Single Man Meets Single Mom

by Jules Bennett

  Yeah, that was kind of where Ian’s mind was going. Having Cassie and Emily in his life made him feel things on a level he hadn’t even known existed inside him.

  Ian said his goodbyes to Max and his family and stepped inside his trailer. After settling Emily on a pink fuzzy blanket from her house, Ian placed her favorite toys all around her. Standing back to admire his feat of babysitting, he went to boot up his laptop, grabbed his phone and sat at the small kitchenette. Thankfully, the trailer was all open and small, so Emily couldn’t leave his sight.

  After answering a few emails, Ian glanced at the little girl, who was chewing on one toy and pounding the other one against the side of her rainbow-striped leggings. So far so good.

  As he dialed one of his clients, rising star Brandon Crowe, who was on his way to Texas for filming, Ian scrolled back through his emails, deleting the junk so he could wade through and find things that actually needed his attention.

  “Hello.”

  “Brandon, glad I caught you.” Ian closed out his email and opened the document with his client’s name on it to make notes. “You arrive in Houston yet?”

  “About an hour ago. I’m ready for a beer, my hotel room and about five days of sleep. In that order.”

  Ian chuckled. His client had been filming all over with a tight schedule; the crew had literally been running from one location to another.

  “What’s up?” Brandon asked.

  “I know your mind is on overload right now, but I need to discuss the next script. I have a film that will be set in Alaska and the producer has specifically asked for you. I’d like to send this script to you and see what you think.”

  Brandon sighed. “Sure. Did you look it over?”

  “Yeah. I think this character would be a perfect fit for you. I can see why they want you for the role.”

  “Who’s the producer?” Brandon asked.

  Ian told him more specifics and turned to see Emily...only she wasn’t there. Panic rushed through him as he jerked to his feet, sending his chair toppling to the floor behind him.

  “Emily,” he called, glancing around the very tiny area.

  “Excuse me?”

  Ian glanced at the phone. For a second he’d forgotten about the call. “I need to call you back. The baby is gone.”

  “Baby?”

  Ian disconnected the call and tossed his phone on the table. Stepping over the toys and blanket, Ian crossed to the other end of the trailer. He peeked into the tiny bathroom: no Emily.

  “Emily,” he called. “Sweetheart?”

  In the small bedroom, Ian saw bright rainbow material sticking out from the side of the bed. He rounded the bed. Emily sat on her bottom, still chewing her favorite stuffed horse. Of course, when she saw him she looked up and gave that heart-melting smile.

  “You’re rotten,” he told her. “Your mom is not going to let you come play with me anymore if you give me a heart attack.”

  He scooped her up and was rewarded with a wet, sloppy horse to the side of the face. Nice.

  The next hour went about as stellar as the first, and by the end of hour two, Ian knew he was an amateur and needed reinforcements. There was just no way he could do this on his own.

  How the hell did Cassie manage? Not only manage, but still put up the front of keeping it together and succeeding at each job: mother, sister, daughter, trainer. She did it all.

  Of course, now she was home, in bed, flat-out exhausted and literally making herself sick.

  As Ian gathered up all Emily’s things, she started crying. The crying turned into a wail in about 2.5 seconds, so Ian figured she was hungry. Wrong. He changed her diaper. Still not happy.

  He picked up the bag and Emily, stepped outside and strapped her into the stroller. Perhaps a walk around the estate would help.

  Keeping toward the back of the main house, Ian quickly realized this also wasn’t making her very happy. That was it. Reinforcements were past due.

  He made his way to the back door, unfastened the very angry Emily and carried her into the house, where—thank you, God—Linda greeted him with a smile and some heavenly aroma that could only be her cinnamon rolls.

  “I’ve done something wrong,” Ian yelled over Emily’s tantrum. “We were fine.” A slight lie. “But then she started screaming. She’s not hungry. She has a clean diaper. We took a walk. I don’t know what to do.”

