Chapter 17 CASSANDRA
CASSANDRA
Scarlett swung the door open to her house and waved us inside. “Happy birthday!”
Luke was behind her with Mary in his arms. “Happy birthday, Cass.”
“Thank you.” I stepped inside with Leo following me close. He had Seraphina in her car seat looped on one arm and the diaper bag on the other.
She was kicking wildly, her eyes wide and bright. The color had changed some from when she was born, lightening and giving me hope that she’d have Leo’s color. At two months old, she’d grown into this perfect baby with chubby cheeks and a happy smile.
“Come on back. We’re all on the deck,” Scarlett said.
“Sorry we’re late.” Leo set the car seat down and unstrapped the baby. “Someone had a blowout and we had to do a quick bath.”
“I didn’t even bother trying to save the outfit she ruined.” It had been a cute green dress that was nearly too small for her. I’d hoped for one more wear, but after her diaper had exploded, I’d put it in the trash.
“That yellow shit doesn’t come out of anything,” Leo muttered.
“Been there.” Luke chuckled. “Sounds like you’ve earned a beer.”
We followed them through the french doors to their beautiful deck decorated with flowerpots, none of which had been planted yet. Though today was a warm spring day, Mom always said it was too risky to plant flowers in Montana before Memorial Day.
Scarlett must believe the same.
“Hi!” Mom and Dad were seated beside one another in a pair of matching chairs. She shot out of her seat, going straight for my daughter and practically ripping her out of Leo’s arms.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Happy birthday.” She gave me a one-armed hug and went to her chair. When her favorite person was in the vicinity—Seraphina—the rest of us, even me, were ignored.
“Happy birthday, Buttercup.” Dad pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. Then he let me go to shoot Leo a glare. “Leo.”
“Dale,” Leo clipped.
I rolled my eyes and frowned up at Dad. “Be nice.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.”
The two of them hadn’t spoken about the animosity lingering, and with every encounter it seemed to get worse. Mostly because Dad hated to see that Leo was, in fact, a good father. Eventually, Dad would have to forgive Leo for his actions during my pregnancy.
Eventually.
Dad’s tactic was to do his best to ignore Leo’s existence.
“You look pretty today,” he said.
“Thanks.” I smiled and smoothed down the waist of my dress as he let me go.
“Beautiful.” Leo’s hand found the small of my back.
“Meh.”
He frowned.
After two months, I was getting my body back, but the changes were harder for me to accept than I’d expected.
The stretch marks bothered me the most. Along with those, there was a new fullness at my hips and breasts.
I doubted my pre-pregnancy jeans would ever fit again and so I’d donned this dress today—a simple red print with small white dots, a tie at the waist and buttons down the skirt.
I didn’t own a lot of red. For years, I’d thought the color was too much to pair with my hair. But I’d felt like a bit of bold today. And the way Leo’s eyes had flared when I’d walked out of the bedroom, dressed for the party, had given me a boost of confidence.
Maybe he’d see me as a woman again, not just a mother.
Two weeks ago, the doctor had given me the all-clear to resume normal activities, sex included. And even though Leo had been in the exam room and had heard her every word, he hadn’t touched me.
Maybe I’ve lost my appeal.
“Want a beer or something, babe?” Leo leaned in close, dragging in a long breath of my hair and stifling a pained groan.
Or maybe not.
“Sure. Whatever you’re having.”
“Be back.” Leo grinned and walked for the cooler.
Beer, not a drink I’d enjoyed much in the past, had become sort of a treat these past couple of weeks.
Every few nights, Leo and I would cuddle together on the couch with a beer after Seraphina had her bath and was put in her crib. We’d watch a movie or he’d read to me, then sleepy and slightly buzzed, I’d fall asleep in his bed.
Our bed? Was it ours?
I hadn’t slept in my own for two months and while at first, it had been a necessity to tag-team Seraphina during the night feedings, now it felt more and more confusing.
Were we friends? He felt like the best friend I’d ever had.
He was there for me always. If I had a bad day or a good day, he was the first person I wanted to tell.
When he was at work, he’d text often to say hello.
He’d send me pictures of whatever he was working on.
And when it came to writing, he was my champion.
His encouragement had given me the confidence to draft the first chapter.
My transcribing job was completely flexible. I hadn’t taken on a new project since before Seraphina was born. Instead, during her nap times, I toyed with writing. Every night, I’d walk Leo through my story and where I wanted it to go next.
