“Thank you.” Sammy shakes her head in disbelief, her tears spilling onto her cheeks. “I guess in the end it worked out how it was supposed to.”
Piper grunts, “But it still sucks what you did to my brother.”
“It still sucks,” Sammy agrees with the undertone of great sadness. “But if it’s not me who’s with him, I’m glad it’s her.” She pulls Cassidy into a quick embrace before taking off with a wave. And there she goes.
For the first time in a long while, I feel like it’s finally over.
“Sammy is right. This definitely worked out the way it was supposed to.” I dot Cassidy’s cheek with a kiss.
Piper hoists her gym bag up over her shoulder, sheltering her forehead from the sun with her hand. “In a morbid way, I’m glad she cheated on you now. I guess you had to walk through a fire to get to paradise.”
“That may be so, but I was never in love with Sammy to begin with. I didn’t know what true love felt like until I met you.” I lean in and touch my lips to Cassidy’s as we seal our affection right here in Founder’s Square for all to see. Cassidy and I are official. There’s not a thing or person who can beg to differ.
“Get a room!” Piper calls as she takes off.
Funny, I was thinking the very same thing.
Snow Globes and Unicorns
Cassidy
Saturday afternoon, Scarlett calls an emergency meeting at Hallowed Grounds. The coffee is on her, so Daisy, Piper, and I came thirsty for lattes and the knowledge of what prompted this spontaneous powwow. Lord knows I need all the caffeine I can get my hands on with the way Cade has been keeping me up until all hours. Come to think of it, the only sleep we’ve managed is short little catnaps between our cheesecake love-fest. That’s what I’ve dubbed our lovemaking sessions. They’re so lip-smacking good, it sort of fits the occasion.
“What’s got you shaking?” I ask as the four of us take over a table out front, each of us armed with a latte in hand. Mine happens to be a mocha over ice. The weather is set to hit the upper seventies today, and I can feel both finals and summer breathing down my neck—the latter of which I appreciate.
Daisy clears her throat. “It’s actually me that has her shaking. Scarlett is running scared because I’ve committed to a part-time job down at Stilettos.”
“What?” Piper squawks so loud half of the geese flying overhead honk back. “You did not.”
“I did to.” Her delicate features turn icy sharp. Daisy has always been on the quieter end of the spectrum but strong on the inside. A lot like Caila, in fact. “Look, I don’t have anyone offering to put me through school. I don’t have wealthy parents.” She eyes both Scarlett and Piper. She’s totally got them there. “And I don’t have a very kind sister offering to help out in a pinch.” She directs that last jab at me, and she’s totally on point there as well. Caila’s specific goal in moving out here was so that she could nudge me a dollar or two when I needed it, and I’ve been needing it a whole lot lately. But Caila danced back home, too. It’s sort of been her calling ever since those middle school jumping-on-the-coffee-table days. Dancing is her passion. Who am I to judge what little she wears when she does it? But something about Daisy following in my sister’s footsteps turns my tummy.
“But I’ve got myself a summer job,” I’m quick to inform her. “Baya’s letting me wait tables come June, and, if I’m lucky, she says she might keep me on. I’ve seen the tips those girls get. I can survive off those alone. Plus, I don’t want to spend the next four years mooching off Caila. It wouldn’t be right. But I support you if you want to dance.” With your top on, I want to add but refrain in the event she’s part exhibitionist like my sister.
“That’s what I’m getting at.” Daisy pulls apart her bagel, her little fingers knitting together at such lightning speed I can tell she’s nervous, afraid of our judgment no doubt. “I need to have something that pays a decent wage. My parents both work factory jobs. My brothers are married and barely able to care for their own wives and kids. It’s just me in this world as far as finances go. My own mother said that nobody forced me to go to college. I’ve brought this all on myself.”
“Geez. That’s tough.” Piper sinks in her seat. “The bottom line is, do you want to do this? Do you want to take off your clothes?”
