You Are My Everything (Your Every Day Hero Book 3)

by Higgins, Marie

  Plain and simple—if his father wanted something bad enough, he would lie and cheat to get it. Mark’s father had been doing this since he was a young boy. Why would he stop now?

  Mark wouldn’t let his old man go on any further. Even if he had to take over all the shares of the company and kick his father out, he’d make sure Cassidy didn’t sell her precious inheritance to his father. Or anyone. And this realization made his heart melt for the beauty across from him, and made him want her that much more.

  He needed to confess his real identity and the reason for bidding on her last night, but now wasn’t the time. A mood had been set and he wanted to see it through. He’d tell her later.

  During the meal, they talked on a personal level. She told him a lot about her former marriage, and he couldn’t believe the anger that crept into him. He wanted to punch her ex in the face for all the heartache she’d gone through.

  He told her about some of his former girlfriends, but there wasn’t any who had ever captured his heart. Not like Cassidy Hilarion Brown had done in twenty-four hours. And he wouldn’t change a thing.

  He tried not to tell her too much about his life, because he didn’t want to lie to her anymore, so he always evaded the subject or steered away. She didn’t seem to notice, and he hoped she didn’t.

  Dinner passed quickly, and soon he was taking her home. He held her hand while driving, even when he walked her to her front door. The only time he released his hold was when she pulled keys from her purse. She fumbled with them and he grinned. She wants me to stay longer.

  He waited until she looked into his eyes before he stepped closer and brushed his lips across hers. “Cassidy, tonight has been very enjoyable,” he whispered.

  She withdrew, her gaze still glued to his. “Would…you like to come in?”

  His heart soared. “I thought you didn’t do nightcaps.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t on the first date.” She winked, then turned and unlocked the door.

  Her apartment suited her. Cute, sassy, and all woman. He loved it immediately. She walked toward the kitchen, her curvy bottom swinging.

  “I don’t have a lot of liquor here. I don’t drink believe it or not. But I do have soda. Would you like one?”

  She stopped at the archway between the front room and kitchen, and turned to look at him.

  He shook his head. “I don’t want anything to drink. I only want to drink in your beauty.”

  Her face flamed a deep pink. “Oh, aren’t you the poetic charmer.”

  “Only when the occasion calls for it.” He strode to the couch and sat. “And this particular occasion is screaming for words like that.”

  She chuckled, walked over and sat beside him. “Then would it be stupid to ask what you want to do now?”

  “I’m sure within a few minutes, you’ll know what’s on my mind.”

  Her brows rose up and down, suggestively. “Oooh, I love these kinds of games.”

  Mark took her in his arms and rested his face in the curve of her neck. Lilacs. Hmmm… She smelled so good. “I missed you,” he whispered as he brushed his lips across her skin.

  She shivered and tilted her head back. “Really?”

  “Yes. You’ve been on my mind all day.”

  “You’ve been on mine, too.”

  He smiled and placed little pecks on her neck. “What have you been thinking about?”

  “When I’d get to see you again.”

  He trailed kisses up to her mouth. She grabbed hold of his head and crushed her lips against his. Letting out a groan, he pulled her tighter against his body and devoured her mouth.

  He hadn’t expected the kiss to be so hot, so wild, and so enjoyable. But the hammering in his chest let him know exactly what this woman could do to him. Just like last night. Strange how no other woman could affect him this way.

  Shifting them on the couch, he pulled her beside him more as he relaxed back in the crook of the furniture. Their kisses slowed down until they eventually stopped. She raised her head and gazed into his eye. He could stare into her amber eyes forever.

  Heaven help me, but I’m sinking fast…and loving it.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  He smiled. “I’m more than all right. I can’t think of anything better than being here with you.”

  “Is there something else you want to do tonight? We could watch a movie and cuddle.”

  He chuckled. “Sounds perfect. Lead the way, my sweet Cassidy, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

  SEVEN

  The sun peeked through the blinds and brought Cassidy out of a deep sleep. She’d never slept so well in her life, in fact. As awareness came over her, she realized she was lying against a man. Taking a deep breath, she knew it was Mark.

