He pulled up and parked in the driveway of one of the newer-looking homes, with white clapboard paint and black shutters.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yep.”
He came around to the side of the car and walked with her up the walk, ringing the doorbell. A few seconds later, a familiar woman opened the door. Marie had a few more wrinkles on her skin, a couple of strands of gray in her dark hair, and a wide, welcoming smile on her face.
“Derek, Cassandra! Come in, come in!”
After they stepped in out of the cold, Cassie found herself enveloped in a big hug. “It’s so good to see you again,” Derek’s mother said.
“I feel the same way.” She stepped back and smiled at Marie.
She hugged Derek next. “Let me take your jackets.”
Marie hung their coats in the front hall closet and led them back to the kitchen. The inside of the house was a new as the outside, a beautifully decorated dark wood kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances. Marie had always loved to cook, so Cassie assumed this room got a lot of use.
The three sat at the kitchen table, a slice of homemade lemon meringue pie and coffee in front of each person. Good memories returned, of Marie giving her homemade treats after school, with milk instead of caffeine.
She dug into the pie. The lemony tart taste exploded on her tongue and she moaned. “Delicious.”
At the sound, Derek shot her a warning look.
She snickered to herself. She hadn’t meant to make an arousing noise, especially in front of his mom, and she cleared her throat.
“Mom, I thought I’d go change some of the higher ceiling lights while you two talk.” He rose and took a long sip of coffee before starting to walk out.
“Be careful on the ladder,” Marie said.
Derek all but rolled his eyes. “I will.” He winked at Cassie and disappeared out the kitchen entry.
This man, she thought, well aware of the growing feelings she had for him. And just look how far they’d come, her sitting in his mother’s kitchen.
Cassie knew how hard it was for him to leave her alone with his mother. But he had. Which meant he trusted her, she thought, her heart full.
She turned to Marie, who studied her through wise eyes. “Thank you for seeing me,” Cassie said.
“Are you kidding? From the time Derek mentioned your name, I couldn’t wait to see what a fine young lady you grew into.”
Cassie blinked in surprise. “You really don’t … hold it against me? What my father did?”
“Honey, we aren’t responsible for the sins of others.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m also grateful you feel that way. You were a big part of my childhood, and it would break me if you hated me now.”
Marie grabbed her hand. “On to other things, really.”
“Okay. Okay.” She sniffed before she could break down.
“So Derek tells me you’re writing a series of articles about him.” She leaned back in her seat.
Cassie rubbed her hands together, her excitement over her choice assignment coming through. “I’m almost ready to start working on them. I just need your perspective on what he was like as a child, how he’s changed, if he has. Things like that.”
“Well, let’s see, he was a handful as a toddler, into everything.” Marie smiled at the memories. “But he was also a good boy. He wanted to please both me and his father. Always willing to help around the house and at work.”
Cassie took mental notes of everything Marie said. So far none of it surprised her. Derek was a decent man who took care of his friends and family, but he also had no problem digging into things he had no business doing … like her brother’s life.
She blew out a puff of air. Since he’d been truthful with her, she’d tried to be grateful for his honesty and not angry he’d gone digging. Especially since he’d had good reasons. Reasons that included taking care of her. Cassie had been, and still was, torn by that revelation. She shouldn’t have any loyalty to her family. After all, they’d shown her how little she mattered to them. But how did you throw away a lifelong belief of what family was supposed to mean?
Yet how could she blame Derek for anything he did before he’d been involved with her, or for looking into her brother’s past indiscretions?
“Cassandra, what’s wrong? You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.” Marie broke into her thoughts.
Cassie blinked and focused on the woman in front of her. “I’m sorry. I guess I have a lot on my mind. Let’s get back to Derek.”
The other woman nodded.
For the next twenty minutes, they talked about a variety of things. Derek’s grades—all As, his preference for math and the sciences, lack of athletic ability as a child, him finding the gym and boxing and building muscles as an adult. And his desire to give back now that he had so much. It was interesting to get his mother’s perspective on her son. She was obviously proud as she should be. She’d raised a wonderful man.
They talked about how losing his father had both hurt and defined him. He’d channeled the pain into a drive to succeed to make his father proud and provide for his mother to make up for the loss.
“He also nursed anger I wasn’t aware of until recently,” Marie said pointedly.
“At my father?” Cassie asked.
Marie nodded. “He believed that had we not been let go, we would have had health insurance and his father might have survived. What he doesn’t understand—or didn’t until I told him—was that his father was a stubborn mule. Who’s to say he’d have gone to a doctor in time?”
Cassie nodded. “I understand your point and it’s generous. Really.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t appreciate being accused, blamed, arrested for something I didn’t do. I’ve lived with that pain and stigma all my life, but I’ve dealt with it. I think Derek is still learning.”
As Marie spoke, guilt and embarrassment suffused Cassie. “I’m sorry,” Cassie murmured again. It was all she could do.
The very thought that her father had lied ate away at her as Marie patted her hand.
