Chasing Cassidy (22 page)

“This is why you’re so terrified to have kids.” It’s a statement but she answers anyway.

“It is. If he went from such a good dad to the person he is now, how do I know that won’t happen to me?” She’s curled up in a ball now in my lap and I hug her close, running my fingers through her hair.

“I’m not sure how you’ll know for sure but I think therapy can help you figure that out. What I can tell you is
I
know you’ll never do that. You’d have never become a teacher if you thought you might hurt a child, Cassidy. The kids in your class
thrive
because of the love you give them.” She wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder.

“Your capacity for love is limitless. I’ve not only seen it but I feel it every single day. You forgive with a grace I’ve never known anyone to have. Those qualities are not the qualities of someone who could do the things your dad did. Promise me you’ll go to therapy, if not for you, do it for me. Better yet, do it for us.”

I’ve never asked her for anything except her love and her hand in marriage but I’m not giving up on this. Especially not now after finding out about John’s past. I feel bad for what he went through, but it doesn’t give him carte blanche to beat his daughter.

“Okay,” she whispers quietly.

Thank God.

“Thank you. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news before coffee but I received an email from my mom. She’s coming to the island tomorrow to talk to my dad and while she’s here, at some point, she’d like to talk to us.”

Cassidy leans back and raises an eyebrow at me and I chuckle.

“I know, I was surprised, as well. Her email was short and to the point but she said she was protecting us both. I’m not sure what that means but I’ll guess we’ll find out. Together. She’s not scaring you off again.”

“No one is scaring me off again, Zack. I’m done running.” The sincerity in her tone floors me. With each passing day, she’s continuing to let me further and further in. I know we had a breakthrough last night but after her nightmare, I wasn’t sure.

“Good. Let’s shower and get some breakfast and figure out what to do with our day. I have a meeting that is going to take a few hours tonight, so Pete is going to come and stay with you while I’m gone.”

She stands and her eyes sparkle like crazy.

“Don’t grill him too hard, okay? Let Ry pick his brain herself. She needs to work for it if she wants him,” I add, laughing.

“Not too hard, just enough to give her something to go on. I’m actually surprised you’re okay with this,” she answers with a smile as she turns the shower on.

“Well, I’ll admit it’s a little strange. And if they get together, I definitely don’t want details. But her dating Pete isn’t as bad as if she was dating Nick.” And there it is! I fucking knew it. Just that slight pause she took while removing her shirt was all I needed to confirm my suspicions.

I’ll fucking kill him!

“Cassidy,” I call out to her firmly, but she tries to evade me by ducking into the shower. This is the shit that happens when people keep secrets. After hastily removing my boxers, I open the shower door and join her. She continues to lather up her hair, ignoring my presence.

“How long?” I ask, pulling the loofah from its hook and soaping it up with her favorite coconut scented body wash. While I soap up her chest, she closes her eyes and rinses out her hair, still ignoring me. Stubborn fucking woman. It’s okay, I’ll wait until she’s done; she can’t keep her eyes closed all day.

After what seems like an eternity, she finally locks her blue eyes onto mine and sighs. “Zack, I’ve already told you… Rylee’s secrets, whatever they are, aren’t mine to tell.”

“What about Nick’s secrets? Your loyalty is with me,
not
him,” I snap back at her.

“Nick hasn’t taken me into his confidences. He’s
your
best friend, not mine,” she replies back just as snottily as I probably deserve, but I don’t care.

“It’s a technicality and you know it. I want to know how long my best friend has been fucking my sister behind my back!” She takes a step backward and eyes me wearily. I’ve never had this much anger directed at her. I want to say I’m sorry for being angry, but I’m not going to.

“I shouldn’t be directing my anger at you, I apologize. Do you have any idea how much this hurts my feelings that the three of you have been hiding this from me? What’s it been… years?” Her expression softens and she ponders my words.

“It’s not like that and I’d really like to honor my promise and not spill the beans any more than I already have. Would you rather hear the details from Ry or Nick? Because as soon as I finish conditioning my hair, I’m going to go call one of them and have whichever one explain it to you.”

Great. Do I want to hear my sister tell me about her illicit affair with my best friend or do I want to hear my best friend tell me how he banged the fuck out of my sister?

“Neither. I want to hear it from you. Call them both and give them a choice to come clean or you’re going to tell me.” The war raging in her mind is obvious and if I weren’t so pissed, it would almost be cute. This isn’t fair to her and I know that but if I talk to either of them, I’m likely to say something I can’t take back.

Tell her that.

She’s biting her lip, probably in a strong effort not to tell me to go fuck myself. “Look, if I talk to either of them right now I’m likely to say something I can’t take back. If you at least call them beforehand, you won’t be breaking any confidences.”

“Okay, Zack. If that’s the way it needs to happen, fine. Just keep in mind this wasn’t my secret to tell before you get angry with me again once you know what happened.”

“I’m not angry with you. Well, maybe a little, but mostly I’m hurt and angry at them. They should have come to me.”

“Maybe, but let’s be honest for a minute.” She pauses as she exits the shower and wraps a towel around her hair then another around her beautiful body. “We don’t talk to them about our sex life. Unless you and Nick are having conversations I’m not aware of?”

“No, we’re not,” I state firmly.

“Good, so not to beat a dead horse here, but how is it your business what Nick and Ry are doing? You don’t want details of your sister’s sex life and I’m sure you don’t want Nick going into detail about what he did to your sister.”

“Hell no, I don’t.” Just the thought of that makes me somewhat ill.

“So, again, tell me why you get to be angry?”

