PAR FOR CINDERELLA

by MCCARTY, PETIE

  There it was. Now Casey didn’t have to wonder why Evelyn was here. Planned or otherwise, Aidan had met Deedee this morning, and Evelyn had come to gloat. The rat fink had kissed Casey like he did last night, and the minute her back was turned, he’d gone and met Deedee alone. Again.

  The backs of her eyelids burned, but she would die before she let Evelyn Bartow see the hurt or her tears.

  “I repeat, what do you want?” she ground out. “Say it and go. No one wants you here.”

  “You’ve got that backwards, missy. Nobody wants you here,” Evelyn ranted. “You’ve outstayed your welcome in Cypress Key. It’s time you left town and gave up your little boat tour. Sell Archer this—” She waved her arms around, her voice growing shriller. “—rundown course and go.”

  “You’re the outsider, Evelyn, not me,” she snapped back.

  Crack!

  The slap came hard and fast. Casey couldn’t even block the strike with her hands still gripping the ball baskets.

  “You little witch!” Evelyn’s voice turned low and menacing. Her eyes had gone flinty. “You ruined everything. You turned your dad against me. You couldn’t stand to see us happy together.”

  Casey gasped and dropped both buckets. “I did no such thing!”

  Her face stung, and she could feel the heat all the way to the top of her head. Her ear was still ringing, but she faced her stepmother head on. “You ran around on Dad. The whole town says so.”

  “No!” Evelyn swung again, but Casey ducked. “I never cheated on him. Only after he pushed me away. I loved Dave more than any man I ever met, but you couldn’t stand that. You had to get between us and turn him against me. I’ll never forgive you for that. I hate you!”

  Evelyn reared back, but Casey put both arms up to block the attack. Her stepmother stumbled back, then turned on her heel and fled for the parking lot.

  Casey’s tears escaped then, both from the pain of the slap and the vicious hatred spewed by her stepmother. She knew Evelyn didn’t like her, but Casey hadn’t known how deep the woman’s hatred ran. Her stepmother’s words echoed in her head. Nobody wants you here.

  She took several deep breaths to restore some calm. The tourists would be at the driving range any minute, and she still had to go pick up Aidan. The rest of her stepmother’s message replayed in her head. Deedee was on board. With Aidan.

  No, she didn’t have to go pick up Aidan. She would take care of her golfers and head back to the pro shop. She took a half-dozen more deep breaths to push back any stupid tears over that two-timer and picked up her two baskets of range balls. She had to get them on the driving range before her golfers. The two men showed up bare minutes after she did, and they had a dozen questions about the course.

  Long about question number six, Casey spied a car coming up the entrance drive. Just as she realized the sports car stopping next to the pro shop belonged to Deedee Bartow, the passenger door opened, and Aidan climbed out. He said a few words to the driver, shut the door, and headed inside.

  How convenient. Meet Deedee for the tour and catch a ride after.

  Her heart seized up so hard, she had trouble paying attention to the golfers’ questions. She took her time with her responses until she spied Aidan leaving the pro shop, lunch in hand, and heading for the cart barn. His step was light, looked as though he hadn’t a care in the world. Casey’s hurt soured to anger, but she’d never let that jerk see. She deserved better than two-timing Aidan Crosse.

  A half-hour and a half-dozen nosey-Mamie questions later, Casey stepped out of the pro shop and onto the verandah to get a breath of fresh air and a break from Mamie’s watchful gaze. She spotted the convocation next to the mower on the ninth green. Her breath caught at the sight of Aidan—an involuntary response, she told herself—but she ignored it when she saw the look of panic on her uncle’s face, as the three men stared morosely at the greens mower.

  She had to see what was going on, and she didn’t have to look at or speak to Aidan to do that. By the time, she got down the steps and over to the green, Neal was ambling back toward the maintenance shed with his toolbox and shaking his head.

  Aidan and Frank were so engrossed in their heavy discussion, they were oblivious to her approach. She started to call out to Frank when she heard her uncle say, “You don’t tell Casey. You hear me?”

