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She stops now, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. Daddy dearest didn’t tell her what he did. She has no idea why I left her without another word. And I won’t be the one to tell her. I can’t, because it would break my contract with him.
“What greater good?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
I close the gap between us. “You think you’re the only one that lost something that night? I lost the ability to come home and check on my mom. I haven’t been back because I couldn’t.”
She blinks back at me. “I didn’t know that,” she whispers, her anger toward me easing slightly.
“Why would you? I haven’t been able to talk to you about it until now. I couldn’t contact you even though I wanted to all the time.”
“I don’t get it. Who stopped you? How could someone keep you from seeing her?”
“I’ll leave that for you to work out.”
She shakes her head, the obvious internal battle rattling around in there as she tries to process this new information. “I don’t believe you. You make my father look like a monster, but he’s not.” I know she’s worked it out. She knows her dad. And she would have had to deal with him herself that night. We all like to think our parents are perfect, but her father certainly isn’t.
I reach out for her, taking her in my arms again, and she lets me. “Anyone can turn into a monster when they’re trying to protect someone they love. If I had a daughter, I would do the same. I’m not saying he was right for what he did. I’m just trying to explain to you why I had to break it off with you and leave town. It wasn’t because I wanted to; I never would have left you by choice.”
Her pretty sad eyes rise to meet mine, and it’s as if she is searching for something. She stares at me for an extended period. She’s so haunted, and it kills me. What happened to her while I was gone? “It doesn’t change everything that happened because you left. My life...” She sucks in a breath like she’s going to cry, and I can’t deal with seeing her in this pain anymore.
Instead of continuing to fight with her, I do the thing I have wanted to since Monday when I spotted her in the hall. I pull her toward me and kiss her sweet lips. When I do, it’s as if no time has passed at all; we’re younger, with our dreams still within our reach. And for a second, she relaxes into me, letting me explore her mouth and claim her with years of pent-up desire. She feels this still, the undeniable pull we have toward each other. Time hasn’t changed anything. I bring my hand to the back of her head, pulling her closer to me as our kiss intensifies. Her hair is soft against my skin, and I tug it into a ponytail and pull her back slightly so I can look at her.
Her eyes are closed, but when they flutter open and she registers who is staring back at her, they go wide like she has just worked out it's me. And she looks scared. “I can’t do this with you. You don’t know what I have been through. I can’t. We can’t.” She shakes her head from side to side.
I release my hold on her. I know I have just overstepped. It wasn’t my intention, but I can’t help myself when it comes to her. “Cassie, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, you're right.” She looks so wounded.
“Let me call you a lift home. You can’t stay here like this,” I offer, feeling like the world's worst asshole, and I am, but she doesn't have to see that.
“It’s fine. I’m calling Jasmine now.” She walks away from me, and I hear her call her sister. She moves to the parking lot and waits, and even though I can hear the movie starting behind me, I stay and wait until her sister arrives to take her home.
Her father warned me right from the first night at that concert to stay away from her. But from the moment I met her, I became obsessed, and I just couldn’t stay away, no matter the consequences.
CHAPTER SIX
CASSANDRA
IhurrytowardScarlet,feeling so bad I'm running late to meet her, but the little-fairy ballerina class was chaos this morning and I had to stay back at talk to one of the moms about her child, then clean up the room—not fun with a hangover. But that's on me because I shouldn't have been drinking at all. I just got a little carried away. Being in the presence of Brandon Lewis will do that to a girl.
"Sorry," I call, meeting her at the entrance.
"Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm so excited." Scarlet beams as we walk through the electric doors to Amelia's signature store for Artemis, her fashion label.
"It's the least I can do after how awesome you’ve been to me this week. Helping me settle in and answering all my annoying questions." It's also the distraction I desperately need after the night I had.
"None of your questions were annoying. Are you sure it's okay to have Tilly here?" Her little girl cuddles into her neck shyly, and I can see why it must be hard to leave her with other people. She's adorable, with her little blonde curls and overalls dress she's wearing.
"Of course, it's a Saturday. Amelia's kids are probably out in her design studio. She's a single mom like you, so she gets it." I smile. I can't even imagine how hard it is for her. She works full-time then goes home and parents all by herself, all with a smile on her face. I'm in awe of her.
I'm always blown away when I enter Amelia’s showroom; it's just that beautiful. The walls are a crisp white, with naturally dried flower arrangements waterfalling over the top shelves. And it smells like vanilla, but not the sickly-sweet stuff that overwhelms your nostrils and makes you want to puke, but the real stuff. The outfits are hung in front-facing displays, and in the center of the room is a circular counter with a glass display showcasing all her accessories. It's changed from when I was in here last, but I guess she would have all the new items from her fashion show trickling through in time for winter.
"So, what do you need most of all?"
Scarlet looks a little overwhelmed as she picks up items of clothing and looks them over. "I have no idea. I guess I have enough clothes for work, so maybe something for the weekend for going on dates." She whispers the last word like she's scared to say it out loud.
"Dates?" I raise a brow, intrigued by the idea that my new friend has a date.
