Kase Of Deception

by Riann C. Miller

  I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, thankful I didn’t ask her to move in with me. “Trust isn’t always about being honest. It’s a feeling—a belief—deep within you, something you know to be true regardless of the evidence, but…” I place my hand on her chest just above her heart. “You need to let this guide you, because your heart, it never lies.”

  She stares at me, saying nothing until she brings her face closer to mine. Her lips softly brush mine before she says, “I didn’t know what I was missing until I found you.”

  She thinks I’m a good person but I’m not.

  She thinks she knows me but she doesn’t.

  She believes we met by chance but we didn’t.

  And now… I’m scared there’s not enough time to repent my sins before she walks out of my life forever.

  Delanie

  I’m secretly pleased Kase learned I was looking for an apartment. I know if I mention anything to Brenna, she’ll insist I stay with her, but she lives alone in a two-bedroom apartment for a reason.

  However, I’m still new to the area and outside of the ridiculous amount a few of the complexes are charging, I can’t immediately tell which neighborhoods I should avoid.

  Out of the fifteen pamphlets I had when I asked for Kase’s opinion, he immediately tossed six in the trash. Then he informed me he’d call the remaining places and schedule an appointment.

  I agreed to meet him the next night in Woodland Hills after work to view a possible apartment. He sounded disappointed when he told me he wouldn’t be at Walton Towers due to a meeting he had scheduled late in the afternoon, which meant we couldn’t ride together. He offered to have Tim pick me up, but I politely turned down.

  Forty minutes after five, with the sun still blazing a hot ball of fire, his car glides into the parking lot of Sapphire Heights. Kase climbs out of the car in a suit. When his dark eyes land on me, he adjusts his blue tie and makes his way my direction.

  He doesn’t greet me with words. Instead, he tags me around the waist, pulls my body against his, and sinks his mouth onto mine. His lips are soft and warm while his fingers dig into my skin, informing me he’d like more than just to have his mouth on me. By the time he lets go, my heart is thumping against my chest. “Someone is happy to see me.”

  “I had a shitty day. Ten seconds ago, I was in a foul mood, but now that I’ve seen you, it’s turning around.” He grabs my hand. “Let’s go see if this place is worth what they’re charging. If not, we’ll need to look around and check out a couple more places because I narrowed your list down to five.”

  “What happened to the other four?”

  He shakes his head in disgust. “Two of them had absolutely no security, one didn’t have any floodlights, and the other...” he takes a deep breath, slowly exhaling it before finishing, “the other had multiple sex offenders living in the complex.”

  My eyes widen. “Please tell me you didn’t pay someone to snoop around.”

  His tone changes when he drops my hand all but growls, “Sex offenders are required to register their address with the state. The information is then made public.”

  He runs hands through his unruly hair, his earlier mood apparently making another appearance.

  “Sorry.”

  He tilts his head to the side, studying me. “What are you sorry for?”

  “For upsetting you.”

  He reaches for my hand again. “You didn’t upset me. I just want you to be more aware of your surroundings. Danger can lurk in even the nicest neighborhoods.”

  When searching for apartments online, price and distance to work were the only things I considered when I requested a brochure, but he’s right. When it comes to my safety, I’ve spent most of my life living in a magical bubble where I hear about crappy things happening to good people but never to anyone I know.

  My apartment in Lincoln was in a gated community. The rent at the Avalon cost more than I made in a month but if I wanted to live alone, it was the only place my parents and Carter would approve of. At twenty-six, I hated the fact that I was still dependent on my parents but I despised living with my mother, so I caved.

  Hand in hand, we make our way inside where we’re greeted by a cute perky blonde who doesn’t look a day over twenty. “Welcome to Sapphire Heights. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Cole,” she says with more enthusiasm than a kid on their last day of school.

  My head jerks back at her comment while Kase’s hand tightens around mine.

  “I’m Mr. Cole, but this beautiful lady next to me is actually Miss Delanie Charles. We have a six o’clock appointment to view an apartment.”

  “Oh, yes,” she squawks, jumping to her feet. “Sorry about that. I got the impression when you called you two were married. My bad. I’m Tawny, the assistant day manager.” She claps her hands together. “Let’s go see some apartments.”

  I glance at Kase, who shrugs off her comment about us being married. We follow her out the door and down a long sidewalk that leads into a small village of stucco buildings that are lined with palm trees. “Sapphire offers one, two, and three bedroom apartments with a unique feature you won’t find anywhere else in the area.” She waves a keycard in front of ground floor unit. Once the door is opened, she motions for us to follow her. “This is our display unit. It’s not for rent, but this is the standard layout for our one bedroom studio unit.”

  Once we’re through the door, my heart sinks with disappointment. The apartment is small…very, very small.

  “Our one bedroom units are studio lofts. Everything except the bathroom is open. The above ground units have a private balcony. And we have a few ocean view apartments available, if you’re interested.”

  I take a couple of steps toward the kitchen, which is nothing more than a small sink with a two-stove burner, microwave, and mini-fridge, but no oven.