  She glared at her uncle. He never kept secrets from her. Ever. At least not before a slick handsome stranger rode into town. Her uncle had betrayed her with the same man who’d betrayed her last night and again this morning.

  “Don’t tell Casey what?” she cried from steps away and startled them both.

  She could feel Aidan’s eyes on her but refused to look at him. If she did, she’d say something she’d regret. No. Not true. She wouldn’t waste a single shred of remorse. The man had spent the morning with Deedee.

  She marched up to her uncle. “What are you hiding?” She pointed an accusatory finger at Aidan without taking her eyes off Frank. “And with him!”

  A big hand wrapped around that errant finger and jerked her around to face Aidan.

  “Why didn’t you come pick me up?” he demanded.

  His eyes snapped with anger, but Casey saw a flash of hurt for a heartbeat or two before he covered up with a scowl. Why would he be even a little hurt if he was two-timing her? A question for later. For now, paybacks.

  She made wide innocent eyes at him. “Oh my gosh! I forgot. I’m sooo sorry,” she exclaimed in her best sugar-sweet voice.

  “You never forget anything,” Frank said, and she wished she had a golf ball to throw at him.

  “Well?” Aidan still had her finger in a vice, the other hand fisted at his hip.

  Remaining wide-eyed, she said sweetly, “I got busy here and lost track of time.”

  No way would she admit she knew he’d been with Deedee. He had to confess if she was to trust him.

  “Now, why don’t I believe you?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know. Or care.” She whipped her finger free of his grip and turned back to Frank. “Now stop trying to distract me. What. Are. You. Hiding?”

  Her uncle cast a quick glance at Aidan, then exhaled on a sigh. “She’s gonna find out anyway, Aidan. Someone put sugar in my greens mower tank.”

  “What?” Her glare went right to Aidan.

  He straightened and stabbed a finger toward her this time. “You stop thinking those thoughts right now. You know me better than that.”

  Casey knew in her heart Aiden hadn’t sabotaged the tank, but no way would she admit it, so she just glared and clung to her mad over Deedee.

  “You trusted me this morning,” he shouted. “You said so.”

  “Casey Jo—” Frank interrupted.

  “Butt out, Uncle Frank!”

  She kept her glare trained on Aidan.

  “You can’t just stop trusting me,” he argued.

  “And why would I?” She eyed him angrily.

  “So you did see her board,” Aidan muttered under his breath.

  “See what?” she asked, all innocence.

  She hadn’t actually witnessed Deedee boarding the tour boat, at least not when Casey had dropped Aidan off, but no way would she tell him or her uncle about Evelyn’s nasty visit to spill the beans and gloat, because then she’d have to tell them about Evelyn’s other accusations. About Casey ruining her father’s marriage. What if Aidan believed the lies? And they were lies, weren’t they?

  He gave a growl of resignation. “Deedee Bartow went on my boat tour this morning.”

  “Geez, Aidan! What the heck is wrong with you?” Now her uncle glared at Aidan too.

  “She invited herself, Frank!” he shouted. “I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Hmm. If I didn’t come get you at the marina, how did you get here?” Casey
asked, proud of how calm she sounded in front of Tornado Aidan.

  Frank pulled off his ball cap and scratched his head. “Yeah, Aidan. How did you get here?”

  All the fight seemed to go out of him with one giant disgusted sigh. “I got a ride from Deedee,” he admitted quietly.

  Frank’s eyes went wide. “Holy crap, son! That was stupid.”

  “Thanks, Frank,” he said dryly.

  Her uncle reseated his cap and ambled toward the maintenance shed. “I’ll leave you two to argue this one out.” Reaching the edge of the green, he called back over his shoulder, “Don’t forget, Aidan. You were going to surprise her with dinner out tonight.”

  Casey turned her head too slow, but thought she caught her uncle winking at Aidan.

  Dinner out with him tonight? Hah!

  “You knew all along, brat.”

