Chasing Cassidy (35 page)

“Do you think she really fell for Pete that fast?” We’ve talked this to death but each time I hope to pinpoint what has been eluding me thus far.

“I do, but I also think she realized she loved Nick. Rylee has forever been a commitment-phobe. It’s easier for her to push them away than to love anyone back. I just don’t understand why.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out eventually. When she’s ready to talk, she’ll talk. At least, for now, she’s maintaining friendships with them both, that’s a big step for her. So, until Rylee graces us with her presence next week, what would you like to do?”

“Don’t you have a conference call in an hour?”

Cassidy has sort of become my assistant. She loves teaching but has decided she wants to give all of her attention to our daughter. Instead of going back to work, she’s helping me set up a non-profit practice here. I’ve got a few local attorneys giving me their pro-bono hours and I’m working on getting financial backing from some of Stafford Investments’ clients.

I’ve even pretty much convinced Nick to come on board. Cassidy helped me realize a divorce attorney could be very helpful. Helping families is about the family unit as a whole and if the parents are miserable together, the kids will be, too. We’re going to offer divorce services to families who agree to work together and put the interest of the kids ahead of all else. We won’t handle anything with messy asset division or crazy child support or alimony requests.

We’re also working with a local orphanage and the local foster care agency already. I’ve presented them with short and long-term goals and they’re really excited. The woman who runs the orphanage was in tears. And even though I’m excited about all of the positive things we’re doing, I’m most excited about the homeless shelter and LGBT teen facility we’re working with.  It’s the part Cassidy is most excited about, as well. There are a lot more homeless teenagers in the world than even make sense. Parents abandon their children just because they love differently than they do, or because they identify as the opposite sex. Since so many of them lack the necessary support they need, we’re working on getting group homes open.

We’re hoping one day to make this something we can expand state by state. Cassidy and I talked with some of the teens at our local center and they said they’d rather be in a group home with a counselor and maybe some kind of house mother or father than in foster care. It makes complete sense. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, especially around parental rights, but it’s something we really want to make a reality.

“Zack, your call? Where is your mind today?”

“Sorry, babe, my call got postponed until tomorrow. I was just thinking about how much we’re taking on right now and about to be first time parents. It’s a lot.”

“It is, but once Nick and Rylee get here it won’t be as bad. We only have to grow a little at a time, and Rylee is so excited about working on the LGBT facilities with us. She even mentioned giving up party planning.”

Rylee is going through something and I can’t wait until she gets here so we can help her. She’s not the only one excited for nieces and nephews. Bailey is going to need some cousins ASAP.

“Yeah, that’s true. Maybe she just needs a change of pace. Rylee has always been restless. Speaking of restless, have you thought anymore about Deidre’s request?”

Cassidy has been going to therapy twice a week since we moved here. Recently, I’ve been going with her. She’s made excellent progress and her therapist thinks within a few months of the baby coming, barring any post-partum depression, she can cut back her sessions to once a month or even just as needed. Since the wedding, Cassidy has been a completely different woman, so much more self-confident. I’m sure it comes from a lot of things but whatever facilitated the change, I’m grateful.

When her mom started sending letters, I thought it would break her down again but it didn’t; she’s remained strong. Deidre has been in rehab for five months and is making excellent progress. She wants to see Cassidy.

“I have, but I still haven’t decided. I try so hard not to harbor any hate in my heart but she should have protected me, Zack. How can I forgive her for not protecting me?”

“I don’t know, babe, maybe you don’t. Maybe you just listen to what she has to say and decide after that. But not while you’re pregnant, that kind of stress isn’t good for you or the baby.”

“Agreed,” she states thoughtfully. “Can you believe in just two short months our baby girl is going to be here?” Happiness shines in her eyes now instead of fear. Cassidy is going to be a
great
mom.

“I can’t wait to meet her and get started on making her some brothers and sisters.”

She leans her head against my shoulder and yawns.

“Brothers and sisters can wait a while, at least until she’s out of diapers. I’m not going to be one of those women who have kids eleven months apart. Birth control is going to be my new best friend. Especially now with your new fascination with Post-it sex,” she replies with a smirk.

“Post-it sex is the absolute best. Admit it, every time you read a romance novel, you picture me doing to you what is in that scene instead of you picturing the characters in that scene.”

Her answering blush is priceless.

“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought. It’s a good thing there’s a lot of mommy porn out there and I’ve got an unlimited budget to fund it for us.”

“So you’re admitting you like romance now?”

“Not at all. I’m admitting I like freaky Post-it sex.”

“You’re such a perve,” she says as she leans up to kiss me.

“Maybe, but I’m your perve exclusively.”