  My gaze cuts to Kase when he asks, “Where the hell is the bedroom?”

  On the opposite wall of the loveseat, Tawny pushes a button, and a bed drops out of the wall. “Mattresses are not included, but all of our one-bedroom units are built for a full-sized bed.”

  “That’s a full-sized bed? It looks more like a twin,” Kase asks with a huff. “And there’s no way anyone would consider that to be a kitchen. There’s not even room for a table.”

  The kitchen is enclosed by a built-in bar with two stools, but he’s right, there’s no room for a table.

  “Our one-room apartments are a total of 378 total square feet, which does put them on the small side but…” She pulls the same key card out of her pocket and walks over the wall next to the loveseat and waves it over a sensor. “If you’re interested in additional space, our one and two bedroom units are adjoining.”

  Kase’s back goes stiff when a portion of the wall sides open. “Follow me.”

  Shaking his head, with a look of disgust on his face, we step through the doorway and into a second, much larger apartment. “Adjoining apartments? This isn’t a freaking hotel.”

  Ignoring him, she continues talking with a huge smile plastered across her face. “Our two-bedroom units are just under nine hundred square feet and offer a larger kitchen, a dining area, and two enclosed bedrooms.”

  Kase glares at Tawny. “We’d like to see an apartment without an adjoining wall.”

  “Oh, sorry. All our apartments are adjoining. We’ve taken special precautions to ensure the wall can’t be accessed by anyone other than management.”

  “How much is the rent on just the two-bedroom side?”

  Kase growls, “No. No way. You get someone in here who knows what they are doing, and that wall will be open in a second.”

  “Sapphire Heights has been open for three years, and we’ve yet to have a problem.”

  “Good for you, but it’s only a matter of time before something does happen, and I’m not about to let that involve my girlfriend.” He brings his hard eyes to mine and snaps, “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Excuse me?” I happen to agree with everything h
e said, but he’s acting like my mom, like Carter, not asking for my opinion, just dictating his own.

  After glaring at Kase, I turn toward Tawny, faking a smile. “How much is the rent?”

  “A one-bedroom is eighteen hundred a month, a two-bedroom is twenty-eight a month, and both adjoining units are four thousand.”

  Holy shit. I can’t afford to rent both units and still have money left to do much of anything.

  “Your rent covers all utilities, including internet. In addition, the Sapphire has an outdoor pool that is open year-round and a state of the art gym on site.”

  With his hands balled into a fist, Kase all but growls, “Thank you, Tawny. We have a few other places to check out before we make a final decision.”

  We? I don’t recall the conversation where we agreed to move in together.

  “Okay, but if you’re wanting a double unit with an ocean view, we only have one of those left.”

  “Thanks, I’ll be in touch.” With anger simmering in my veins, I march outside, heading to my car as fast as my heels will take me. I can hear Kase behind me but when my car comes into sight, I unlock the door with my key fob, ready to leave with no intentions of talking to him.

  He waits until I have the door open to grab my arm. “I know you’re upset with me, but you can’t seriously be okay with sharing an apartment with a complete stranger?”

  “I’m the one looking for an apartment.” I jab my finger into his chest. “Not you.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” He bites his lip like he wants to say more but knows better.

  “Renting the entire unit isn’t in my budget. I was going to politely turn her down but I didn’t get the chance before you acted like a controlling asshole.”

  He moves his hands to my waist, his eyes softening. “You’re right. I acted like a jerk You’re an intelligent woman who’s more than capable of making decisions.”

  For a moment, I’m so blinded by his apology I don’t know what to say. Carter never apologized for anything. Then again, I never felt comfortable enough to tell him what I was truly thinking. I was expecting Kase to get upset at me for being upset with him, but instead, he apologized.

  “I promise from here on out, I’ll keep my opinions to myself. That’s assuming I’m still allowed to apartment shop with you.”

  I try to fight back a smile but I fail miserably. “I want to hear your opinion, but only if you agree to not act like an asshole.”

  “Promise,” he mumbles before his lips meet mine. By the time he lets go, my legs are weak and all the anger I was feeling only minutes ago is long gone.

  “I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

  “I could eat.”

  He shuts the door of my car and motions with his head toward his. “Good, because I know just the place to take you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Delanie

  When I arrived home the next night, I had every intention on telling Brenna I was looking for my own place, but those thoughts went out the door when I spot a boutique of long-stem roses sitting on the kitchen table.

  “The magical vagina strikes again,” Brenna says through a laugh.

  “Those are for me?” Happiness bubbles in my chest as I slip my purse off my shoulder.

  “Yes, and I thought about kneeing the delivery man in the nuts when he asked for you. Apparently, all it takes is an arrangement of flowers, and I’m willing to forgive a man for ghosting me for over a week.”

  “You still haven’t heard from Roan?”

  “No, and it’s officially been a week, so I think it’s safe to assume we’re over.”

  “He might be my boss but when it comes to dating, he sounds like a jerk who doesn’t deserve you.” I don’t remind her of the fact that he’s freaking married and never should have been dating her in the first place.