Cassie was determined to find out why her father had lied and damaged a good woman’s reputation, even if she had to confront him herself. She knew her mother would never do it.
* * *
After leaving his mother’s, Derek drove by the high school he’d attended. As it turned out, school was closed for a Superindent’s Day, but the janitor remembered Derek and was happy to let them take a walk around. Cassie wanted to see where he’d spent his formative years, as she called them, and he figured why the hell not?
Although he’d been busy changing high hat light bulbs for his mom, he’d also spent time eavesdropping on the women. His mother had been her usual kind self, but she’d been honest, too, when Cassie mentioned her father. And though it was a fair conversation, Derek had felt Cassie’s discomfort, which way outweighed his mother’s pain. She had clearly overcome the past. Derek had made more progress recently.
For Cassie it was still raw. Nothing but time and, maybe someday, an explanation would help.
After they strode down the halls with the now green lockers and he’d pointed out the science lab, they ended up in what used to be the computer lab. These days, the classrooms had smartboards and were much more high-tech. Kids had computers and laptops at home. Derek didn’t know what the kids at this school could afford, but it was obvious things had been upgraded well.
“Can you imagine if we’d gone to school together?” Cassie asked, looking around the room that was now a normal classroom.
“Maybe I’d have had more time to get you to notice me,” he said with a wink.
“Oh, I’d have noticed you,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Yeah?” He rubbed his nose against her cold one. “Think you’d have been brave enough to sneak a kiss?”
“I’d regret it if I didn’t because now I know what I’d be missing.” She threaded her hand through his hair and looked int
o his eyes.
“Damn straight,” he muttered, and covered her lips with his, sliding his tongue into her mouth. She opened eagerly, and the kiss went on for a good long while, long, seductive sweeps of their tongues, meshing of mouths, and more.
His heart pounded hard in his chest as he pulled away. After the last twenty-four hours, Derek knew one thing for sure. He wasn’t falling in love with her. He was already there.
It didn’t matter what her family thought, what had happened in the past between them. All that mattered was her.
“I love you,” he heard himself say, unable to hold the words back now that he’d acknowledged them.
Her eyes opened wide. “You do?”
A smile pulled at his lips. “You don’t believe me?”
She leaned back, her arms around his neck holding her steady. “No, I do. Want to know why?”
He cocked an eyebrow, wanting to hear her say it. “Why?”
“Because I love you too.”
The words wrapped around his heart. Damn, he’d never have believed it. If, back when he’d gone to this school, someone had told him he’d find his other half in the princess across the yard, he’d have died laughing, sure someone was playing a joke on him. But what he felt for her was far from funny.
He kissed her again, locking his lips over hers and losing himself in her sweetness, tongues tangling. He nipped on her lower lip, and she pressed herself against him, jacket against jacket, heat sweeping through his body, his cock at attention.
This wasn’t the best place for his declaration, but it was their place and he owned it. He swept his hand into her hair and kissed her again, hard and with urgency, until they heard a loud banging on the door.
“Come on, kids,” the familiar voice of the janitor called. “Time to go.”
He broke the kiss and laughed. “This could have happened way back when too.”
She grasped his hand and met his gaze. “We’d have been too young to appreciate what we had,” she said, her eyes warm and glazed with a combination of arousal and happiness.
“Point well made,” he said. “We’d better get going or the janitor is going to drag us out.”
She laughed and let him lead her out of the room, through the school, and into the frigid air.
* * *
Derek spent the night with Cassie in his bed. He made love to her slowly, savoring the feel of his cock bare inside her, sure of his feelings. Knowing she felt the same way. He’d never used those words with another woman before, and speaking them to Cassie felt right.
He didn’t sleep much; he was too hyped up. He’d been open with Cassie. He’d been honest. And he finally had faith that they could work through the past on their terms. She wanted the same thing he did. To move on together.
He’d woken her earlier, his tongue between her legs, tasting her, savoring her, bringing her over the edge, not once but twice before he found his way home, coming inside her. Losing himself in her and finding himself all over again.
Derek rose to light streaming through the window in his bedroom. The sun matched his mood. He’d never felt so light or free.
He was about to wake her up when his cell rang. He jumped up to get it before it woke her.
“Hello?”
“Derek, it’s Kade.”
“Hey. What’s going on?” Because Kade didn’t normally call this early. “Something with Blink?” Derek asked.
“No. You know how Lexie collects the articles we’re all mentioned in?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly anxious. “Yeah?”
“You have a problem. I know you had faith in Cassie, but I told you to be careful.”
The muscles in his neck bunched into tight knots. “Fucking spit it out,” he muttered.
“There’s an article on the Take a Byte website about you.”
Derek shook his head. “That doesn’t sound right. She would have told me.” He glanced at the bed. Her bare shoulders peeked out from beneath the comforter; her brown hair was splayed across his pillow. So innocent-looking.
“Yeah? Would she also have told you she was going to do a trash piece on your mother?” Kade asked.
“Excuse me?” Derek asked, his voice rising.
