Chasing Cassidy (13 page)

He’s using his words to break down my walls again and it’s working. It’s working so well, I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel the need to put those walls up again.

“Every woman I’ve ever been introduced to in my entire life has been fully aware I’m Zachary Stafford, heir to the Stafford billions. Not one of those women would care about me if I didn’t have the money. How could you ever build a relationship on that?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, confused as to
why
he’s telling me this. I know he’s trying to be honest but it’s kind of hurtful.

“So am I your fallback? You’re only with me because I don’t care?”

A full-bodied laugh rolls out of him. “You’re adorable. And the answer to your question is no.
You
are the standard I hold everyone to. No one has ever come close to even reaching the bottom rung of the pedestal I have you on. The fact that you don’t care about who I am, or my money, is a perk. But if you had succeeded and left me, that small part of why I love you would become the biggest part of what I was looking for in someone else. I’d be single forever.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic. You’d eventually find someone amazing.”

“Nope, never,” he says with a grin and begins to tickle me.

“Zack, stop!” I squeal, trying to get away from him.

“I’ll stop when you admit you’re the best person for me and I am the best person for you.”

“What if I admit to half of that?” I ask, gasping for air under his relentless fingers.

“All or nothing, Cassidy, come on and admit it. It shouldn’t be that hard to admit I’m the master of your heart
and
your orgasms.”

“Okay, okay, you’re the master of my heart and my orgasms.” My sides ache from laughing but he still isn’t letting up.

“And…?” he prompts.

“And we are what is best for each other.”

He stops tickling me and places a big, wet, juicy kiss on my forehead. “See, was that so hard to say? If you can say it, I know you mean it. Come on, let me finish showing you the rest of the house.”

As he takes my hand in his and pulls me from the bed, I try and catch my breath. No one in the world could love me more than Zack does, and I know no one will ever love him as much as I do. I just need to get to the point where I feel like I deserve his love.

As he leads me past the kitchen, he points down the hall. “That’s another guest room down there, but I’m dying to show you the master bedroom. Come this way.” With a gentle tug on my arm, he races up the stairs with me right behind him.

At the top of the stairs, he takes a right and walks me down the hall, proceeds to open two double doors, and waves me inside.

This isn’t just a bedroom—it’s a suite all on its own. I’m stunned silent, it’s gorgeous; I don’t even know what to say. Zack flashes me a small smile, knowing I’m overwhelmed. He stands behind me, wraps his arms around my waist, and bends down to whisper in my ear.

“Originally, it was a living room and a bar and while I kept the bar, I thought you’d appreciate a library a lot more than a living room. And since I know how much time you’d spend in a library, I figured combining it with a home office would give us the opportunity to spend time together even if we’re occupied with other things.”

“It’s amazing, Zack.” It truly is amazing. There are wall to wall bookcases lining the back wall, all hand-carved and polished to a shine. Hundreds of books line the shelves but there’s a vast variety of them—great classics, children’s books, poetry, and of course, the latest in mommy porn.

When I see the romance—mommy porn, as he calls it—I turn around and give him a quizzical look. He’s actually blushing as he shrugs his shoulders. “I just ordered one of everything on your Kindle.” Now it’s my turn to blush. No wonder the romance novels take up most of the shelf space. I’m a sucker for a book with a happily ever after and that can almost always be found in a romance novel.

With his finger, he tilts my chin up so I’m looking directly into his beautiful green eyes. “Cassidy, I don’t care what you read as long as you’re living out your happily ever after with me. But I wouldn’t be opposed to acting out any of the scenes from your favorite books. Just tell me what they are, or if you’re too shy, pop a post it on that bad boy and leave it out for me. I’ll make sure the place you find adventure isn’t just within the pages of your books.”

Holy hell.

Standing on my tip toes, I wrap my arms around his neck and try to pull him down for a kiss but he pulls away.

“Not yet, babe. We have to finish the tour first. Then we can move on to our first activity.”

