Somewhere Along the Way

by Ruth Cardello

  “Come on, it’s me. Bonnie. I’m not going to judge you. I think it’s wonderful to finally see you with a man.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened, and she referenced the door behind her with thumb. “You mean, Dr. Andrade? He’s just here to help me drop off your order. Maybe have breakfast. Then he’s heading back to New York.”

  Bonnie folded her arms over her chest and shot Cassie a skeptical look. “Really? So the two of you were snowed in last night, all alone, and nothing happened? That’s the story you’re sticking to?”

  Cassie raised her chin with determination. “No. I mean, yes. Nothing happened.”

  With a tap of her foot, Bonnie countered, “Edward from the hardware store came in about five minutes ago to pick up his lunch order. He said Jimmy told him you were kissing Dr. Andrade in your driveway.”

  A hot blush spread up Cassie’s neck and warmed her cheeks. She didn’t like getting caught in a lie, and she was still adjusting to small-town life. “It might have looked that way, but Luke was actually helping me carry boxes to my car.”

  Bonnie chuckled. “You’re such a bad liar. And I don’t understand why you’re so embarrassed. Hell, if I had hooked up with someone like him, I’d be bragging about it.”

  That brought a reluctant smile to Cassie’s face. “You’re married.”

  Bonnie squeezed Cassie’s shoulder. “Yes. Which is exactly why I have to live vicariously through you. Come on, spill.”

  Cassie was used to bottling up her feelings. Things were safer when kept secret. Money was better hidden. It wasn’t like that in Defiance. When she had first moved, she’d been uncomfortable when she’d discovered she was a frequent topic of discussion. However, time had shown her it wasn’t malicious. Her first summer, before she’d been able to afford her own lawnmower, a couple of her neighbors had taken turns helping her out. She, in turn, took them homemade chicken soup when they were sick. The gossip chain became something Cassie was grateful for once she realized it was how the town stayed connected. Of course, she’d never had something like this spreading around. What she felt for Luke was scary enough without trying to defend or explain it. “We kissed. That’s it. But he really is leaving.”

  Bonnie’s face split in a huge smile. “Just tell me, was it as wonderful as we’re all fantasizing it would be?”

  Cassie smiled right back and admitted, “Better.”

  Bonnie fanned her face with one hand. “I knew it.” She looked Cassie over with a critical eye and tucked a loose hair into Cassie’s ponytail. She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out lipstick, then turned Cassie in the direction of a mirror on the wall. “If you want a shot at keeping a man like that, you have to put in a little effort.”

  “He’s not staying,” Cassie repeated, but she applied a light coat of the pink lipstick.

  Bonnie handed her mascara and eyeliner. “Yet.”

  Cassie applied both. “Won’t it seem strange that I came in here without makeup, and I’m walking out there with it on?’

  Bonnie nodded and unbuttoned the two top buttons of Cassie’s blouse. “No, now he won’t notice. Well, he’ll notice, but he won’t put much thought into it.”

  Cassie protested, “It’s not that simple.”

  “Yes, it is. You keep saying you want to settle down and have a family here. How are you going to do that without a man?”

  Cassie’s hand went automatically, protectively, to her stomach. She’d been very careful to go out of town for treatments. No one knew her secret. “It’ll happen one way or another. But hooking up with a man who is just passing through is not part of my plan.”

  Pursing her lips, Bonnie said, “Cassie, I adore you, but you have to stop hiding in your bed and breakfast.” Cassie opened her mouth to say something, but Bonnie started speaking again before she was able to get a word out. “Look at us. I took a chance on you, and we’ve become friends. You don’t know what’s possible until you try. And if you’re afraid of getting your heart broken? Darling, that could happen to any of us at any time. Aunt Bea’s husband left her after forty years. He’s not going to find better than her, so he’ll be back. But she’s not sitting at home moping about it. There is no shame in taking a risk on love.” She paused. “Unless you sleep with half the men in town, then it’s a little much for most people to handle.”

