Authors: Nikki Rittenberry
Cassie closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She couldn’t avoid him forever. She knew she’d been unfairly punishing him for her heartbreak and as much as she wanted to turn him into the villain, she couldn’t. He deserved better. She’d told Jacob to move-on with his life and she needed to try to do the same. “Okay”, she said softly, “I’ll see you at seven-thirty.”
* * *
Cassie left the hospital at seven o’clock and merged onto the interstate. She headed north toward the town of Glencoe, a small, wealthy community
situated along the banks of Lake
Michigan.
We’ll move dinner to seven-thirty. That’ll give you an extra hour and a half to work on those charts and still leave us plenty of time to eat and… do whatever,
he’d said.
The handful of days he’d been home the last month they hadn’t spent alone. She’d managed to come up with varying excuses as to why they were meeting in a public place. Most of the time he’d met her for lunch or a quick cup of coffee at one of the nearby café’s adjacent to the hospital. They hadn’t been intimate in over five weeks—a record for the two of them and he had to know that something was clearly bothering her.
She’d purposely refrained from intimacy; she just couldn’t make love to Landon when her heart belonged to another man. She was fully aware that she’d run out of time; she couldn’t stall him any longer. She had hoped that her heartache would have eased a bit by now, allowing her the opportunity to move on, but it hadn’t. With time, she believed she would learn to love Landon, although she acknowledged that she was incapable of loving any man as much as she loved Jacob.
The unmistakable black wrought-iron fence surrounding Landon’s two-acre estate came into view. Cassie steered her SUV down the asphalt entrance toward the massive, two-story Tudor home, her vehicle coming to a halt in the arched drive. She unlocked the front door with the key he’d given her last year and gently nudged it open. Candlelight flickered in the foyer and her attention was immediately focused on the floor. Pink rose petals had been sprinkled on the glossy, travertine tile in a trail that extended into the oversized hallway. She closed the door behind her and followed the rose petal path that led into the formal dining room.
The elegant room was a perfect
combination of sophistication and
masculinity. The crystal chandelier hung from a tray ceiling embellished with large, exposed wood beams. The walls were covered in ivory-painted wainscoting and much of the dark, mahogany-colored floor was covered by a massive, gray area rug. The rustic, parsons-styled dining table was constructed of reclaimed barn wood. The surface was littered with imperfections, but softened by silver placemats, white china, and a pewter candelabra centerpiece. Upholstered chairs with nail-head trim encased the perimeter of the primitive-looking table, further easing the table’s harsh edges.
She continued into the dining room, dimly lit with an assortment of candles and found Landon sitting in an extra chair in the corner, holding a dozen pink roses intermixed with flawless, white tulips.
“I thought you’d never get here”, he said as he rose from his chair.
“I’m sorry—am I late?”
Landon sat the flowers on the table beside him and took her by the hand. He pulled her body close to his and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. “No, you’re right on time”, he answered in a deep, seductive tone. He pressed his lips against hers and groaned when her lips parted and his tongue gently caressed hers. “I have a great idea”, he managed, breathlessly. “Why don’t we skip dinner and head upstairs for dessert?”
He kissed along her jaw and then down her neck before she spoke. “Tempting”, she lied, “but, I’m really starving.”
Landon pulled away and cupped her face in his hands, gazing into her beautiful, hazel eyes. “Okay, we can continue this after dinner.” He pulled her seat out from under the table, gesturing for her to sit down. “I’ll be right back.”
He ventured into the kitchen, leaving her alone. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath to sooth her nerves. There was no question that he’d gone out of his way to make this evening special. He’d never put this much effort into romancing her before; he was excellent at dinner reservations, but had always lacked the desire to create a sensual atmosphere. He was clearly expecting a passionate evening in his bed and she silently prayed that she’d have the mindset to
go through with it
.
Moments after he’d disappeared, he returned with a large, silver platter containing a crown pork roast filled with an apple and sage stuffing and surrounded by baby new potatoes. He placed the large platter on the table and took the seat next to her.
“Bon appétit”, he said, as he poured their wine.
“Wow—this is an impressive dinner. You didn’t prepare this yourself, did you?”
Landon chuckled as he sat the wine bottle back on the table. “I wish I could take credit for it, but no. This is one of Caesar’s masterpieces.”
“Ah.” Caesar was Landon’s personal chef. He’d hired him years ago before his second divorce was final and his business was beginning to gain traction. His employment was on an as-needed basis: holidays, dinner parties, and twice a month when Landon’s kids came to visit. He was without a doubt one of the most talented chefs she’d ever known and though she may have been less than truthful about how hungry she’d claimed to be upon her arrival, she was eager to taste his latest creation.
