Authors: Nikki Rittenberry
“Yeah, but I don’t like the sound of this”, Tanner explained.
“We got back together last night.”
“Wait a minute—what do you mean you ‘
got back together
?’”
Jacob sighed. “We slept together.”
“
What
?”
“After we got back from the
restaurant she came back to my room.”
“Okay, so… she understood why you deliberately pushed her away before and how you feel about her now?”
“Well… not exactly—”
“Okay—now I’m confused. What happened after we left?”
“We stayed and ordered another bottle of wine—I was hoping it would loosen me up a little. We had great conversation and because I didn’t know how she was going to react, I thought it would be best if I told her when we were alone. I decided to talk to her about it during our walk back to the inn, but… I don’t know, I guess I just lost my nerve! We were climbing the porch steps and I told her I had something really important to talk to her about, and then…”
“And then what? What happened?”
“Emily called.”
“Shit! I’m sorry—I told her there was no need to do that. It was only three blocks away; she didn’t need to call to see if you guys had made it back.”
“It’s okay. When she got off the phone—I panicked! I walked her to her room and we said goodnight. I thought that was the end of it, you know? I thought I blew it, but not long after we said goodnight, she knocked on the door. I’d loaned her my coat during our walk and she wanted to return it to me. I offered her a drink and she came in. We talked for a while and before she left… she kissed me.”
“You mean,
she
made the first move?”
Jacob shook his head. “It just kind of… evolved from there.”
Tanner slowly slid one of his palms down his face. “Damn, Jake! You’ve really screwed up this time! You have to tell her everything…
everything
. The last thing you want to do is make her question your motives. She obviously feels something for you—there’s no way in hell she would have done something like this if she didn’t.”
Jacob exhaled loudly through his mouth. “This isn’t going to be easy. She’s going to think I tricked her into sleeping with me—tricked her into feeling something for me again… ah, man… she’s going to be pissed!”
“I don’t doubt that for a minute, but at least she’ll know the truth! You broke her heart, man! She was devastated and she needs to know why you did it; she needs to know you’re still in love with her.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Are we almost there yet? The suspense is killing me!” Emily exclaimed.
“I think so”, Cassie replied. “According to your sister’s directions, it should be right up the road ahead.” Cassie steered her rental car down a long, winding path lined with rows upon rows of red Maple trees. Their canopies enveloped the brick drive creating a channel to what seemed like another dimension; a French country paradise.
Cassie parked along the circular drive and stood in utter astonishment next to Emily.
“Wow, this is unbelievable…” Emily remarked softly. The three-story chateau was majestic; light gray with a steep, charcoal roof and French-blue shutters. Vines were sporadically climbing the exterior, racing to reach the top before the first winter’s freeze. “I feel… I feel like royalty!”
“That’s because you are, Em. You deserve the best and since we couldn’t travel to France, we all figured this was the next best thing”, Cassie explained.
Emily had dreamed of visiting France
ever since she was a teenager and
was overwhelmed at how her family and friends had personalized her special
evening. They’d all kept the location and
activities a secret and the surprise was well worth the wait. They began with a
guided tour of the vineyards. They
climbed aboard several
horse-drawn carriages, meandering through the hillside. They toured the barn which housed a diverse collection of various fruit wines, stored in hefty, oak barrels and finished their guided tour back where they’d started at the chateau.
They settled along the back terrace, overlooking the arced terrain and the receding sun while sampling hors d’oeuvres and blueberry wine. Reruns of
her passionate reunion with Jacob the
night before invaded her mind and Cassie
smiled as she closed her eyes, remembering how his hands felt as they grazed her bare skin.
“Taking in the view?” Emily asked as she approached from behind.
Startled, Cassie quickly opened her eyes, jolting her mind back to reality. “It is a beautiful view.”
“Uh-huh”, Emily responded skeptically. “You seem… really happy. I know you were hurt by Landon’s last minute cancellation.”
“Yeah—I was.”
“Could your change in demeanor have anything to do with spending time with a handsome architect?” Emily asked.
Cassie smiled, unable to hide her contentment. “Um, yeah—I guess that might have something to do with it.” She and Jacob had always had chemistry; the kind of spark that ignited into a raging fire whenever they were in the same room together and last night was no different. She’d waved the white flag of deprivation, surrendering to a surfeit of raw, aggressive passion. His potent masculinity had caused the neurons in her brain to misfire, preventing her from resisting his magnetism. He’d kept his word—he’d pushed her away at first, giving her an opportunity to escape unscathed, but that gesture had only made her want him more. One taste and she was powerless.
“I have a confession to make… Last night was… amazing. I went back to his room and we were just talking and I was feeling this overwhelming connection with him, you know? And I knew if I didn’t get back to my room fast, that I would probably act on it.”