“Yes and no.” Daisy stretches her spine straight as a broomstick. “Honestly, I was born to dance.” As quick as that confidence came, it deflates. “Unless, of course, I hate it. And, if that’s the case, I made Caila promise I can get out of my contract at any time. She said it was fine. She’d work an extra shift if I got cold feet.” She looks to me. “Caila’s sort of been my mentor.”
I knock my drink to hers. “She’s always been mine.”
“Okay, so I support you.” Piper shrugs. “Do you mind if we come watch the show?”
“Not at all. I’m not doing nude. I’m a background tease, so there’s nothing for me to hide.” She gives a self-satisfied grin.
“Well, now that we know what Daisy’s doing this summer, how about the rest of you?” I nod to my good friend, Scarlett. She’s the sporty cinnamon spice of the bunch, so summer’s right up her outdoorsy alley.
She sighs, glancing around as if she’s expecting someone. “My dad has some secret project he wants me to work on. Probably an internship with his freight company. It’s pretty hard to get psyched about shipping and receiving.” Her enthusiasm matches that of a dental visit.
“Hey”—Piper wags a finger at her—“isn’t your dad dating Rex’s mother?”
“That’s right.” She lifts her cup, and I can’t tell if that’s a smile or a frown she’s hiding. “We’re all one big happy family.”
“Oh my goodness.” My fingers walk over the table until I pinch her hand. “You’re going to be Scarlett Toberman one day! You heard it here first, girls. I called it.”
“Am not.” She swats me away as if I were a gnat. “I’m not changing my last name, and neither is my father.”
“You will when you marry Sexy Rexy.”
“Please—he’s like the annoying big brother I never wanted.” She rolls her eyes skyward. “You’re sick.”
“You’re sick if you can’t see the fact that boy makes you swoon each time he’s around.”
“Are you kidding?” Scarlett barks it out so loud the girls at the table next to us turn to gawk. “He’s rude, and obnoxious—and worst of all, he’s pretentious. I hate pretentious.”
“Me thinks your pretentious little behind protests too much.”
Scarlett wads up a napkin and tosses it at me. “And I think you should mind your boy-swooning business.”
“Ten bucks says come June you’ll know the answer to boxers or briefs!” A laugh tumbles right out of my throat as Scarlett threatens me with her latte.
“Okay, okay.” Piper holds a hand out at each of us in an effort to mediate. “It sounds like we all have a pretty busy summer. Owen and I are sticking around. His sister, Ava, is set to start WB in the fall, and we’re going to help her get acclimated to campus later this summer.”
“Wow”—I huff a quiet laugh straight into my coffee—“Owen is going to go batshit as soon as one of these frat boys gets a load of his hot little sister. You’re going to have a hell of a fall semester on your hands.” I hold a drink up to Piper, and the three of them follow suit. “Cade tells me half of Hollow Brook is getting hitched in the next few months. I predict it’s going to be one long, hot summer brimming with l-o-v-e.”
“To summer!” Piper shouts, and we all chant in unison, “To summer!”
“Now to get through finals,” I moan.
A strong pair of hands falls over my shoulders and starts in on a heavenly massage.
My eyes close involuntarily as I moan into the sheer shoulder-squeezing bliss. “I don’t know who you are, but don’t you dare ever stop.”
A light kiss lands on the top of my head, and I look up to find the sexiest, most ineligible boy on campus because he just so happe
ns to be mine.
Cade winces. “Do you think I can steal you away for a quick hike?”
My stomach bottoms out just looking up at him like this. Cade’s eyes outshine the sky, his dark hair, those features demand the attention of every female in a ten-mile radius—for sure every girl at Hallowed Grounds has taken note of the god among us.
“As long as you keep touching me this way, you can steal me away for as long as you like.”
The view from the overlook is something I can never get enough of. Even in the late afternoon, as the sun bleeds poppy red over the landscape, it looks just as majestic as it does in the glittering night.
“That was some hike.” Cade steals a kiss behind my ear, our chests still pounding with exhaustion as we pant at the view.
“You are a beast. I needed to tucker you out a little, or I may never get a wink of shut-eye again.” I bite down over my lip, holding back a laugh. “I think we both know sleep is for quitters.”
