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“None of us will.” Alana nods.
“All right, everyone. It’s late. We all have much to think about, and I need to help these two settle into the guesthouse. Lord knows Patrick lives like a pig.” Mom tries to bring some levity to the room.
“Mom, I’m a bachelor, not a disgusting teenager.” I shake my head.
Truth is, I’m nervous to bring Cassandra into my domain. We’ve spent most of our nights at her place because it’d be weird to sneak her into mine, and now I’m bringing her to the place I’ve been temporarily living. Under dire circumstances. It’s not the place I want to impress her with because what twenty-something man wants to admit he basically lives with his parents?
But hopefully, someday soon, all this danger will be behind us, and we can have an honest conversation about where we’re going to move in together. Because I meant what I said to her outside, I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, and I plan to be with her … well, forever. It might seem fast, but I’ve not been sure before, and since I am now, I’m wasting no time.
My family shuffles out of the dining room, closing up or heading home. When I get Cassandra into the passenger seat of my car, opting to leave hers here for the night, I bend down to press a kiss to her lips.
“Still want to be with me even though my family is insane?” I ask, my smile pressed to her mouth.
She sighs. “They love you fiercely, that’s something I’ve never experienced. I hope one day I can feel the full force of it.”
“For now, you’ll have to settle for the full force of my love.” I palm her cheek, and those emerald eyes flutter shut.
“I can’t believe you said it.” Those words sound happy, if not tired.
“And I’ll keep saying it, every single day,” I promise.
“Good. Because I’ll need to hear it. This isn’t going to get easier. Maybe at some point, the threat will go away. Or the person will be caught. But are you sure being with me is worth it?”
Now her lashes flick up with the opening of her eyes, and I see worry marring them.
“Not another second of that. You’re worth everything.” I’m crouching on the pavement. “Let me take you home. To our place, at least for now. We’ll rest, and hopefully, with extra security and people around, we’ll be able to get to the bottom of this before anything else happens.”
Cassandra nods, and with one last kiss, I move quickly to the driver’s side to fire up the engine and heat.
While I might have promised her some rest, I barely shut my eyes the entire night after we slip under my sheets. The last break-in happened on my watch, and I won’t let that occur again.
24
CASSANDRA
Two days after I move some of my stuff into the guesthouse, Wilson calls to say they have a new round of workshop kids he wants me to coach.
Patrick isn’t so keen on the idea, but with only forty-eight hours under my belt, I feel stuffy and claustrophobic from sitting inside all day. It might be a risk, but I need to get out, and it’s not like I’ve ever been approached or attacked in broad daylight downtown. I pointed out that I’m more unsafe being home alone, as evidenced by the break-ins, but the man I love doesn’t seem to be satisfied with that answer.
The man I love. The sentiment still shocks me because it’s nothing I ever thought I’d find when I came to settle my father’s estate. But I guess that’s how love goes, right? It comes when you’re least expecting or looking for it? Patrick admitting that he’s one hundred percent sure about me, that he could see our life ten years down the line …
I see all of it, too. Knowing that he feels that way has my heart beating double time, even as I duck into the car with the cold seeping through my veins.
Nathan, my father’s lazy dog, who usually spends his days on the front porch ignoring me, is my only security option today. Patrick had to go into the restaurant, something about inventory not being able to wait, so Nathan is riding shotgun, drooling on the leather seats of my car.
Wilson meets me in the parking lot, which isn’t his normal MO, and I wonder if Patrick had a chat with him about my safety. Not wanting to arouse suspicion because no one in town is clued in on the fact that someone has been harassing me, I hold my tongue. Well, actually, I guess the police have some of the details, not that they’re pursuing any of them.
“Morning.” He hands over a coffee, and I think I smell the signature cinnamon caramel of my favorite latte from Vanilla Bean.
“You’re a life saver.” I take the to-go cup and let the warmth invade my gloved hand as I let Nathan out of the passenger seat.
Wilson raises an eyebrow as he loops his arm in mine. We’ve become fast friends, bonding over our love of the craft of acting and gossiping about D-list reality stars who bring us joy on a guilty pleasure level.
“We’re allowing mangy animals inside these days?” he asks as if I run the playhouse instead of him.
“He was lonely and I had him at Patrick’s guesthouse. Didn’t want to come home to my dad’s dog having chewed up my boyfriend’s shoes.” Mostly lies, but they sound believable.
“Staying over at the Ashton Estate? Things are getting serious,” Wilson muses.
