Hero

by Samantha Young

  “What are you doing?” I said.

  “You’re trying the dress on.”

  I frowned, confused by his actions. Was he just trying to ignore the argument that had been about to brew between us? “No, I’m not.”

  The willowy saleswoman approached us with a gleam in her dark eyes as she took in the sight of Caine. A few weeks ago the modellike young thing with her sculpted cheekbones, perfect Afro, and silky coffee skin would have caused a sharp streak of possessiveness to bolt through me. Not now. Sure, I still felt a thrill go through me that I was the one who’d just rolled out of bed with him, but the jealousy that had come from a lack of reassurance was muted now. It was manageable. And I realized that Caine hadn’t gone at all caveman on me these last few weeks either.

  Progress.

  So when he pointed to the dress and said, “Size six,” I humored him.

  Thirty seconds later I found myself stuffed into a tiny dressing room.

  I spun the tag over on the dress and balked at the price.

  Yeah, there was no way I was buying this freaking dress no matter how good it looked on me.

  I huffed and yanked my tank top off.

  “You look so familiar to me,” I heard the saleswoman say to Caine.

  I practically rolled my eyes at the purr in her words.

  Caine didn’t reply.

  I smirked.

  Certainty.

  The word made me relax as I thought about it. I wouldn’t feel that certainty if I didn’t feel sure of Caine’s feelings for me. Although we hadn’t discussed changing the terms of our affair, there had also been no more mention of it coming to an end. We didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want it to end. Ever.

  I froze middressing.

  I was falling in love with him.

  “Do you work around here?” the salesgirl tried again.

  “Close by,” he said, and then the privacy curtain moved a little, jolting me out of my breathless realization. “Are you done?”

  I sought to sound normal and not at all overwhelmed by a life-altering recognition of my feelings. I cleared my throat. “Unless the dress is supposed to be worn with my boobs hanging out, no.”

  “Smart-ass,” he muttered, but I could hear his amusement in the word. Just as I tugged the dress up, Caine slipped inside the dressing room, taking up way too much space.

  I stared up into his face, suddenly impatient for the right time to tell him how I felt.

  I’d never been in love before. When was the right time to say it?

  Caine was too busy checking me out in the dress to deduce that my thoughts had gotten mushy. “You look beautiful.”

  I flushed with pleasure and smoothed my hands down the gorgeous material of the dress. “Thank you.”

  He reached for me, coasting his own hands down my waist until they settled on my hips. He gave me a little tug until I was pressed up against him. “You’re getting this dress.”

  I ran my hands up his arms and gently let him down regarding any fantasies he was creating about me in this dress. “No, I’m not. The price tag … it’s extortion.”

  “Who said you’re buying?” He made a move toward the curtain, but I tightened my hold on him.

  “Caine, no.” I shook my head adamantly. “You are not—”

  He shrugged out of my grasp with an imperious rise of his right eyebrow and then disappeared out of the dressing room.

  “Caine,” I hissed.

  Cursing under my breath, I began to remove the dress, my hands stilling when I heard him say to the salesgirl, “We’ll take it.”

  I huffed and shrugged back into my own clothes. By the time I got out of the changing room, it was too late. He’d bought the dress. I kept my silence as we walked out of the store, my new dress inside the paper bag dangling from my wrist, but as soon as we were back up onto street level, I stopped.

  Caine glanced over at me and sighed at whatever he saw on my face. “What?”

  “Why did you do that when I asked you not to?”

  “Because you looked good in it and I wanted to buy you it.” He sighed again. “Lexie, I’ve never bought you anything before.”

  “So?”

  “So last week you bought me a movie and a book just because you thought I might like them.”

  I was still confused. “So?”

  “So the week before that you bought me a bunch of cushions and shit I don’t need for my apartment and for my office.”

  I grinned. I had done that. I’d finally felt confident that I could introduce a little “nesting” into his life. “That sounds less like a gift, and more like an annoyance.”