  Feeling overwhelmed, Cassie rubbed one of her temples with her index finger. “There’s not much chance of that happening.”

  “Exactly. So don’t worry. Even if you get pregnant, I bet that man makes beautiful babies.”

  Babies?

  Cassie closed her eyes and grimaced. As the only man I’ve been seen with in public, if I am pregnant, people are going to assume it’s his. Oh, my God.

  Bonnie hugged her. “I was joking. Use a condom and have some fun. Girl, loosen up. No matter what happens, you’ll have an amazing story to tell.”

  “Tell?”

  Bonnie smiled cajolingly. “To at least me, and maybe Tilly.”

  “Tilly?” Cassie’s voice went up several octaves.

  “She was a wild one when she was young. Her parents tried to send her to an all-girls’ school to calm her down, but she gave them a run for their money. Don’t let her fool you. She has some good stories about dating before she was married. Ask her sometime.”

  Cassie was grateful to hear Luke and Greg approaching. Bonnie’s attitude reflected what Cassie loved most about Defiance. The town definitely had boundary issues when it came to getting involved in each other’s lives, and Cassie found that both heartwarming and terrifying.

  Very similar to how she felt each time she spoke to Luke.

  Some risks did pay off. She’d risked everything on this town, and it had changed her life for the better. She walked out of the storage room with Bonnie and met Luke’s eyes. The warmth of his smile and the way he didn’t disguise how happy he was to see her took her breath away. The slight pink that warmed his cheeks when his eyes fell to her cleavage made her almost giddy with pleasure.

  I won’t know what’s possible if I don’t give this a try.

  And I’ll spend the rest of my life asking myself what might have happened.

  ***

  Especially after hearing about Cassie’s childhood, Luke enjoyed watching her with her friends. It was obvious Cassie and the restaurant owner were close. And if the grilling he’d received from the husband was anything to go by, her friends were more than a little protective of her. He’d half expected Greg to come right out and demand to know what his intentions were. Which wouldn’t have gone well since Luke didn’t know yet himself. All he knew for sure was the ten or so minutes they had spent apart had felt like an eternity.

  Bonnie shook Luke’s hand then looked to her husband as if asking his opinion. Greg shrugged and nodded in what appeared to be a non-verbal endorsement of Luke. Bonnie continued to shake Luke’s hand, but now with more enthusiasm. “You two are staying for breakfast, right?”

  “If Dr. Andrade—” Cassie started to say, but Luke cut her off.

  “We’d love to.” Luke placed a possessive hand on Cassie’s lower back. He wasn’t used to feeling possessive about a woman, not even one he’d dated for a prolonged time. He’d considered himself above jealousy, but he sent a warning look to a man he’d caught watching Cassie when they’d walked in.

  Bonnie led them to a booth and gave them menus before heading to the kitchen with her husband. He and Cassie looked over the menus long enough that it became awkward. Without looking up from his, Luke said, “I’ll book a room in a hotel.”

  Cassie put her menu down. “You don’t have to.”

  Luke closed his menu and let out a long, slow breath. “I don’t want to leave, Cassie, but I can’t imagine spending another night at your place without spending it in your bed.”

  Cassie bit her bottom lip and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “I’m not worried about that anymore.”

  That must have been some storage room talk. Luke’s hea
rt began to thud loudly in his chest.

  “But,” Cassie started and Luke’s hand clenched on the table, “I don’t want to believe this is anything more than it is. That’s what will hurt. Stay with me during your vacation. Then go back to New York. No expectations. No explanations needed.”

  Luke frowned. He told himself he should be happy. It wasn’t the first time he’d been offered something temporary and casual. Women could often be just as blunt as men in this modern age. He usually applauded their frankness. This time however, he wanted to shake the woman saying it. “Didn’t you say that was exactly what you didn’t want?”

  She shrugged, but didn’t meet his eyes. “I changed my mind.”

  “Cassie, look at me.”

  When she raised her eyes to his it wasn’t lust he saw in them, it was an emotion that twisted his gut. She would let him into her bed, but that was as far as she would trust him. He wanted more. “That’s not good enough.”

