Dream Wedding(164)

Tonight, he decided. Tonight, when they were in bed together, he would tell Cassie the truth. He would explain that he didn’t know how to do any of this right, but that he would always try to do what she wanted. That making her happy was the most important part of his life. Then he would confess his feelings and propose.

Before he could figure out if it might work, a voice cut through the afternoon. “Ryan? Are you out here?”

He grabbed Sasha around her waist and set her on the ground, then stood up himself. Cassie’s aunt Charity came into the backyard. She smiled when she saw him. “Cassie said you two were playing.” She walked over and gave Sasha a hug. “How’s my best princess?”

Sasha giggled.

“I’ll take that as a good report,” Charity said, then straightened. “I’m just here for a second to say hi. I had a few last-minute details to work out with Cassie for her birthday party and I needed to drop off the nightgown.”

Cassie’s twenty-fifth birthday was at the end of the week. “She’s really looking forward to the party.”

“I’m sure it will be fun,” Charity said. “I’ve even hired a high school girl to look after Sasha so you and Cassie can relax. Seven o’clock on Thursday.”

“I’ll get her there.”

With that, Charity was gone. Ryan stared after her. Should he buy an engagement ring first, or wait until he talked to Cassie? She might want to pick it out herself, especially after nine years of wearing diamond lint.

Sasha tugged at his hand. “Drink, peas.”

“Sure thing, kid.” He picked her up and carried her inside.

Cassie sat at the kitchen table, reading a cookbook. She glanced up when they came in. “I saw you two out there. You were having a good time.”

Her face was practically free of makeup, her clothes were sensible rather than glamorous, her hair slightly tousled. Yet Ryan thought she was the most lovely, incredibly attractive woman he’d ever seen. It was all he could do not to declare himself right there.

“We were,” he said, and had to clear his throat. “Ah, Sasha wanted a drink.”

“I’ll get it,” she said and stood up. As she crossed to the refrigerator, she passed a large white box. “It’s the magic nightgown. Want to see?”

Ryan couldn’t answer. He’d completely forgotten about the Bradley family legend and Cassie’s hope that when she wore the nightgown on her twenty-fifth birthday she would dream about the man she was destined to marry. She’d waited for this night nearly all her life. He knew she thought of herself as an outsider in the family. Her adoption had left her feeling different. If the nightgown worked, then she would truly belong.

He told himself the nightgown wasn’t really magic. She wasn’t going to dream about anyone. But he also knew that his opinion didn’t matter…it was Cassie’s fantasy and he had no right to interfere. So he would wait until after her birthday. He would let her dream, perhaps even about another man. Then he would win her for his own.

* * *

BY THE MIDDLE of the week Cassie knew she wasn’t imagining things. She drove back to the house determined to have it out with Ryan. Sasha was in preschool for two hours. That should give them plenty of time to deal with whatever was going on with him.

For nearly a week, he hadn’t been himself. She kept turning around and finding him staring at her with a really strange look on his face. He would start conversations, then simply walk out of the room. Something had him distracted and she was determined to find out what.

She had a bad feeling she already knew the answer. He was ready to end their affair. No doubt he was concerned that she was getting too emotionally attached to him and he didn’t want to be responsible for hurting her. So he would end it before she completely fell for him. Good thing he didn’t know she was already in love. There would be no avoiding the pain this time.

She parked in the driveway, then walked purposefully into the house. It would be easier to avoid the situation, but that had never been her style. So she squared her shoulders, dug up all the spare courage she could find, then headed to his office and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” he called.

She stepped inside. “Ryan, we need to talk,” she began, then stopped when she saw he wasn’t at his desk. Instead he stood by the window, staring out at the backyard. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

He turned toward her. “Sure.”

But despite his neutral expression, she didn’t believe him. “No. Something has been bothering you for several days and I think I know what it is.”

He smiled. “I doubt that.”