Chapter 39
CASH
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, Cleo’s head on my chest, her hair spilled across my shoulder. I tried to work up even a shred of regret but couldn’t find any.
My room was dark except for the moonlight coming through the windows. I had opened the window earlier and there was no way I was moving to close it now. The sound of the waves filled the quiet of the room.
She shifted against me, one leg tangled with mine, her hand splayed across my chest. I could feel her heartbeat against my side. Could smell her perfume on my sheets.
This was real. She was here. In my bed. After a month of thinking I’d ruined everything and convincing myself she was better off without me, she was here.
“I can hear you thinking,” she murmured against my chest.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what you’re thinking about.”
“You.”
She lifted her head to look at me, eyes heavy with sleep and satisfaction. “What about me?”
“Everything.” I ran my fingers through her hair. “How did I get this lucky?”
She smiled. “You kissed me on the stairs.”
“Best decision I’ve made in weeks.”
“Only weeks?” She traced patterns on my chest with her finger. “I’d argue months. Maybe years.”
“Fair point.”
We lay there in comfortable silence. I could have stayed like that forever, with Cleo warm against me.
The world narrowed down to just the two of us, everything else fading to background noise.
I wasn’t thinking about my dad and his standards or the job I walked away from.
I wasn’t thinking about all the things I should be doing.
I was completely in the moment. That was not something I did very often. I was the kind of guy that had three hamster wheels spinning in my head at once instead of the typical one. I was always juggling clients and contracts.
But just then, I wasn’t juggling. I was simply holding a beautiful woman in my arms.
“I told Melody,” she said suddenly.
“Told her what?”
“About my business plan. About leaving in a year to start my own thing.” She propped herself up on one elbow, suddenly animated. “I was so nervous I thought I might throw up, but I did it.”
I watched her face light up as she talked.
“How did she take it?” I asked.
“She cried. But good crying, you know? She said she was proud of me. Said I was too talented to be anyone’s assistant, even hers.” Cleo’s voice got softer. “She made it so easy, Cash. I thought it would be this huge thing, this terrible conversation, but she just supported me. Completely.”
“Of course she did. She loves you. And she knows you are meant to do more than be her assistant.”
“I know, but still. I’ve been scared of this conversation for so long.
Scared of what it would mean to step out on my own, to potentially lose her if things got weird.
” She was talking with her hands now, gesturing wildly.
“But now it’s real. I have a timeline. I’ve been working on my business plan.
It’s still kind of a mess, the angle is way too wide, but I’m narrowing it down.
Figuring out exactly who I want to help and how. ”
I could listen to her talk forever, I realized. Watch her eyes widen when she got excited. See her hands move as she built the story. The way she leaned in when she reached the important parts, like she was sharing a secret.
“Tell me about it,” I said. “The business plan.”
“Really? You want to hear about my mess of a business plan at three in the morning?”
“I want to hear everything.”
So she told me. She talked about her target audience. Her enthusiasm was contagious.
“I want to help them grow into the women they were born to be,” she said, her whole face glowing. “Does that sound too cheesy?”
“It sounds perfect.”
“You’re biased.”
“Completely. But I’m also right. You’re going to be incredible at this.”
She looked at me, eyes searching. “You really think so?”
“I know so.” I pulled her closer. “You made me want to change my entire life in three days. Imagine what you’ll do with people who are actively seeking your help.”
“Thank you for saying that. For believing in me. I never would have allowed myself to even think of going out on my own if it wasn’t for you.”
“You would have gotten there eventually.”
“But I’m glad you got me there a lot faster.”
She kissed me and tucked herself against me once again.
“I was so scared to tell Melody,” she admitted. “Scared to make it real. But now that I have, I can move forward. I can start building this dream without feeling ashamed of it or like I have to hide it.”
“Never be ashamed for doing something for yourself,” I said.
“Now I can invite her into it. Share it with her instead of keeping it separate.”
I clasped my hands behind my head and just listened. I let her talk about the wedding tomorrow, about how excited she was for Melody and the speech she’d written and rewritten a dozen times. She talked about being an honorary aunt and the things she was going to teach him or her.
“You’re really good at this,” I said.
“At what?”
“Loving people. Taking care of them. Making them feel seen.”
“It’s what fills my cup.”
“Your cup?”
“Yeah. My soul.”
“You’re a good person.”
“Thank you.” She yawned. “We are going to be dragging ass tomorrow.”
“Coffee. Lots of coffee.”
She kissed my chest and relaxed her body. I finally closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
A crashing sound startled me.
“Cash!” Finn’s voice came through the door. “Move your ass!”
I jolted awake. Disorientated. Confused.
“Cash! Get your ass up!”
Shit.
Cleo shot upright beside me, eyes wide, hair everywhere. “What time is it?”
“Almost nine.”
“What?” She scrambled out of bed, looking around frantically. “I’m supposed to be downstairs! The girls are getting manicures at nine! Melody is going to—oh my god, where are my clothes?”
“Cash!” Finn pounded on the door again. “We have appointments! You’re late!”
“Coming!” I called back.
Cleo found her skirt crumpled on the floor. “This is a disaster.”
“It’s fine. You’ll tell them you overslept.”
“In your room?”
