“Sorry I’m late.”
Always late, that was his Cassie. “It was worth it. You look…incredible, stunning.”
“Thank you.” She wore her hair up, with a few curly tendrils framing her rosy cheeks. A single pearl graced each ear. She chuckled. “Nice tie.”
She’d called him rigid, a stick-in-the-mud and a few other things. Well, maybe he was. But he wanted to show her he could be spontaneous so on his way to the party, he’d stopped at the Disney Store and purchased a Mickey Mouse tie. It wasn’t much, but it was for her, for agreeing to attend. Troy smiled.
Now was the time to tell her. He put his hands on her bare shoulders. “Listen, Cassie, I’ve got to tell you—”
The door opened again. Dixon and Vanessa entered, followed by…What were they doing here?
Every muscle of Troy’s tensed. “Mom, Dad.”
His father laughed. “Our eldest child is having an engagement party and he’s surprised we’re here. Kids.”
His mother kissed Troy’s cheek. “Dixon invited us and sent us airplane tickets. Why didn’t you tell us you were engaged?”
“I’ve been meaning to, but things have been rather hectic.”
“I would say that’s an understatement.” His mother smiled. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your fiancée?”
“Mom, Dad, this is Cassandra Daniels.” Troy forced the words from his dry throat. “Cassie, these are my parents, Paula and Bill McKnight.”
Troy caught a moment of panic in Cassie’s eyes, but she recovered quickly. Smiling, she extended her hand. “It’s w-w-wonderful you could come. Troy’s always talking about his family and life back on the farm.”
His beaming father pumped her hand. “Welcome to the family, Cassie. You’ll have to come see the farm for yourself. It’s a great place to raise a family.”
“Don’t be so subtle, Bill.” Paula gave Cassie a hug. “We are so happy to meet you.”
Dixon stepped up. “Before we join the rest of the guests, this might be a good time to give the kids your surprise, Paula.”
She removed a small black box from her purse and handed it to Troy. “Your father and I thought you might want this.”
Troy opened the box. A one-carat solitaire gleamed against the black velvet. His grandmother’s engagement ring. His chest tightened; he started to sweat.
Cassie’s mouth formed an O. “It’s…it’s beautiful.”
“It belonged to my mother, Troy’s grandma,” his father explained. “Put it on her finger.”
Not now.
Not this way.
Not when it didn’t mean anything.
“What are you waiting for, son?”
Troy stared into Cassie’s startled eyes. He gave her trembling hand a gentle squeeze. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. As he slid the ring onto her finger, she tensed. Her eyes glistened, and she blinked.
“Does it fit?” Vanessa and his mother asked at the same time.
Cassie showed the ring to the curious mothers. “Yes.”
“Fantastic.” Dixon patted Troy on the back. “Let’s go inside. Everyone’s waiting to congratulate the happy couple. And I bet Cassie wants to show her ring off to Emily.”
The next two hours passed quickly. Everything he’d dreamed of was happening. Troy worked the room with Dixon at his side and spoke with the inner circle of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and CEOs. Even the partners from Troy’s firm seemed a tad overwhelmed by the well-wishers at the party. Troy couldn’t ask for anything more. A complete success. A perfect evening. Except…
For the misery in Cassie’s eyes.
She stood next to his parents, staring at the fresco painted on the ceiling. This wasn’t working. Cassie might look the part, but she was hating every minute. And if the way she kept the engagement ring hidden from sight meant anything…
Last night had been important to her, too. Otherwise none of this would have mattered. Troy made his way through the crowd and touched her arm. “We need to talk.”
Cassie nodded and led him into the cloakroom. The heavy wooden door dulled the music and the conversation in the ballroom. “I wanted to talk to you, too. I’m sorry for how I acted, overreacted, this morning. It was easier for me to believe you’d use me, than to think you wouldn’t.”
It was going to work. “I should have told you what was going on. I’m sorry.”
She stared at the parquet floor. “Looks like it’s working out the way you wanted.”
For me, what about you? He hesitated.