  Linda wiped her hand on a plaid towel and tossed it onto the granite counter before circling the island and holding her hands out for Emily. The baby eagerly went to the middle-aged woman and Ian nearly wept with gratitude that someone else surely knew what they were doing.

  “She probably needs a nap,” Linda told him as she jostled and tried to calm Emily.

  Ian laughed and pushed a hand through his hair. “After all of that, I need one, too.”

  Smiling, Linda patted Emily’s back. “You say you fed her?”

  Ian nodded. “She took a bottle. I have some jar food, but Cassie said to save that for a bit later.”

  “If she’s had her bottle, then her little belly is full and she’s ready to rest. I’ll just take her into the master bedroom. Damon has a crib set up in there for when Cassie is over here.”

  Ian sank to the bar stool, rested his elbow on the island and held his head in his hands. Good grief, being in charge of one tiny little being was the hardest job he’d ever had...and he’d had the job only a few hours.

  Hands down, parenting was not for wimps.

  A slither of guilt crept through him. Had he been too hard on his parents all those years? His free-spirited mother who was always seeking attention and his by-the-book father who could never be pleased...were they just struggling at this whole parenting thing, too?

  Ian didn’t have the answers and he couldn’t go back in time and analyze each and every moment. The most pressing matter right now was the fact that he was in love with Cassie and her sweet baby, and the ex had just stepped back into the picture.

  Great freakin’ timing.

  But Ian needed to wait, to let Cassie deal with this matter in her own way. He wasn’t stepping aside, not by any means. He’d offer support any way she wanted it, but this was her past to handle, and with a baby involved, Ian had a bad feeling things were about to get worse before they could get better.

  Nineteen

  Cassie jerked when the loud knock on her door pulled her out of her sleep. Glancing to the clock on the bedside table, she realized she’d slept most of the day. Damn, she’d never slept that much.

  Throwing off the covers and coming to her feet, Cassie was thrilled when she didn’t sway and within moments knew she was feeling better. Perhaps her body was just telling her she needed to slow it down every now and then. The pounding on her door continued and Cassie rolled her eyes. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind who stood on the other side of the door. Ian wouldn’t pound on her door. He’d knock or just come on in, and so would her father and Tessa.

  And that left only one rude, unwanted guest.

  Shuffling down the hall, probably looking even more stellar than earlier today when Derek had stopped by, Cassie actually laughed. Was he really here to plead for his family back when she looked like death and after he’d left her for some young, hot bimbo? Oh, the irony was not lost on her.

  Cassie took her time flipping the lock on the knob and opening the door. Sure enough, Derek stood there, clutching a newspaper. Disapproval settled in his eyes.

  “Funny,” she told him, leaning against the edge of the door. “That’s the same look you wore when you left me. What do you want now?”

  He slapped the paper to her chest and pushed past her to enter.

  “Come on in,” she muttered, holding on to the paper and closing the door. “I thought I told you to have your lawyer contact mine.”

  Derek scanned the living area, then stretched his neck to see down the hall. “Where’s Emily?”

  “With Ian.” Crossing her arms, crinkling the paper, Cassie sighed. “
What do you want, Derek?”

  “First of all, I don’t want my daughter with a stranger.”

  Hysterical laughter bubbled out before she could even try to control it. “Seriously? If anyone is a stranger to her, it’s you. We’ve already established what you think of Ian, so state your reason for this unwanted visit or that threat of calling security will become a fast reality.”

  He pointed toward the paper. “Apparently you haven’t seen today’s local paper. Maybe your pretty boy is a stranger to you, as well.”

  Cassie unfolded the paper. She’d play his game if it meant he’d leave sooner.

  Her eyes settled on the picture of Lily and Ian. Cassie had known they were having a business meeting the evening before, she’d known they were discussing a major career move for both of them, but she hadn’t known the media would spin the story into something...romantic.

  Her eyes landed on the headline: Hollywood Starlet on Location Still Finds Time for Romance.