“In a room. They don’t need specifics.”
“Cash, your brothers are going to know. Finn already knows. He’s out there right now probably laughing at us.”
Right on cue, Finn laughed. “I hope you two were responsible. Naughty, naughty.”
Cleo’s face went bright red. I couldn’t help it. I also started laughing.
“This isn’t funny!” She threw a pillow at me.
“It’s a little funny.”
“It’s a disaster!” But she was laughing too now, that snort-laugh she tried to hide. “Where are my shoes?”
“Stairs.”
“Why are they on the stairs?”
“Because that’s where you dropped them when I kissed you.”
She stopped mid-search to look at me. “Shit. They’re going to know I’m up here.”
I got out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants. “I’m coming!”
Cleo was hopping around trying to get dressed. I tried to help and she swatted my hands away. “Don’t. You’ll just distract me.”
“You’re very distracting yourself right now.” My eyes were glued on the ample breasts that were making me seriously consider abandoning my best man duties.
“Eyes up here, Bancroft.”
I caught her around the waist and kissed her. Quick but thorough. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She smiled against my mouth. “Now let me go so I can sneak out of here with at least a shred of dignity.”
“Fine. But I’ll remind you we’re all adults. And my brothers aren’t saints. Sex is not taboo.”
She frowned. “How am I supposed to get past Finn?”
“Window?”
“We’re on the third floor!”
I was laughing again. She was laughing. We were scrambling around my room like teenagers trying not to get caught, and it was perfect.
I opened the door. Finn stood there grinning like an idiot.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Finn said. “Sleep well?”
“Fine. I overslept.”
“I’ll bet you did.” Finn looked past me into the room. “Anyone else oversleep in there with you?”
“Nope. Just me. Alone. In my room.”
“Your room that smells like sex?” Finn was enjoying this way too much.
From inside the room, something crashed. Cleo cursed.
Finn grinned and waggled his brows. “Just you, huh?”
“You’re an idiot. Don’t embarrass her. Cleo, come on.”
“Obviously.” Finn clapped me on the shoulder. “Proud of you, brother. Very naughty. Very unlike you. I approve.”
Cleo appeared behind me, somehow looking put together despite the chaos. “Hi. This is exactly what it looks like and I’m not even a little bit sorry.”
Finn laughed. “Good for you. Both of you.” He grabbed my arm. “Now get your ass downstairs. We have a wedding to prep for and you look like you got hit by a truck.”
“Shut up, Finn.”
Cleo slipped past us. She paused and looked back. “See you at the ceremony, Lurch.”
I watched Cleo disappear down the hallway, my eyes lingering on her retreating form until she turned the corner. When I finally looked back at Finn, he was grinning at me like he’d just caught me with my hand in the cookie jar.
“So,” he said, drawing the word out. “Did you tell her?”
“Tell her what?” I tried to sound casual as I walked back into my room to find a clean shirt.
“Don’t play dumb.” He followed me in, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “Did you tell her you’re in love with her?”
“Would you be quiet?” I hissed, glancing toward the hallway. “And no, I didn’t.”
Finn threw his hands up. “Seriously? You had all night! What were you two doing all that time?”
“I’m not answering that.”
“You had the perfect opportunity and you blew it. Again.” He shook his head. “What are you waiting for? A written invitation? A sign from God?”
I yanked a fresh shirt from my suitcase. “It wasn’t the right time.”
“It’s never going to be the ‘right time’ in that overthinking brain of yours.” He tapped his temple. “You’re going to keep finding reasons to put it off until she’s gone.”
I ignored him, focusing on buttoning my shirt. He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it.
“After the wedding, she goes back to her life, you go back to yours, and you’re right back where you started. Miserable and alone.”
“Are you done?” I asked, grabbing my watch from the nightstand.
“For now.” He grinned. “But I’m just getting started for the day.”
I pushed past him into the hallway. “Let’s go. We’re late.”
We headed downstairs where Austin was pacing in the foyer, checking his watch every five seconds. When he saw us, his face morphed from anxiety to irritation.
“Where the hell have you been?” He smacked me on the back of the head like we were teenagers again. “We were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago.”
“Sorry,” I muttered, rubbing the spot he’d hit. “Overslept.”
Austin narrowed his eyes, looking between Finn’s smirk and my disheveled appearance. Understanding dawned on his face.
“Oh.” A slow smile spread across his face. “Well, well, well.”
“Don’t start,” I warned.
“I’m not starting anything.” He shoved a to-go cup of coffee into my hand. “But someone clearly finished something last night.”
Finn burst out laughing.
I took a long drink of coffee, ignoring them both. “Are we going or what?”
“The car’s waiting,” Austin said, still grinning.
“Hayes and the others are already inside. We’ll talk later.
I should remind you her best friend is my very pregnant, very sensitive and extremely important soon-to-be-wife.
If you fuck with her, you fuck with Melody, and by association, you fuck with me. Do not make me kick your ass.”
“As if you could,” I retorted.
“Trust me, I would for my bride.”
I ignored the threat and headed out to the limo to join the rest of my brothers. I put on my sunglasses to hide what I knew were dark circles advertising my lack of sleep. I wasn’t interested in an interrogation.