  Caine gave a huff of laughter. “True. But it was still a gift. And you did it just because. The dress? It’s just because.” His eyes suddenly smoldered and I melted under them. “And because I’d like to fuck you in it.”

  A delicious shiver rippled over me at the thought. “So it’s a gift for the both of us?”

  “Yeah. One that will hopefully keep on giving.”

  I laughed and moved to lean into him, completely forgetting where we were.

  “Alexa?”

  The familiar voice stopped me. My pulse raced as I spun around to face my grandfather.

  Although we’d spoken on the phone, we hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Caine’s revelation held me back from arranging a tête-à-tête with my grandfather. Not too long ago I’d cherished them. But after discovering the truth, I dreaded meeting up with Grandpa. So I put it off again and again. I suspected my grandfather was blaming my relationship with Caine for my distance with him. It had only increased his disapproval. Seeing the look on Grandpa’s face when his gaze darted beyond me to Caine, I knew that disapproval hadn’t lessened any. I’d always thought his feelings were born from concern, but now I was questioning everything. Was Grandpa really worried for me or was he just worried that somehow my closeness with Caine was going to unleash the secrets we’d all buried?

  “Gran—” The word was abruptly cut off at the sudden appearance of my grandmother as she came striding out of the jewelry store next to us. I tried to hide my reaction, pretending all the while that my heart wasn’t banging away in my chest.

  Adele Holland’s face hinted at what must have been her youthful beauty. Her style and perfectly coiffed ash blond hair and tip-tilted crystal blue eyes were still very attractive. She looked at her husband and then at me and scowled in confusion. Caine edged behind me, drawing her gaze, and that was when understanding paled her features.

  Of course she knew who Caine was. I watched as she surmised that he was the reason for the awkward tension in the air.

  “Edward?” she whispered in question, looking anxious and scared, and much less of the dragon lady everyone said she was.

  “Well, we should be going.” Grandpa cleared his throat and gave us a jerky nod. “Mr. Carraway, miss.” He took my grandmother’s arm and led her past us.

  I stared at the spot he’d just been standing in, and ignored that ache that split through me. It always woke that insidious little whisper that taunted me. Not loved enough by your father, your mother, your grandfather … or by Caine.

  I felt alone. Alone, unloved, and with no one to trust.

  “Alexa?”

  I glanced up at Caine to see his eyes were shadowed with anger.

  At the sight of it I shook off my hurt and gave him a fake smile.

  That only made him madder.

  Without a word he started stalking down the street in the opposite direction my grandparents had taken. I started after him, my steps slower.

  And then quite abruptly Caine whipped around and marched back toward me. Features etched with determination, he yanked me roughly to him and crushed his mouth down over mine. I made a noise of surprise in the back of my throat before my instincts took over. I couldn’t help sinking into his kiss.

  When he finally let me go we were both breathing hard. Caine smoothed his thumb over my cheek, his eyes still dark with passion and ang
er. “I could give a fuck who saw that.”

  My answer was to wrap my arms around him, and to my pleasure, Caine held me tightly.

  Standing there on Charles Street, being hugged by him, I was choked by emotion. Not only had I realized today that I loved Caine; I also finally understood why he hated keeping us a secret.

  He knew what his revelation about my grandfather had done to me, and he knew what it did to me that Grandpa couldn’t acknowledge me in public. And I think he knew that I was questioning Grandpa’s love for me.

  And Caine did not want to be the guy who treated me to the same.

  He wasn’t ashamed to be with me, to know me, to want me in his life.

  My arms tightened around him.

  Maybe, God, just maybe … I wasn’t the only one falling in love.

  CHAPTER 22

  “You look gorgeous. Let me take a photo of the two of you together.” Effie held up her iPhone and began snapping away before Caine or I could protest.

  Laughter bubbled between my lips as I glanced up at Caine. He was wearing his “I’m holding on to my patience only because it’s Effie” expression. Lately he wore that expression a lot around his neighbor. “Do you think she thinks we’re going to the prom?” I muttered, teasing him.

