She wrapped her arms around her upper body and her expression was closed. She wasn’t angry anymore. “If you have nothing to hide, why didn’t you tell me about it? I’d have been prepared in front of your work crowd and wouldn’t have looked like such a fool.”

“When was I supposed to mention it? The night in Phoenix when we found out Alfredo had died? Or on the day of his funeral when the Lorettis dropped their bombshell?”

“What about all last week?”

I rubbed my chin and let out a heavy breath. “Because I haven’t had time to do anything over the last week but work on Estevez’s memos. Because in the grand scheme of things—Alfredo’s death, Lucas’s adoption, or me having to prove myself at work—meeting Lenor in Paris wasn’t top of my list of things to discuss for the few hours we had together or the minutes on the phone.”

Cassie looked away from me and her gaze passed to the other side of the street. Her shoulders had drooped and she looked defeated.

I stepped closer to her and placed my index finger underneath her chin to lift up her heart-shaped face. When I managed to engage her gaze again, I said in a low voice that was only intended for her, “I’d have told you, Cass. I’m sorry you had to learn it this way, from that asshole Hewitt. I had no intention of keeping it a secret because it wasn’t a secret in the first place.”

Her lips twisted slightly to form a sorry smile. “I believe you, Champ.”

I kissed her forehead and the familiar softness of her skin chased away the tiredness that had piled inside me over the last week. Cassie hid her face against my chest and I heard her muffled words. “But I don’t care what else is going on in our life. If there’s anything new about Lenor, even last minute stuff, tell me.”

“She called me tonight to warn me about her father trashing me in front of Estevez. I already knew about it, but it was nice of her.”

Cassie’s head peeped up. “That Carrington is such a jerk.”

“That seems to be the consensus.” I thought of Zach Murdoch. “Cass, you need to trust me. I know it’s crazy to ask that with me having been engaged to Lenor only two months ago… but you have to believe me when I say it’s over with her.”

She nodded but it was a half-nod. I didn’t push because I knew words wouldn’t prove anything to her. Only actions. That meant time.

I only hoped time was on our side.

Cassie ~ Three months later

We’d received the approval for adoption today.

Today.

It’d been just under four months since that first meeting with Sawyer Curtis in Kansas City. It wasn’t long but it’d felt like a freakin’ lifetime to me. Apparently the Sorensons had decided to move to Oregon. Their move had helped to speed up our procedure.

I didn’t want to think of the Lorettis. I didn’t want to think of anything going wrong. Not now. Not when I was so close to have our son with me. Not when Josh and I were finally settling down and sharing the same life.

I’d never sauntered to work before. The Joker-smile I’d plastered all over my face on the subway ride and the over-friendly ‘hi’ I threw to my co-workers—co-workers I didn’t really know—were all signs I wasn’t all there.

Not that I’m impolite, but work was just that… work. Today, I was a happy camper, but also a late one. I’d found a job in a coffee shop in Georgetown; a ten-minute walk from our apartment, next to the school where we were planning to send Lucas. I wasn’t yet legally Lucas’s mom but the home study, the training sessions, and the interviews with the caseworker had helped me get my head around what our daily life with a five-year-old would be like.

“Hey, Cassie!” It was Sonya, my boss. Not from the coffee shop where I only worked part time, but from my second job with a catering company. Tonight we were catering for a party at the Four Seasons.

“Sorry, I’m late.” I pulled my hair into a pony-tail and checked myself in the mirror.

“No, you’re not. So chill out. You stayed late last time anyway.”

I turned toward her. “Sonya, do you mind if I leave on time today? You know I don’t normally mind, but tonight…”

Her eyebrows wriggled and the corner of her mouth twisted upward. “Anything special planned with that sexy senator of yours?”

Sonya hadn’t made any secret of her crush on Josh. He’d picked me up from work once and she’d fallen head over heels for him. If only she knew that Josh and I hadn’t yet consummated our marriage. There’d been a lot of dancing around, but nothing sealing the deal. Until tonight. Tonight, I wanted a full-on celebration and to throw our self-control through the window.

“Josh isn’t a senator. He works for one,” I said, not for the first time.

“With that ice-white smile of his, he’ll be one soon. Trust me. I’ve been moving in this crowd long enough to know the ones who have the spark.”

I checked myself one last time in the mirror and put on a quick touch of lip gloss, rubbing my lips together to spread it out evenly. “I don’t know if it’s a blessing or not.”

Sonya placed herself behind me and stared at me in the mirror. “A blessing. Soon, you’ll stop working and waiting tables. You’ll be the one being waited on.”

I spun around and Sonya startled. “I’ll never stop working. My gran taught me to take care of myself and the ones I love. There’s nothing wrong with being a waitress anyway.”

Another wriggle of Sonya’s eyebrow. “We’ll talk about it in a couple of years when you ask me to top up your Champagne while playing with the string of pearls your husband—the sexy senator—bought you for your wedding anniversary.”

The thought of owning a pearl necklace gave me the giggles. Except I never giggled, as a rule.

The next hour flew by as the crowd grew thicker and thicker. I’d never served canapés with a lighter heart. Sweet Second kept playing inside my head. I was on a high. It was almost like being back on stage again.

Then I saw Josh. The first thing that crossed my mind was that Sonya was right. He had the brightest smile I’d ever seen. The second thing was that he wasn’t smiling at me but at a blond in a power suit. My gaze zoomed in on her and on the pearls that hung around her neck. There were also the skyscrapers she was standing on. I didn’t know much about fashion, but those shoes screamed some fancy designer. They had to cost more than I made in a week. Or a month.

“Cassandra!”

I zoomed out from the attractive couple my husband made with another girl and noticed Bradley next to them. Mechanically, I joined where they stood, holding my tray in front of me like a shield.

“Hi Bradley.” I thrust the tray at him and he had no choice but to pick up a tempura prawn.

The blond was now staring at me with a what-the-fuck expression spread over her haughty face. I shoved the tray under her nose and she shook her head—because she probably never ate anything except low-carbs—then my gaze moved on to Josh.

“Josh.”

“Cassie.”

“Tempura prawns?”

“No, thanks.”

“You know her?” Smirky Blonde asked.

Her? My fingers gripped the edge of the tray more tightly.

Josh answered without a pause. “Yes, I know Cassie very well. She’s my wife.” He pulled me gently toward him. I was stiff like a frozen stick.

Snarky Blonde almost spat her Champagne out over her designer suit.

“Cassie, this is Megan Alistair, a friend from Georgetown.”

Lovely Megan here wasn’t just a friend. Correction, hadn’t always been a friend. My antennae were tuned to detect the had-sex-with-Josh vibe, and this girl was scoring full marks.

“You’re married? To her?”

Slap me! I was about to have a full-throttle go at Bitchy Megan when Josh cut in.

“I am very lucky to be married to her. Since we’re discussing my family life, you should also know that we’re adopting a little boy whose name is Lucas. Hopefully he’ll be with us by Christmas.”