What a Woman Gets

by Judi Fennell

  He wanted to taste those lips. “Mmhm?”

  “You’re breaking it.” She nodded toward her door. “This is my side.”

  “Oh. Right. But your dog—”

  “Heard you come in. I get that. But she also knows where she sleeps. She would’ve come back on her own.” Cassidy sat up and didn’t catch the sheet that slipped from her chest to her lap. “You didn’t have to bring her in. So why did you?”

  Holy hell. She was stunning and sexy and he got hard just thinking about—

  Get the fuck out NOW, Manley!

  Yeah, he got that.

  He turned around. “Pardon me for doing something nice like returning your dog. Won’t happen again. Good night.”

  He stopped short of slamming her door, but he damn well did pull it shut behind him.

  Then he leaned back against it and took half a dozen deep breaths. Jesus. That’d been close. For a second he’d been so tempted to go to her, slide a hand beneath her neck and pull her up to him, kissing her so she’d never ask senseless questions again. They both knew why he’d returned the dog, and what the hell was her point taunting him with it? She had to know he wanted her.

  So what was he going to do about it?

  He knew what he wanted to do about it. He just had to decide how much he was willing to risk.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  CASSIDY, about last night.” Liam walked into the kitchen the next morning, scrubbing his hair with a towel.

  Thank God he’d put clothes on after his shower instead of just a towel. Not that they did anything to mitigate his effect on her, but at least she didn’t have to look at that eight-pack.

  But she could imagine it. Like she had for the rest of last night.

  “Thank you for bringing Titania back.” Cassidy didn’t want to talk about last night. He hadn’t “returned” Titania; the dog had jumped off the bed because he’d been in her room. The question was why?

  And why had he turned away? Again.

  “You’re welcome, but, I broke our rule. It’s just that I came home and your furniture was gone and I didn’t know if you were, too, so I peeked in. Titania saw me and jumped off the bed, and well, that’s what happened.”

  “Oh.” So it hadn’t been a burning desire for her that had brought him to her room? Boy, was she reading the signs wrong.

  At least it made her decision for her. She could get the idea of having any kind of relationship with Liam off the table. He might want her, but not enough to do anything about it. And if there was one thing she knew about herself, one thing she was sure of, it was that she’d never beg for anyone’s affection.

  She toed Titania’s food bowl, hoping the little dog would stop prancing behind Liam and finish her breakfast so they could get out of here sooner rather than later.

  Of course Titania didn’t. The dog had taken to Liam in a way she hadn’t to any of the men Cassidy had dated. And she flat-out hadn’t liked Dad.

  Liam gave Titania a quick scratch behind the ears, then went to work making his breakfast. “So where’s all the furniture?”

  Cassidy finished off her toast. “Gone.”

  Liam poked his head out from the fridge. “Gone where?”

  She picked up her plate and juice glass and headed to the sink. “I, um, found a place and moved it there.”

  “You moved all of it? By yourself? How?”

  “The portable tailgate lift in your garage and the dolly. I went online to see how to use it and I paid attention in school when we learned about fulcrums and levers. It wasn’t difficult.”

  “But what about the rent? How are you affording that?”

  She grimaced. This was the part she didn’t want to get into because she had no idea how he felt about his grandmother dating. It wasn’t as if she could just come out and ask him if he didn’t have an inkling that Mrs. Manley was. And it wasn’t her place to spill the beans. So she gilded the lily a bit. “I’m bartering for the space.”

  He arched his eyebrow. “Bartering?”

  “You gave me the idea. This space needs work, so I figured why not? The owner is fine with it.” Mrs. Manley had said it was okay, that the owner wouldn’t pass up free decorating services when he wasn’t even expecting rent.

  “So when do you plan to do all of this, Cassidy? You have a lot on your plate.”

