by Nicole Vidal
Near seven, I pad to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, short on milk. Once the caffeine hits my soul, I throw on some jeans, tie Cash’s shirt at my waist, pull on tennis shoes, and head out the door.
After a quick trip to the corner market, I round the corner with my groceries and see a large crowd of people at the front of the building. I walk straight toward the front door.
As I approach, I hear:
“How are you handling Brittany’s pregnancy?” one reporter calls out.
“Where is Cash?”
“Will he submit to the paternity test?” another shouts.
“Will he be present when the baby is born?”
Opening the door, I enter the lobby and lean against the column to regain my composure.
“Miss Barnett, are you okay?” Arthur asks with concern in his voice.
“Hi, Arthur. Yes, I’m fine. I knew this day would come. I was just hoping for a bit longer. When did they start congregating?”
“About thirty minutes ago.”
“Is this the first time they have been hanging around?”
“No.”
“Does Cash know?”
“Yes, I told Mr. Morgan when it started. Generally, I’ve been able to get them to leave. Today they weren’t accommodating.”
“I doubt they will be accommodating going forward as they just saw me enter the building this early on a Saturday. It also doesn’t appear that they know who I am yet either.”
“Who are you, Miss Barnett?”
I laugh. I appreciate his jovial nature at this tense time. “I’m not anyone. Ellis Barnett is my older brother.” It dawns on me that Arthur may not know who Ellis is.
But I am someone. I’m in love with Cassius Morgan, one of New York’s most-eligible bachelors, and he wants me. Unfortunately, the press doesn’t know that yet. They just think I’m some woman Cash slept with last night. For now. I cross the lobby and motion for Arthur to join me. “See that billboard for the upcoming movie?”
“Yes,” Arthur replies.
“He’s my brother. However, their questions were only about Cash. Not about my brother, his new wife, or the new movie.”
“I see. Do you have any plans to go out again today?”
“No, I don’t. Eventually another story will break, and they will leave. Nothing interesting will happen here today or ever for that matter. When I need to leave, I’ll drive going forward. Thank you.”
The moment I enter the house, my phone starts ringing with a video call.
“Are you okay, tesoro?” The background is some nondescript hotel room.
“Arthur called you?”
“Yes. I asked him too. You didn’t answer me.”
“I’m fine, Cash. This isn’t my first run-in with photographers. They don’t know who I am yet. They were only asking about you. Nothing about Nicholas or Kelly.”
“So, it will get worse,” he opines.
“It will. I can handle it. I’m not some fragile flower.”
“I know you aren’t, but maybe you should take your brother up on his offer of security.”
“No.”
“Tesoro.” The deep, growly tone is arousing. It shouldn’t be, but it is, nonetheless.
“I don’t need security to follow me around. The only place I go alone is Mrs. Waller’s, and I drive. They won’t follow me there.”
“Tesoro, be reasonable. I care about you. I don’t want you to feel trapped in our home.” Our home.
“I care about you too. I don’t need personal security, Cash. If it starts to bother me that I can’t go out when you aren’t here, I’ll talk to Nicholas about setting up a schedule to have Maia or Connor here when you fly. It just seems like an unnecessary expense.”
“No expense is unnecessary if it pertains to your safety. I just found you; I can’t lose you.” He’s in this as deep as I am.
“Cash.” They won’t hurt me. Potentially, they could scare me, but they won’t hurt me.
“Sweetheart, please promise me you’ll stay in until I get home tomorrow.”
“I promise.”
“Tesoro, I have no reason not to trust you, but I need to know you will stay put. I’m terrified something will happen to someone else I….” He drags his hand down his face.
“I don’t want to have this conversation over the phone, Cassius. I will stay here, I promise.”
“We will have this conversation face-to-face tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“I need to go check out a beachfront location for a client. I’ll call you later.”
After ending the call, I can’t hold it in anymore. A few tears streak down my face. Swiping them away, I curl up on the couch, staring out the terrace doors. It isn’t long before I decide against wallowing in my feelings and flow through some yoga to de-stress a bit. I consider whether Cash has a point and I should take Nicholas up on his offer. How much worse will it get when they realize that Hollywood’s First Sister has taken New York’s most-eligible, uber-rich bachelor off the market? My heart squeezes in my chest knowing I will tell Cash how I feel and soon. I just don’t see the point of having security when I only leave to go to work. It’s boring for them to hang around all day while I teach.
As I finish in warrior one, Arthur calls.
“Miss Barnett, Mr. Morgan is here to see you.” That didn’t take long.
“Which one?”
“Auggie and Sam,” he replies.
“Thank you. You can send them up.” I hurry into the bedroom and pull on a tunic top over my workout top.
“Hey, good to see you again. I would have preferred different circumstances,” Auggie says, hugging me.
“You weren’t exaggerating, Auggie,” Sam says.
“Not even a little,” Auggie replies, setting a bag on the island.
