By the time we returned the bags to my car and put the leash on Scout, I hurried them along to meet up with Hilary. More and more children with parents at their sides flooded to the park, taking up the best spots on the lawn. For December, the weather wasn’t too bad. Harmony rarely experienced freezing winters.
I pulled out my phone, ready to call Hilary when I saw her approaching. Beside her was Caleb and another guy, I didn’t recognize, with neatly trimmed brown hair wearing khakis and a black wool coat.
“Hey Cassie, sorry I’m late.” Hilary gave me a quick hug and smiled down at Oliver. “Caleb got caught up at Haven.”
“No problem. We had to pick up some things for my new dog.”
“New dog? He’s yours!” Hilary grinned. “Oh my God, he’s adorable. He reminds me of the black Lab you had when we were kids.”
Hilary squatted down, holding his head in her hands petting him. Caleb mimicked her movement, running his hands over Scout, enjoying Hilary’s playful smile as she made silly faces at the puppy.
“You do know he’s a dog not a baby, right.” Caleb chuckled.
“He’s just so cute!” Hilary cooed before standing up. “So I’m guessing you don’t remember Luke, Caleb’s younger brother. He just moved back to town.”
“Oh my God, I didn’t even recognize you,” I gasped, looking him over again. Luke was my age and went to school with me until fifth grade when his parents separated and he moved away with his mother. Caleb stayed with his father, visiting his mother on the weekend, but Luke rarely came back to spend time with his dad. When he did, he always stayed inside by himself so I rarely saw him.
He smiled. “I can say the same for you. You’re all grown up.” He buried his hands deep into his coat pockets, a sheepish smile curling his lips. “I hear you’re a teacher at our old school with Hilary.”
“Yeah, kindergarten.” I nodded. He had the softest green eyes, so innocent and so sweet. Luke had always been the complete opposite of Caleb. Shy and soft-spoken. As kids, he was always sitting in class or on his porch with his nose in a book. Even now, over ten years later, that bashfulness hadn’t changed.
“What about you? Own a bar like your brother?” I smiled, nudging his arm with my elbow to loosen him up.
“No, I leave that line of work to Caleb. If you want to call it work.” He smiled and Caleb made an insulted face.
“Better than working for dear ole’ Dad.” Caleb chuckled.
We all began walking over the large grassy area, my hand wrapped around Oliver’s, and Scout tucked in Hilary’s arms. Hilary shot me a suggestive smirk, slowing her pace behind the guys and mouthed, “Cute, huh.”
I shook my head looking back out in front of me, but couldn’t deny he grew into a fine man. Luke was the embodiment of the all-American boy next door. His features were chiseled and sharp, and when he looked over, smiling at me, I lit up at his familiar dimples. He was still lovable Luke, just all grown up.
“I always wanted to be a lawyer. Follow in my dad’s footsteps and keep the practice in town going as he gets older.”
“You just didn’t want to deal with disappointing him like I did,” Caleb cut in. “He convinced you to do right by our family, you caved.”
I curved my arm through Luke’s arm, smiling up at him to diffuse the tense staring contest between the brothers. “I always thought you’d be a professor, or scientist. You are definitely the smart one.” I gave Caleb a sly wink in which he snorted to.
“That makes me the handsome one,” Caleb said, placing his arm around Hilary’s waist.
We stopped in the field off to the side, but we were still close enough to see the screen, and I pulled out a large blanket from my tote. Luke helped me lay it out, while Hilary and Oliver played with the very energetic puppy, and Caleb went over to the concession stand to purchase snacks.
“Hey, buddy. I got you some hot cocoa and extra butter on the popcorn.” Caleb waited for Oliver to sit down crossed-legged on the blanket before handing them to him.
Frosty the Snowman appeared on the big screen first and silenced the yapping of the crowd instantly.
I smiled, sitting beside Oliver and watched Scout snuggling against his ankle. Caleb sat on the other side of him with Hilary between his out stretched legs, her back pressed against his chest. I noticed his hands resting on his own legs but his thumbs caressed her outer thigh. Definitely more than friends.
