Blaze's Second Chance (The Sinclair Men) (11 page)

The young man delivered their burgers, and to emphasize her point of eating she nicked a fry off Blaze Junior. The rest of the meal the young kid sat guarding his food and ate every bite. The next few hours Blaze and Cassie took turns going on rides with his son.

She loved every second of it and wished she had a family of her own. On the drive back to the beach house she sat in the back and let Blaze Junior fall asleep in her lap.

“He likes you,” Blaze said.

“I like him, too. You’re a good father,” she said to help reassure him.

“I’m not. At least when Francesca was around I wasn’t. I hope I can change that now. She’s gone, and I can stand to be in the same room for more than thirty seconds.”

“Sounds like it was hard.” She smiled and ran her fingers through the hair on the bundle in her lap. Her natural instinct was to calm and soothe every pain and problem.

“It was. For Blaze Junior I guess it was worse.”

Silence met his words. She couldn’t tell how much it hurt for him to talk about Francesca. That woman was part of his past and would be for the foreseeable future.

“I’m glad you came, and I got the chance to see you again,” he said.

Cassie stared at the mirror. She licked her lips and smiled. “I’m glad I came, too. Being with Chris has been fun, but most of all I’m glad I got to see you again. I missed you.” There was no fighting her feelings.

Her heart had and would always belong to Blaze Sinclair.

****

Back at the house a tension could be felt in every room. Cassie carried Blaze Junior up to his room and tucked him beneath the covers.

“What about bathing him?” she asked his father.

“He’s had a long day. Let him rest. He’ll have a bath tomorrow.”

Cassie nodded and walked out of the room with him. “What do you think is up with everyone else?” she asked as they made it down to the kitchen. Blaze put the kettle on, and Cassie sat at the counter. Molly had given her permission to get what she wanted. She was uncomfortable snooping around someone else’s house. Anyway, she liked seeing Blaze in the kitchen. Any time she got a good view of his ass was a good thing in her book.

“I told you some of it the other day. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, my dad is an asshole. That little display you saw out in the backyard. Luke and John are the ones who’ve convinced Molly to get a divorce.”

Cassie had heard bits of the information. She thought because of the older couple spending time together they might be working things out.

“I take it nothing is happening?” she asked.

“I guess from everything we’ve seen, it’s only getting worse.”

Blaze settled opposite her and brought some biscuits with him.

“Yum, chocolate,” she said.

“I thought you might enjoy them.”

They sat together in silence, drinking tea and dunking biscuits. Cassie laughed when Blaze left his in too long, and it fell into the cup.

“I think you’re a sadist,” he said, even though he continued to sip his drink.

Cassie rubbed the tears from her eyes from the laughing. Blaze reached over and stopped the laughing in an instant. He grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers.

From the connection Cassie couldn’t contain her reaction. Her body loved everything about this man. Her nipples budded, and her pussy was so wet she was worried it might leave a wet patch on her seat.

“I’m so pleased you stayed.”

“It has only been a day,” she said.

“I know, but you could have turned round and left. I admire you for staying. Being with me after what I did couldn’t have been easy for you.” His thumb stroked along the pulse in her wrist.

Cassie smiled and licked her lips. They had suddenly gone dry.

“Three years ago when I thought about seeing you again I thought all kinds of stuff. At one point every image going through this brain of mine would come up with you in some kind of injury. Then, over time they changed, and I thought if I see you again and you’re happy then it
won’t
matter.” She stopped and took a sip of her drink. “When I saw you again, I’m not going to lie, it did hurt. But along with the pain there was a small bit of happiness.”

“Why were you happy?” he asked.

“Because I could look at you and not fall apart. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time thinking I couldn’t handle you in any way. Being here has made me realise how strong I am.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Cassie frowned and glanced up at him. “Why are you sorry?”

“For what I did back then.”

She’d heard his “sorrys” before. She didn’t need to hear them anymore. In truth, she no longer wanted to think about the past. It hurt to revisit
,
and she felt it didn’t do any good.  A glance around the room helped her to find the right words. She leaned over and took his other hand, so she was holding both.

“I want you to listen to me, Blaze Sinclair. That is the last time I want to hear those words come out of your mouth for that mistake three years ago. We forgot, but I didn’t have any claim on you or you on me. Let us call this day the last time we think or mention what happened back then?”

“Deal.”

“Good.” She kissed him on the lips and smiled at the look of shock on his face. Maybe they did have a future somewhere.

****

Molly heard Blaze and Cassie come home, and she watched from the bottom of the hall as they put her grandson to bed.

She loved this beach house. This had been the first place David had ever bought her to. It had been much later she’d learnt the value to him and his first wife. She wished she had the strength to stay with him. With every passing day she knew her heart grew too heavy to deal with the pain.

David looked at her, and she knew he was thinking of his dead wife.

When Blaze and Cassie left she checked on her grandson a final time before walking to the top floor of the house.

