by Sandi Lynn
“She’s not going to bang on it, Kyle.”
“Not a good idea, Caden. I don’t need any complaints.”
“Okay. Just thought I’d ask first.” I smirked.
After we finished dinner and before dessert, I glanced over at Stella.
“Did you see what’s sitting over there?” I pointed.
“A piano.” She grinned. “I saw it already.”
“How would you like to play something for the people in the restaurant?”
“Caden, I don’t think—”
“It’s okay, Mommy. I want to play it. Please.”
Brielle looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.
“Are you sure Kyle won’t mind?” Brielle asked.
“Nah. He won’t mind at all.”
I took Stella’s hand and led her over to the piano.
“What do you want to play?” I asked her as she took a seat on the bench.
“I think I’ll play Mozart.”
“Good idea.” I smiled at her.
The restaurant was noisy with people holding conversations and laughter. The moment Stella placed her fingers on the piano keys and began to play, everyone went silent. I stood there, next to the piano, with my arms folded and a smile on my face.
“What the fuck!” Kyle exclaimed as he walked up from behind.
“I told you she wouldn’t bang the keys.”
“My God, Caden. She’s brilliant.”
“I know she is.” I grinned. “She has a gift. Mom would have loved her.”
“Yeah. She would have. She’s better than us.”
“Please. We don’t even come close to her.”
“True.”
As soon as Stella finished the song, everyone in the restaurant started to clap. Clapping that went on for what seemed like forever. She stood up from the bench and bowed. I took her hand and led her back to the table.
“You were amazing, sunshine.” Brielle smiled as she hugged her.
“Thanks, Mommy. Can we have dessert now?”
“You can have all the dessert you want.” I patted her head.
Chapter 31
Caden
It was late and way past Stella’s bedtime according to Brielle. When we stepped into the apartment, she told Stella to go and get ready for bed.
“Thank you for tonight.” She smiled. “I had a really good time and I know Stella did too.”
“You’re welcome.” I took hold of her hand.
“I’m ready, Mommy!” Stella came running into the living room. “Can Caden tuck me in?”
“Sure. I think I can do that. I’ve never tucked a tiny human in bed before, so you may have to show me how.”
“It’s not rocket science.” She giggled.
“Are you sure it’s not rocket science?” I scooped her up and she giggled all the way to her room.
I tucked her in bed and tapped her on the nose.
“Good night, tiny human.” I smiled.
“Good night, Caden. Maybe you can come over again and we can play the piano.”
“I’d like that.”
I turned off the light and pulled the door, only leaving it open a crack. Walking into the kitchen, I found Brielle putting dishes away.
“I better get going.”
She put the last dish away, turned, and looked at me.
“You can stay,” she softly spoke.
I walked over to her and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“As much as I want to, I can’t.”
“Why?” She looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes.
“I just can’t.”
I traced her lips with my finger before leaning in and softly kissing them.
“I’ll be in touch,” I spoke as the back of my hand swept across her cheek.
Turning around, I walked to the door and left. The ache in my heart was fierce, but I couldn’t stay with her. Not yet. There was something I had to do first.
Two days later
I stopped at the florist and picked up some flowers. Climbing out of the limo, I held them in my hand as I walked across the lush green grass, glancing at the gravestones of beloved ones who had passed away. If I was ever going to free myself, I needed to do this. I remembered exactly where it was, even though the last time I’d been here was eight years ago. I bent down and set the flowers on her grave.
“Hi, Cassandra. I know it’s been a long time and I’m sorry about that. I just couldn’t bring myself to come back here. I’ve done nothing but carry around this massive amount of guilt. The kind of guilt that held me a prisoner of my own life. I should have been the one who died that night, not you, and I’m so sorry.” Tears sprang to my eyes. “I’m sorry for everything and I accept full responsibility for what happened. I came here today because I need to forgive myself. If I don’t, I can’t move on with my life.”
I stayed for a while and continued to talk. Dr. Carlyle was right. Talking to her was the first step towards healing, something I should have done years ago. After I left the cemetery, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Brielle. The second step towards healing was to tell her about my past.
“Hello.”
“Hi. It’s me.”
“Hi. How are you?”
“I’m good. Listen, is there any way you can get a babysitter for Stella tonight and come over to the penthouse. I need to talk to you.”
“It’s already covered. My mom and her boyfriend are taking her to the movies tonight.”
“Great. Can you come over around six? I’m planning on leaving the office early today.”
“Six will be fine. I’ll see you then.”
“Looking forward to it. Enjoy the rest of your day, Brielle.”
“You too, Caden.”
Brielle
I set down my phone and held my coffee cup between my hands as Sasha sat across from me.
“What did he want?” she asked.
“He wants me to come over tonight. He said he needs to talk to me.”
“Do you think it’s bad or good?”
“I have no clue.”