“Everything you want is waiting for you in the other room.”
“Not everything,” he admitted. This was his chance. “I want you.”
Cassie bit her lip. “I want you, too.”
Her words sent his heart soaring. He put his arms around her and kissed her. She tasted so sweet, so warm. And she was his, all his.
Gently she pushed him away. “I want you, but I can’t be with you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“This isn’t an easy thing to say, but it’s not going to work. I can’t live your kind of life.”
“Can’t we compromise?”
“I—”
“You said you wanted me. What about love?”
“Love doesn’t change the fact you are a venture capitalist. You want to network at parties like this. You want to make millions of dollars. You want the power and the prestige. I don’t.”
What did she expect him to do? Give everything up for her?
Troy McKnight was the hottest property around. He’d made the right contacts—impressed and awed them. He was a shoo-in for a partnership. It was all waiting for him. He could taste it; he could feel it. He couldn’t stop now.
Could he?
Damn. He shouldn’t feel guilty; he shouldn’t feel dead as if his heart had stopped beating. He was on the verge of getting everything he ever wanted. Everything he had planned for.
How could Cassie expect him to give that up? “So it’s either you or my work?” My dreams.
“I’m not asking you to make a choice.”
She removed the engagement ring and handed it to him. Troy wouldn’t take it. “I love you.”
Cassie hesitated. “Sometimes love isn’t enough. You need a woman who shares your dreams, who wants the same things as you. A woman who can make you happy. I’m not her.”
He loved her.
He needed her.
He wanted to marry her.
“Yes, you are. You are her.”
She forced the ring into his hand. “No, I’m not.”
“It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We can work through this.”
“I’m sorry, Troy, but I can’t go back to that life. Not even for you.”
“Successful relationships are about compromise. We have to at least try. Please, meet me halfway.” “I…can’t.”
And Troy couldn’t do it alone. Damn.
Before he could stop her, Cassie returned to the party. The door closed behind her. Standing alone in the cloakroom, he stared at the ring in his hand. The diamond seemed duller now that it wasn’t on Cassie’s finger.
No stars to wish upon, no words left to say. A precious gift had been ripped out of his hands and Troy was at a loss about how to get it back. He remembered what the old man told him. “Never forget where your home is.”
What happened when “home” didn’t want you?
Standing on the balcony outside the ballroom, Cassandra stared at the lights on the Golden Gate Bridge. She wanted to ignore the turmoil raging inside her. She wanted the fog rolling in to dull the knife-edged pain stabbing her heart every time she thought of life without Troy.
Should she have given him a chance? Should she have been more willing to take a chance herself? The questions plagued her.
A door closed behind her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She was no longer alone. Troy. It had to be him.
“Cassandra.”
She didn’t turn; she couldn’t
. She clutched the rail. The only sounds were the trickling water from the fountain in the corner, Troy’s footsteps and her pounding heart.
He stood behind her, too close for her own good. His warm breath caressed the back of her neck. His arm brushed hers. The brief contact sent a spark shooting through her. She stepped aside.
“Aren’t you cold out here?”
“No, I was…enjoying the view.”
His gaze met hers. “It is lovely.”
The intensity of his eyes sent a shiver down her spine. Cassandra had used all of her strength and courage to tell Troy she wouldn’t make him happy, that he needed to find someone else. The disappointment in his eyes had torn her heart in two, but she was doing this for his own good. She couldn’t be the woman he wanted. Troy could never love her as she was.
“Why are you out here all alone?”
She’d left the party because the string quartet was playing a familiar song. A song she’d heard when they registered. A song she’d imagined herself walking down the aisle to. “I wanted some fresh air.”
“It’s a little stuffy in there.”
“Are you talking about the air or the stuffed shirts?”
“Both.”
His answer surprised her. She ignored the twinge of regret creeping up her spine. Saying goodbye to Troy McKnight was what she needed to do. It was what Troy needed her to do.
“I want to talk to you.”
No. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. One word and she might wind up in his arms. She might forget that she wasn’t the woman for him, that he wasn’t the man. “Why?”