I’d dream aloud and he’d be there, listening intently while my head soared through the clouds.
I was undeniably in love with Leo Winter.
It had happened so effortlessly, like a yawn that comes over you in the middle of a lecture. No matter how hard you tried to smother it, there was no use fighting the inevitable.
“What’s going on in here?” Dad asked, touching my temple.
“Nothing.” I forced a smile and was mobbed by friends as he went to sit beside Mom and Seraphina.
Bryce and Dash and their boys each said hello before the kids raced away to play in the yard.
Genevieve, due at any moment, waved from her seat while Isaiah wrangled a toddling Amelia.
Presley hugged me hello, then disappeared inside to nurse her son Nico—just two weeks younger than Seraphina—as Shaw brought me the beer Leo had pulled from the cooler because Leo was too busy showing off his new tattoo.
“That’s so cool,” Bryce said as she leaned in to inspect the detail.
He’d gotten it nearly three weeks ago without telling me about it. That morning before work, he’d been in the office, rifling through paperwork from the hospital. Then he’d left that day and come home with Seraphina’s newborn footprint stamped on his heart.
The piece was all black, much like the ink imprint they’d taken at the hospital. The artist had captured the indentations in her foot and the petite impressions of her toes.
As Leo pulled down his shirt, hiding those sculpted washboard abs, Emmett walked over to me. He slung a beefy arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “Happy birthday.”
“Thanks. How’s your Saturday going?”
“Good food. Good friends. Nice day. Can’t complain.”
It wouldn’t be a Saturday without Emmett. He came by every weekend to say hello. At first, I’d thought it was to try and drag Leo to The Betsy, but as the weeks had gone on, I’d realized his visits were like those an older brother would make to his younger brother.
They were family. And maybe . . . maybe Emmett was lonely.
“We’ve been taken over with babies.” He chuckled as we both looked around the deck.
“But none of them are as beautiful as mine.” Leo swept in behind Mom’s chair and stole Seraphina right from Mom’s hands, getting a huff from my mother and a coo from my daughter.
“How’s my little?” He nuzzled into her neck, blowing a raspberry on her skin and earning the smile that stole my breath every time. That, and the words he’d say to her.
Every time he called her little, I melted.
“You get her every day, Leo.” Mom stood from her chair and held out her hands. “Give her back.”
He chuckled, kissed Seraphina on her wispy strands of red hair, then returned her to Mom.
“Can we play a game now?” Xander called from the yard.
Zeke nodded at his side, holding a yellow bocce ball.
“I’m in.” Leo swiped up his beer, then joined the boys on the lawn, his swagger so slow and sexy it sent a shiver down my spine.
Emmett let me go to join the boys along with Dash, Luke, Shaw and Isaiah. And the ladies all settled around Genevieve so she wouldn’t have to move.
We talked and laughed most of the day, eating more food than I’d consumed in weeks. And when the sun began to dip toward the horizon, the temperature falling with it, Scarlett brought out a white cake covered with twenty-five candles.
“Make a wish, Firecracker.” Leo stood behind my chair, his hands on my shoulders.
I closed my eyes and wished.
I wish for you.
Silly, maybe. Probably. Definitely. Still, I wished, and when I blew out all of the candles, I glanced up to meet his gaze.
The heat in those bright irises made my mouth dry.
“We have presents.” Presley rushed inside the house and brought out two boxes.
“You guys didn’t need to do this.” I tore the paper on the first, a boxed set of books that I’d mentioned offhandedly to Leo that I’d wanted. Then I opened the second box, this one a brand-new laptop.
I gasped. “This is too much.”
“Nah,” Dash said. “You’re one of us now. This family is big on gifts.”
“Leo says your laptop is a few years old,” Emmett said. “If you’re going to write a bestseller, we thought you’d need a new keyboard.”
A sheen of tears filled my eyes and I blinked them away.
Family.
These people had pulled me into their world and made me one of their own.
I glanced up at Mom and Dad, both with smiles on their faces. Seraphina was asleep in Dad’s arms.
We had a big family here. Mom and her sisters, my aunts.
My grandparents on both sides. Dad had his brother too.
But we had never done this type of regular family gathering, the barbeques and Saturday birthday parties.
Often, my parents would choose to go camping instead.
While they loved their families, we weren’t close. They weren’t . . . friends.
Here, it was both.
And there was safety knowing that, good or bad, they’d be here for me. For Leo. For Seraphina.
If the Warriors ever came after us, they’d have a battle on their hands.