“So, you go to my brother’s bar much?” Luke asked in a hushed whisper as he scooted closer beside me.
“More for the restaurant side than the actual drinking in the bar.” I tossed a small handful of popcorn in my mouth and held the bag out to him.
Luke took a few pieces and smiled. “Well, maybe I’ll see you there some time.”
Oliver raised his finger to his lips, shushing us with narrowed eyes.
I gave him an apologetic smile before turning back to Luke who held his hands up in defeat.
We both stifled a laugh and turned our attention back to the giant talking snowman dancing across the massive screen.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pillow Talk
As the second film began, I asked Hilary to keep an eye on Oliver for me while I excused myself to use the restroom.
I weaved through the clusters of people resting on blankets and folding chairs when I heard a muffled voice calling my name in the distance. I turned, hesitantly, unsure if it was meant for me and saw Mark standing on the other side of the massive lawn right beside a scowling Mackenzie.
The blood drained from my face, my stomach churned. Whipping back around I tried to push myself faster through the crowded area without tripping over the dozens of limbs laid out on the grass.
I didn’t want to deal with him, and by the look on his face, I had a feeling whatever he wanted, it wasn’t good.
“Cassandra!” his infuriating voice blared louder.
He was catching up to me. Adrenaline began coursing through my veins. My head began to throb. Why did he want to talk to me all of a sudden? And why the hell was he with Mackenzie and not Julia? I’d spent countless hours debating why it was best to keep my mouth shut and not say anything to Julia about my past with him. Mark may have cheated on me, but I wanted to hope, for her sake, he wouldn’t do the same to her.
I quickened my pace so much that I was sprinting, my heart beating erratically. I sucked in a giant breath; mere feet from the bathroom door, and blew it out in a giant puff as relief washed over me. I rushed inside.
The first open stall was all I could see—everything else was a blur. I made a beeline straight for it and slammed the door. With trembling fingers, I slid the bolt in place.
While struggling to catch my unsteady breath, I dropped my head, and rested my hands on my hips. Seeing Mark while around Julia and Logan was tolerable, but this was different. There was no one here for him to put on a show for and try to impress.
“Cassandra?” His voice filled the restroom and my head shot up.
I heard a woman complain about it being the ladies’ room, but then the main door creaked shut.
I took a small step away from the door. The back of my knees bumped into the porcelain bowl. Damn it! What did he want? As quietly as possible, I bent down and peaked under the door, staring straight at a pair of size twelve combat boots. They stood sorely out of place against the dull-pink floor tiles.
I inhaled sharply. “Go away!”
“Cassie, we need to talk.”
“Then you should have tried at the farm…while your girlfriend was around.” I hissed through the door.
I was no longer his naïve little Cassie. I watched his feet step closer, stopping directly on the other side of the stall door.
“Why the hell are you hanging around with her brother? I’ve heard all about him.” He snorted. “Logan’s only using you for sex, you know.”
My blood boiled. How dare he? “Go to hell!”
“Look, I like Julia, all right. And having my ex-girlfriend hanging
around just because she hopes she can fuck my girl’s brother into monogamy is kind of a bitch.”
“How did I ever love you?” I muttered, feeling more sad than angry. Was I really that blind?
“Can we just come to an agreement on this, already?”
“Agreement?” I snapped. The anger rushed back through me as if it had never dispersed.
“You do whatever you want with Logan, I won’t get in the way, but can you just not hang around when Julia and I are there?”
“Screw you!” I thrust open the lock and pushed the stall door open, smacking him hard in the chest with it in the process.
With tightly pursed lips and squinted eyes, I stalked toward him. I felt my nostrils flaring, blood pounding in my ears, ready to let him have it when a loud pounding on the restroom door rang out.
“Did you lock the door?” I gasped, staring at him wide-eyed.