My belly twisted in a knot.
“I’m sure it’s good, Bri. I mean, just a couple days ago, he took you and Stella to dinner. He wouldn’t just flake out now. Would he?” She bit down on her bottom lip.
“You never know with him. You should see him with Stella.” I smiled. “It just melts my heart. And she likes him so much.”
“But this is the man that hates kids,” she said.
“If you want to know my opinion, I don’t think he really does. What if he changed his mind and decided that he doesn’t want anything to do with us?”
“I don’t think that’s the case. If that was true, you’d just never hear from him again.” She reached across the table and placed her hand on mine. “Relax, sister. Everything’s going to be all right. I have a good feeling about this.”
“I love him, Sasha, and I don’t know what I’d do if he decides me and Stella aren’t right for him.”
“You’re worrying for nothing. But if that’s the case, then you’re going to move on. You have a company to get up and running.” She smiled. “In all honesty, that should be your priority right now.”
“I know.” I sighed.
We said our goodbyes and I left the coffee shop. Pulling my phone from my purse, I called my mom.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Mom. Is it okay if Stella stays the night at your place tonight after the movies? Caden called and he wants me to come over to talk.”
“Talk about what?”
“I don’t know, but I’m really nervous.”
“Judging by the things you’ve told me recently, I think it’ll be a good talk. I really want to meet him, Brielle.”
“If all goes well tonight, you will soon.”
“Stella does nothing but talk about him, and when she does, there’s a light in her eyes. The same light you get when you talk about him. Of course I’ll keep her all night.�
��
“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I headed over to Stella’s friend’s house to pick her up.
“Oh, hey, Brielle,” Bonnie, Miranda’s mother, spoke as she opened the door.
“Hey, Miranda. I’m here to pick up Stella.”
“I’ll go get her. Come on in.”
Stella came running over to me and hugged my legs.
“Hey, sunshine. Are you ready to go home?” I patted her head.
“Yeah.” She smiled.
“Go say goodbye to Miranda.”
“So,” Bonnie spoke, “Stella has been talking a lot about a man named Caden. She told me that you’re seeing him.”
“Not really. We went out a couple of times,” I lied. “It’s too early to tell if anything is going to come of it.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have introduced him to Stella so early,” she spoke. “If things don’t work out that could be damaging to her.”
I was ready to tell her to fuck off and mind her own snooty business, but she didn’t know me or the whole story.”
“I know. My bad.” I smirked. “Come on, Stella. Let’s go! It was nice to see you again, Bonnie. By the way, how’s your husband doing?”
“He’s fine. Always working to provide us with the best of everything.”
“That’s great. Have a good day.” I smiled.
“You too.”
Little did she know that her husband wasn’t “working” all the time. In fact, he’d spent a few afternoons in my hotel room complaining about how his wife didn’t meet his needs and forced him to seek fulfillment elsewhere.
As Stella and I walked home, which was only a few blocks away from Miranda’s house, I told her that she’d be spending the night at her grandma’s house.
“Why do I have to?” she whined.
“Because I’m going over to Caden’s house tonight and I don’t know what time I’ll be home.”
“Can’t he just come over to our house instead?”
“No. He wants to have a grown-up talk. No kids allowed.”
“That’s boring. I’m good at grown-up talk.” She grinned.
“You are, but tonight is just for me and Caden. You understand, right?”
“I guess.” She pouted. “When can I see him again?”
“I’ll ask him tonight.”
Chapter 32
Brielle
I stepped inside the elevator, my heart rapidly beating and my palms a sweaty mess. I honestly didn’t know what to expect tonight, which made me more of nervous wreck. As soon as the doors opened, I stepped out and saw Caden walking towards me.
“Thanks for coming. Can I make you a drink?”
“Yes. Please. A martini if it’s not too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all. In fact, I’ll make one for myself as well.”
I followed him into the living room and noticed all the furniture was different.
“You got new furniture?”
“I did. Do you like it?”
“I do.” I grinned. “It’s very chic.”
“I felt the need for a change.” He handed me my martini. “Have a seat.” He gestured.
I took in a deep breath before taking a sip of my martini and sitting down. My heart was still racing as I tried to convince my body to settle itself down. He sat down next me and set his drink on the coffee table. When he turned to me, our eyes locked and he took the drink from my hand and set it down next to his. Bringing his hand up to my cheek, he softly stroked it.
“I asked you to come here tonight because there are some things I want to talk to you about. One being about us.”
I took in a breath and went to speak, but he stopped me before the words came out.