A dark rumble comes from his chest as he takes me in with that I’ll-make-you-come-hither look in his eyes, and I try to memorize the curve of his neck, his Adam’s apple rising with anticipation, those unreasonably long lashes of his set against the clear blue sky. It’s a beautiful sight, and I never want to forget it.
“Sleep isn’t high on my priority list when you’re in my bed, sweetheart.” He comes at me with that sarcastic edge, and my thighs quiver for him.
“You know you melt the little lace panties right off this country girl when you talk to me that way.”
“I can’t help it. You bring out the dirty city boy in me.” He pushes out that guilty frat boy grin that I can never seem to get enough of.
Cade wraps his arms around my waist as the sun dips over the rooftops, taking its final tangerine bow for the day.
“Cassidy.” His voice breaks, and I look up, startled. “Even though we’ve only known one another for a few months now, I have to say I’m sure as I’ve ever been about anything—you’re the person I want to spend forever with.”
“Cade.” I jump up on my tiptoes and offer a heated kiss. “I feel the exact same way.”
“You do?” That little sexy grin of his tugs up his cheek. “I’m glad because it makes this next part a little bit sweeter.” Cade falls to the ground on bended knee, and I try to hoist him back up. I knew that last trail was a smidge too long. His poor, tired legs just gave out on him.
“What the heck?” I give a hard tug, but Cade doesn’t budge. “Did your knee go out on you? Are you having a heart attack? Do I need to call for help?” My voice pitches as I begin to wail.
“No, no. I’m fine.” Cade holds up a hand in assurance. “I’m actually down here for a very good reason.” His deep marine eyes rise to meet mine, and I gasp. “Cassidy, I don’t care what people think or say. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He holds up a platinum band with a giant rock sparkling so hard it looks as if he’s captured a star. “I’m humbly asking you from the bottom of my heart, would you please be my unicorn? Would you do me the honor and be my wife?”
“What? Marry you?” My heart leaps into my chest. “Are you insane? Yes, I’ll marry you! I’ll marry you right on the spot.” My voice trembles as I drop my face into my hands and begin to cry. I weep buckets full of tears for that little girl who still lives inside me, whose daddy took off and never came back, whose entire life was spent living in the shadow of her beautiful sister, who put up with the nasty taunts and jeers from her peers, and I wish I could go back in time and hug her, tell her that a gorgeous boy will love her just the way she is, that he’ll drop to one knee and beg to spend his entire life with her.
“Thank you for that.” Cade stands up and secures his arms around me. “I love you so much, Cass. I don’t want another day without you.”
“I love you so much more.”
Cade helps slip that ring on, and it fits like a dream that I was too afraid would never come true. And here it is, sparkling like its very own sun.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Piper helped pick it out.” He takes a quick nip of my ear. “We can have as long or short of an engagement as you like. I just needed to do this. Everything in my heart knows we’re right.”
I hold my hand out between us, and that diamond sings an aria as the day turns into night. “When something’s right, there’s no reason to fight it.”
He lands a kiss to my lips. “I wouldn’t want to.”
“Neither would I.”
Cade and I exchange a kiss that marks the beginning of who we are, of where we’re going. Everything in our lives is made new again at this moment. This is the starting line to something big, a marathon called life that we get to run together.
I can’t wait to tell Caila. I can’t wait to tell everybody.
Cade James loves me.
And I love him.
Cade
The Black Bear is packed, as expected. The 12 Deadly Sins are wrapping up a set, and this is the time that Cassidy and I thought it would be best to share our big news. I took Cassidy back to Cutler Tower and waited while she packed a few things so she can stay the weekend. Thankfully, Piper was out because I don’t think either one of us could hold back our joy.
“So, what’s the big news?” Cole pushes a beer my way, and I decline. I want to be perfectly sober as I make Cassidy mine tonight, officially the first night of the rest of our lives. This connection between us is too strong of a force to ever deny. Binding our lives together is inevitable. And I needed her to know that I’m sticking around. I’m not another person that’s gearing up to abandon her one day. This is rock solid, built to last, now and forever.
