The morning after one of their wild parties, Kayden sent Woody and Jason on a reconnaissance mission. The mess from the party they had the night before was left for Ethan, Conor and Cassie to clean up. Well, that really just left Cassie; the other two were still entertaining two of the girls from the party in their rooms. She decided it was probably her turn to clean up anyway. Rolling up her sleeves, she went around the backyard, picking up empty bottles, cigarette butts and food scraps left over from a food fight.
Kayden came over and asked where Ethan and Conor were. After telling him they were busy with some chicks, she told him he could go up and see them if he wanted. He said he did not feel right disturbing them and had only come around to see if they wanted to go to the races with him. Seeing they were busy, he asked if she wanted to take off for a couple of hours to fill in the day instead.
They had been talking nicely again now, so she guessed it would be okay. After all, he was just her boss now.
There were horse races at Wittenoom and even though she was his second choice, she was glad to do something other than clean up on her own. They laid bets on the horses while Cassie sipped on cold glasses of champagne. It was a nice day and on the way home he asked her many questions about Woody and made her laugh a lot about stories of old. ‘Now you’re sleeping with Woody you would know that anyway,’ he said at one stage.
It came out of left field and she stared at him for a moment. ‘Woody’s not like that. We aren’t … I haven’t …’ She turned and stared out the window, not knowing what to actually say.
‘Sorry if you thought I was prying. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I just assumed you two were an item that was all,’ he said, sounding innocent enough.
Cassie turned to him and grinned. ‘That’s alright, I overreacted. It’s complicated,’ she said and just changed the subject.
After he took her home, he stayed and helped her finish cleaning up. The boys surfaced every now and then to see if Cassie was alright and then went back to their rooms. They had a swim after they finished cleaning and then opened a bottle of wine, sipping it in the warm spa. The bubbles and the wine relaxed her after what seemed like a long day.
‘You know I never touched that girl, don’t you?’ he asked, trying to smooth over their past.
‘Yes, I believe you now because you have no reason to lie anymore. Maybe even then.’ She was being honest because he was.
‘Then why did you leave?’ he asked. ‘I know it’s all in the past but I just needed to ask.’
‘It took a long time for Woody to help me work through that. At the time I just kept seeing her in your arms and couldn’t get past it. I guess we both had issues. Sometimes two people are just not meant to be.’ She lay back.
‘You must really love Woody. He’s been a good friend to you and you’ve never run from him,’ he said quietly.
‘I do love him dearly. He’s my best friend in the whole world and if I ever get the urge to run, he has brainwashed me to come get him. He runs with me until I have nothing left. I’ve never had so much devotion,’ she said.
‘Then what’s stopped you from committing yourself to him?’
She sat up angrily. ‘It’s really none of your business, Kayden. I shouldn’t have said anything. I have my reasons, just leave it at that!’
He moved towards her with a look in his eyes that she had not seen for many months and she backed away.
‘Don’t you dare!’ She flashed an angry look at him but he ignored her and slipped his arms around her. His lips came down hard against hers. He didn’t let her go until she stopped struggling. It was her body that finally gave her away, melting into him as her arms wrapped around his neck. He’d stirred up something she had buried deep inside. He pulled away, leaving her breathless. He watched her as she tried to pull herself together.
‘You’re still in love with me, Cassie. You can’t lie to me.’
She tried to get out of his grip. ‘No! No, I don’t, I love Woody now.’
His mouth came back down on hers, kissing her so gently and lovingly that it nearly broke her heart. Tears streamed down her face.
‘What are you doing to me?’ she cried when he let her go. ‘You will only hurt me again! You threw me away. Woody has stuck the pieces back together and now I have to be his. I can’t be disloyal to such love.’
‘Cassie, you don’t have to tell me how much I hurt you. I’ve lived with it every day and every night for months. I really thought you would be better off without me. I honestly wanted you to find happiness but I am still terribly and unconditionally in love with you too. I can’t be the good guy any more. I’m the evil boy come to steal you back any way I can and I don’t care if Woody beats the shit out of me—or you tell me to go—I’m here to get my woman back if she’ll have me. I don’t want you back just as my lover, Cassie. I want to marry you and be with you always. Will you marry me, Cassie? Now, today? We’ll drive somewhere and find a priest. Please make me the happiest man in the world and say yes.’