Conversation during dinner had gone fairly well. She explained the challenges she was facing at the therapy clinic and he shared some details about several projects he was overseeing in Seattle. For the first time since the wedding, their aura was buoyant.
Light-hearted.
Normal.
She was relaxing with every passing minute and she wasn’t sure if it was attributed to the genuine effort he’d put into making this evening perfect or the two glasses of wine she’d consumed since her arrival.
When their plates were emptied, Landon stood up from the table and leisurely walked toward the buffet table behind them. He opened a drawer and retrieved a piece of paper before closing it and returning to his seat. He placed the paper in front of her on the table and
waited for a response
.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Tell me what you think?”
“Well, it’s a picture of a house”, she replied.
Landon nodded and took a sip of his wine. “Yeah, do you like it?”
The two-story home was light gray with large, rectangular windows and a balcony embellished with glass and stainless steel railings. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you think so… because I just bought it.”
Cassie quickly turned her head in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
“I’ve been spending a lot of time in Seattle lately and since the majority of my business seems to be on the west coast these days, I figured it was the perfect time to put down roots there…
together.
”
Cassie looked at the picture again before returning her attention back to him. “What are you saying?” she asked confusedly.
Landon caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I love you and I miss you like crazy when I’m away—which seems to be more often than not these days. Move to Seattle; move-in with me.”
Cassie turned her head away and let out a sigh. “Wow. I’m sorry. I um… I wasn’t expecting that.” She reached for her wine glass and ingested the remaining liquid. “What does all of this mean exactly?”
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, it’s pretty straight-forward. It means you move to Seattle and we live together”, he explained.
“What about marriage, kids?” She
turned her attention back to him
, searching for clues as to what he was thinking.
Landon exhaled forcefully through his mouth in frustration before meeting her gaze. “Look, I’m
trying
to meet you halfway here”, he admitted.
“
Meet me halfway?
You want me to completely uproot my life—leave behind my therapy practice, abandon my condo, move across country with you without any solid commitment? That doesn’t sound like a compromise to me.”
“
There are several hospitals
nearby—you could work at one of them until you build a clientele and eventually open another therapy clinic. I’ll have my realtor handle the sale of your condo and as for the long term commitment and children issue… we’ve been through that! I’m almost forty-five years old, I’m
twice
divorced and I already have
four
kids. It’s just not what I want. I want to be with
you
and I don’t need a marriage certificate to prove how much I love you”, he stated firmly.
“What about what
I
want? Don’t I get a vote? You’ve got everything all figured out, don’t you? You’ve picked the city, the house, and
you’ve
decided marriage and children are completely non-negotiable… you get to make all of the important decisions and I’m supposed to just submit to them?”
“It’s not like that—”
“Yeah, actually—I think it is.”
Landon ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to regain his composure. “Look, we can live together for a while and we can just… see what happens.”
“
I can’t do that”, she answered
softly.
“
Why not?”
“Because—this is just another one of your stalling methods.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice becoming sterner.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Landon. You know exactly what I’m talking about! You’re giving me a
small
glimmer of hope that one day things will change, but you and I both know that’s not going to
happen. Admit it—you have absolutely no
intention of making any official commitments to me. There is no ‘
let’s wait and see what happens.’
Your mind is made up and nothing is ever going to change that…”
Landon traced the edge of his wine glass with his index finger and sighed. “I don’t have a crystal ball; I can’t predict how I’m going to feel a year or two from now… but, I’ll admit that I’ve pretty much closed the door on it. Marriage and more kids aren’t on the table for me right now… and they probably never will be.
I love you—
we can still have an amazing life together.”
Cassie closed her eyes and shook her head gently. “Landon, this isn’t working.”
“What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “I mean you and me—
us.
I can’t move to Seattle with you.”
“Okay—plan B… We keep our usual routine. When I’m in town I’ll stay with you at the condo and when you come to Seattle, you can stay with me and—”
“No”, she answered softly.
Landon briefly closed his eyes and applied gentle pressure to the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, searching his mind for another solution. “Okay—how about we sell your condo and you can move-in here?”
“Landon, please stop.” He opened his eyes and stared back into hers. “It’s not going to work.”
“Honey, you’re going to have to help me out a little here—I’m running out of solutions.”
“That’s because there aren’t any.”
He furrowed his brow, perplexed by her conclusion. “What are you saying?”
Cassie paused for a long beat, gathering the courage to say it aloud. “It’s over”, she whispered.
“No—no it’s not.” Landon shook his head as though doing so would prevent the words from sinking in. “We can make this work. Yes, we have some differences, but we’ll figure them out—”
“Our differences can’t be
worked out;
neither one of us wants to budge on what we want out of life nor should we have to. I don’t want to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do, and I truly believe that you don’t want to do that to me either.”