“Hi. I’m Sam. Pleasure to meet you. My brothers weren’t exaggerating when they said you are gorgeous.” He extends his hand to me. Sam is the oldest. He’s handsome like Cash, but he has an air of sadness around him. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Nice to meet you as well. Thank you.” I consider arguing with him, but it isn’t worth it. “Who called, Cash or Arthur?”
“Both. Arthur called because he knows Cash is flying. Cash called as soon as he finished talking with Arthur. I called Auggie just because I know you already met him,” Sam explains.
“I may not have met you in person, but Cash told me all about each of you. The relationship the four of you have is remarkably similar to my brothers and me. They would drop everything for me. Even if he’s filming, Nicholas would come.”
“Filming?” Auggie asks.
“Cash didn’t tell you who I am?”
“No. He said, and I quote, ‘my woman needs to be checked on because of paparazzi,’” Sam replies.
I smirk before responding, not only at the “my woman” part, but at the air quotes Sam used. “Ellis Barnett is my brother.” The brothers exchange a look and take a seat.
37
Cassius
The timing of this flight is a disaster. I knew this day would come, but I was hoping I would at least be in the same borough when it did. The woman I love is trapped in our home because she’s stubborn and wholly against personal security. I want to share my feelings, but I refuse to have another serious conversation over the phone.
Once I finished speaking with Arthur, I called in the cavalry. Just like Ellis would for her, my brothers will show up for me. The bigger question is whether I reach out to Ellis or not. If it were Billie, I would expect a call. Yet Noelle and Billie are quite different. Noelle is fiercely independent, and she’ll be pissed if I alert Ellis. Plus, if he acts, she will not only be angry with him but me as well.
During the walkthrough for my client, my mind is working on all the angles for whether to talk to Ellis. Is it possible he will just take the information and not act if I ask him to wait? Maybe. Should I wait? Also, maybe. The shop owner is detailing the specifics, but my head and my
heart are in New York. After finishing up with the owner, I take the packet and mentally add reviewing it to my list of things to do first thing on Monday.
Despite all the arguments against it, I call Ellis on my walk back to the hotel.
“Good afternoon, Ellis.”
Before I can say anything else, he asks, “Is she okay?” The edge on his tone is almost as sharp as mine.
“She’s fine.” I explain in detail everything that I learned from Arthur, Noelle, and even a covert update from Sam. I also request that he give me more time to talk to her about having personal security when I fly.
“I sent my brothers over after I spoke with her earlier. I asked them to stay with her, but she’s persistent. She will make them leave tonight. My building has round-the-clock security, and my approved guest list is extremely short, just my brothers and my sister. In fact, you aren’t on it. I’ll remedy that as soon as I get home.”
“She said no to personal security when I suggested it earlier. I gather her position is still the same?” Ellis asks.
“Yes. I’ll work on it when I can talk to her in person. I don’t want to have another serious conversation with her over the phone.”
“Another? Never mind, I won’t pry.”
“Ellis, I care about Noelle. No, it’s more than that.”
“I think it’s time for you to call me Nicholas. Cash, I have a small circle of six people in my life that I love and trust completely. Three women occupy that circle—Kelly, Noelle, and Mabel—and three men—Noah, Jacob, and you. I’m trusting you with my sister. My family is everything to me. I’ll wait to talk to Jacob again until either Noelle or you contact me. Please take care of her.”
“I will as long as she will have me.” I hope he hears the underlying message.
“Thank you for calling. She’ll be angry with both of us if she knows you called me.”
“You’re welcome. Yes, she will. I’ll try my best to get her to accept some type of security when I travel.”
“Thanks, Cash.”
“You’re welcome, El—Nicholas.” I end the call feeling a bit better.
Nothing will be completely better until I can hold her, check she’s okay physically, and tell her I love her. Grabbing some takeout, I return to my room. The next eighteen hours are going to be hell. I have done everything I can from here. Sam and Auggie will stay with her if she allows them too. I feel like a caged animal unable to protect my woman. Protect my future. Instead of eating, I change and hit the gym. After more than an hour of punching a stationary bag, a quick run, and a shower, I collapse onto the bed. I don’t even bother heating up the takeout.
Near eight, I call Noelle with video because I need to see her beautiful face.
“Hi.”
“Hi. How was the storefront? Will it work for your client?” She acts as if what happened today is normal, is okay, or is something she should have to handle. Not on my watch.
“It will be fine for what he wants, but I have deep-seated doubts about his overall plan, and I told him as much. Do you really want to talk about my day?”
“Yes, because I don’t want to talk about why your brothers are here and won’t leave. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great. I appreciate them for coming. Sam is kind of broody and a tad grumpy, but Auggie is funny and knows his way around the kitchen.”
“Auggie is there too?”
“Yes. Sam invited him because he didn’t want to show up alone because he and I have never met.”
Leave it to Sam to make sure Noelle is comfortable. He always puts others before himself, even Meghan. She died before they could get married because he wanted her to finish school.
“Thank you for not turning them away.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I don’t want to talk about it over the phone, but how are you?”
“I’m fine. They weren’t rude, nor did they impede my progress into the building. It isn’t anything worse than I’ve been through before.”