Cassie jumped up, her bare breasts bouncing and teasing him before she grabbed the comforter and covered herself. “What’s wrong?” She turned sleepy eyes on him.
He held up a hand, indicating she shouldn’t interrupt. “Go on,” he said to Kade.
“The story of how your mother worked for the Storms, was fired for stealing family jewelry, arrested … all of it laid out for the world to read.”
His stomach clenched in dread. “Fuck. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll call you later.” He turned to face Cassie.
“What is it?” she asked, concern in her voice.
“Take a Byte ran an article about me.”
She blinked in surprise. “What? No. That’s impossible.”
“Well, somehow all the information about my past, growing up the son of the gardener and maid, my mother labeled a thief for stealing family jewelry, her firing and arrest, is out for public consumption. All of it,” he said, his anger and fury rising with every word.
Her eyes opened wide. “What’s the byline?” she asked, jumping out of bed, bending down, and searching through her clothes. She popped up again with her phone in hand. “Byline,” she said again. “Who wrote the article?” she asked, scrolling through her phone.
“Kade didn’t say.”
She studied her phone, gaze narrowing. “Anonymous. The byline says fucking anonymous.” Frustration shook her body.
Her naked body, and he knew they had to get dressed. Before he could make the suggestion, she sat back down in bed and scrolled through her cell phone. “Dixon, it’s Cassie. I know it’s the weekend but it’s urgent. Who wrote the article about Derek West, and why wasn’t I informed first?”
She listened, her shoulders straightening as indignation rolled through her. “I’ll kill him,” she muttered. “Thanks,” she said into the phone. “I’ll be in touch.”
She tossed her phone on the bed and met Derek’s gaze. “I didn’t write it.”
“I know.”
“But you thought it for a minute, didn’t you?” she asked, hurt in her voice.
He shook his head. “In the second in which I found out, I didn’t know what to think. All I knew was that my entire life had been revealed to the public by your magazine. I didn’t connect any dots.”
“Well, I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t.” She pulled the blanket up around her as a shield. “But I know who did. Dixon said they were told it was an executive decision and under no circumstances was I to be told. Or else jobs would be on the line.” Her face was flushed with anger. “My brother. He’s the only one with the ability to override me. The only one who could threaten job security and my people would believe him.”
“Jesus,” Derek muttered. The gall of the men in that family knew no bounds. He recalled his conversation with the PI. “Cassie, remember I told you if there was anything you needed to know about your brother, I’d tell you?”
She nodded, her shoulders slumping as she prepared herself for another blow. “What is it?”
“Your brother spent his time in Europe romancing women, then stealing from them.”
“God.” She rubbed her palms against her eyes before meeting his gaze. “I wonder if my father knows.”
“I’m sorry, princess.”
She shook her head, knowing what she had to do. “No. I’m sorry.” She climbed out of bed and began to dress.
“What are you doing?” he asked, confused by her behavior.
She glanced up. “I’m going home. You need to help your mother cope with this mess. If she doesn’t know, she needs to. And if she already knows, she’s probably beside herself. And hating me,” she muttered, pulling on her panties.
“Cassie, wait. Take a shower, think things through.”
“Think what throu
gh? Without lifting a finger, I’ve destroyed your mother’s life. That’s what you get for going against your better instincts and letting me interview you. Letting me into your life.”
“Hey.” He strode over and grabbed her shoulders. “It wasn’t you.” Even as he’d heard the news, he hadn’t jumped to that conclusion.
He knew her. He loved her. And she loved him, which meant she wouldn’t deliberately hurt him.
“It might as well have been.” She’d slid on her jeans and buttoned them, then pulled her sweater over her head. “I have to go confront Spencer. I can’t let him run roughshod over my life. He has no right. He not only did a hit job on your mother but he undercut me. He knew I was planning a series on you, and he deliberately scooped me.” She tossed her bag over her shoulder. “I want him to look me in the eye and tell me why. And then I am going to quit.”
“Wait. What?”
She strode over to him, lifted herself onto her tiptoes, and pressed a kiss on his lips. A soft, fleeting kiss that felt suspiciously like good-bye. In a very final way.
“I’m sorry. Please tell your mother that too. I’m sorry that bringing me into your life caused such incredible pain.”
“Cassie,” he said in a deep voice he barely recognized. “What aren’t you saying?”
She shook her head, eyes full of tears. “I need to go confront my brother. And you need to think about whether it’s worth having me in your life, because I can guarantee you, Spencer won’t stop if we’re together. And you deserve a lot more than a life of humiliation.” She started for the door.
And because he was stark naked and really did need to make sure his mother prepared for any fallout, he had no choice but to let Cassie go.
For now.
* * *
Cassie went from flying on top of the world to dragging at the bottom. She couldn’t believe her brother could do something so low, so underhanded … so uncaring and awful. He’d betrayed his sister, hurt people Cassie cared about, and showed his true colors in a spectacular way.
She’d had one blissful night with Derek, sharing their feelings, believing in hope for the future, only to have everything shattered in the light of day.
Going Down Hard Page 14
