Vote Then Read: Volume II

by Lauren Blakely

  “I’ve been meaning to, but things have been rather…hectic.”

  “I would say that’s an understatement.” His mother smiled. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your fiancée?”

  “Mom, Dad, this is Cassandra Daniels.” Troy forced the words from his dry throat. “Cassie, these are my parents, Paula and Bill McKnight.”

  Troy caught a moment of panic in Cassie’s eyes, but she recovered quickly. Smiling, she extended her hand. “It’s w-w-wonderful you could come. Troy has told me so much about you and the farm.”

  His beaming father hugged her. “Welcome to the family, Cassie. You’ll have to come for a visit and see the farm for yourself. It’s a wonderful place to raise a family.”

  “Don’t be so subtle, Bill.” Paula gave Cassie a hug. “We are so happy to meet you.”

  Dixon stepped up. “Before we join the rest of the guests, this might be a good time to give the kids your surprise, Paula.”

  She removed a small black box from her purse and handed it to Troy. “Your father and I thought you might want this.”

  Troy opened the box. A diamond solitaire gleamed against the black velvet. His grandmother’s engagement ring.

  His chest tightened. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

  Cassie’s mouth formed an O. “It’s…it’s beautiful.”

  “This ring belonged to my mother, Troy’s grandma. She wore it for sixty-six years,” his father explained. “Put it on Cassie’s finger, son.”

  Not now.

  Not this way.

  Not when the ring wouldn’t mean anything.

  “What are you waiting for, son?” his dad asked.

  Troy stared into Cassie’s startled eyes. He gave her trembling hand a gentle squeeze. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. As he slid the ring onto her finger, she tensed. Her eyes glistened, and she blinked.

  “Does the ring fit?” Vanessa and his mother asked at the same time.

  Cassie showed the ring to the curious mothers. “Yes.”

  “Fantastic.” Dixon patted Troy’s shoulder. “Let’s go inside. Everyone’s waiting to congratulate the happy couple. And I bet Cassie wants to show off her ring.”

  “And her amazing dress,” Vanessa said. “Lovely choice, sweetie.”

  The next two hours passed quickly. Everything Troy had dreamed about was happening.

  “Congratulations on your engagement.” Brett Matthews, who ran the Matthews Investment Group in Portland, Oregon, shook Troy’s hand. The guy was self-made—a financial guru and an angel investor. Not to mention one of Troy’s role models. “You didn’t mention a girlfriend the last time I saw you, let alone a fiancée.”

  “Things happened fast.” Not a lie.

  “She’s beautiful.”

  Thinking about Cassie filled his stomach with flutters. “Yes, she is.”

  “You have it bad.” Laughter filled Brett’s gaze.

  “I guess I do.”

  “No guessing about it, but there’s nothing wrong with that.” Brett’s tone was sincere. “You’re lucky you found her.”

  Except she’d found Troy that night at the bar. Imagine if he’d said no to pretending to be her fiancé for the night. He couldn’t.

  “I am.” He didn’t want to say much more about the two of them. “Anyone special in your life?”

  “No, but I’m too busy for a relationship.” Brett didn’t seem bothered by that, though neither had Troy until meeting Cassie. “I’m working on a book, so that’s been taking up what little free time I have.”

  A book? Troy straightened. “Non-fiction?”

  Brett nodded. “Personal investing.”

  “Cassie owns a bookstore here in the city.” The words rushed from Troy’s mouth before he lost his nerve, but he’d do anything to help her succeed. “If you want to do a book signing there…”

  “I’d be happy to.” Brett removed a business card from his pocket and then handed it to Troy. “You have my contact info, but give this to your fiancée so she has it, too.”

  He couldn’t wait to give the card to Cassie, so she could make the necessary plans. “Thanks.”