  He shot me a look. “Make it stop.”

  “Caine, stop scowling,” Effie chastised from across the room.

  I snorted, grabbed his arm, and grinned for the camera.

  Effie was chuckling so hard I doubted any of those photos would be blur free.

  “You’re both hilarious.” Caine extricated himself from my grasp, shooting us a warning look we both knew he didn’t mean. I think secretly he liked the two of us teasing him. “I’m going to call down for the car.” He strode out of the room, his shoulders lined with tension.

  Okay, so maybe tonight he wasn’t enjoying the teasing.

  We were both dressed in formal wear—Caine in his beautiful black Ralph Lauren tuxedo, and I was wearing a Jenny Packham dress I’d made the mistake of showing to Effie two weeks ago, who had then showed it to Caine, who had then bought it for me.

  I’d attempted to argue with him about it. I didn’t want him thinking I needed or expected him to buy me expensive gifts. However, as I’d discovered earlier with the flights and the hotel situation in Seattle, Caine didn’t argue about money.

  He said his piece and then he switched off.

  Which was seriously annoying.

  But less so when a beautiful dress showed up on my doorstep.

  So kill me, I could be shallow sometimes. I’d worked with a media photographer for years, mostly in fashion. I’d been exposed to the most beautiful pieces of clothes ever designed and had a real appreciation for the artistry in it. We were talking about a Jenny Packham. The pale green gown had a timeless quality about it—its sleek silhouette was a perfect match for my tall physique. It had delicate silver and crystal beading in a beltlike design around my middle, a plunging neckline that still somehow managed to be classy, and along the bottom line of the dress the fabric was shot through with silver.

  I felt like a princess.

  Caine was not acting like a white knight tonight, however.

  The last few weeks together had been spectacular. A whirlwind of passion, intimacy, laughter … I’d never been happier. And I thought Caine felt the same way, but he was broody tonight, and I had to wonder if it was because of our earlier discussion.

  Tonight we were attending the Vanessa Van Hay Delaney Benefit for Alzheimer’s. It was hosted by Michelle and Edgar Delaney, the children of Vanessa Delaney, a woman who’d been a pillar of Boston society for over fifty years before she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She passed away a few years after her diagnosis, and ever since, every year, the Delaneys hosted their benefit to fund finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. Only Boston’s very elite were invited to come share their philanthropy, and it was one of the few cases where Caine didn’t mind that anyone knew he’d donated money to a charity, because anyone with any power or influence in the city was there doing the same thing.

  His reputation would remain intact.

  This was the first event I’d be attending as his “date,” and we both had discussed how people would speculate. We had no intention of announcing that I was his actual date, especially with there being media people at the event, but I was sure to draw curiosity being on Caine’s arm. I’d asked that we not confirm our relationship until I had a chance to hash everything out with my grandfather. In fact, I hadn’t wanted to attend the event at all, but Caine was growing increasingly frustrated by the secrecy surrounding us. It made him feel like we were doing something to be ashamed of. So I’d agreed to go with him under the stipulation that I was there as his PA until I’d had a chance to confront my grandfather and then warn him there was a possibility of his family finding out about me. Caine hadn’t been happy about the compromise, but he did agree to it.

  Now I had to wonder at the reason for his broodiness. He’d been so insistent about me going to the event with him. Now he was acting like he’d rather I didn’t attend.

  “Hmm.” Effie shoved her iPhone back into the pocket of her kimono. “Someone’s in a mood tonight.”

  I grimaced. “Yay for me.”

  She laughed. “It’ll be fine. Just promise him a good time when you get back from the party and it’ll cheer him right up.”

  “Ugh, Effie, he’s like your grandkid.”

  “He’s a man. A man’s a man.”

  I shook my head at her open-minded attitude, and wondered how she’d ever survived the fifties as a teenager.

  “Let’s go,” Caine called from the hallway.

