For Better or Worse (7 page)

His attraction to Cassidy had started
because she wasn’t part of that world, although he hadn’t taken to her right
away. She’d been too young, only nineteen years old to his twenty-three. But
she came from a normal, average family. After having been coddled for years as
the youngest of four, she’d spread her wings and enjoyed a bit of independence
as a college sophomore, moving into an apartment with his sister, Lorena.

She’d been like a breath of fresh air,
not caring they were famous or how much money they had. None of it mattered,
and in the few short years that followed, she’d become important to him,
indispensable to his happiness in such a way he had no choice but to marry her.

But lately, her overactive imagination
made him dread telling her anything. Even today, he’d felt guilty when she
showed up unannounced to his office. He hadn’t even been doing anything wrong.

He exited the elevator behind the
family. He’d have to keep Val and Emilio a secret a little longer. When the
time was right, Cassidy and his family would know the truth, and hopefully, they
would all be able to forgive him.

Chapter Six

Cassidy and Lorena entered Sweet Treats Bakery
after a day of power shopping. As always, the place was crowded and the lines
long. They’d found some beautiful items Cassidy felt could be used in the house
and had ended up spending more money and time in the stores than originally
planned.

“Is this place ever empty?” Lorena grumbled
good-naturedly. “Xander must be making a lot of money.”

“He is. Roarke said he has plans to open
another bakery.” She’d met Xander, the owner, through her oldest brother,
Roarke. When Xander saw them, he came over. 

After giving them each a warm hug, he asked,
“Did you place your order ahead of time?”

“No, we didn’t,” Cassidy replied. “We didn’t think
about it.”

“Don’t worry. I got you.”

They gave him their order, and within minutes,
boxes of his delicious desserts waited for them at the takeout counter.

“It’s good to know the people in management,”
Lorena said, grinning. Right then, her phone rang. “It’s my mother. Let me see
what she wants.” She put the phone to her ear and started a conversation in
Spanish.

Cassidy walked behind her, her mind drifting to
the night before, when Antonio had come home. By his aloof attitude, she could
tell he’d still been upset with her, but that didn’t stop him from reaching for
her when he joined her in bed. Thinking about their passionate lovemaking, she
didn’t pay attention to her surroundings and almost ran into a tall,
broad-shouldered man outside the door.

“Cassidy?”

She looked up into the face of an ex-boyfriend,
Isaiah Sharif.

“Brick?” she said, using the old nickname he
had when he played college football. The nickname came from the fact that
players said when they collided with him, it was like hitting a brick wall.

“What are you doing here?” they asked in unison
and then laughed.

“I figured you’d be off somewhere wreaking
havoc on the world,” Isaiah said. His dark brown eyes filled with warmth.

“Not hardly. I stayed put in Georgia. This is
home. How about you?”

“I came to see family and conduct a little
business.”

“Are you still playing professional football?”

“Yeah, sure am. I play for a little team up
north. You may have heard of them. The New England Patriots.”

“Get out of here! I had no idea.”

“Why would you? You never cared a thing about
sports. You were always too busy doing your nails or messing with those
computers.”

Cassidy laughed. “I can’t believe you
remember.”

“I remember a lot of things about you,” Isaiah
said, his voice lowering to a warmer tone. “And all of it’s good.” His openly
appreciative gaze roamed from her hair, which she’d flat-ironed straight today,
to her fitted sleeveless top and slimming jeans.

Cassidy cleared her throat. “Well, it was nice
to see you again. Take care of yourself.” She made to walk around him, but he
stepped in front of her.

“Hold on a minute. Don’t rush off. I was hoping
we could catch up. Maybe you could give me some tips on how you manage to stay
in such good shape and eat anything you want without gaining an ounce.” His
pointed gaze took in the box in her hand.

“It’s not all mine.”

“Who else are you sharing it with?”

“My husband.” Cassidy held up her hand and
wiggled her fingers to bring attention to her rings.

“So I missed my chance, huh?” His voice sounded
flat and disappointed. “You’re married.”

“Yes, I am. He has a sweet tooth. If it’s any
kind of chocolate—which this box is filled with—even better. He’ll eat it right
up.”

He licked his lips. “Oh yeah? Your husband and
I have something in common. We both love to eat chocolate.”

“Brick . . .”

He laughed and threw his head back. “You can’t
blame me for trying, Cassidy. I never forgot about you.”

“You weren’t the best boyfriend.”

During their short relationship in college,
she’d suspected him of seeing other women while they were supposed to be in an
exclusive relationship. He had profusely denied it and always had an
explanation for all of her accusations and any activity that seemed suspicious.

After hacking into his computer, she read his e-mails
and confronted him with the evidence of risqué communications and pictures of
half-naked coeds. He’d been shocked and confused about how she’d been able to
get hold of the information. She’d never revealed how she’d done it because she
could have gotten into big trouble. Because of the damaging evidence, their
relationship ended, and they’d maintained a tentative friendship until he was
drafted into the NFL.

“Yeah, I know.” He grimaced with embarrassment.
“But we had some good times.”

“That’s in the past. I’m married now.”

“Happily?”

“Of course!” She said it quickly, but interest
still alighted in his eyes.

“I’m not one to break up a happy home.”

“You can’t,” Cassidy said firmly.

“Tell you what.” Isaiah reached into his pocket
and pulled out two cards. He wrote a number on the back of one of them. “Take
these. I’ll be back in town next week, and some friends and I will be at that
new club, Toxic. These passes will get you into VIP. If you have any problems,
that’s my number on the back. Bring your husband. I want to meet the man who
managed to nail you down so soon.”