  After leaving Brett, Troy worked the room with Dixon at his side and spoke with the inner circle of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and CEOs. Even the partners from Troy’s firm seemed a tad overwhelmed by the well-wishers like Brett Matthews at the party. Troy couldn’t ask for anything more. A complete success. A perfect evening. Except…

  For the misery in Cassie’s eyes.

  Staring at the fresco painted on the ceiling, she stood next to his parents. This wasn’t working. Cassie had done her part. She’d done so without sacrificing who she truly was even, but she clearly hated every minute. And if the way she kept the engagement ring hidden from sight meant anything…

  Troy made his way through the crowd and touched her arm. “We need to talk.”

  Cassie nodded and led him into the cloakroom. The heavy wooden door dulled the music and the conversation in the ballroom.

  “I wanted to talk to you, too,” she said. “I’m sorry for how I acted, overreacted, this morning. It was easier for me to believe you’d use me than to think you wouldn’t.”

  It was going to work. “I should have told you what was going on. I’m sorry.”

  She stared at the parquet floor. “Looks like the party is working out the way you wanted.”

  For me, but what about you?

  “Everything you want is waiting for you in the ballroom.”

  “Not everything.” This was his chance. “I want you.”

  Cassie bit her lip. “I want you, too.”

  Her words sent his heart soaring. He put his arms around her and kissed her. She tasted so sweet, so warm. And she was his, all his.

  Gently, she pushed him away. “I want you, but I can’t be with you.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “This isn’t an easy thing to say, but I can’t live your kind of life.”

  “We’ll compromise.”

  “I—”

  “You said you wanted me.” The words rushed out of his mouth. “What about love?”

  “Love doesn’t change the fact we have different goals. You want to network at parties like this. You want to make millions of dollars. You want power and prestige. I don’t.”

  “What do you want me to do? Give everything up?”

  Troy McKnight was the hottest property around. He’d made the right contacts—impressed and awed them. He was a shoo-in for a partnership. His dream was waiting for him. He could taste it. He couldn’t stop now. Could he?

  No.

  He shouldn’t feel guilty for that. He was on the verge of getting everything he’d ever wanted. Everything he’d planned for.

  “Of course not,” she said finally.

  “Thank you.”

  She removed the engagement ring from her finger. “I’m not asking you to make a choice.”

  Troy pulled back his hand. The ring belonged to her. “I love you.”

  “Sometimes love isn’t enough. This is one of those times. You need a woman who shares your dreams, who wants the same things as you. A woman who can make you happy. I’m not her.”

  He loved Cassie.

  He needed her.

  He wanted to marry her.

  “Yes, you are. You are her.”

  She forced the ring into his hand. “No, I’m not.”

  “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We can work through this.”

  “I’m sorry, Troy.”

  He wasn’t about to give up without a fight. “Successful relationships are about compromise. Let’s at least try. Please, meet me halfway.”

  “I came tonight. I compromised by wearing this dress. But anything else, I…can’t.”

  His chest ached. He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. He should stop her from leaving, but he couldn’t move. Not his arms or his legs.

  Cassie walked out. The door closed behind her.

&nbs
p; Standing alone in the cloakroom, he stared at the ring in his hand. The diamond seemed duller now that it wasn’t on Cassie’s finger.

  No stars to wish upon, no words left to say. A precious gift had been ripped out of his hands, and Troy was at a loss about how to get it back. He remembered what the old man had told him. “Never forget where your home is.”

  What happened when “home” didn’t want you?

  15

  The engagement party was a smash for Emily and Eric based on how much everyone was enjoying themselves, but Cassandra stood off by herself in an alcove. All she wanted to do was go home, but she didn’t know how long she was required to stay. She hoped not much longer.

  The strains of the string quartet filled the air. Her stomach churned. This was the song she’d heard when they registered last week. The song she’d imagined herself walking down the aisle to in the gown she’d tried on in Carmel. A lump burned in her throat.

  Oh, no. She was going to cry.

  Cassandra forced the image from her brain.