“What else is wrong, tesoro?”
“Nothing.”
“I don’t believe you. What happened to complete blunt honesty?”
“I appreciate that I can’t hide anything from you even through the phone.”
“You forget that I can see you. Do I have any clean shirts left?”
She looks hot right now wearing my shirt buttoned just high enough to be classy with her hair piled on top of her head and wearing her glasses. The glasses aren’t a good sign. Either she doesn’t feel well, she’s upset, tired, or all the above.
She smiles. “Yes, you do. The anniversary of my parents’ death is coming up soon. I get nostalgic and sometimes moody, especially when my life keeps moving without them.” She has handled so many things without her parents, like graduation and getting her first place. There are so many more to come, such as starting her own business, our wedding, and having children.
“I’m sorry. Thank you for sharing with me. Is there anything I can do?”
“You’re welcome. No, but thank you. I haven’t had anyone except Kate to deal with me at this time each year. What time is your flight home tomorrow?” Her question is laced with anxiety—anxiety that seems to fade away when I can hold her.
“Early. I should be there before dinner.”
“Sleep, Cash.” There is a long pause at the end as if she wants to say something else.
I love you more.
“You too, tesoro.” I end the call and pack my bags before falling asleep. The sooner I sleep, the sooner I can look into her eyes and tell her how I feel.
After landing in New York, I hurry through my postflight checklist and rush to my car. I consider stopping for flowers but decide against increasing the time it will take for me to get to her.
“Hello, Arthur. Thank you for your help yesterday,” I say, stepping into the lobby.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Morgan. You’re welcome. She handled herself well. Your brothers left a few hours ago.”
“Thank you.”
“Pardon me if I’m overstepping. Present circumstances notwithstanding, she’s good for you. You have never been happier in the time I’ve known you.” That’s saying something. I moved here five years ago, and Arthur has been here since day one.
“Yes, she is. I’m thankful I found her.”
“Have a good evening, sir.”
I hurry into the elevator. As I enter my apartment, I lean my bag against the island and go searching for Noelle. It’s near three. I check the living room, terrace, and our bedroom but don’t find her. Where else could she be? A shred of fear grips me. Did she go out alone? No, she said she would stay here. The BMW is in its spot. I inhale deeply and walk around again.
Finally, I find her sound asleep with her Kindle against her chest, glasses askew, in the chair in my office. Either she was up worrying, upset about her parents, or sleeps better with me. It could even be all three.
I decide to let her sleep and fulfill her challenge from our second date. I will cook her an amazing meal on my own. I scour the fridge and find leftovers from Auggie. I will not cheat. Undeterred from acing her challenge, I gather all the necessary items and get to work. As I put the finishing touches on the table, I see her leaning against the wall. Even just waking, she’s beautiful.
“Hi, tesoro.”
“Hi. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“It gave me a chance to cook for you. Plus, you don’t normally nap, so I figured you needed the rest.” I pull her into my arms and kiss her like I’ll never be able to again. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. What are you cooking? It smells delicious.”
“Pasta with sausage, greens, and beans. Sit. It’s done. I was coming to wake you.”
“Thank you.” I set two dishes on the table and sit beside her. After a few bites, she asks, “This is delish, Cash. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Protect you properly.” She sets her fork down and starts to rise from her chair. I set my hand on her forearm
. “I don’t want to argue with you. I just want to talk.”
She settles back in her chair. I refuse to move my hand. Touching her is calming for me, especially with this topic of conversation.
“I don’t want personal security, Cash. I don’t think it’s necessary. Yes, there were photographers camped out when I came back from getting milk yesterday. They were respectful, just doing their jobs like Jimmy.”
“They may not always be respectful.” My gut tells me I may not make any headway with her, but I need to try. It’ll ruin me if something happens to her, especially since I can afford to protect her.
“I know. I only drive to Mrs. Waller’s or your office. They won’t follow me to work. I won’t walk anywhere alone. Mason and I won’t walk during the day anymore. There are only a few weeks left anyway.”
“You may not think it’s necessary, but I won’t recover if something happens to you.” She lifts her eyes to mine. I can only hope she sees what I’m trying to convey.
“Cash, I only drive to work. I don’t need security.”
“You don’t understand. It’s about you, not whether you’re walking or driving. Photographers chased Billie when she left the gala because she refused to pose and answer their questions. A driver with no connection to the paparazzi crashed into her. She doesn’t remember any of the accident or the moments leading up to it. For that I’m grateful. The photos are horrific. It took them almost eight hours to repair the lacerations to her face. I can’t go through that again. I can’t handle something happening to you because of me. I want to be with you every single day. I need you. I love you more.”
“I love you more.”
Standing from my chair, I pull her up to me and kiss her breathless. I might just make some progress after all.
38
Noelle
After dinner, Cash and I have an in-depth discussion about my security. I agree to have a member of Jacob’s team with me when he flies until we leave the city, as well as at the gala. Only due to the remaining length of my commitment with Mason did he relent and agree to drive me himself.