  “The extra space will allow me to work more efficiently and on more pieces at once. It’s easier to keep sanding if I have all the pieces out and prepped. Then I can paint and finish them like an assembly-line. This way, I’ll be more efficient, more productive, and have more product to sell faster than if I have to clean up between each stage on individual pieces. Economy of scale. Which means I can, hopefully, sell a lot and pay you back quickly.” She picked up Titania’s half-eaten bowl and dumped the contents into the trash, then cleaned the bowl in the sink. “And obviously I’ll still clean this place and work on the office. That shouldn’t take me very long. And then I can get out of your hair so you can get back to living your life.”

  He didn’t want her out of his hair. He wanted her hands in it and holding on while he thrust into her—

  Cassidy wanted to get out of his life. Here he was, finally ready to give her the benefit of the doubt and maybe, possibly, see if it could go anywhere, and she’d been looking for a way to move on.

  He hadn’t seen that coming.

  He ought to be thankful for it. It saved him the heartache of finding out when he was already invested.

  Too late.

  Shut up.

  “You’re going to need my truck more, then. Good thing I have Mac’s van.”

  “Oh. I hadn’t thought about that. I guess we can add it to my tab?” She gathered her hair into a ponytail and twisted the rubber band around it, tugging some hair free that’d gotten caught on her earring. “Or, I can just pawn these. No one’s made any offers online, and at this point, I’d rather have the money.”

  She really was trying to get away from him.

  He should let her. She could take what Vito gave her and start her own life, allowing his to go back to normal.

  Normal was good. It wasn’t an emotional roller coaster and it wasn’t this up-all-night wanting.

  “Okay, let’s do it. Let’s go see Vito.”

  Unfortunately, Vito had a nasty surprise for them.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  THESE ain’t real, sugarpuff,” Vito said as he removed the eye loupe. “Somebody pulled one over on you. They ain’t worth what you’re asking. I’ll give you two for them and not a penny more.”

  “Two thousand?” She’d been hoping for at least five.

  Vito snorted and rolled the stones in his palm like a pair of dice. “No, sweet thing. Two hundred. These are CZ and barely worth even that to me, but you look like you could use a break.”

  Cassidy stared at the stones. Two hundred dollars? Cubic zirconia? These were not the earrings Dad had bought. Or if they were, he’d wanted to go cheap on the Flavor du Jour who was supposed to have gotten them.

  It’d be funny if he hadn’t given them to her instead. How he must have laughed at her for being happy with a pair of worthless pieces of glass.

  She didn’t know whether to be horrified or sad. Insulted, definitely. Who was her father? She’d thought she’d known him. Thought he’d only been a bastard to the outside world and his control over her life had been for her well-being when she’d been younger, then for his image when she’d gotten older. But what good was giving her fake diamond earrings? All she’d had to do was take them to an appraiser and the jig would’ve been up.

  But she hadn’t. Why would she? She’d had no reason to think they wouldn’t be real.

  It was a good thing Vito didn’t know who she was or dear ol’ Dad’s name would be smeared across the front page.

  She ought to do it. Play his game and leak the story. But that wasn’t who she was, and it’d let him know he’d gotten to her. Plus, it’d take too much time and energy, both of which
she’d need to make her future happen on her own merits now.

  After she took Liam up on his generosity yet again.

  “Well?” Vito clinked the earrings against the glass countertop. “Whatddya think? I’m sure I can sell ’em to a prom-bound teenager, but other than that, there’s not a big call for these. Those who can afford to buy diamonds this size don’t buy ’em here, and the kids who do ain’t gonna pay big bucks for ’em. I can retail ’em for about two-fifty if I’m lucky. Two’s the highest I can go. Sorry it ain’t more, sweetheart, but a guy’s gotta make a profit. Might want to take it up with your sugar daddy.”

  She was so upset she didn’t bother to correct him about the sugar daddy thing. What would be the point?

  “I’ll keep them. Two hundred dollars isn’t going to get me far and I have a feeling keeping these could get me a lot farther. Thanks, though.” She stuck the earrings in her pocket, nodded at Liam, then strode out of the shop, all the while trying to pull her dignity back together from the shroud it’d become. God, she was going to have to take down the online listing before someone did bid on them. One more thing to add to her To-Do list.

