Page 57 of Unsure in Love

Putting her sister’s happiness above her feelings… Typical. I gazed at her with growing admiration. If she continued to disregard her well-being like this, I’d have to step in and take care of her, ensuring she never had to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders again. She’d give me a hard time with her stubborn, independent nature, but she’d just have to deal with me being by her side. I wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how much she tried to push me away.

It was then, as I studied her, that I realized it. I was in love with Cassandra Bennet, and I wasn’t even sure exactly when it happened. Surely, not the first night we spent together. I didn’t believe in the whole instant-love thing. Then again, I didn’t believe in a lot of things until I met Cass and she sent my emotions into upheaval.

She turned to me to say something else but paused. Frowning, she searched my face. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

How was I looking at her? Like a love-sick puppy? That would be accurate. “Uh…” Expressing my feelings out loud probably wasn’t a good idea. Well, not right now, anyway. I wasn’t even sure how she felt about me. We caused explosions between the sheets, but there was no telling if she had deeper feelings for me.

“Nothing is wrong. When are you planning to tell them?” My gaze strayed to her stomach. “This isn’t something you can hide much longer.”

“I should have told them before I left Oakland, but I thought I’d see where the case with my father led first. You know, get that out of the way and clear my mind before having a family sit down. As it turns out, I met my father, but my mind is far from clear.” She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “If you tell Nic that I’m here with you, then you’ll have to tell him why. I’d like to break the news about everything to them myself… in person.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

She eyed me with curiosity. “What about your family? Have you told your aunt and father about the baby yet?”

“I mentioned it to Ken, but I haven’t told anyone else. You and I didn’t discuss it.” There were a lot of things we hadn’t talked about, and I was worried about the short time we had together.

“You can,” she said. “You should.”

My lips twisted into a wry grin when I imagined telling my Aunt Lucia that I was expecting a child. She’d definitely start suggesting baby names and planning Cass’s and my wedding. Aunt Lucia was presumptuous and extra like that. “Maybe we can tell them together,” I suggested. “You know, since you’re here, I’d like you to meet my family.”

Cass went still. I was almost sure she’d refuse.

“Meet the family?” Her eyes widened. “I’m not the meeting-the-family kind of girl.”

My eyebrows snapped together. Right. She avoided dating.

“I mean, we’re not… It’s not like we’re together. It would probably be weird to introduce me to them.”

Scratching my chin, I contemplated our situation. “It would be weirder if I don’t introduce the mother of my child to my family.” Turning to her, I captured her gaze. “Look, Cass. I know we’re not together, so you don’t have to keep emphasizing that.”

Her lip twitched at the corners. “Noted.”

I gazed at her, mentally establishing that we would be together in every sense if I had my way in the near future. A stable family life was what I wanted for our child. We had a few roadblocks to work through, but we had time.

Although I did a complete one-eighty in a matter of months and was leaning toward wanting commitment, I’d go at her pace for now. I’d work with her apparent fear of relationships.

“But we’re in this situation together,” I told her. “So, please, just work with me.” I shrugged. “I want you to meet my aunt, and hopefully, my father. Simple. It doesn’t mean we’ll be thrown into a committed relationship because of it.”

That possessive side of me that reared its head after meeting Cass was more prominent than ever. She was having my child and the thought of them being with anyone else made me furiously jealous. A picture of Cass meeting someone and settling down with him flashed through my mind, and I wanted to kill the other guy.

Retreating from my crazy thoughts, I found Cass staring at me.

“Okay,” she said. “I guess there’s no harm in meeting your family.”

Satisfied, I smiled. “Speaking of family,” I said, glancing at my phone screen. “I should call your brother-in-law and… lie my ass off.”

“Damian, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ll sort things out with Nic later.”

She averted her gaze and sighed. “I feel awful,” she muttered while I waited for Nic to answer.

“Damian,” came the irritated greeting. “It took you long enough.”

He was being short because he was worried about Cass, so I let it slide. “I’m sorry. What were you saying about Cassandra before?” I stared at her while Nic explained.

“She’s in New York for a convention, according to her sisters. In Brooklyn.”

---