  Her eyes burned with an emotion akin to anger. “What do you want?”

  He took her hand in his and laced his fingers through hers. He searched for the words to describe how he was feeling.

  A waitress appeared at the end of the booth. “Are you two ready, or are you still deciding?”

  “All I know is what I don’t want,” Luke said, not taking his eyes off Cassie.

  “I said yes,” Cassie answered, sounding defensive.

  “I’m getting a hotel room.”

  “Um . . . I’ll just give you a few more minutes,” the waitress said before retreating.

  Cassie’s fingers tightened on his. “I don’t understand you.”

  Luke raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “What do people in this town do when there is this much snow?”

  “Do you mean like going to the movies? Bowling? Like a date?”

  He rubbed her fingers back and forth across his bottom lip, while imagining how her soft lips would feel circled around his shaft. “Yeah, like a date.”

  “I’d like that,” she whispered.

  “What?” he asked huskily.

  “Whatever you want to do.” Cassie’s lips parted and her eyes warmed with desire.

  He leaned across the booth and pulled her forward until their lips almost touched. “You’re not making it easy on me, Cupcake. Tell me what you want.”

  She licked her bottom lip. “I only know what I don’t want, and that is to not know what it could have been like with us.”

  “I’ll just pack you up something to go,” the waitress, who had returned without being noticed, said.

  Neither Luke nor Cassie so much as spared her a glance. Luke was lost in Cassie’s eyes and had an inner debate between what he wanted to do and what he thought he should do. “I don’t want to rush you. I want you to want this as much as I do.”

  Cassie closed her eyes for a moment as if gathering her strength and said, “I already do.”

  He kissed her across the table, feeling as excited as he had before his first date in high school. With Cassie, everything felt new. “Then what are we still doing here?” He helped Cassie into her coat and quickly threw on his own.

  “Are we going bowling?” Cassie asked as they walked out of the restaurant. She tossed her car keys to him, and the wink she gave him was just about the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

  He held the passenger door of her car open for her and growled softly in her ear, “If that’s what you want to call it.”

  “So, no hotel?”

  It was a coy question that didn’t require an answer. Luke sprinted around to his side of the car.

  Chapter Six

  Cassie was glad Luke had decided to drive back because her hands were shaking with a mixture of excitement and nerves. They tried to make light conversation, but the sexual tension between them was too much to sustain a topic.

  They walked into her kitchen together; the mounting anticipation was palpable. Cassie didn’t realize she was hanging onto the doorknob until Luke gave her a curious look.

  “We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready, Cassie,” he said gently.

  She’d felt brave in the restaurant and excited on the drive, but now, back at her place, she was nervous. “I am. At least I think I am. It’s just been a long time.”

  He caressed the side of her neck lightly with one hand, and she sucked in an audible breath. “How long?”

  His touch sparked flames of desire through her. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling before answering in a whisper, “Four, maybe five years.”

  She opened one eye and peered up at him to assess his reaction. His expression was difficult to discern. “You don’t remember?”

  Cassie turned her head away. “I was lonely, and he didn’t matter. I didn’t even know his last name. I’m not proud of who I was back then. I wasn’t in a good place.”

  Tenderly, Luke turned Cassie’s face back toward his. “Don’t hide from me, Cassie. You can tell me anything.”

  Cassie blinked back tears. Unless I tell you I may be pregnant. I can guarantee that would be a mood breaker. “Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I’m a virgin.”

  He unbuttoned his coat, lifted her hand, and placed it on his chest above his heart. “You’re not my first either, Cassie, but can you feel that? My heart is beating like I just finished a sprint. Do you know why? Because unlike every other time, this feels different—like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment.”

  Cassie’s hand shook against his chest. His heart, like hers, was indeed beating a wild dance. “We barely know each other.”

  He placed his other hand over hers on the doorknob. “We can fix that.” He gave her that lopsided, boyish grin of his that melted her heart. Again. “But you’ll have to let go of the door, Cupcake.”

