Page 94 of Undoing

God, she loved hearing that name come from Rebecca’s lips. And the last thing Cass wanted to do was put a damper on Rebecca’s day. However, one of the things they were adamant about in their relationship was honesty.

“Babe, Buck McEnroe didn’t exist.”

“Yeah, I remember Eve telling us that. But that wasn’t my question. I asked who hired him.”

“No one, Becca. When I say he didn’t exist, I mean he wasn’t real. Eve — or Jules — found surveillance of you going to that warehouse.” Cass paused. “The tumor caused you to hallucinate, Becca. You believed you had an appointment. You even made up a business plan. Then you drove there, went to the door, then turned around, and went back to your car when it was locked.” Cass leaned in, squeezing Rebecca’s hands, offering as much strength as she could.

Rebecca frowned. “I—” She shook her head. The memory she had of “Buck McEnroe” was… off. Rebecca remembered speaking to Eve and Lainey about him. She recalled telling Cassidy what happened. But the actual event was… gone. “I made it up.”

“No, the episode was a symptom of the tumor. To you, it really happened.”

“And you’re sure it didn’t?” Rebecca felt the beginning of a headache and reached for the bottle of water she had brought out with her.

“Yeah, I saw the video.”

“Well, so much for coming out of retirement,” Rebecca scoffed. She drained almost half of her water, avoiding Cassidy’s gaze. Making up some dramatic scenario? Tumor or not, it was fucking embarrassing.

“Why?”

“Are you serious? If clients found out that I…” Rebecca couldn’t even finish the thought. “I’d be a laughing stock.”

“Babe, you had a medical episode.” Cass saw that wasn’t making Rebecca feel any better. “Five people know, Becca. That’s it. One is you, and the others are loyal to you. No one will ever find out, yeah?” Rebecca took a moment but finally nodded. “Good. Now, if you’re serious about un-slowing down, I may have a job for you.”

Rebecca raised a brow. “Are you opening an art gallery?”

Cass laughed. “And compete with the Eve Sumptor? I’m no dummy, babe. No, I stopped by an old haunt of mine recently. A bar over in West Hollywood. It’s seen some better days, and Nadia is interested in fixing it up.”

Oh, Rebecca didn’t like the gross jealousy that slithered into her brain. “You went to a bar to see an old friend named Nadia?”

Something inside Cass snapped. That frayed string that held her emotions together these past few weeks since learning about the tumor finally broke. Everything Cass pushed aside in order to make sure Rebecca was okay came flooding back with a vengeance.

“Don’t do that. Don’t belittle my love for you by implying I would ever do something to hurt you.” Cass lifted Rebecca’s legs off of hers and stood. “I didn’t forget, Rebecca. I went to that fucking bar because none of our friends would be there. Friends that were pissed off at me for what I did, so I didn’t feel like I had a right to lean on them. I went there to get shitfaced and forget like you did. But I couldn’t.” Cass let out a humorless laugh. “No, I knew you wouldn’t like that, and I didn’t want to disappoint you because I remembered how much I love you. You remembered her!”

“Cassidy, that’s not fair.”

“You’re right, it’s not! I love you, Rebecca. I’ve never hurt you. I never would! So, why? Why did you forget me?”

Rebecca got to her feet, tears pooling in her eyes. Cassidy had never been this upset with her before. But it wasn’t anger Cassidy was displaying. It was anguish. And after everything that had happened, Rebecca couldn’t blame Cassidy for those emotions. She knew Cassidy would bottle it up for Rebecca’s sake. This was the conversation they needed to have last night, but Rebecca chose the physical first. And that wasn’t fair to Cassidy.

“Do you think I wanted to? I would have given anything not to live through that time of my life again. It wasn’t something I controlled, Cassidy. God, if I could have, I would choose you every single time.”

Cass opened her mouth to apologize for her outburst but was interrupted by the chime of the doorbell.

“That’s Aunt Wills. I’m so sorry, Cassidy. I texted her earlier, and she insisted on coming over. But I’ll tell her to come back so we can talk.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t feel like talking anymore right now. I’ll tell her you’re out here.”

“Cassidy, wait. Please.”

The plea in Rebecca’s voice caused Cass to hesitate. But she needed time to calm down. She’d already said too much and made Rebecca cry, which made Cass feel like shit. Maybe this distraction was a blessing in disguise.

“Sit and relax. Spend some time with your aunt. We can do this later.” Again, Cass hesitated, but even upset, she loved Rebecca too much to walk away without some form of contact. So, she bent and kissed Rebecca quickly on the cheek before hurrying away.

Cass opened the front door, stepping aside for Aunt Wills to come in.

“She’s out back,” Cass announced, then shut the door and began to walk away.

“You took her to the club.”

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