  “What are you doing over here?” Her mother’s beaded cocktail-length dress swooshed around her legs as she walked toward Cassandra. “This party is in your honor. You should be mingling.”

  Cassandra swallowed. She kept her hands clasped, so no one would notice she was no longer wearing Troy’s engagement ring. “I’ve made my rounds and said hello to everyone.”

  She had and was now ready to leave.

  Her mother looked around. “Where’s Troy?”

  She hadn’t seen him since their talk in the cloakroom. “He’s here somewhere.”

  Probably schmoozing with his firm’s partners. Okay, that wasn’t fair. He was only doing what he needed to do for his future, even if that wouldn’t include her.

  “What’s wrong?” her mother asked.

  Saying nothing or lying would be wrong, so Cassandra shrugged. A non-answer seemed safer than telling the truth.

  “Come with me.” Her mother led her by the arm out to the balcony off the ballroom. No one else was outside. Not surprising since the temperature had dropped. A fountain was in the corner, and sconces provided soft lighting.

  “You look miserable,” her mother stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “I am.”

  “Why?”

  Such a simple question, but not an easy one to answer. She stared through the arched doorways to the party inside. People chatted, laughed, and drank, but Cassandra felt as if she were from another planet. The last time she’d felt this way had been…Emily and Eric’s wedding.

  Cassandra blew out a breath. Might as well tell the truth. Making up stuff sure wasn’t working. “Troy and I aren’t engaged. We’ve been pretending.”

  Her mom’s mouth gaped. “Why?”

  There was that word again. “I couldn’t handle you and Dad meddling in my life and trying to set me up on dates. I thought having a fiancé would get you off my back. Stop your matchmaking.”

  Lines creased her mother’s forehead. She started to speak but then stopped herself. “A bit extreme, don’t you think?”

  “It seemed like a good idea…until I realized the stranger I’d asked to be my fiancé was in venture capital like Dad.”

  “You and Troy weren’t even dating?” Her mother sounded scandalized.

  “Nope.” Cassandra took another breath. “I’m sorry for lying, but I couldn’t handle the meddling.”

  “Your father and I love you so much. We only wanted you to be happy.”

  “I was happy.”

  “You were alone.”

  “By choice.” The words came out harsher than Cassandra intended, but she couldn’t help herself.

  “After you and Eric decided to call off—”

  “We didn’t mutually decide. I broke up with him.” The words rushed out before Cassandra could stop them. “He and Emily got together while I was still engaged to him. I knew I couldn’t marry him after I found out he was cheating on me, but he told Dad that we’d called off the wedding before I could say anything.”

  Her mother swore. Something the elegant Vanessa Daniels never did. At least not in front of her daughters.

  Cassandra thought saying the words would make her feel better, but her mother’s face scrunched with hurt was difficult to see.

  Her mom took a breath and then another. “Why didn’t you tell us the truth?”

  “I couldn’t handle everyone knowing what had really happened so I just went along with the ‘we mutually decided’ farce to save face.”

  “But later?”

  “There never seemed to be a right time. You were so busy with Emily’s wedding. And we didn’t see each other that much.”

  Her mother pursed her lips. “Because I was always inviting you to join us when Eric and Emily were around.”

  Cassandra nodded. “I…I needed space.”

  Distancing herself from her family had made the most sense. She couldn’t pretend as if everything was fine when she’d felt so raw after what happened. “I realized when I was in Carmel with Troy that I needed to say something, but then there was this party.”

  “Not to mention looking at wedding dresses and registering for gifts.” Her mother studied her as if seeing her daughter for the first time. “We have been meddling.”

  Cassandra didn’t trust her voice, so she nodded instead.

  “This must have been so hard on you. And being Emily’s maid of honor…”

  Cassandra sucked in a breath. “It’s what you and Dad wanted. Just like you felt I needed a plus one for the wedding when the last thing I needed was to go on a date with anyone.”

