better word that would hit him straight in the heart. Special. She was special to him on so many levels. She was special because he’d never felt more alive than he did with her. He’d never let his career come second to anything before her, and he sure as hell had never thought, with his family issues, that he’d be falling for a woman with a child.
Cassie inspired him to be a better person, to want to care for others and put his needs last.
But most of all he understood that need to feel special. He’d craved it his entire life, and until this very moment, he hadn’t realized that was what he’d been missing.
“You make me feel special, too.” Before now he never would’ve felt comfortable opening up, showing how vulnerable he was on the inside. “I don’t want to be the rebound guy, either.”
Her eyes widened as she tried to blink back the moisture. “So what does that mean?”
Hell if he knew. Suddenly he wanted it all—his career, the Hollywood lifestyle, Cassie and Emily. Cassie had him rethinking what family could be.
There was that other part of him that was absolutely terrified and wanted to hightail it back to Hollywood. But for now, he would relish their time together until he could come to grips with this mess of emotions.
“It means for now, you’re mine.” He kissed the corners of her mouth. “It means you are more to me than any other woman has ever been.” He kissed her directly on the mouth, coaxing her lips apart before murmuring, “It means I’m taking you to bed to show you just how much you mean to me.”
Only wanting to keep her smiling, keep her happy for as long as he was here, Ian slid his arms around her waist and pulled her body flush against his own.
When Cassie’s fingers slid up around his neck and threaded into his hair, Ian claimed her mouth and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her toward the bedroom, where he fully intended to make good on his promise.
Thirteen
The day couldn’t be more perfect. God had painted a beautiful setting with the sun high in the sky and the temperature an ideal sixty degrees. The stage was set for Tessa to win the Preakness and take the second step toward the Triple Crown.
But no matter the weather, the thrill that always slid through Cassie at each race had to do with the stomp of the hooves in the stalls as the horses eagerly awaited their shining moment, the thick aroma of straw, the colorful silks adorning each horse, the tangible excitement of the jockeys as they shared last-minute talks with their trainers.
Which was exactly what Cassie and Tessa had just finished doing. Cassie had the utmost confidence that this race would go in their favor, but strange things always happened and they both knew better than to get cocky—especially at this point.
The first third of the Triple Crown was theirs, but this was a new day, a new race and a whole other level of adrenaline rushes.
Cassie followed behind as Tessa rode Don Pedro from the stables through the paddock and entered the track. No matter the outcome, Cassie was proud of her sister, of what they’d accomplished in their years together.
Soon their racing season would come to an end and Cassie would move on with her goal of opening a riding camp for handicapped children. Training a Triple Crown winner would put her in high demand in the horse-breeding world, but she hoped to use that reputation as a launching point for her school.
And beyond the school worries, her father was getting offers from his most heated rival, Jake Mason, to buy the prizewinning horses. Their season wasn’t even over yet, for heaven’s sake.
But those thoughts would have to wait until after the competition.
As would her thoughts of a certain Hollywood agent who had stayed behind on the estate to get some work done without distractions. The majority of the film crew had accompanied the Barringtons to Baltimore, Maryland, but today they were spectators, enjoying the race. They’d gotten many great shots from Louisville a couple of weeks ago, so now they were able to relax...somewhat. Cassie knew they were still taking still shots for the ad campaign, but not as many as at the derby.