“I just wanted to talk to you, damn it.” He ran his hands through his hair, groaning. “I loved you, Cassandra, I did, but I fucked it up.” He stepped closer, his expression softening. “I just want us both to move on and be happy. Julia’s a sweet—”
The pounding on the door vibrated through the room louder than before, followed by Luke’s voice calling my name.
I narrowed my eyes at Mark, too angry to form any further words. Instead, I brushed past him and unlocked the door.
Luke was on the other side, his fist mid-knock—more like pound—and his eyes full with distress.
“Is everything all right?” Luke stared warily past me, to Mark.
“Yeah, thanks,” I grumbled. The weight of the situation left me exhausted.
Luke gave a threatening glare back at Mark before placing his hand on my back, and leading me away to our spot in the grass.
Once we neared the blanket, Oliver resting his head against Hilary’s legs as a pillow, I slowed and turned just enough to give Luke a small appreciative smile. No words were needed; he returned the smile with tenderness in his eyes and watched me sit back down beside Oliver.
Hilary leaned over and whispered, “We saw Mark follow you. You want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “No, there’s nothing to say.” I kept my gaze straight ahead on the Bumble and Rudolph flickering on the big screen.
With Scout snuggled tightly in my arms, I walked beside Luke who had a sound asleep Oliver slung over his shoulder. Six whole cartoons held the young tot’s attention and it was just past eight, the sun setting for the older movies to begin. Oliver had passed out during the final film, which was a relief.
Luke walked around the car and placed him in the backseat in the booster Logan placed in my vehicle. Once he latched the seatbelt around Oliver’s waist, Luke shut the car door and looked over the top where I was standing on the other side.
“Thanks for helping me get him back. I couldn’t bear to wake him up. He was exhausted,” I said. I leaned down, placed Scout in the backseat with Oliver, and shut the door.
“He had a lot of fun,” Luke said walking around the car. “Caleb tells me he’s the son of one of your friends.”
“Yeah, his dad had a business trip tonight.” My stomach knotted as he stood there smiling, his hands in his pockets. Thinking of Logan sent a sudden, distressing wave of worry through me. Did he make it to New York safely? I hadn’t checked my phone. I then began to wonder what he would have to say about my incident with Mark.
Surprisingly, I would rather talk to him about what happened than Hilary. He always listened to every single word I had to say, no matter how much rambling I did, and he never showed even the slightest bit of judgment in his eyes.
“I’m glad I came out today,” Luke’s gruff voice pulled me from my thoughts of Logan.
I nodded, smiling awkwardly, dangling my keys through my fingers. “Yeah, it was fun. I’ve haven’t watched The Little Drummer Boy since I was a kid.”
Luke leaned forward, and opened my door for me.
“Have a good night, Cassandra.”
“You too, Luke.”
I climbed inside, giving him one last friendly smile before waving once to Hilary and Caleb across the street, their hands intertwined.
Once I was home, I carried a sleeping Oliver inside the house and placed him softly on the couch. Scout jumped up beside him and cuddled into his side while I covered them both with a warm blanket.
I couldn’t help smiling, looking down at them. They were absolutely adorable and perfect. With a silent yawn, I walked down the hall to my bedroom and yanked my sweater over my head, tossing it into the hamper. Opening my dresser drawer, I reached in and randomly pulled out the first pajamas my fingers touched.
It was a long-sleeved white button-up sleep shirt. It fell just past mid-thigh, but was warm against my chest and I hated wearing any type of pants to sleep.
My hands ran down the front of the thermal material, quickly closing each button as I wondered what time Logan would be landing.
After washing my face and throwing my hair in a loose ponytail, not caring how I looked, I put on some moisturizer and grabbed my blanket and pillow from my bed. The recliner, which I rarely used, would work fine and I could better keep an eye on Oliver if he awoke. As I curled into the overstuffed chair and draped the blanket over my legs, I grabbed the remote and flicked on the television.
Logan walked across the living room, his chest and feet bare and jeans riding low on his hips, unbuckled. I stood from the recliner, dropping my blanket, confused by the determined look in his eyes.