  She shrugged.

  “You just had to make me admit it, didn’t you?”

  He took a step toward her, and she could see him getting mad again. He had no right to get mad. She was the injured party here.

  Her own anger took off like a Tiger Woods drive. All the pent-up hurt from Evelyn’s attack and knowing Aidan had been with Deedee fueled the flames.

  “How would you feel if you saw your boss Ian climb aboard my tour boat for the morning, and then later, I danced out of his car here at the course looking all happy?”

  Aidan froze. Two bright splotches of color flushed his cheeks. His eyes narrowed dangerously. If she thought he was mad before, it was nothing compared to what she saw now.

  He took another step toward her. His voice turned low and gruff. “Don’t you let him—”

  “Not so fun with the shoe on the other foot, is it?” She took a safety step back.

  “No,” he growled.

  Had she gone too far? What if . . .? What if he wasn’t guilty? Aidan looked almost in pain. No way would she feel any remorse after the morning she had.

  “Good!” she shot back. “Because you deserve it. You spoiled it!”

  His hands fisted at his hips again. “What? I spoiled what?”

  She gasped. Like he didn’t know.

  “Last night . . .” She fluttered her hands about. “This morning . . . All my happy butterflies this morning,” she cried.

  He froze.

  Then narrowed his eyes.

  Then stared wide-eyed. “You had happy butterflies?”

  “No!” she quickly blurted.

  He was on her in a heartbeat. “Yes, you did. You said you did. And they’re mine. All mine.”

  His mouth covered hers, but not the wild, devouring kiss she had expected as angry as he was. Her disappointment came out as a whimper and lasted less than a beat as his lips nuzzled hers. Sweetly. Tenderly. Saying with his oh-so-sexy mouth what he didn’t say with words.

  Trust me.

  “I wasn’t with with her,” Aidan whispered against her lips. “Never.”

  Oh, the strength and emotion of that one word Casey felt to her very core.

  “I won’t hurt you.”

  Dammit, why do I have to melt every time his lips touch mine?

  Why? Because she wanted to. His soul-searing kiss drew a sigh from her.

  Because I’ve fallen for him. Fallen head over heels for Aidan Crosse.

  Her legs went weak with the tenderness of his kiss.

  And he knows it. He is going to break my heart.

  “No, I won’t,” he whispered against her lips.

  Oh, please God no! Did I say that out loud? Drown me now.

  She felt the vibration of his chuckle. In her hands and arms wrapped around his neck and from her breasts to her knees pressed against him. She’d gone and spoken aloud again.

  “With pleasure, sweetheart,” Aidan said and went back to nuzzling her lips and neck and cheeks.

  She clutched his shoulders and sunk into the embrace, then lightly ran the tip of her tongue across his lower lip, eliciting a growl that heated their sensual exchange to a new level. A level of want and need and desire and yes, understanding for both of them.

  No matter how things might look, she could trust this man. She would trust this man.

  “Ahem.”

  That sound couldn’t have come from Aidan. He was too busy kissing her and making her insides feel like one of Mamie’s melted milkshakes.

  “Ahem. Um, Aidan . . .”

  They flew apart. Both panting hard. At least she wasn’t alone.

  Neal stood about three feet away, cap in hand and eyes glued to the Bermuda grass under his worn sneakers.

  Aidan nervously cleared his own throat. “What can I do for you, Neal?”

  The man sounded so much calmer than her insides felt. Could she be any more embarrassed than to be caught kissing in the middle of the ninth green? Her gaze shot to Aidan, and he winked.

  “I, um, could use your help hitching the mower to my truck so I can tow it to my shop. Frank said to come get you.”

  “I’ll just bet he did,” Aidan said wryly.

  Frank waved exuberantly from the maintenance shed doorway.

  “I’ll be heading to the pro shop now,” Casey said and made her hasty exit.

  “Casey!” Aidan called. “Don’t forget. Dinner tonight at Steamers Bar and Grill. I’ll pick you up at six.”