  Liam, thankfully, kept quiet all the way to his truck. Then into it. Then starting it and pulling out of the parking spot until she couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Go ahead and get it over with.”

  Liam glanced at her, but she couldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Get what over with?”

  “The gloating. The I-told-you-so’s.”

  He zipped the truck into a parking spot and turned it off. Then he angled himself so his right knee rested on his seat and his hand gripped the corner of hers. “Cassidy.”

  She blew out a breath and tried desperately not to cry. She hated crying and she especially hated crying in front of anyone. Crying was a sign of weakness. She’d learned that lesson early on at boarding school and had been sure to never let anyone see her cry again. She wasn’t about to start with Liam. “What?”

  “Look at me.”

  She so didn’t want to.

  But she did. “Satisfied?”

  “Sweetheart, I’m not going to gloat. I’m sorry your father is such a prick that he lied to you and gave you crap jewelry.”

  She didn’t even bother trying to defend Mitchell. Prick pretty much summed him up.

  “I’m not going to say not to be upset or take it personally, because, yeah, it was a shitty thing to do. But the fact is, it’s done. You’re no poorer than you were a half hour ago, but you have your work, a roof over your head, and food on the table. And my offer’s open for as long as you need it.”

  Dammit. He was going to make her cry.

  “Why are you being so nice to me, Liam?”

  She tossed the ball back in his court because she needed time to work on her composure. She’d been hoping for the recriminations so she could take all her anger and mortification at her father out on someone and Liam was the one who happened to be handy.

  Too damned handy.

  Liam scrubbed his chin. “It’s no big deal, Cassidy. I’ve got the room, I need the help, and you’ve got the skills. It works for both of us and, frankly, I can’t stand when people take advantage of others. Your father really pulled the rug out from under you and that just sucks. So, if I can lend a hand, I’m happy to.”

  And there went a tear.

  Cassidy tried to sniff it back, turning her head so he wouldn’t see it track down her right cheek. She had to stop it before the same thing happened on her left. “I’ll work so much you’ll never see me so I can get those pieces ready for sale and get out of your life. You’ve been more than generous.”

  He touched her shoulder.

  Really? She didn’t have the fortitude to take all this niceness when her emotions were bouncing all over the place.

  Just don’t kiss him again.

  Right. She wouldn’t.

  “It’ll be all right, Cassidy. Stay as long as you need. Don’t rush your painting; you want to do your best work. Remember what you told me: it’s all about your brand. Make your Cass Marie furniture the best it can be.”

  “C. Marie.”

  “What?”

  “C. Marie. That’s the name of my brand. The minute I stick Cassidy on it”—she’d never use Cass—“is when the world knows that I’m Cassidy Davenport. I’m not cashing in on my father’s name for all the sales in the world. He’ll think I won’t because he told me not to, but it’s really because I want to do this on my own merits. And I’ve got them. That first sale—hell, the offer to carry them in the gallery—was proof. He’s not going to deter me from my dream.”

  Liam squeezed gently. “That’s the spirit. You can do this.”

  She pasted that Showpiece smile on and looked at him, tears fully in control. “Not without you, I couldn’t. And I’m more grateful for that than you’ll ever know.”

  * * *

  HE didn’t want her gratitude. He didn’t want the tears she was holding back, and he especially didn’t want her looking at him like she was.

  Remove the hand, Manley.

  He turned back around and put all body parts firmly on his side of the van. “So, do you want me to drop you off at your new place or take you back to mine?”

  “Yours. It’s closer and I need to get the truck, otherwise you’ll be going out of your way later tonight, and I’m not sure what time I’ll be done. I had incentive before, but now I have even more. Plus, I need to get Titania. I’ll keep her with me so you don’t have to worry about her when you come home tonight.”

  Two things hit him at once as he started the van. One, she called his house home, and two, he would miss the little mutt when she left for good.