“Damn straight you are,” she answers with a lingering kiss.

Things for Cassidy and I couldn’t have worked out any better. We’re happy, in love, and having a baby. I’ve always been a believer in moments—the ones that take your breath away and leave love in their place. I knew when I was eight I would marry her someday. But what I never realized was how those moments seal your fate. Our moment has become a lifetime and someday soon, I’ll be able to explain to Bailey how those moments work. I can’t wait.

Keep reading for a sneak peek of Sharing Rylee

I can’t even believe
Chasing Cassidy
is the fifth book I’ve been blessed enough to hit publish on. I’m going to keep this short and sweet, I promise.

First and foremost, I need to thank my family. The last year of our lives has been difficult but you have all stood by me through it all and we are so much stronger for it now. Thank you for putting up with my forgetfulness and my random freak outs. I love you guys!

Ashley, my P.A. extraordinaire, saves my ass on a daily basis. You are a huge blessing in my life not only because you’re an amazing P.A. but because you are an amazing friend. Come on daily Shemar? Fucking brilliant!

D’s Divine Divas, I’m not even sure what to say to you guys except #TeamZack! Seriously, you guys are the best. Most of you have been with me since before my first book ever came out. I love you guys more than words and can’t wait to meet some of you in Vegas next year. We’re going to have a pickle pimping, tequila drinking, sombrero wearing, Happy Birthday singing good time. I forget… who’s bringing the bail money again????

Tiffany Fox, we did it again! Number five down and more to come. Thank you for being awesome and inserting all the punctuation I’m absolutely clueless about!

Murphy Rae, this is our first cover together and it’s freaking awesome! I’m so happy we were able to work together and make this happen. Thank you so much for creating this vision to represent my words. I hope we get to work together more soon!

All the bloggers out there, you are too numerous to name, but I love you all. Blogging is not an easy thing to do and you all do it so well. I’m so happy to have gotten to know so many of you and extremely fortunate I get to call some of you friends. Thank you for taking so much time to spread the word about books. The Indie world thrives because of you guys.

To all my readers, thank you. If I didn’t have you guys there wouldn’t be a fifth book to publish. Thank you for taking a leap of faith with me and reading my stories. Without you guys, my books are just words on paper. You are what brings them to life. I love you guys.

About the Author

I'm a wife, a mom, and a dog lover. I'm also a taxi, problem fixer, extreme multi-tasker, and my kids’ biggest fan in anything they do. I’m married to my high school sweetheart... how cool is that? Margaritas and sarcasm make me happy. Chocolate makes that happiness grow exponentially. People who make me laugh are my favorite kind of people. I believe Karma is a bitch who slaps back hard and mean people suck. I'm California born and raised, and I love the beach but hate the sand. And, of course, I believe Starbucks makes
any
day better. I’m the author of
The Acceptance Series
and
Chasing Cassidy
with more books soon to come.

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Keep reading for a sneak peek of Sharing Rylee

I’ve never been more grateful for the company jet and my dad’s offer to let me use it as I am right now. The past few days have been nice and I’m thrilled to see Zack and Cassidy happily married. But the real world awaits and I’ve got a business to run—one I’ve severely neglected the past few days. Unfortunately, there’s only so much my assistant can handle via text message and email.

Cassidy sent me a picture this morning—a selfie of her and Zack practically hanging off the bed. I’m not sure what they’ve been doing for the past day and a half but there were Post-its of all different colors all over their bedroom floor. They looked blissfully happy and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for them.

I’ve got three hours left of this flight, my computer is on, and my email is full but I’m completely distracted. When I left Pete’s arms this morning, it was with a very heavy heart. We agreed, for now, it’s best to just remain friends and see where this road leads us.

Unfortunately, right now it’s leading me home to where Nick is not so patiently waiting to talk to me, if his twelve text messages are any indication. If someone would have asked me two weeks ago if I could see myself with Nick for the rest of my life my answer would have been yes. And then I met Pete and he threw my world into a tailspin. After less than a week with Pete, he reminded me of something I forgot long ago. I should never settle for less than I want or deserve.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve known Nick since we were babies and we’ve been friends for so long but compared to Pete, he just seems immature. It didn’t bother me before, except he wasn’t man enough to talk to my brother about us. Instead, he was content to sit back and enjoy his one night stand harem.

When Pete told Zack he promised he wouldn’t hurt me—but he never promised he wouldn’t make me scream—that moment was
my
moment. The moment that locked my feelings in place for him. It also was
the
moment I realized a man I just met was willing to risk his friendship with my brother so he could put his feelings for me on the table. Something—after five years of randomly sleeping in my bed and having hot and heavy makeout sessions—Nick still wasn’t man enough to do.