  Ignoring my comment, she tilts her head toward the flowers and says, “Aren’t you going to read what lover boy has to say?”

  Kase didn’t come home with me after dinner last night. I could tell he wanted to, he all but hinted around to us either going back to my place or his, but I needed some space. I’m falling hard for the man, but everything is happening too fast. It wasn’t that long ago I was engaged to someone else, and our fight last night was proof that I’m still very green when it comes to relationships.

  Opening the little envelope, I slide the card out expecting to read another apology about last night, only the flowers aren’t from Kase.

  Delanie,

  If you think you’re going to be able to fuck me over and get away with it, then you have another thing coming. Call off your dogs and get your ass back home or you’ll be sorry.

  Carter

  “Oh my God,” I say placing my hand across my chest.

  “What it is?” Brenna takes the card out of my hand. “That dumb fucker.”

  “How does he know where you live?”

  Color drains from her face. “I have no idea, but my name is on the lease. I’m sure it wasn’t that difficult to find out.”

  When my breathing becomes labored, I take a seat on the couch. “That means he could show up here at any moment.”

  “He knocks on my door, and I am kneeing him in the junk,” she half-heartedly says.

  The first half of our relationship, Carter was passive aggressive. If he didn’t like something I did, he’d make an underhanded comment hoping to get his point across, which usually worked. In the last few years though, he became more vocal about his opinion. But the last time I was alone with him, he finally did what I had been fearing.

  “No,” my voice cracks. “I’ve never made him this mad before. If he shows up here…” my hands shake with fear. “I’m not sure what he’s capable of.”

  She sits down next to me. Her face hard when she asks, “Delanie, has Carter ever puts his hands on you?”

  Staring at my lap, I don’t bother replying. It’s funny how much crap I was willing to put up with over the years. I waited until he got someone else pregnant to find a backbone and when I did, I was given a first-hand look at what my future would have been if I stayed.

  “If he shows up here, you have my blessing to kick him in the balls.” I jump to my feet and walk to the kitchen, where I dump the flowers into the trash.

  “That vase is probably worth some—” She stops talking when my eyes cut to hers.

  “Anything that comes from Carter Bosa comes with a price that’s not worth paying.”

  Forcing a hard breath into my lungs, I dig my phone out of my purse then I make my way to my room. I should unblock his number, call him, and tell him what I think of him but I can’t get my finger to move. I’m a different person when I’m around him, someone I don’t necessarily care for.

  Therefore, instead of calling him, I dial Regan.

  “Hey, sweets. Your ears must be ringing because I was planning on calling you tonight.”

  Not beating around the bush, I ask, “Have you heard from Carter lately?”

  “Not personally, but Spence mention he flipped out the other day. I guess your dad went off on him for screwing around on you.”

  “Good. He deserved that and much more.”

  “Oh, I agree and I think your dad might be delivering on the much more part.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “My mother-in-law is batshit crazy, but I think Judith truly cares about you. When you guys first split, she told Carter she was pulling the money she advanced him to start his own business. Today, I overheard her telling someone on the phone that your dad has also threatened to pull the advancement he gave Carter. I have no idea what kind of money we’re talking about, but from the sounds of it, Carter’s business is about to tank before he officially got it up and running.”

  “He told me his parents and sister invested in his business, but I didn’t know anything about my dad. But that explains why he’s freaking out.”

  Her tone changes. “What are you talking about?”

>   “He sent me flowers with a note telling me to get my ass back home.”

  “He’s an arrogant jerk. And for the record, I think Spencer was switched at birth. He’s the only person in the family that doesn’t walk around acting like their shit doesn’t stink.”

  “Do me a favor and call if you hear anything about him coming out here.”

  “I will. I promise and I know you’re busy making a new life for yourself, but don’t forget I’m here for you. Always.”

  “I know and I’m sorry. I promise I’ll call more often.”

  “I hear your dad is coming out there this weekend.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Judith heard it from your mom who…” She clears her throat. “Who called your dad to speak on Carter’s behalf. And from what I was told, that didn’t go over too well.”

  I chew on my lip, fighting back a smile. “I would’ve loved to have seen her face during that conversation.”

  “You and me both,” she chuckles before adding, “I hate to cut this short, but you called while I was having dinner with Spence, and he’s starting to give me looks.”

  “Oh, jeez, you should have said something.”

  “No way. When I saw your name light up on my phone, I jumped from my chair and ran outside to talk to you.”

  “Well, thanks. Tell Spencer I’m sorry for interrupting his dinner.”

  “Nah, he’ll be fine. It’s not like you called while we were having sex.”

  “I hope if that happens, you won’t answer my call.”

  “Mmm, I guess that will depend on how long it’s been since I’ve talked to you.”

  “I promise to call more often, and you promise to never answer the call while you’re having sex with your husband.”

  “Okay, deal. I better go. Love, you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I toss my phone on the bed, debating whether I should call my dad.

  Why would he invest money in Carter’s business and not tell me? After Carter earned his master’s, he moved to New York and interned for my dad. I know they got along, but neither of them mentioned a thing about going into business together.