I’m pouting but he’s smiling and pulling me along into the next room. The master bedroom is filled with pictures of the two of us. They’re on the dressers, the wall, and the nightstand. I guess filled is an overstatement but there are at least six framed photos.

“I was really hoping you didn’t come up here last night. It might have blown the cover story if you did.”

“You could say that.” I’m laughing as I take in the room. Again, the floor to ceiling windows with the spectacular ocean view are incredible and the focal point of the room. The bed is in the center of the room and it’s circular and facing the ocean. I’ve never slept in a circular bed before but it’s massive and could easily sleep at least six people.

He leads me through one more set of doors. On the left and right of the hall there are closets, both massive. They look like luxury dressing rooms in a bridal shop, they’re so huge. I’ve never been the kind of girl who’s into clothes and shoes the way some are. I don’t think my current wardrobe could take up even a tenth of this space.

“If anything, it’s a reason to go shopping. I wouldn’t even be opposed if it was filled with lingerie and stilettos.”

Hmm, he may be on to something there.
Zack has never really cared about my clothing but he does tend to enjoy what is
underneath
my clothes. The lacier and silkier, the better.

“I’ll even reciprocate,” he says with a devious grin. “I’ll fill my closet with shirts just like this one.”

Bastard. He knows that’s my favorite shirt because it shows off his ink and clings to his muscular body in a delicious way. But as much as I’d love to see him in shirts like this one all the time, why fill a closet that’s only going to be used a few times a year?

“What are you thinking? I can see the wheels turning in your head.”

Why does he know me so well?

“Just that it’s pointless to fill a closet with clothes when we’ll hardly be here to wear them.”

Zack leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms and legs. He’s so sexy when he’s casually relaxed like he is now.

“It doesn’t have to be a vacation house, Cassidy. I was completely serious when I said we could move here.”

“Zack, you have your job and I have mine. We can’t move here.” Even though living here and away from everyone else could be as close to heaven on earth as we could get.

“Why not? We’ve got enough money to never have to work. But before you chastise me, hear me out. I’m a lawyer and I can work anywhere. I can open my own practice, stay with Stafford Investments and work remotely, or give it up all together. You’re a teacher. You can find a job here or we can open a school and put some of our money to good use. There’s nothing tying us down to living in California. Not one single thing.”

Wow, he’s completely serious, but the voice nagging in the back of my head is repeating over and over that Priscilla would blame me for the ultimate failure of Zack’s career.

Instead of continuing this discussion, I flash him a smile. “Show me the rest of our house.” I’m rewarded with a huge smile as he takes my hand in his. The hall opens into a massive bathroom.

“Don’t worry, all the windows upstairs are tinted, no one can see inside.”

That’s a relief since the shower and tub are up against the giant windows. There are double sinks, a separate toilet area, a Jacuzzi tub big enough for four people, and a separate walk-in shower complete with waterfall heads just like the guest bathroom downstairs. It’s an overwhelming feeling to know all this is ours.

“Ready to see the rest?” Nodding, I follow along behind him, wondering how much more there could possibly be.

“Each of the bedrooms has its own bathroom. There’s the extra bathroom downstairs you used this morning and then this one right here, which is virtually identical to the one downstairs.”

As he swings the door open, I can immediately tell it is indeed almost identical.

“This right here is the upstairs laundry room,” he says as he opens the door. We approach the first door in the hallway but he pulls me past it for the second time, leading me to the opposite side of the hall.

“Why aren’t we going in that other room?” I ask, stopping as I try and pull him back to the room we just passed.

“Patience. We’re saving the best for last.”

The first door he opens down this hall is a game room. It’s got a pinball machine, a poker table, and a pool table. There are also darts on the wall and a bar along the backside of the room. It’s huge and it’s definitely a room that will get a lot of use between Zack and Nick.

As he leads the way across the room, he opens a hutch to reveal gaming consoles and a flat screen TV mounted inside. Yup, definitely a man’s playground.

“I’m going to teach you how to play pool in here and I’m really looking forward to it.” The tone of his voice is seductive but the glimmer in his eyes is predatory. I’m not sure I’ve ever been as turned on as I am right now. He’s been denying me all morning.