  She grinned. Pick her up, indeed.

  ~ ~ ~

  Casey spent extra time getting ready for her first date ever with Aidan. She pulled out the brand-new sundress she bought earlier in the spring and laid it across her bed. She’d been saving it for a special occasion, and tonight was it.

  Steamers wasn’t really a bar, although it had a large one. The venue was one of the larger seafood restaurants in Cypress Key and served an extensive menu. Although the dress code was casual, some folks dressed up a little when they visited on obvious dates or on the weekends. She grinned. So would she. The sales girl at Bella’s Butik had said she looked sexy when she modeled the jade-green dress in the shop. She hoped Aidan thought so too.

  Images of flirtatious Deedee aboard the tour boat with Aidan and snuggled together in her small sports car still taunted Casey, but Aidan had insisted he was innocent and she would trust him. Not trusting him meant giving him up, and she wasn’t prepared to do that. Not and leave him free for all the single women in Cypress Key. Free for Deedee, with Casey left on the sidelines to watch.

  A little after five, Uncle Frank knocked at her bedroom door. “Aidan sent me up to tell you he had an errand to run, and he’d meet you at Steamers at six p.m. sharp.”

  Her stomach plummeted. Meet her? Errand?

  “Now don’t look like that,” her uncle chided. “He got a call from a friend of his when we were watching the baseball game downstairs. When he got off the phone, he gave me the message to deliver and left.”

  “A friend?”

  Frank pointed a finger. “Not Deedee.”

  “Right.”

  She closed her door and went to curl her hair. “Not Deedee,” she murmured. “I said I’d trust him.”

  She did. Until she turned the corner at Talley’s Bakery.

  Steamers lay dead ahead, already bustling with patrons at ten minutes to six. She had left early and told herself it was because she was ready early, not because she was checking up on her date, who now stood in a quiet corner of the Steamers back parking lot.

  Under an ancient live oak tree trailing gray tresses of Spanish moss, Aidan animatedly spoke to a big man with dark auburn hair, wearing a black pullover, camouflage pants, and black combat boots. A scary fashion look on a man that size. The stranger stood too tall, too broad, too . . . dangerous. That was it—dangerous. The man looked like a thug, an enforcer sent to make collections.

 
Her imagination was running amok. Frank always said she watched too many crime shows. She stayed back and watched the two men converse. Neither man looked angry, yet neither looked particularly happy. Was this man making a collection from Aidan?

  Or for Aidan?

  Her mind raced through all the troubles their golf course had been through since Aidan arrived. No, she refused to believe Aidan had anything to do with the vandalism at the course. Though ruining their best greens mower had gone beyond sheer vandalism. Rebuilding that engine could temporarily break them.

  No way. Aidan couldn’t kiss her like that and want to hurt her.

  Casey glanced up and inhaled sharply. For just a second, she thought Aidan’s thug stared right at her. She moved back into the shadows at the bakery to watch. The thug’s gaze locked on Aidan. The man hadn’t seen her. Must have been her imagination.

  Yet, she decided to wait at her hiding spot until Aidan went inside, and then she’d give Aidan the opportunity to explain his supposed errand.

  Chapter 16

  Aidan spotted Shaunessy waiting next to his rental sedan in the Steamers Bar and Grill parking lot. The auburn-haired giant grinned broadly. His investigator had big news. Aidan could feel it.

  Liam Shaunessy had ways—ones Aidan didn’t ask about or question—of digging up information no one else could. People had a tough time saying no to the big Irishman. Aidan knew there was special forces in his friend’s background, and Shaun would lean heavily on criminal types if his job required it or someone required saving.

  He was just thankful Shaun was firmly planted on his side. Ever since that chance mugging in New York a few years earlier. “Friends for life,” Shaun had said that night. Fine by Aidan.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked when he reached his friend’s side.

  The Irishman pointed at his Cypress Key tee shirt and cargo shorts. “You look as casual as your clothes. This place must agree with you.”