Chapter 39 #2
Fucking finally. While I respect Ant and I’m glad Cassie had him looking out for her the past few years, I’m done with whatever test he’s trying to give.
His opinion doesn’t matter to me. Cassie’s is the one that counts.
She and I are the only ones who get a say in our relationship—everything else is just noise.
When I step back inside the B&B, Cassie’s enormous bodyguard at my back, it’s to find her huddled up with two people who can only be Liam and Bailey. The three of them rock back and forth with the force of their group hug as Esther and Thomas watch on fondly from behind the reception desk.
“She’s gone.”
Cassie breaks away from her friends to look up at me. “You’re sure?”
Ant steps up beside me. “Positive. I got my bag, then told the driver to take her out of town and not to make any stops until they were at least two hours away. Her phone was already blowing up by the time I closed the car door. She’s going to be too busy dealing with the fallout of Liam’s livestream to bother you anymore. ”
Despite having known Ant much longer, Cassie still looks to me for reassurance. “We watched them drive away. She’s really gone.”
Nodding, she lets that sink in for a moment before stepping forward and smacking Ant on the arm. “I thought you’d gone to the dark side!”
“Since I know how stressful this all had to be for you, I’m going to choose not to be insulted that you thought I’d ever side with that snake,” he drawls.
“That’s an insult to snakes if you ask me,” Liam chunters, his arm slung over his girlfriend’s shoulders.
Bailey reaches up to give him a light fist bump. “Facts.”
Cassie wraps her arms around him in a tight hug. “Have you got somewhere to stay?”
“Not yet, but I’ll figure something out.” Ant ruffles her hair affectionately, and she steps back, batting his hand away.
“We have a room available if you’d like it,” Esther offers from behind the reception desk.
Ant smiles. “That would be great. Thank you, ma’am.” Charming bastard.
Esther lets out an honest to goodness giggle. Thomas good-naturedly rolls his eyes at his wife, then steps forward with a room key in his hand. “I’ll show you the way.”
“Guess I’ll catch up with you later,” Ant says before following Thomas’s lead.
“We should give you two some space as well,” Bailey says.
“Are you sure? You only just got here.”
“We’re sure.”
“Absolutely,” Liam agrees. “There will be plenty of time to catch up later. You should go home and rest.”
After a quick round of goodbyes, Cassie and I are in the car on the way back to my place.
She raises her brows but doesn’t comment on my haphazard parking out front.
When Esther called me to tell me what was going on, I texted Mum asking her to cover my shift, then ran out of Bowman’s like my arse was on fire.
I broke the speed limit the entire way and don’t feel an ounce of guilt over it.
My heart felt as if it might beat right out of my chest with how worried I was.
Then I walked in to find Cassie standing her ground like the fiercest of warriors and knew she would be OK.
A couple of minutes later we’re kicking off our shoes in my hallway before heading through to the living room to collapse onto the sofa.
“I’m so proud of you,” I tell Cassie as she curls up against my side.
“Really?”
“Of course. What you did today was incredibly brave.”
“You don’t think I should have done it sooner?”
“No. Hey, listen to me.” I tilt her chin up so she’s looking me in the eye. “Do I wish you’d been able to part ways with your mother sooner? Yes. But that’s only because I know how miserable she made you. I’m not judging you for waiting until you felt safe enough to leave.”
She toys with the bottom of her t-shirt where it’s gathered in a knot. “I think maybe I’m judging myself.”
“Not on my watch. You didn’t have the support system in Nashville that you do here—Miranda made sure of that.”
“I guess.”
“There’s no guessing about it, Trouble. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met.
It takes courage to do what you did. You left the city you lived in for your entire adult life so far to come somewhere completely new.
When you crashed into the outdoor seating at Bowman’s, you could have taken the easy way out right then and there.
You could have used your card to pay for all the damages and walked away, but you didn’t.
Even when I was being an arse and making your life difficult, you kept your secret and kept going. I admire you.”
“You know the only reason I didn’t use my cards was so my moth—Miranda couldn’t find me, right? I’m rich. Like, ‘fuck you’ money rich. I’m not obnoxious about it, but I’m also going to enjoy the fact that I can afford nice things.”
“As you should.” At her look of surprise, I chuckle softly. “What, you thought I expected you to keep acting like you were skint?”
“Maybe.”
“Fuck no. It’s your money, do whatever you want with it.”
A bubble of laughter escapes her. “I can’t believe I can—do whatever I want, I mean. I’m free.”
The awestruck wonder in her voice cracks my chest open. “That’s right. Whatever you do next is completely up to you.”
“I might have already thought about that,” she admits.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Not… not anything concrete, but when I started thinking about staying, I came up with a loose plan.”
“I’d love to hear it—if you’re ready to share, that is.”
“There’s a house for sale a little outside of town. I think I… I want to buy it.”
“The one that backs onto the flower farm?”
She perks up instantly. “You know it?”
“Yeah. It’s got good bones, but that place has been vacant a long time—it will need a lot of updates.”
“I already thought of that,” she replies, a flicker of her usual fire back in her eyes. “I’m going to rent something while I have the place completely remodelled—it’s big enough that there will be space for a recording studio.”
“You’re going to make another album then?”
She smiles in a self-deprecating way. “I was fooling myself thinking I could ever leave music behind. Music was never the problem. I’m going to keep my stage name, but that’s going to be the only difference between me and Melody Night moving forward. I’m going to make my music my way.”
Cassie props her head up on her hand, her baby-blue gaze meeting mine with a vulnerability that catches me off guard.
“Maybe… when the house is ready… you could live there with me? I checked, and it’s not any further from Bowman’s than this place and—”
I stop her rambling with a kiss. Her soft lips part in surprise, and I take full advantage of the situation, slipping my tongue inside her mouth to dance with hers. Cassie releases a soft moan, reaching up to tangle her fingers in my hair.
“Wait,” she pants. “Is that a yes?”
“Of course it’s a yes. In case you haven’t noticed, I would do just about anything for you.”
Her expression softens even as she teases, “Careful, Boss. What if I take advantage of you?”
Rolling onto my back, I use my grip on Cassie’s waist to bring her with me until she’s draped over my front. “Take whatever you want, Trouble.” I lift my head up just enough to nip at her bottom lip. “My body, my heart, my future. They’re all yours.”
This time when her lips meet mine, the kiss is full of promises she’s not yet ready to make.
I don’t mind waiting. Cassie’s spent so much of her life living for other people.
Whenever we take our next step, I want her to be a hundred percent certain it’s what she wants.
I know she loves me. Everything else will come when the time is right for us.
There’s no room for doubt or regret in our future—only hope.