  The way their two heads were angled together in the grainy picture did imply something more than a business meeting. The intimate table for two complete with bouquet and candles also added to the ambience of love.

  Cassie glanced back up to Derek. “What about it?”

  She would not give her ex the satisfaction of letting it get to her, of coming between something she and Ian had built and worked hard at.

  “Looks like your boy toy has someone else on the side.” Derek smirked. “Is this really what you’ve moved on to?”

  “Why are you here?” she demanded. “What do you want from me?”

  “If you’d answered my calls or texts you’d know I want my family back. I had no idea you opted to replace me with such a younger man.”

  Cassie smacked the paper down on the table beside the door. “Don’t you dare judge me. You left me, remember? And if we’re casting stones, I’ll remind you that when you left, you moved on with a much younger woman with boobs as her only major asset.”

  Fired up and more than geared for a fight, Cassie advanced on him. “You’re just upset because Ian is a real man. He cares about me, about Emily. My looks don’t matter, my size doesn’t matter and he’s taken to Emily like she is his own, which is a hell of a lot more than you ever did for either of us.”

  Derek clenched his jaw as he loomed over her and held her gaze. “I just want you to know that this man, this kid, really, will get bored with the family life. He’ll move on, and then where will you be? I’m man enough to admit I was wrong and that I’m willing to try again.”

  She hated that she felt a small tug, hated that for months she’d prayed for this moment. But she loved Ian. How could she deny herself the man she felt she’d been waiting for her whole life?

  But on the other hand, how could she deny her daughter the bond of her parents raising her in the same house?

  Cassie shook her head, refusing to listen to the conflicting voices in her head. She needed to think, needed to be alone.

  “I waited for months for you to come back,” she told him, hoping her words would make him squirm, make him feel the heavy dose of guilt he was due. “I cried myself to sleep when I thought of Emily not knowing her father. But you know what? After the tears were spent, I realized that Emily was better off. Both of us were, actually. Neither of us needed a man in our life who didn’t put us first. We needed a man who would love us, put our needs above his own selfish ones and be there for us no matter what.”

  When he opened his mouth, Cassie raised a hand to silence him. “I would’ve given you the same in return. I married you thinking we were both in love, but I was wrong. You didn’t love me, because if you did, you wouldn’t have found it so easy to leave me.”

  “I’m back, though.” He reached out, touched her face. “I want my family back, my wife back. I know I made a mistake, but you can’t tell me you’re ready to throw everything away.”

  When the door opened behind her, Cassie didn’t have to turn to know Ian stood just at the threshold. She closed her eyes and sighed.

  “Actually,” she whispered. “You already threw it all away.”

  Derek’s eyes darted from hers to just over her shoulder before he dropped his hands. “You can keep the paper. Maybe it will give you something to think about.”

  She didn’t move as he skirted around her. When the door shut once again, Cassie turned slowly to see Ian, hands on his hips. Even with the space between them, Cassie saw so many emotions dancing in his eyes: confusion, hurt, love.

  “Where’s Emily?” she asked, hoping to keep the conversation on safer ground.

  “I actually just left her with Linda. She’s taking a nap.”

  Cassie nodded, worry lacing through her. “What you just saw was—”

  “I know what I saw,” he murmured. “I know he wants you back. He’d be a fool not to. It’s just—”

  Ian glanced down, smoothing a hand over the back of his neck, then froze when his gaze landed on the paper. Slowly he picked it up, skimming the front page.

  Cassie waited, wondering how he would react.

  When he muttered a curse and slammed the paper down, Cassie jumped.

  “Tell me this wasn’t Derek’s defense,” Ian begged. “He surely wasn’t using me as his battle to win you back.”

  Shrugging, Cassie crossed her arms around her waist. “It’s a pretty damning photograph.”

  Closing the spacious gap between them, Ian stood within a breath of her and tipped her chin up so she looked him in the eyes. “The media is known for spinning stories to create the best reaction from viewers. It’s how they stay in business.”