“So, you left?”
“I started to—I made it all the way to the door and then I just couldn’t leave. I wanted so badly to feel his arms around me, so I gave him a hug and thanked him for dinner and drinks… and then, we slept together.”
“Cassie!”
“I know. I know! I’ve never done anything like this before and it’s completely out of character for me. I can’t really explain it—I just… I just couldn’t walk away…” Emily’s eyes were wide; her fingertips covered her lips. She was obviously caught off-guard. “Say something.”
“I’m… I’m happy for you—I really am! I’m just really surprised. I guess I just didn’t expect for you to take the news so well.”
“What news?” Cassie asked, her forehead trenched with bewilderment.
Emily covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my God—he didn’t tell you, did he?”
“Tell me
what
? You’re scaring me! What’s going on?”
“I don’t think I should be the one to tell you this—maybe you should wait until you see Jacob later tonight and—”
“Em—you know something. Something that you think would have been very upsetting to me! Please, talk to me!”
“Cassie, let’s sit down, okay?” Emily took her by the hand and led her to a small bench wedged in the corner. “After we left the two of you last night, Tanner confided in me that he’d had a conversation with Jacob regarding how he felt about you. It’s no secret that he’s crazy about you, you know that, right?” Cassie nodded. “Anyhow, he told Jacob that it was time for him to tell you the truth… about everything.”
“Okay, I’m still confused. What has Jacob been dishonest about?”
Emily sighed, trying to collect enough courage to continue. “Somehow, Jacob found out about your acceptance into DTI. He knew how hard you’d worked to get in and he also knew that you were planning to turn down that opportunity so that you could move-in with him. So… he intentionally sabotaged your relationship.”
Cassie felt the color drain from her face. She covered her mouth with both of her hands and closed her eyes as a single tear cascaded down her pale cheek. “I can’t believe this is happening. God, I’m such a fool!”
* * *
The anticipation of spending another night entangled with Cassie’s naked body warmed his soul, along with certain parts of his anatomy. He’d left the cottage early, making a pit stop at a local country store to pick up some essentials for his long awaited evening: flowers, candles, and a bottle of champagne. He wanted to author a romantic aura; a visual aphrodisiac that would steer her mind as well as her body toward the explosive ecstasy they’d shared the night before.
The candles flickered, causing light and shadows to dance around the dimly lit room. The champagne was chilling on ice and pink rose petals were scattered randomly on the ivory comforter; the only thing missing was Cassie. He glanced at his watch: nine fifty-eight. She was late and he prayed that she hadn’t changed her mind about spending the night with him again.
The inability to concentrate only further heightened his desire. He’d been thinking about her all day, dreaming about their next encounter. Something was different—something
felt
different between them. She’d finally given in to her feelings. She’d finally allowed her heart to guide her back to him and he was going to do everything in his power to convince her that she hadn’t made a mistake in doing so.
His reverie was suddenly interrupted by the sound of three, firm knocks: Cassie. Jacob leaped out of the wing back chair and rushed toward the door.
“You’re late.” Jacob took a step toward her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He advanced toward her in an attempt to properly welcome her with a kiss. “But I won’t hold it against you”, he whispered.
He was inches away from her voluptuous, pink lips—seconds away from showing her just how much he’d missed her—when she suddenly turned her head. His eager lips brushed against her cheek and as he pulled back and looked into her eyes he could tell she’d been crying. “Cass, is everything alright?”
Cassie broke free from his embrace and entered the suite as she spoke. “So, when were you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
Cassie spun around to face him as
he closed the door behind him. “The
truth.
”
Jacob closed his eyes and applied gentle pressure to the bridge of his nose. “Shit—who told you?”
“It doesn’t matter. The fact that you aren’t denying it speaks volumes. How could you?” she demanded.
“Listen, Cass—I know you’re upset, but I can explain. I—”
“Oh—you can explain? Well Jake, I’m a lot smarter than you give me credit for because I think I’ve finally got it all figured out. You’re a womanizer and when you realized that time was running out and I was going to be graduating soon, you panicked. Having a
live-in girlfriend
might impede on your philandering lifestyle and finding out about DTI gave you an excuse to walk away.”
Jacob advanced toward her and she backed away, keeping the wing back chairs between them. ”Cassie, please listen—”
“Listen to what—more lies? I don’t know what to believe anymore! I actually allowed myself to start feeling something for you again and now I feel like such a fool! You mess with my head—every time we’re together, you make me feel so
special and it was all an act
.”
“Cassie, don’t say that! I’m not proud of what I did, but I had to. I didn’t want you to wake up ten years later and resent me for taking you away from your dreams. And as far as making you feel special—
you are special to me
! You always have been and you always will be. I’m not trying to mess with your head, baby.”