He leaned against the edge of the balcony. “I was wondering if you were planning on hiring any more help at the bookstore.”
Troy wanted to talk about her bookstore, now? Puzzled, she drew her eyebrows together. “I can always use help.”
“Good.”
She wrung her hands, fighting her nervousness. “Does someone need a job?”
“Yes, me.”
“You?” This wasn’t funny. She wet her lips. “You already have a job and an offer from my father.”
“Not any longer.”
“Stop playing games, Troy.”
“This isn’t a game, Cassandra.” Troy held her hand. His warmth seeped into her skin and spread through her. “I thought about what you said. I’d rather have you than all the money in the world so I’m going to quit my job on Monday.”
“But…” Those were the words she wanted to hear, but it was the last thing she expected to hear. “How can you do that? It’s what you’ve wanted, what you’ve been working for all these years.”
Troy shrugged.
Realization hit her, like an oak bookcase falling on top of her. “You’d give it up, you’d give everything up for me?”
He nodded.
She should be jumping for joy. Instead she felt guilty for taking away Troy’s dream. “Isn’t that a bit…much?”
“Maybe a little, but what choice do I have?”
“I don’t know, but you can’t sacrifice everything you’ve ever wanted. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “I love you, Cassandra.”
“I…” She couldn’t let him do this. He would live to regret the decision. There had to be another way. But what? She had agreed to meet Emily halfway. And Emily’s betrayal had been one of the most painful events in Cassandra’s life. Maybe she would do the same with Troy. It was either that or…“What if we compromised?”
“That’s a thought.” Troy rubbed his chin. “But I didn’t think you knew the meaning of the word.”
“I didn’t know I did,” she admitted. “But I’ve been told compromise is the key to a successful relationship.”
“Don’t you think it might be a bit extreme?”
“Not when…”
Suddenly everything made sense. Troy was giving her a taste of her own medicine, making her see there wasn’t only black or white, all or nothing, one way or another. Cassandra smiled. “You’re too smart for your own good, Troy McKnight.”
“Do you still want to compromise?”
“You better believe it.” She bit her lip. “Let’s see, I’ll attend dinners and business functions with you if you attend—”
“Poetry readings and…”
“Yoga classes with me.”
He grimaced. “Yoga?”
“It’s negotiable.” She grinned. “Think you can handle it?”
“Yes.”
Cassandra sighed. “I can’t believe I’ll be dating a venture capitalist.”
“You won’t be dating me.” Troy dropped to one knee. “I’m hoping you will marry me?”
Her nerve endings quivered; her blood tingled. She struggled for a breath. “For real?”
“For real.” Troy took the ring out of his pocket. “I love you. I want to marry you.”
“Yes.” Tears of happiness welled in her eyes. “I love you.”
Troy slipped the ring on her finger. Standing, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “No more nights, weekends or weeks. I’ll be your fiancé for life.”
“No, you won’t,” she said. “You’ll be my husband for life.”
With that, Cassandra kissed him, long and hard. No more pretend kisses. Only real ones from now on. “I think I’m going to like being engaged for real.”
“Wait until we’re married, Cassandra.”
Staring at the diamond ring on her finger, she smiled. “Call me Cassie, and I don’t want to wait.” She pushed back the sleeve of his jacket and read the time on his Rolex. “We should have long enough.”
Troy grinned. “What did you have in mind?”
“Ever make love to your fiancée on a balcony before?”
“I, uh—”
“Me neither.” She pulled on his Mickey Mouse tie until he was nose-to-nose with her. “I’m game if you are or we could sneak off and get matching tattoos.”
Troy hesitated, but only for a moment. With a gentle caress, he slid the left strap of her dress off her shoulder. “We McKnights aim to please.”
Cassie winked. “So is that a yes for the lovemaking or the tattoos?”
* * * * *
eISBN 978-14592-6056-6
FIANCÉ FOR THE NIGHT
Copyright © 1999 by Melissa Martinez McClone
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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