  Cassie nodded. “I’m aware of that.”

  Ian studied her for a moment before he plunged his fingers through her disheveled hair and claimed her lips. The passion, desire and fury all poured from him, and Cassie had to grip his biceps to hold on for the ride.

  He attacked her mouth, a man on a mission of proving something, of taking what was his and damning the consequences.

  When he pulled away, Ian rested his forehead against hers. “Tell me you believe that I could kiss you like that and have feelings for another woman. Tell me that you don’t trust me and all we have here is built on lies. Because if that’s the case, I’ll leave right now and never come back.”

  Cassie’s throat tightened as she continued to clutch his arms. “I don’t believe that, Ian. I know you wouldn’t lie to me. You’ve shown me what a real man is, how a real man treats a lady.”

  Taking a deep breath, she finally stepped back, away from his hold. “But I also know that this is something I’m going to have to deal with if we’re together. The media spinning stories, always being in the limelight.”

  “I’m an agent, Cassie. Nobody cares about me. If I had been out alone, nobody would’ve known who I was.”

  Cassie smiled. “But you were out with the breathtaking Lily Beaumont. All of your clients are famous, Ian. There will be other times, other photos.”

  Shaking her head, she walked around and finally sank onto the sofa. Ian joined her but didn’t touch her. She hated this wedge that had settled between them...a wedge that had formed only once Derek had entered the picture.

  “I want to be with you, Cassie,” he told her. “As in beyond the movie, beyond next month or even next year. I want to see where this can go, but if the idea of my work will hold you back, maybe we both need to reevaluate what we’re doing.”

  Tears pricked her eyes as she turned to face him fully. “You want to be with me?”

  Reaching out to swipe the pad of his thumb across her cheek to clear the rogue tear, Ian smiled. “Yes. I know it’s crazy and we’ve only known each other a short time, but I do want to be with you.”

  “Is this because my ex is back? Are you feeling threatened?”

  Shaking his head, Ian took her shoulders and squeezed. “This has nothing to do with Derek. His appearance is just bad timing, that’s all. I can’t deny myself the fact that being with you has made me a bette
r person. Finding myself wrapped around yours and Emily’s lives makes me want more for myself. I never thought about a family before, but I want to see where this will lead and how we can make it work.”

  Hope filled Cassie as she threw her arms around Ian’s neck and sniffed. “I know I’m a hot mess right now,” she told him. “I have no idea how I was lucky enough to get you, but I want to see where we go, too. I’m just sorry you’ll have to deal with Derek.” Cassie eased back and wiped her cheeks. “He’s Emily’s father, and even though he abandoned us, I can’t deny him if he wants to see her.”

  “What if he wants custody? Did he mention that again?”

  “No. I hope he was just trying to scare me, like you said.”

  Smoothing her hair behind her ear, Ian smiled and settled his palm against her cheek. “No matter what, I’m here for you. Okay?”

  For the first time in a long time, Cassie knew there was something to be hopeful about, something more than her career and Emily to fight for. And that was the love of a good man.

  * * *

  Ian was right. Damn if Derek’s visit hadn’t come at the worst possible time. Not only was the estate covered in film crew and actors, but Ian had settled so perfectly into her life and now the Belmont Stakes was upon them.

  The final of the three most prestigious races in the horse world. There was no way Cassie could possibly think of Derek and his threats right now...and yet he had left her with a doozy last night.

  He’d called her and issued an ultimatum—either she take him back and give their marriage another go or he would go to his lawyer with a plea to get full custody. Of course, she doubted he could, but the threat was there, and even if he didn’t get full, there was always a chance he could get shared. And then where would she be?

  Cassie sank down onto the bed in her hotel room and rested her head in her hands. Crying would be of no use, but she so wished she could cut loose and absolutely throw a fit. Being an adult flat-out sucked sometimes.

  The adjoining door to the bedroom next to hers creaked open and Cassie glanced up to see Tessa standing in the doorway wearing a gray tank top and black yoga pants.