Page 2 of Cass

She’s pissing me off. “I am not a kid. I’m a twenty-four-year-old man.”

“Whose daddy still pays for all of his expenses. I’m twice your age, Trevor. I’m a senior partner at the top Philly law firm, who has been 100% on her own for longer than you’ve been alive. We will never be a couple. If you can’t handle that, we need to stop what we’ve been doing for the past few months.”

I’m pouting now, which I suppose only bolsters her argument. “But I don’t want to be with anyone else, and I’m sick of always hiding my feelings for you around my family. I hate that we never go out. I want to take you on real dates. I hate being a secret.”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Trevor. Either we sneak around, or we’re done. It’s up to you.”

“Are you afraid of Darian?”

She sighs. “Trevor, I’m not afraid of anyone, certainly not Darian. I don’t do commitment. It’s not who I am.”

“Will you tell me why?”

“It doesn’t matter why. I don’t do it. And I definitely don’t do it with men half my age.”

She wraps herself around me again. She presses a soft kiss to my still pouting lips. “Ireallylike fucking you, Trevor. I’dreallylike to keep doing it. If you’re okay with no commitment, you can grab another condom, and we can make use of that youthful virility of yours. If not, let’s just head back to the villa and part ways for good.”

I kiss her back, while pulling her ass to me, grinding myself against her. She moans. I love her moan. I pull away and look down at her. “Fine, have it your way.” She smiles at me. I carry her up to the beach, while still kissing her.

I’m not done trying, but she doesn’t need to know that right now. I grab another condom out of my discarded pants, and we don’t make our way back to the villa for another two hours.

CHAPTERONE

THIRTEEN MONTHS LATER ~ PRESENT

CASSANDRA

Imove my way through the row of people, and sit in one of the open chairs next to Darian. She looks up at me in obvious surprise. “I didn’t know you were coming to Trevor’s graduation. That’s really nice of you, Cassandra.”

I smile back. “Of course, Dare. He’s your stepson. I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.”

She looks at me skeptically. “You’ve missed plenty of big events for the boys. You weren’t at a single thing for Payton’s baby girl. You probably don’t even know her name or that she’s nearly one years old.”

I throw my hands at her. “Of course, I know her name. Don’t be ridiculous.” I have absolutely no clue what her name is. “Dare, you know I think Trevor is a hoot. I’m happy to be here to support him.”

I look over her shoulder and nod my head down the row, toward the woman between Hayden and Payton. She’s ogling over Payton’s baby daughter. “Is that Jackson’s ex-wife?”

She smiles and nods her head. “Yes. I didn’t realize that you two hadn’t met. I’ll introduce you to her.”

She turns toward the woman. “Melissa, this is my friend Cassandra. Cassandra, this is Trevor, Hayden and Payton’s mother, and proud grandmother toPaisley.”

I look her up and down. She’s extremely attractive. She’s tall, with blonde hair, a great body, and nearly navy-blue eyes. They’re a very unique shade. Given Hayden and Payton’s appearances, I suppose I should have expected this, but I didn’t realize just how attractive she would be. Trevor looks like Jackson, with dark hair and green eyes, but Hayden and Payton are all Melissa. All three boys are tall, and remarkably handsome.

I stick out my hand in her direction, and flash her a smile. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you, Melissa. I’ve heard so many nice things about you.” Darian chuckles at my bullshit, but Melissa seems blissfully ignorant.

She takes my hand, and smiles warmly. “You as well, Cassandra. It’s incredibly nice of you to come here today to support Trevor.”

“Of course. My pleasure. I adore all of your boys.” Payton and Hayden give me dubious looks. I don’t blame them. I’ve never attended any of their special events over the past two years. I suppose I’ll now need to come to Hayden’s medical school graduation when the time comes. Shit.

Fortunately, the awkward stares are broken when Harley, Reagan and Skylar arrive. They all warmly hug and kiss me hello. I love Darian’s girls so much. I couldn’t love them any more if they were my own. I’d like to think that I played at least some small part in raising them to be the confident, strong, independent women that they all are. I’m so proud of each of them.

Harley is holding Scott in her arms. At only a few months old, he seems to grow every single day. He’s a little miracle. I grab for him and pull him into my arms. “Give me my handsome godson.”

I hold my gorgeous baby. I do love him like he’s my own grandson. He’s as close as I’ll ever get to that. He has Brody’s light hair, but Harley’s gorgeous big green eyes and full lips. He has a little chin dimple, just like his father. He’s absolute perfection.

I look back up at Harley. “Where’s Brody? I thought he’d be here with you today.”

She frowns. “Unfortunately, he had a last-minute emergency at the hospital. He’s in surgery now. Hopefully he’ll be able to join us for dinner after the ceremony. He should be done by then.”

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