He was in front of me instantly and pulling me into his arms with a low throaty growl. My insides shuddered, awakening a primal need I’d kept buried for far too long. I waited for him to speak, to say anything, tell me what brought this on, but his lips were sealed.
I glanced across the room to the couch and saw Oliver was gone, as was Scout. Did Logan take him home already? Before I could ask, his hands snaked up my back, through my hair, and cupped my cheeks. His thumbs smoothed the wrinkles I felt on my brow at my bemused expression.
“Logan—”
He leaned in, my heart pounding, blood racing through my veins as I inhaled his fresh clean scent. His lips scorched my skin when he placed a fiery trail of blazing kisses from my ear, down my cheek to my jaw. Before I could comprehend what was happening, he claimed my lips.
I gasped, and he used it to his advantage, darting his tongue inside my mouth, battling with mine. My entire body surrendered to him, giving into the desires I’d tried to keep at bay for months. A shiver raced up my spine, wrapping around my neck, and sending my body further into overdrive.
Logan’s strong hands moved slowly down my back, tracing each and every curve before gripping my ass, and lifting me up. Not missing the opportunity, I wrapped my legs around his waist; kissing him with a passion I never dreamed I was capable of experiencing. My body yearned to be one with his. I groaned, dejectedly, when his lips strayed from mine, his tongue gliding down my jaw toward my chest. He took a few steps forward slamming my back against the wall. My hands dug into his soft wavy hair.
“I want you,” I moaned, grinding against him in need of friction, his lips blazing a trail back up.
“Please…Logan…” I breathed, dropping my head back, resting it on the wall, to give him further access to all places his tongue wished to travel.
“Sweetheart.”
“Don’t stop, please,” I begged, squeezing my legs tighter around him and crossing my ankles at his back, locking him against me.
“Cassandra, for the love of God, wake up. You’re killing me here.” His voice vibrated through me, but his lips were still silently kissing my neck in the heat of passion. I reluctantly pulled back, staring at him in confusion.
Slowly the vision of a shirtless Logan teasing my body began to blur away, leaving behind only his pleading voice. The haze lifted and my eyes jerked open, landing on a suit clad Logan, staring down at me with dark, hooded eyes.
“Logan!” I jumped forward in the chair. �
��You scared the hell out of me.” I sat up fully, my hand covering my pounding heart, adrenaline ripping through me.
At some point, my blanket had been kicked to the floor and shifting in the chair, I noticed my pajama shirt had risen up from my tossing and turning. I quickly maneuvered, pulling it down and reaching for the blanket to fully cover myself.
I felt the sting in my cheeks and slumped back against the chair, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.
“Sorry to wake you.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his expression flustered.
“Your flight okay?” I asked, slowly opening my eyes.
He nodded then looked over to Oliver. “Did everything go all right tonight?”
“Yeah.” I yawned. “I’ll call you tomorrow and fill you in on his day.” I stood, holding the blanket around my body.
He nodded again, his expression left me further perplexed. I watched as he walked to the couch, and lifted Oliver into his arms. Scout jumped down and began yapping at Logan’s feet.
“You can keep the blanket around him,” I said when he tried to unwrap his son.
“I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”
“No rush,” I chuckled, uneasily.
I walked him to the door and opened it for him.
“Thanks again, Cassandra. I’ll see you Christmas at noon, right?”
“Of course.” I gave a small, drowsy but still sexed up smile and watched as Logan walked out, turning back once more after stepping outside.
“Sweet dreams, sweetheart.” He smirked and my insides quaked.
He knew. He possibly even heard me. My blood ran cold but I held his gaze not giving him the satisfaction. I had no clue how much he heard, but the smug grin on his face and twinkle in his eye, told me it was enough to paint a pretty good picture for him.
I bit my lip. My heated palm gripped the doorknob.
“Good night, Logan. Hope your dreams are equally pleasant.”
Inevitable Page 22