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CHAPTER 40
CASSIE
Cassie poured boiling water into a blue stoneware teapot with her favorite herbal tea. “Are you sure you don’t want any tea, Mom?” she asked using a cheery tone. She tried to put a positive spin on what was about to be a difficult conversation, with lots of questions about Leo.
“No, thanks. We need to talk.”
Here we go. Her mom would get straight to the point. She avoided her gaze and busied herself arranging mugs and the teapot on a tray. “Okay, but first, let me bring this out to Dad and Leo.” Poor Leo. No doubt he was enduring an inquisition from her father. Cassie lifted the tray and caught her mom’s shrewd gaze.
“Put the tray down and talk to me. They’re not going to drink it anyway.”
“Fine.” Cassie set the tray down and took a seat at the café table. She adjusted her glasses and regarded her mother. “You cut your hair.”
“I’ve been threatening to do it forever,” she said with a laugh. Her eyes narrowed on Cassie, “You’re trying to change the subject.I’m here to talk about you.”
“And Leo.” Cassie gave her mother a pointed look. “That’s why you and Dad came to London.”
“That’s why we stopped over in London,” she said with a raised brow. “Your father has some business in Santorini, and I’ll visit family and a few friends.”
Maybe he did have business in Santorini, but Cassie suspected the trip had been manufactured to justify this stopover in London. They wanted to see for themselves what was going on with her and Leo.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Cassie asked.
“Your father has concerns about Leo.”
Yep, just as she guessed.
“Are his concerns about Leo or LeoSutton?Because if it’s about the business rivalry nonsense, you’re wasting your time. None of that matters to Leo—or me,” she said, her voice rising.
“Calm down, Cassie,” her mother said with a sigh. “Leo is a Sutton, but your father is focused on Malcolm because he is the heir apparent of Sutton Properties. Your father has other concerns about Leo.”
“Why? He’s never mistreated me or used me like Owen did. I’m happier than I’ve been in years.”
“I can see you’re happy. I’m glad, I really am.”
Her mom’s words were sincere, but Cassie wanted to be sure her mom understood the difference between Owen and Leo.
“Last night Owen said some disgusting things to me.” Her eyes welled with tears. “He actually said—out loud—I wasn’t good enough for him.”
“Oh, Cassie.” She took Cassie’s hand, rubbing her thumb. “I’m so sorry he did that to you. Owen never deserved you.”
“It was humiliating.” She wiped a tear away. “Leo defended me. No one has ever done anything like that for me.”
She looked closely at Cassie. “I believe you, and I’m glad Leo protected you.”
Cassie crossed her arms. “So what’s the problem?”
Her mom pressed her lips together. “You’ve been given a valuable piece of property and your father is concerned Leo might take advantage of your friendship.”
This was a ridiculous assumption. It was her father who wanted to get his hands on the Crete property, not Leo.
Cassie looked her mother directly in the eye. “From the start, Leo has been hands off about the property. He’s never pressured me like Dad has.”
She lifted her eyes to Cassie but remained silent.
“What about you?” Cassie asked. “Do you believe Leo would take advantage of me?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said with a shake of her head. “As your mom, I’m more concerned about you. I don’t want anyone to have that much influence over you.”