“It’s a guy thing, Cassidy, a respect thing. It should also be a sister thing, too. Don’t bang your sibling’s best friend. Nick should have come to me if he had feelings for her and vice versa with Ry.”

“I didn’t go to Ry and ask for permission to have sex with you.”

Why is she being so frustrating today?

“That’s completely different and you know it. Besides, if I remember correctly, Ry was encouraging you to have sex with me long before we actually did.” A flush creeps into her cheeks and I know I’ve got her.

“I’m going to get dressed, make some coffee, then make some calls. When you’re ready, come downstairs and we’ll talk.” Her exasperated tone is just the beginning. If I don’t nip this in the bud now, she’ll be in a bad mood all day.

“Thank you, Cassidy. I love you,” I call after her and she pauses at the door.

“I love you, too. I’ll see you downstairs.”

Thirty minutes later, I’m showered, dressed, and in desperate need of coffee. As I walk down the stairs, I’m struck by the scent of coffee and cinnamon. Cinnamon means French toast and that means she’s not mad anymore.

When I walk into the kitchen, she’s pulling the last of the French toast off of the griddle. There are freshly sliced strawberries, bananas, and blueberries in bowls on the table and sausage. She’s been busy.

She hands me a cup of coffee and I follow her to the table. “How did you manage to do all of this and make phone calls at the same time?” I ask in awe.

I’m met with a gorgeous smile and a slight shake of her head. “It’s called a speakerphone. Something you should probably familiarize yourself with. Maybe it would help you get home earlier if you were multi-tasking more.”

She’s joking with me but I play it to my advantage. With a shrug of my shoulders, I respond, “Eh, that doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not going to have anymore late nights.”

She’s cracking up and I flash her a smirk. “How are you going to guarantee that?” she asks, out of breath from her laughing fit.

“Easy, I’m quitting for good. I want to be here, Cassidy. I want to raise our family in this house. I want to grow old with you in paradise.”

“You’re serious.” I nod enthusiastically

“This will make you happy?” she questions, and I nod again.

“Can I think about it for a little while?”

“Of course, it’s a big decision. I’m just letting you know my take on it.” I’ve stunned her. That doesn’t happen too often. I kind of love the feeling.

We eat in silence as we both consider the gravity of what I’ve just confessed and once we’re finished, she clears the table.

“Can we talk outside? It’s gorgeous out.” I guess that means she has permission to tell me everyone’s deep, dark secrets. Figures, I knew neither of them would want to talk to me so soon after finding out. They’re smart.

“Of course,” I respond, grabbing both of our coffees and following her out the door to the patio. This view, the scent of the ocean, enjoying paradise with the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with—it will never get old.

Cassidy takes the seat next to me, slides her sunglasses on, faces out toward the ocean, and holds my hand. “It’s not what you think.”

“Oh, so my best friend hasn’t fucked my baby sister?”

With just a hint of a smile playing across her lips, she continues, “They’ve had sex twice. Both times they were drunk, once ten years ago, and once Saturday night after our non-wedding.”

Twice.

Only twice.

Once is bad enough!

“And just so we can be clear, you can’t play the baby sister card here. You’ve got about two minutes on her into this world. It’s not like Nick is taking advantage of a girl much younger than him. In fact, I’m pretty sure Ry is the older woman by about three months in this scenario.”

I’m not enjoying this banter, but Cassidy obviously is because her smile is one of the biggest I’ve ever seen.

“So, do they have plans to continue having drunk sex?” I ask through clenched teeth. Nick is so lucky we’re separated by an ocean right now. I can’t believe he fucked my sister!

“Nope.”

“I’m not sure what’s worse… them being together or him getting his kicks from my sister and discarding her like yesterday’s garbage.”

When her mouth falls open, I know I’ve gone too far. I’m acting like a spoiled brat which is not my style at all.

“Zachary Stafford! I should not have to do this with you but since you’re being a baby, I’m going to tell you things you’ll wish you could un-hear.”

Great.

“The first time was the night of Nick’s party when he almost got drugged. They were both hurting and comforted each other. The sex was fantastic for them both but never went any further because of you. They easily chalked it up to a one night stand.”

Seriously did not need to know that.

“I’m breaking best friend code here, but I feel that it’s necessary. My personal opinion is that Ry likes Nick a lot more than she’s letting on. Apparently, their chemistry is above anything she’s ever experienced. But once again, they chalked it up to a one night stand. Ry doesn’t feel Nick would want to settle down even if it was a possibility, which is why she’s excited to meet Pete. I’m excited for her to meet Pete but I’d be lying if I said, in the back of my mind, I’m not wondering if she and Nick should give it a go.”

Rylee and Nick.

Or.

Rylee and Pete.

Either way, it’s Rylee with one of my friends. This is so not okay.

“Zack, I love you, but you need to let this go. Stop dwelling on the fact that Ry might end up with one of your friends. You ended up with hers and she didn’t give you hell for it.”

She raises her free hand to stop my objection. “It’s the same, Zack. If Nick is the one for her, you’ve both known him longer than you’ve known me.”

Why does she have to make so much sense?

“Fine, I’ll talk to him
and
I’ll even be nice
after
I ream him one for keeping this from me. But if he so much as
mentions
how my sister is in the sack, I swear I’m going to fly there and kick his ass.”

“Fair enough,” she replies with a smile. For someone who was so grumpy this morning, she seems to be really happy right now. I’ll take it. I love seeing her without a care in the world.

“I’m sorry I was a jerk this morning.” I stand and hold my hand out to her, pulling her up and into my embrace.

“I know, you were just upset. Thank you for trying to make peace with this.”

“I’d do anything for Ry and for you. When the two of you team up, I don’t stand a chance.” They know that already and they bank on it.