  When she left. Cassidy was getting out of his life at the first decent sale she made and that was a reality he had to face. It was a reason not to get involved with her. He didn’t need another broken heart.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  WHEN Cassidy said she was going to work so much he’d never see her, Liam hadn’t thought she’d meant that literally, but it turned out she did. The only way he knew she was actually keeping her part of the cleaning bargain was that he purposely messed things up so she’d have something to clean. But she was up and out of the house before he was, and came home after he’d gone to bed. He figured she stopped back during the day to clean up and set the automatic timer on the oven so his dinner would be warm when he came home.

  He’d heard her come in late last night, but hadn’t gotten up. No sense tempting fate. He needed to keep his distance.

  Easier said than done.

  And, annoyingly, he’d missed her. And her little dog, too.

  His cell phone rang and he answered it as he yanked the van door closed and started the engine. “Yo, Jared. What’s up?”

  Jared, longtime friend and professional baseball player, was staying at his grandmother’s house—Gran’s best friend Mildred—recuperating from a car wreck. “Hey, Lee. I got tickets to the ball game tonight. Suite seats. You interested?”

  Perfect. Keep him from staring at the four walls. “Cool. Yeah, count me in.”

  “What about your brothers?”

  “I’ll give ’em a call and let you know.”

  It’d be good to hang out with the guys. Talk sports, eat some dogs, swill some beer. A manly night with zero thoughts of anything remotely feminine.

  * * *

  YEAH, that wasn’t happening. There was no getting away from Cassidy Davenport. Her father advertised heavily at the stadium and her gorgeous face was on placards all over the damn place.

  Bryan nudged him. “That’s her? She looks familiar.”

  “Other than the fact that her picture’s all over the place, I’m sure you’ve been to the same parties.” Liam couldn’t help the sarcasm. Rachel had bugged the shit out of him to get tickets to the same events his brother would be at. He wasn’t jealous of Bryan, but he had a huge problem with his girlfriend being a hanger-on, so he’d told her tickets weren’t
available even though Bryan could’ve gotten him as many as he’d wanted.

  Bryan rolled his eyes. “I told you, Lee, I have to go to those things. Good for the image and for PR. And backing, too. Those rich guys are always looking to invest and they like the idea of being part of a movie. Know what I mean, Jare?”

  Jared twisted around in his wheelchair. “Yeah, and the catering and top-shelf drinks aren’t bad either.”

  “Hey, aren’t you Bryan Manley?” A kid ran up beside them, tugging a giggling teenage girl beside him.

  Liam shouldered Bry. “Looks like you’re up, baby bro.”

  “Don’t call me that,” Bryan muttered as he handed over his food carrier before stopping to talk to the kid. “Yes, I am. Would you like an autograph?”

  “Yeah. On my sister’s arm. She says she’ll never wash it again if you do and I wanna see that fight with Mom.”

  Liam handed Bry’s food carrier to Jared. “Here, make yourself useful. That bogus injury’s not getting you out of doing some work.” He started pushing the chair.

  “Bogus? If I could get out of this damn contraption, I’d show you bogus.” Jared repositioned the three food carriers on his lap, trying to keep the beers upright. “And trust me, I’m working these days. Your sister . . .” He shook his head.

  Liam smiled. Jared and Mac had been butting heads since forever. “Don’t tell me she’s put you to work.”

  Jared swept a hand over the chair. “Sorry, Lee, but she’s a pain in the ass even if she is your sister.”

  “Hey, you don’t have to tell me.” Maybe he’d feel Jared out about doing some sleuthing to see how Mac had won the game. After all, Mac was cleaning Jared’s grandmother’s home, which was where Jared was recuperating.

  Liam couldn’t help but chuckle. He’d pay to witness that. The place was probably a disaster from all the plaster falling off the walls during their verbal sparring. He didn’t know what it was, but Jared and Mac had rubbed each other wrong from day one.

  Bryan caught up to them. “Thanks for abandoning me, guys.”