Everyone had thought she’d been so clever. Molly had caught the wealthiest man in town. She shook her head. She’d been a fool back then to think she could have anything with David Sinclair. The man was much older than she and under some assumption he couldn’t love anyone but the one woman.

Her heart sped up when she saw him seated on the floor with his back pressed against the door.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Waiting for you,” he said and got up from the floor. Even after all this time being together, he was the best looking man she’d ever seen. Life wasn’t fair to her. She’d been cursed to spend the whole of her adult life loving a man who could never love her back.

“What do you want?” She folded her arms over her chest and hoped the guarded stance gave her the protection she needed. So many times he’d almost talked her out of sleeping alone. She had to remember to be strong. To fight for the love she deserved and wanted. Even if this man couldn’t give it to her.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Then talk.” Molly knew the moment she let him in her room everything would be over. Even as a young woman she didn’t have the power to refuse him.

She watched as he ran a hand through his hair. With the steaks of grey he still commanded her attention. Why couldn’t he have grown old and lost his appeal? She licked her lips and stared past his shoulder.

“I know I’ve hurt you over the years, and I’m sorry. But doing this is stupid and immature. We took our vows.”

Why did she think this time would be any different from the last times? Molly closed her eyes, but instead of fighting the tears she opened her eyes and let him see all the pain and hurt he’d caused her.

“I took vows. I took the vows to love, honour, and cherish, as I believe you did as well. You broke your vows the very day you spoke them.” She charged toward him, tears streaming down her face and her anger so strong she pointed a finger at his chest. “You promised to love me, but how can you love me when your whole heart was taken and buried six feet under with your first dead wife?”

“Molly,” he said.

“No. Don’t cut me off. You stand there and accuse me of turning my back on my vows when mine were the only ones to count. I’ve honoured every decision you’ve made in your life and cherished the small crumb of affection you and your boys have shown me. What did I get? I live in a house plagued by the memories and the pictures of a dead woman I could never be. Twenty-five years ago you promised to love, honour, and cherish me, and you lied.” She rubbed her hand over her eyes. “You should have left me alone. I didn’t deserve this, and now I’d rather have nothing than to always be second best.”

Molly pushed past him and entered her room. She slammed and locked the door. Her gaze caught sight of a single photograph by her bed. A picture of her and David. His arms were wrapped around her. The only picture she possessed of the affection he may have felt for her. Her anger erupted tenfold. She grabbed the picture, unlocked and opened her door – not surprised to see him said waiting – she threw the picture at the opposite door.

The message was clear. Molly was done. Her marriage, after twenty-five years, was over.

Chapter Twelve

For the rest of the week Blaze and Cassie spent every moment with each other. Erica called to cancel all of her dates. She was leaving early, and Cassie had guessed it had something to do with Chris.

Blaze Junior joined them on their days out, and when he went to bed in the evenings Blaze and Cassie did what they wanted.

Most of their time they spent walking on the beach, hand in hand like the other couples. With every hour her feelings grew stronger. When she looked back at the girl she’d been all those years ago, the love hadn’t been as strong. She’d still loved Blaze, but not with the burning, all
-
consuming passion she did now.

When the night air grew too cold they’d curl up on the sofa and watch a movie. Those were the moments she loved the most. She’d lay her head against his chest and his hands would be on her, and they’d relax.

The past was forgotten in the face of the future. While his parents were falling apart Cassie believed she and Blaze were growing closer, not only as friends but as potential partners. 

After a long, tense dinner and putting his son to bed Cassie walked hand in hand with Blaze down to the beach. He placed a blanket on a spot near some rocks. The rocks provided cover from the wind, so the blanket wouldn’t blow away. They sat and gazed out at the setting sun for awhile. Cassie sat with her back against his chest. Blaze had his arms around her.

“I love being with you,” he said and kissed her cheek.

Cassie giggled and gazed up at him.

“Let’s go for a walk. Molly is a fantastic cook, and I think I need the exercise.” She stood and held her hand out for him to follow. “Shall we leave the blanket?” she asked.

“Yes. No one will take it, and if they do who cares?”

They walked along the sea front. Blaze pointed out a few rocks with meaning for the village. Cassie enjoyed being with him, no matter the time of the day.

“So, tell me what happened in your life. What did Cassie Walker do next?” he asked. She watched as he picked a small stone and threw the stone into the water.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

Cassie laughed. Being with Blaze made her feel alive for the first time.

“Let me see. I resigned from Sinclair Industry, and I went and worked as a reception clerk at a hospital. I know, a massive step in a different direction. Anyway, I decided being around sick people was hard for me. I couldn’t deal with the pressure, and one day I was standing in line at the job centre looking for more work when I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.” Blaze took her hand, and they moved along the edge of the water. Cassie removed her sandals and closed her eyes in bliss. The cool water was perfect on her aching feet.

“You looked at all the people stood in a queue?” he said.

“Not that simple. Have you ever been in a job centre?”