  Smiling, she opened her eyes. They were still on the couch and had a light blanket over them. She had fallen asleep while in his arms watching a movie. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember the movie, either. But she remembered everything they’d talked about. He’d told her a little about his childhood, and where he attended college. He told her of his likes and dislikes.

  She sighed and snuggled closer. They hadn’t done anything improper, and yet, she felt closer to him than she’d ever been when married to Lyle. Love burst in her chest. Dare she tell him she’d fallen in love with him?

  No. She didn’t want to scare him away. This was too soon. Even for her! She had to evaluate her feelings a little more first.

  He looked good asleep, and she could stare at him all day. Or longer. But she had to go to the bathroom, yet she didn’t want to wake him up.

  Slowly, she pulled away from him and stood. He slept soundly, which was what she’d hoped for.

  As she quietly stepped around him, she noticed he’d taken out his wallet, keys to his Jeep, his cell, and laid them on the coffee table. Curiosity pulled her to the table and she picked up his wallet. She peeked at Mark to see if he was still asleep before opening the wallet, hoping he’d have some pictures of his family.

  Immediately, her attention was pulled to his driver’s license—especially the name. Mark Carrington.

  Carrington! Not Carey as he’d told her when they first met.

  She let out an audible gasp and covered her mouth. Her gaze flew to his closed eyes. Suddenly, his features became clearer to her. He is a Carrington! He resembles his father perfectly.

  Slowly, Mark’s eyes fluttered open. Happiness was his expression. When he finally focused on her and what was in her hands, his eyes widened, and his happy expression was replaced with one of panic.

  “You lied to me,” she whispered brokenly.

  “Cassidy, I can explain—”

  “I don’t want to hear your lies. To think you had to nerve to become close to me and make me fall in love with you…when all this time you were someone else. My father’s arch-enemy, of all people!” She choked on a sob, so she cleared her throat. “Just get out of here, Mark. I never want to see your deceiving face again.”

  She flew into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Leaning against the wall, she sobbed, her heart breaking once again. Yet this was different than what happened with Lyle. And she found herself hurting more.

  * * * *

  It had been seven very long days, and Cassidy didn’t think her heart would ever mend.

  Why had Mark lied to her? She now knew his purpose for bidding on her and seducing her. He wanted to get the statue for his father. Why else would a Carrington go out with a Hilarion? According to her father, the two families had been disputing over the statue piece for many years.

  She heaved a heavy breath and threaded her fingers through her hair as she paced the small distance in her office. Out in the bar, the radio played another whining country singer. Gads, she hated those songs. They were so close to her life it was ridiculous.

  The throb in her head ceased and she breathed slowly. The pill she took must be working. Perhaps she could finish her shift tonight without ripping anothe
r man’s head off. If she kept this up, customers would stop coming to the bar altogether. Who wanted to come to a place to forget their troubles and have the co-owner of the bar tear into them like a madwoman?

  And she was mad.

  Mark had tried to call her, but she refused to speak to him. She felt like a real idiot for falling for his charms, anyway. Why couldn’t he just leave her in piece?

  She walked away from the few customers lingering in the bar and moved behind the counter. Although still two hours until last call, she was sure these people would be gone before then. Good. She could close up the bar earlier.

  Picking up a dirty glass, she turned her back to the customers and proceeded to wash it. The chimes over the door rang out, announcing another customer. She didn’t care. Mark had made her stop feeling.

  “Excuse me, Miss. Can I have a moment of your time?”

  The deep sexy voice behind her sent familiar heated tremors over her skin. She swung around so fast, her ponytail flipped over her shoulder. Mark! What was that dog doing here?

  She scowled. “You are not allowed in this bar. Please leave before I get someone to throw you out.”

  He glanced at the few people heavily into their drinks, and then looked at her with an arched brow. “If it’s one of them, I’m not worried. A feather will be able to knock them down.”

  She set the glass down and crossed her arms. “What do you want? Didn’t I tell you I never wanted to see you again?”

  “Yes, but I think you’ll change your mind.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Doubt it.”

  He reached in his briefcase and pulled out some documents and laid them on the bar. Although she shouldn’t care what they were, she peered closer. Every piece of paper had The Hideaway written across the top.

