Chapter Ten #2
But he did know one thing. He’d been wrong. He was wrong about Cassie in thinking she was just like his mother. His mother never would’ve taken the time to have precious moments with him like the ones he’d seen with Cassie and Emily. His mother had been too busy on her quest for love and Mr. Right.
Ian ran a hand over his hair and sighed. He’d turned out just fine, no thanks to Mom and Dad, but getting involved with a woman and an innocent child was a hazardous mistake that would leave all parties vulnerable and in a risky position. What did he know about children or how to care for them?
And why was he even thinking this way? He was leaving in a few weeks. No matter his attraction and growing interest in Cassie Barrington, he couldn’t afford to get personally involved.
Hours later, after he’d drafted a contract he hoped would entice Lily Beaumont into signing with his agency, Ian found himself leaving his trailer and heading toward Cassie’s cottage.
Night had settled over the grounds and all was quiet.
No bustling crew or noisy conversation. Max’s wife and baby had shown up earlier in the evening, so they were probably holed up in his trailer for family time.
And the producer’s and director’s families had arrived the day before.
Bronson Dane and Anthony Price were at the top 1 percent of the film industry and still made time for their growing families.
Everyone had a family, a connection and the promise of love.
Ignoring the pang of envy he didn’t want to feel, Ian stepped up onto Cassie’s porch, which was illuminated with a lantern-style light on either side of the door. As soon as he knocked, he glanced down to his watch. Damn, maybe it was too late to be making a social call.
The door swung open and Ian took in the sight of Cassie wearing a long T-shirt and her hair down, curling around her shoulders. Long legs left uncovered tempted him to linger, but he brought his eyes back up to her surprised face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I just realized how late it was.”
“Oh, um...it’s fine.” She rested her hand on the edge of the oak door and tilted her head. “Is everything okay?”
Nodding, Ian suddenly felt like an idiot. “Yeah, I was working and lost track of time. Then I started walking and ended up here.”
A sweet smile lit up her features. “Come on in,” she told him, opening the door and stepping aside. “I just put Emily to bed, so this is fine.”
He stepped inside and inhaled a scent of something sweet. “Is that cookies I smell?”
Cassie shut the door and turned to face him. “I thought I’d make some goodies for the wives who arrived. This way they can stock their trailers with snacks. I already made a batch of caramel corn.”
His heart flipped in his chest. He hated the fact he kept going back to his mother, but he honestly couldn’t recall a time when his mother had baked anything or even reached out to others by doing a kind act.
A shrink would have a field day in his head with all his Mommy and Daddy issues. Jeez. And here he’d thought once he’d left for L.A. he’d left all of those years behind.
“They will really appreciate that,” he told her.
Shrugging, Cassie maneuvered around him and grabbed a small blanket from the couch and started folding it. “I’m no Linda, but I do enjoy baking when I have the time.”
She laid the folded blanket across the back of the couch and looked back at him.
He couldn’t stop his eyes from traveling over her again.
How could he help the fact he found her sexier than any woman he’d ever met?
She probably wouldn’t believe him if he told her that her curves were enticing, her low maintenance a refreshing change.
Cassie tugged on the hem of her shirt. “I should probably go change.”
“No.” He held up his hand to stop her. “This is your house—you should be comfortable. Besides, I’ve seen it all.”
Her eyes flared with remembrance and passion as Ian closed the space between them and looked down at her mouth. “I’ve tasted it all, too, if you recall.”
With a shaky nod, she said, “I remember.”
The pulse at the base of her throat increased and Ian ran a hand over his face as he took a step back. “I swear, I didn’t come here for this.”
Cassie’s bright blue eyes darted away. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t.” Great, now she thought he was rejecting her. “It’s not that I don’t want you, Cassie. That’s the furthest from the truth.”
Shoving her hair back from her shoulders, Cassie shook her head. “Ian, it’s okay. You don’t have to make excuses. I’m a big girl. I can handle the truth. Besides, we’re past this awkward stage, right?”
“Yeah,” he agreed because right now he was feeling anything but awkward. Excited and aroused, but not awkward. “I don’t know what possessed me to show up at your door this late, but...”
Cassie produced that punch-to-the-gut smile. “You can stop by anytime.”
How did she do that? Instantly make him feel welcome, wanted...needed. There was so much more to Cassie Barrington than he’d first perceived. There were sides to the confident vixen, the single mother and the overworked trainer he had yet to discover.
Cassie was giving, loving and patient. He’d known instantly that she was special, but maybe he just hadn’t realized how special. This woman embodied everything he hadn’t known he’d been looking for.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, brows drawn together, smile all but gone.
Ian took a step toward her. He’d been mentally dancing around her for days and now he was physically doing it as he made up his mind on how to approach her.
“Because I just realized that all of your layers are starting to reveal themselves, one at a time.” He slid his fingertips up her arms and back down, relishing the goose bumps he produced with such a simple touch.
“I didn’t want to see all of that before.
I wanted you to be unattainable. I wanted you to be all wrong and someone I could easily forget. ”
Those vibrant eyes remained locked on his as her breath caught.
“But there’s no way I could ever forget you, Cassie. Or us.”
He didn’t give her time to object. He claimed her lips and instantly she responded—opening her mouth to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and plunging her fingers into his hair.
Ian knew he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. He also knew her T-shirt had to go.