  She laughed nervously and did. He took her hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist while never breaking eye contact with her. “Let’s go upstairs to your room. We don’t have to rush. I want to make love to you slowly, learn every inch of you, and watch you come again and again for me.”

  He swung her up in his arms and carried her out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into her bedroom as if she were precious to him. Cassie buried her face in his neck and clung to him. His consideration for her almost brought her to tears. She was used to people who took from her. Even if he left before she woke in the morning, she wouldn’t regret choosing to be with him. He wasn’t like the fumbling boyfriends she’d had in high school, or the selfish short-term lovers she’d experienced as an adult. He was a man who knew how to please a woman and intended to enjoy doing that.

  He eased her down onto her feet beside her bed. She brushed against his erection briefly, and they both shuddered. Ever so slowly he unbuttoned her coat before dropping it to the floor beside her. She reached for the belt on his jeans, but he stilled her hands. “Not yet. You first.”

  He kissed her neck and then each new inch of skin as it was exposed while he unbuttoned her blouse. Her shirt floated to the floor. With one hand he released the clasp of her bra and tossed it on the floor in the growing heap of clothing. He gently cupped each of her small breasts in his hands. “You’re perfect. So beautiful.”

  “So are you,” Cassie said huskily.

  With his eyes burning with desire and his hands worshipping her, Cassie felt truly beautiful for the first time in her life. He circled a thumb around one of her puckered nipples. “I could come just from the sight of you.” He gave her a droll look and added, “I won’t, Cupcake, but I love that I could.”

  Cassie ran her hands over the bulging muscles of his shoulders and up to his strong neck. She arched backward and offered herself to him. With a groan, he lowered his mouth to one of her breasts and savored it. Cassie’s body clenched with pleasure, and she was quickly wet and ready for him. He didn’t rush, though. He teased her with his teeth. Flicked her with his tongue. When she was clinging to him and moaning, he took her into his mouth and sucked gently while r
olling her other nipple skillfully between his fingers. When she thought she could take no more, he started all over again on the other breast. Cassie heard herself making sounds of encouragement she’d never made before. She’d never been a vocal lover, but sex had never been like this.

  He turned her around, exposing her bare back to him. He took her ponytail and swished her hair back and forth, following the teasing path with his lips. His hot mouth rained kisses on her neck and spine. While kissing her shoulder, he reached around and unsnapped the front of her jeans. One of his hands returned to knead a breast, while his other slid beneath the front of her silk panties and cupped her sex. “You’re so wet, Cassie. So wet for me.”

  “Yes,” she answered, too lost in how he was making her feel to say anything more.

  He slid a finger between her lower lips and began to slowly caress her clit. Cassie gripped a bedpost to steady herself. He took his time, leisurely learning what drove her wild. When he found it, he kept his rhythm steady and his touch sure.

  Cassie rubbed back and forth against his bulging erection, loving how it felt even through their clothing. He continued to kiss her neck and shoulder, whispering how beautiful she was as his caresses drove her closer and closer to climax.

  Just when she thought she was about to come, he withdrew his hand and turned her. She cried out softly. He chuckled softly at her expression. “Not yet, Cupcake. Trust me.”

  Wild with a need to finish what he’d started, she pushed his mouth up to hers. The kiss instantly deepened, and they feverishly began to remove the rest of each other’s clothing. She couldn’t get enough of him.

  He picked her up and laid her in the middle of her bed. He knelt beside her and handed her a condom. She eagerly rolled it onto his cock. He was so big. So hard. She wanted him inside her with a desperation unlike anything she’d felt before. She spread her legs wide, wantonly, and parted her lips. Take me, she begged silently.

  He bent to claim her mouth again, and his hand returned possessively to her sex. He stroked it firmly then once again began to caress her nub. In half the time, she was wild and nearing release. She ran her hands over every inch of him she could reach. Craving more. He increased the speed of his touch and slid his middle finger inside her. His tongue fucked her mouth while his hand sent her over the edge of climax and then through an explosive orgasm.