  “So that’s the reason you said you shouldn’t bring a date so you could concentrate on your maid of honor duties.”

  It wasn’t a question, but Cassandra nodded.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie.” Sincerity and love filled her mom’s voice. Regret, too. “If we’d known…”

  “Now you do.”

  “What about Troy? The two of you seem like such a great couple. Your father and I both think he’s perfect for you, which is why we didn’t care that things were moving so quickly.”

  “We talked about dating after this fake engagement ran its course, but that isn’t going to work. I gave him back his ring a little while ago, so after tonight, we won’t have to see each other again.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  No. “It’s for the best.”

  And if she kept telling herself that, she might come to believe it.

  Cassandra’s eyes stung. She blinked. “Though Troy’s parents are going to need to be told the truth. I should be the one to talk to them since I came up with the idea of a fake fiancé and made a mess of everything.”

  “What do you need me to do?” her mother asked.

  “Could you please find a way for me to get out of here, so Emily doesn’t make a scene?”

  “Stay here.” Her mother’s arms wrapped around Cassandra. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  Compassion filled her mother’s gaze. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

  Cassandra nodded. “I love you, Mom.”

  Her mother smiled softly. “I love you. Be right back so we can get you home.”

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Troy didn’t know how long he stayed in the cloakroom, but by the time he opened the door, his hands no longer shook. He didn’t have a plan to get Cassie back, but maybe a drink would calm him so he could think of one.

  As he walked to the bar, one of the partners put his hand on Troy’s shoulder.

  “Here’s the man of the evening.” Russ Thayer was one of the original partners at the firm. Not as old as Dixon, but in his mid-fifties. He’d ridden the wave and watched the bubble burst in the nineties. Russ lowered his hand. “Congrats on the engagement.”

  The man had barely acknowledged Troy’s existence over the past three years. “Thanks.”

  “Great party.”

  “Cassie’s sister,
Emily, went all out.” He doubted Eric Wainwright did much other than perhaps pay for the shindig. Unless Dixon had, which wouldn’t surprise Troy.

  “Looks like you’re making the most of your country charm. Your future in-laws will serve you well.”

  The knot in Troy’s stomach grew, along with his unease. “I prefer to keep family separate from business.”

  “Of course.” Russ’s smile didn’t waver. “But try keeping Dixon out. You’ve hit it out of the park with this alliance. I look forward to our two groups doing more together in the future.”

  Country charm? Alliance?

  Troy’s jaw tensed. He didn’t know what to say.

  If the partners felt he’d pulled an Eric Wainwright to further his career, so would everyone else. Troy didn’t want to be that guy.

  “Good to talk to you,” Russ continued. “I need to find my wife.” With that, the man wove his way through the crowd.

  The guy was like Mick.

  Troy’s bosses were treating his and Cassie’s engagement as nothing more than a contract to do business with the mighty Dixon Daniels. The partners didn’t care about Troy. Only about his connection to Cassie’s dad.

  The meeting with Mick replayed in Troy’s head.

  I knew you had ambition, but I didn’t know how badly you wanted it. I considered you our farm boy from Missouri—a worker bee. I see now I was way off base. Marrying Dixon Daniels’s little girl. I didn’t know you had it in you.

  He remembered what Cassie had said.

  Your boss sounds like a jerk and not someone you should be working for.

  She was correct.

  Nothing Troy had accomplished mattered to the people who controlled his career—his future. Without Cassie and her family, he would return to being a worker bee. Mick and the partners would likely be disappointed that Troy hadn’t calculated this.

  Screw that.

  And them.

  Being a partner and wealthy might have been his dreams, but he needed to focus on a new dream. One that involved a pretty, smart bookstore owner who made him feel as if he could accomplish anything. He’d walked away from his college girlfriend based on what his ideal woman should be. Well, his ideal had just changed, and he wasn’t about to lose Cassie.