  Effie and I walked out of the penthouse after him and he gave Effie a kiss on the cheek. “Night, Effie.”

  “Night, sweetheart.” She patted him affectionately on the cheek. “Enjoy yourself, handsome. If you don’t when you’ve got the most gorgeous woman in the room on your arm, then there’s something wrong with you.”

  He gave her a small, almost tired smile and nodded in her direction.

  I hugged her and we walked her down the hall to her penthouse. As we stepped into the elevator, she gave me a knowing wink from her doorway. I grinned but immediately sobered at the imperious, questioning look Caine shot me. The elevator doors closed.

  “What was the wink about?” he said.

  “Oh, Effie thought I would improve your mood by assuring you that there was something to look forward to when we got back from the party.”

  He groaned. “Sex advice from Effie. That’s just wrong.”

  “That’s what I said.” I shrugged nonchalantly. “But I’m also one step ahead of her, so I didn’t need the advice.”

  Caine raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  I gave him a slow, wicked smile. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”

  The elevator doors opened before he could wipe the surprise off his face and I chuckled in triumph as I walked past him and out into the garage where a driver was waiting for us.

  “I could kill you.”

  I smiled smugly. “You have two minutes to think of anything but me.”

  Caine cut me a smoldering look. “Difficult to do when you’re sitting next to me not wearing any underwear.”

  We were in the car and we were only minutes from the Delaneys’ house. Taking pity on him, I tried to help. “Hummus. Rom coms. That tsking sound that Linda makes all the time—”

  “That’s not how it works. You’re supposed to make me think of things that don’t turn me on, not things that I generally don’t like.”

  “Yeesh. You are moody tonight.” I sighed. “Fine. Henry and Effie making sweet, sweet love.”

  Caine’s features were frozen as the car pulled to a stop. “That was just mean.”

  “But it worked, right?”

  “Hell yes, it worked. Now I’ll be disturbed for the rest of the evening.”

  The Delaneys’ home was much like the Andersons’ mansion—over-the-top w
ealth that intimidated the heck out of you. However, at least I’d gotten the shock and awe over with at the Andersons’, and as Caine led me inside with a hand on my lower back, gently guiding me, I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as last time. Perhaps it was because Caine was with me now, and I never felt more safe than I did when I was with him.

  “Alexa, looking more beautiful than ever,” Henry said as he approached us in the main ballroom. Elegant dinner tables had been set up all around one half of the room. At the other end of the room, there was a stage. What seemed to be a small orchestra was set up offside on the left, and there was a dance floor in front of the stage.

  Henry drew my gaze from the general splendor of the ballroom to him and his voluptuous and somehow familiar redheaded date. “Henry,” I murmured as he kissed both my cheeks. His hand rested on my waist as he did so, but I knew there was nothing in the gesture.

  However, when I pulled back I could see the storm clouds gathering in the eyes of an already wired Caine.

  The past few weeks had proven my theory correct, and Caine had been noticeably more laid-back when I was around the opposite sex.

  Henry was a completely different matter. The man was a natural flirt, and I understood he didn’t mean anything by it. But his flirting with me bothered Caine. His laughing with me bothered Caine. His touching me bothered Caine, and his being anywhere in my general vicinity bothered Caine.

  This bothered me.

  Henry was Caine’s closest friend. I did not want to cause problems between the two of them. I had the suspicion that the problem had existed between them before I arrived on the scene. There was a story behind Caine’s weirdness and I was more than curious to find out what that story was. I just hadn’t found the right time to mention it yet.

  Catching the look on Caine’s face, Henry practically rolled his eyes and backed off. He put his arm around his date and nudged her forward. “Caine, Lexie, this is Nadia Ray. She’s a local weather girl.”

  Recognition hit me. Nadia Ray had caused quite a stir a few months ago when she appeared on our televisions. The ratings at WCVB had gone through the roof since she joined the weather team. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said as Caine gave her a clipped nod in greeting.