Cassidy took the passes. She’d talked to
Antonio about a night out, but this wasn’t quite what she had in mind.

“I hope you come.”

“If I come, I’ll bring my
husband
.”

“Good.” He stepped closer and looked down into
her eyes. Then he shook his head. “Mm. Can’t wait to meet the lucky bastard.”

With a sly grin, he sidestepped her to go into
the bakery.

Cassidy put away the passes and walked toward
Lorena, now off the phone and standing at the car.  

“Was that Isaiah Sharif?”

“Yeah.” Cassidy opened the door and slid into
the driver’s seat.

“How do you know him?”

“We dated for a hot minute, before you and I
became roommates.”

“You never told me.”

“There was nothing to tell. Our relationship
didn’t last long.”

She used to think she loved Brick, until she
discovered what real love was with Antonio. Once she and Antonio started dating,
she’d fallen hard. Their lovemaking had been—and still was—like nothing she’d
ever experienced before. Almost like an out-of-body experience.

The only word to describe the intensity of what
she felt for Antonio was
need
. She needed him in a way she’d never
needed another man, and it scared her at times.

Brick had been fun, but he loved the attention
he received from women as a result of his athletic ability. Now he played for a
professional team, she could imagine how many women threw themselves at him.

Because Antonio was part of that world, she
knew how aggressive the groupies could be. He’d told her stories about how
women hid under beds in hotel rooms, and even in car trunks, to get close to
athletes.

With his height and fit body, some saw Antonio
with the athletes and thought he was one of them, too. Whether or not he played
a sport was really irrelevant; because he was part of that world, they wanted
in. At first it had been difficult to accept that part of his life. In fact, he
asked her twice to marry him before she accepted the third time. Not because
she didn’t love him, but because she doubted any man could remain faithful
under such constant pressure.

Then there was her own family history, where
her father had cheated on her mother and gotten his mistress pregnant. Her half
brother, Derrick, had a good relationship with her and her other brothers, and
he’d been welcomed into the family, but it hadn’t always been that way.

She feared ending up like her mother—blissfully
ignorant of her husband’s extramarital activities. Antonio had persisted, though.
He’d finally convinced her he could be trusted to handle the aggressive women
who crossed his path, but she’d be a liar if she denied having doubts. She’d
never caught him doing anything wrong, but she trusted her instincts. Those
instincts had saved her a lot of heartache with Brick.

Seeing him now made her think again about
Antonio, and the same uneasy, familiar feeling that he was hiding something
returned. Instead of letting it spoil her good mood, she cranked up the radio
in the car, and she and Lorena started singing along to an upbeat tune.

****

In the midst of responding to e-mail, the
telephone rang on Antonio’s desk. Lucinda was on the line and told him his
appointment had arrived. He hated working on weekends, but it was unavoidable
as he tried to accommodate his clients.

“Take him to the small conference room, and
I’ll be right in.”

He finished the correspondence and hit send.
The office was quiet because it was empty except for him and Lucinda. She’d
come in to do some work, which he greatly appreciated.

He entered the conference room and greeted his future
client. “Thanks for meeting me at the office. I hope it wasn’t too out of the
way.” He extended his hand to Isaiah Sharif, a referral from one of his other
clients.

“No, not at all. I’m glad you could fit me in
while I’m in town this weekend. I killed time at Sweet Treats Bakery on my way
here. My mother sent me there to pick up a few things.”

They shook hands, and Antonio joined him at the
table. “I know the place. I guess no matter how old you are or famous you
become, they can still send you out on errands.”

Isaiah chuckled. “Keeps me humble.”

Antonio tilted his chair back and crossed an
ankle over his knee. “Do you have any questions before we sign the contracts?”

“Nope, not at all. You come highly recommended,
and you already answered all my questions.”

“Great.”

Within minutes, they’d both signed duplicates
of the contract.

“That’s it?” Isaiah said when they finished.

“That’s it,” Antonio confirmed. He handed
Isaiah a complete copy of all the pages. “Once you send in the retainer, we can
get started right away.”

“Thanks a lot.” Isaiah rose from the chair, and
they shook hands again. “You know, I and some other athletes will be at Toxic
next week. It’s our last chance to get our party on before training camp
starts. You should come.” He pulled a card from his pocket. “Here’s a pass for
the VIP. You can network and maybe get yourself more business.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. I invited this honey I used to
know back in college, and I’m hoping she comes out.”

“Oh yeah?” Antonio stood aside at the door so
Isaiah could exit before him.

“She’s married and said she’d bring her
husband, too, but I’m kinda hoping the sucker stays home.”

“Any man worth his salt is not going to let his
wife go partying without him in the VIP of a club with a bunch of athletes.”

“What you trying to say, man?” Isaiah looked
more amused than offended.

“That you guys are sharks. You’re already
making plans for this woman even though you know she’s married. Unless he’s an
idiot, expect her husband to show up.”

“Yeah, well, I can dream. I’d like to get her
alone—see if I have a shot. To be honest, I didn’t do her right back in the day
because I was young and stupid. But we had some good times. Man, she was great
in the sack, too. Down for whatever to please her man.” He shook his head. “Her
husband’s such a lucky SOB.” 

“She must really be something.”

“Oh, she is. Cute, dark-skinned, about yay
high, nice body, and a pretty smile.”