“You know I’m horrible at pool.”

“I do, but I also know I’m an excellent teacher and with the proper guidance you’ll be a pro, guiding sticks and sinking balls in no time.”

There’s no doubt in my mind he’s getting me worked up on purpose. After releasing a deep breath, I turn out of the room and head for the next door. It’s another bedroom.

“The next three rooms are all bedrooms. Guest rooms for now but hopefully, one day soon they’ll be occupied by our kids.”

One by one, I open the doors and peek in. So that makes… damn, six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, two laundry rooms, a gym, a game room, kitchen, formal living area, and the mystery room. Not to mention, the library/office in the master.

“Zack, I don’t know what to say. This house is amazing. I can’t believe you did this all on your own. The furniture, colors, everything is something I would have chosen myself.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll be honest, I was beyond hesitant buying a house without you and then decorating it myself. Rylee actually convinced me to do it and she helped me pick everything out. Between the two of us, I think we know your tastes pretty well.”

The tone of his voice is soft, hesitant, and for the first time in a long time, I realize he’s nervous about something. Reaching out for his hand, I lace my fingers with his. “I don’t just like it, Zack, I love it. Thank you.” I’m rewarded with a brilliant, heart-stopping smile. It never ceases to amaze me that I can put a smile like that on his face. Come to think of it, I’m the
only
one who can elicit that kind of smile from him. My pulse races with that realization. Why hadn’t I realized it before?

“So can I see the secret room now?” I’m dying to see what is inside of that door.

“Absolutely, come on.”

Once Zack opens the door, I jump up and down excitedly. It’s a home theatre and there are about a dozen movie theater seats. The big, luxurious kind and there are two movie theatre style couches, as well. On one wall, there is a massive amount of DVDs and on the other wall is a concession stand with any kind of theatre candy you could imagine, a popcorn popper, and a drink cooler.

Zack and I love movies and have spent many nights curled up together, watching some of our favorites. There is a stack of movies on the counter by the popcorn popper so I take a look at the titles.
How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, American Wedding, and My Girl.

“Our first date? You’re recreating our first date?” Of course he is. If there is one thing in this world Zachary Stafford is, it’s a hopeless romantic.

“Is that okay?”

I bite my bottom lip and nod my head. “It’s more than okay.”

“We’re bypassing the chairs, though. I want you on that couch right there,” he says, pointing to the one on the left. While I take my seat, he loads up from the concession stand and brings me a backpack.

I can’t help but laugh; he’s really treating this seriously. “Miss Pope, if I remember correctly, this theatre didn’t stock your favorite things back in 2003 but they do now.” Smiling, he hands me the backpack. In 2003 we were in his parents’ theatre room, watching these movies, and there was no concession stand so we brought our own.

Inside the backpack I find Red Vines, Raisinets, Peanut M&M’s, Kettle Corn, and a few bottles of water. How did I get so lucky to be the one he gave his heart to? Zack comes and sits next to me but he’s careful to keep about a foot of distance between us. I can’t stop the smile spreading across my face. This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

He picks up a remote from the side of the couch and at the push of a button, the lights dim and
How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
begins. Soon enough, we’re both engrossed in the movie and passing snacks back and forth.

When the movie gets to the point where Kate Hudson flees the party, Zack scoots closer to me and bridges the foot long gap that has been between us the entire movie. And a few minutes later when she leaves in the cab for her new job, Zack’s arm slowly and somewhat awkwardly makes its way around my shoulders.

Inside I’m giggling at his perfect recreation but on the outside, I sigh in contentment and lean my head on his shoulder just like I did that summer day.

“Are you ready for the next one?” he asks once the movie ends.

“Yes, and Zack?”

“Yes, Cassidy?”

“Thank You.” My words are whispered and barely audible but he heard me.

“For what, babe?” His husky tone floods my body with need for this amazing man.

“Just for being you,” I reply honestly and am immediately rewarded with a panty-dropping smile.