“Let me finish.” He smiled. “From the moment I laid eyes on you back in Texas, I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. And even worse when I saw you out of disguise. I knew right then and there, I wanted you, which you know to be true, since I agreed to pay you seventy-five thousand dollars a month. Which you gracefully negotiated your way to eighty thousand.” He grinned. “What you didn’t know at the time was that I was willing to pay that just so I could see you as much as I wanted to. I had or tried to convince myself it was only for sex, but it wasn’t. It was for much more, but I just couldn’t and didn’t want to admit it. The more time we spent together, the harder I fell for you. The more I got to know you, the more I fell for you. When I was with you, for the first time in years, I was a happy man and I didn’t deserve to be. That’s why I got so angry when you’d ask me about my past or if anything was wrong. Everything was wrong. Not with you, but with me.” I swallowed hard. “There’s something I need to tell you about my past.”
“Caden, I already know,” I softly spoke.
“What? How?”
“About a month after you found out about Stella and told me you never wanted to see me again, I went to Kyle’s restaurant and begged him to tell me what was going on with you. I needed to know because I knew you weren’t okay and it bothered me. I guess I just needed to know for closure. I needed to know that it wasn’t me you were actually running from. You could say it somewhat soothed the sting of rejection.”
“And yet you’re here, and you invited me into your home and let me take you and your daughter to dinner. I was so terrified because the feelings I have for you were so strong that I was afraid I would let you down somehow. That I would ruin your life like I did Cassandra’s. When I found out about Stella, I was relieved because it was my way out, and not like you think. It was my reason to let you go so I didn’t hurt you. But I couldn’t let you go. I tried. I really did. Hence the reason for the new furniture.”
“What?” I softly laughed.
“You spent a lot of time here and we had sex on various furniture in this room. It reminded me too much of our time together, so I thought if I could bring in some new things, it would ease the pain somehow and make me forget about you.”
“Caden.” I brought my hand up to his cheek. “What about the bedroom?” I smiled.
“That’s all new too. I couldn’t sleep in that bed. The scent of you still lingered every single night.”
“Seriously? You bought a new bedroom set?”
“I did.” The corners of his mouth curved upwards.
He took hold of both my hands and gently squeezed them.
“I’m in love with you, Brielle, and I am extremely fond of Stella. I asked you here tonight because I would like to start over. What I’m trying to say is that I want to be with you and I’m hoping you can forgive me for all the mistakes I made, and you’ll say you want to be with me too.”
Finally, my heart returned to its normal rhythm and the knot in my belly dissipated.
“Of course I want to be with you,” I spoke as tears filled my eyes. “I always have. I love you, Caden Chamberlain.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh of relief. Then he let go of my hands, brought his up to my face, and wiped away the tears that were beginning to fall.
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say those words, and I promise, I’m going to be everything to you. I’m going to give you my best, and if I ever let you down, I want you to tell me.”
“You’re never going to let me down. You are a beautiful man, inside and out, and I’m the luckiest woman in the world that you chose me.”
He pulled me into him and held my head tightly against his shoulder. Feeling his arms around me again made me whole and complete. He broke our embrace and brushed his lips against mine.
“How long until you have to be home?” he asked.
“Tomorrow morning.” I smiled.
“Perfect.” His lips pressed against mine with a smile.
Chapter 33
Three Months Later
Caden
The past three months had been nothing short of incredible. I had never been in love with anyone like I was with Brielle. She was my very existence. The bond bet
ween Stella and me grew stronger every day. I loved that tiny human as if she were my own. She taught me things through the eyes of a child. Things I never really saw before. She was an incredible little girl with the dream of becoming a classical pianist/composer when she grew up. But, to me and a lot of others, she already was. She loved to play, and she practiced for three hours every day. She belonged at Juilliard. I had a contact there and invited her over to my penthouse to hear Stella play, with Brielle’s permission, of course. Needless to say, she was blown away and offered Stella an audition. Shortly after that audition, she was accepted to study in their pre-college division where the youngest child currently there was the age of eight.
Brielle was out to dinner with Sasha and I stayed with Stella at her apartment. I was growing tired of the back and forth between homes and I wanted both of them to move into the penthouse with me. But there was something I needed to do first. As I sat next to Stella and listened while she played Bach, I pulled a small box from my pocket.
“Stella, can you stop for a moment. I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.” She smiled as she removed her fingers from the keys.
“I bought this for your mom. What do you think?”
“Is that a wedding ring?! It’s so beautiful, Caden.”
“It’s an engagement ring and I’m going to ask her to marry me. Do you think she’ll say yes?” I tickled her.
“She’ll say yes.” She giggled. “If you get married, that means we can be a family.”
“It sure does. But this has to be our secret. I have a plan and I need your help.”
“Okay. I would love to help.” She grinned.
I told her my plan and she loved the idea. I told her to get ready for bed and I pulled out my phone and called Kyle to set the plan in motion.
“Can we play something together before I go to bed?” Stella asked as she came running over to me in her pajamas.
“Of course we can.”
As soon as Brielle got home from dinner, I took her into the bedroom and made love to her. As her head lay on my chest, I softly stroked her hair.