  “What’s this?” She fingered the papers.

  “Your loans.”

  She grimaced. “What are you doing with them?”

  “I paid them off.”

  She gasped. “What? Why would you do something stupid like that?”

  He leaned closer and grabbed her hand. She struggled to pull it away, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “Because I love you, Cassidy, and I want to say I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you the other morning, but you wouldn’t listen.”

  “I—I don’t understand.”

  He took both of her hands in his, his gaze penetrating deep into her eyes.

  “I originally came to the bar that first night to see what was going on with the auction. I wanted to bid on you so I could take you out. My father wanted me to get the dirt on you and the bar as a way to put you in a situation where you had to sell him the statue piece.”

  Tears gathered in her eyes, but she clamped her lips together and let him speak.

  “But once I got to know you,” he continued, “I realized the stories my father had been telling me about you and your family were false, especially about the statue. He wanted me to believe our family was the original owners. Now I know he’d lied to me. The morning you found my wallet, I had planned on telling you the truth over breakfast, I swear it. I knew then that I wasn’t going to follow through with my father’s wishes. In fact, I was going to help you protect the statue so greedy jerks like my father couldn’t take it away from you.”

  Her heart melted a notch. She licked her dry lips. “And did you tell him?”

  “Yes. I told him moments before I bought up all the shares and took over the company. After that, I had him pack up his office and leave.” He shrugged. “Most of the people in the company didn’t like the way he ran things anyway, so I had a lot of people supporting me.”

  She widened her eyes. “You did that? You can’t. You’re a Carrington, and they cheat everyone.”

  He smiled. “I may be a Carrington, but I’m not going to follow in their footsteps. I never liked the way my father made the Carrington name a corporate swear word. I’m not a thief, Cassidy. I’m a man who wants to live an honest life, and have an honest, beautiful and devoted woman by his side.”

  Her heartbeat took on a different rhythm, and her breaths quickened with excitement. “What does that mean?”

  “It means, my dear Cassidy, that I’m in love with you and I want to be with you. Forever.” He winked.

  A tear slipped down her cheek and a knot of emotion formed in her throat. “Oh, Mark. I can’t believe you did all of that for me.”

  He nodded. “I love you and I wanted to help you.”

  She sniffed back a sob and leaned across the bar, wrapping her arms around his neck. His big, strong arms lifted her over the counter and pressed her body closer to his.

  “All I can offer you is my name, and a promise that one day the name Carrington will be a name our kids can wear proudly,” he said. “And I can promise to love you as long as I live.”

  She laughed. “Well, that sounds like a great promise. But I have to know something.”

  “What is that?”

  “How do you feel about your wife working in a bar?”

  He chuckled. “If that’s something my wife enjoys doing, then that’s just fine with me. I want to make my wife happy any way I can.”

  Her grin widened. “Do you think you could stand being married to a woman for forty or fifty years?”

  He let out a low growl before kissing her. She clutched him tighter and answered back with a passionate kiss. After a few minutes, he pulled away.

  “Does that mean you forgive me?” he asked.

  “Oh, yes, Mark.”

  He teased her lips with small kisses. “Um, I also need a place to stay. I had to sell my condo to get money for the company shares.”

  She grinned. “It just so happens I have room at my place. Interested?”

  With a laugh, he picked her up and swung her around. “Cassidy Hilarion. Is it any wonder I love you? You’re the only woman that can make me smile like a complete idiot.”

  “Good. That makes two of us.”

  She pressed her lips to his to seal their bargain. Just as the Colossus of Rhodes was a symbol to ancient Greece of peace and harmony, so it was for Cassidy and Mark’s future happiness.

  THE END

  Author’s Bio

  Marie Higgins is a best-selling, multi-published author of Christian and sweet romance novels; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. She’s been with a Christian publisher since 2010. Between those and her others, she’s published over 30 heartwarming, on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories and broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romances. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease", because of all her twists and turns and unexpected endings.

  Visit her website / blog to discover more about her – www.mariehiggins.com

  Find her on Facebook – facebook.com/marie.higgins.7543

  And Twitter - @MarieHigginsXOX