“You’ll know soon enough. Everyone here?”
He nods toward the back of the bar where every last one of our friends is having a good time. Wyatt spots me and nods me over.
“Caila’s there!” Cassidy gives a wild wave and heads in that direction. We wouldn’t dream of making this announcement without her sister present.
The band wraps up its set, and Blake jumps offstage. He comes over, dripping with sweat, and slaps me over the back. “Let’s do this, buddy.”
I didn’t tell anyone, but Blake guessed right out of the gate when I called and asked if he’d join us. He was the first to congratulate us as well.
Cole and Holt follow us over as we come upon a circle of friends and family.
I pull Cassidy in close and clear my throat.
“First, I want to thank you all for opening the door to Cassidy and me, making us feel like friends and family in a short span of time.” I turn to my brothers and Piper. “To those I’ve known a little longer, I’m thankful we can all be in one room at this moment because it happens to be a very special one for the two of us.”
Piper lets out an exasperated cry. “The suspense is killing me!”
“Okay, okay.” Cassidy spikes a quick kiss to my cheek. “This big, cute city boy asked this quirky, little country girl to be his forever, and I said yes!” She holds her ring out, and the crowd bursts into cheers. Our friends, our family fall over us at once.
Wyatt gives me the hardest squeeze. “Dude, I knew you’d pull through, and things would work out. You found a great girl.”
“I know so.”
Piper wraps her arms around me hard. “I know so, too. Thank you for that. You don’t know how much I love that girl. She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and you won’t be sorry. I’ll take her shopping and to the movies. We can hit the beach right after finals!”
“Pipe”—I pluck her off me—“I’m engaged. I didn’t get you a kitten.”
“Oh, come on.” She gives a little wink. “You and I both know Cassidy Clayton is the cutest little country kitten you’ve ever laid your eyes on,” she says it in her best country accent, and Cassidy lets out a whoop.
“You nailed it, girl!” Cassidy slaps her five.
“And it’s true.” Now that I’ll never deny.
&n
bsp; Blake pulls me into a quick embrace. “I’m proud of you, little bro. You’ve got a great girl. Hey”—he pulls Wyatt in toward us—“should we ask him now?”
“You bet.” Wyatt swats me over the chest. “Since Blake and I are going to be standing at the altar together in a few weeks—”
“Each with our own bride.” Blake glares at our brother a moment.
“Yes, knucklehead, each with our own bride.” He shakes his head before looking back to me. “We wanted to know if you’d stand up for both of us. You know, be the one and only best man.”
“No way—really? Yes, of course, I will.” I give them both a sock to the arm.
Blake socks me back, and it stings right to the bone. The dude is getting ripped. “Now that I’ve hit you, I have to hit the stage. The next one’s for you and Cassidy.” He jogs on up, and the band starts in.
I head over to Cassidy, already locked in a conversation with Annie and Marley about something to do with venues.
“Excuse me, can I have this dance?”
Cassidy looks up with those watery blue eyes and takes me by the hand. She leads us out into the deep end of the dance floor, and one by one our friends and family join in. Owen and Piper, Wyatt and Marley, Annie sits on a table and sways to the music while watching Blake with immeasurable love in her eyes. Baya and Bryson sway alongside of us, his friend Ryder and his wife Laney, next to them. Cole and Roxy, Izzy and Holt flank us. Jet and Daisy even engage in a slightly awkward tug-of-war of the limbs. I nod over to Rex who’s standing begrudgingly next to Piper’s buddy, Scarlett, and he shakes his head as if he’s not going there.
Cassidy follows my gaze and clicks her tongue. “Those two are about to hit it, and when they do, it’s going to be electric. All the power in Hollow Brook is going to go out on that night. That’s how much heat they’re packing.”
“What? Really? They can’t be better than us.”
“Oh, honey, nobody’s better than us.” She gives my ass a quick squeeze. “You and your hot buns better believe it.”