Soul Mates (13 page)

“No,” Tanisha shook her head, scowling. “Tell your
aunt
the truth.” Staring at Cassandra for a moment, a sudden knowing lit up her face. “This is about Jace, isn’t it? You care what he thinks about you. When did that happen?”

“Ohhhh,” Cassandra groaned, burying her face in her hands. Then looking up at her friend, she smiled weakly. “Sometime between interrogating him and kissing him.”

“You kissed him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh God, that complicates the situation,” Tanisha laughed. “Wait a minute! It’s like I predicted. He’s the exact opposite of what you thought he was, and you’ve fallen for him.”

Her smug look annoyed Cassandra. “Wipe that grin off your face,” she ordered. “You did
not
predict this. I had no intention of it turning out this way. Besides, I’m not crazy. I know it could never work between us. I just don’t want him to hate me, that’s all.”

“SO HOW DO I change the way I feel?” Jace asked Sophie.

“By changing your focus,” she replied, giving him a sympathetic smile. “I’m not suggesting that you look at what upsets you and magically feel good about it. But you can choose to look at something else, or you can look at a different aspect of it and feel better,” she explained. “For example, you want to get your business degree. That’s wonderful. Only, instead of saying, ‘It won’t work; life sucks,’ try saying, ‘I don’t know how this is going to work, but it could somehow. Things have worked in the past. I’m going to stay open to ideas.’” She looked at him expectantly. “Could you feel the difference?”

“Yeah,” Jace answered earnestly. “I see what you mean. By saying things won’t work out, I’m actually creating them not to work. I’m creating a life that sucks,” he smiled wryly.

“Start paying more attention to what
is
working in your life,” Sophie suggested. “You must have some good friends, maybe a girlfriend…”

“Sophie, you’re the only girl in my life right now,” Jace teased.

“Oh my,” she laughed, blushing slightly. “Surely you can find someone a few years younger than me. I have a grandniece about your age.”

“Really?” Jace was surprised to hear her talk about family. “Do your relatives live nearby?”

“My nephew and his wife are here in town. Their daughter lives in the city. She’s a lovely girl. A journalist. Here,” she offered, “let me show you her graduation picture.” Sophie went into the living room and came back with a silver-framed photograph, which she handed to Jace.

He nearly dropped it when he looked into Tanisha’s smiling face. “This is your niece?” He looked at Sophie in disbelief.

“Yes,” she replied. “Why? Do you know Cassandra?”

“Cassandra?” He looked at the picture again. The hair was a different style and a different color, but the face was the same. He was sure of it.

“She’s a lovely girl,” Sophie repeated, smiling at the picture as Jace handed it back to her.

“Yes,” Jace agreed, reluctant to say more. “She is. She…um…looks like someone I know. Probably just a coincidence.”

He made an excuse to leave, said good night to Sophie, and headed back to his apartment, his mind deep in thought.
The girl I went out with said her name was Tanisha, not Cassandra. There’s no way two people could look that much alike and not be twins,
he argued.
And Sophie would have told me if her niece was a twin.

She was in this building two days in a row
.
He continued sifting through the evidence.
She said she was delivering a package for a friend. Could she have been visiting her aunt instead? Could she have been lying to me? Why on earth would she do that? And why would she ask me out, pretending to be someone else?
The questions bombarded him.

He remembered the feelings he’d had, both in his dream and after their amazing kiss. He’d experienced a connection he didn’t understand.
How is that possible?
His frustration flared.
How could I feel a connection to someone who comes across as a rich snob one weekend, then turns into a flirty little minx and feeds me a pack of lies the next?

Jace was disillusioned. He was indignant. Painfully aware of his thoughts, he had no idea how he could find a positive aspect to focus on. He didn’t even want to try. He was back to hating her. He couldn’t ask Sophie’s advice, either, because the woman who was messing with his emotions was now her ‘lovely’ niece.

IT HAD BEEN over a week since Cassandra had seen her aunt. She’d stayed in the city the past weekend with a legitimate excuse, a friend’s birthday. She planned to leave for the summer house in ten days and truly wanted to spend more time with Sophia, wanted to hear more of her intriguing wisdom. But scheming to find a way to see her while avoiding Jace, was unacceptable.

She’d made her decision. Tired of the lies, she was ready to face the music as Tanisha had suggested. Nevertheless, she stared at the phone for nearly five minutes before working up the nerve to call her aunt.

“Hi, Aunt Sophia. It’s Cassandra.”

“How nice to hear from you, dear.”

“Aunt Sophia, I need to tell you something,” Cassandra blurted.

“What is it, dear? Is something the matter?”

“I’ve done something,” she confessed. “And I’m not very proud of it.”

“Well, well,” Sophia laughed. “Haven’t we all?”

Encouraged by her aunt’s lighthearted attitude, Cassandra continued, “It’s about your neighbor, Jace.”

“Go on.”

“Daddy told me you’d hired your neighbor to drive you around and…no wait,” Cassandra faltered. “Let me begin before that. When I came to visit you the first time, several weeks ago, I ran into a young man in your building. Actually,” she laughed uneasily, “he ran into me. I was leaving and he was coming in…” She described the incident to her aunt. “I know I was in the wrong, but I had this image of him knocking you over. I got mad at him, and of course he got defensive because I’d been the one going out the wrong door. Anyway, that was our first meeting.

“The next morning, as I left your building, I noticed him staring at Daddy’s car. I was still mad at him for being rude the day before, and he obviously didn’t think much of me and…well, let’s just say we had words.”

“So you’ve met Jace.” Sophia sounded delighted, as if she hadn’t heard what Cassandra just said. “He’s such a nice young man.”

Cassandra hesitated, wondering how to continue. Her aunt could be so odd. She still questioned the old woman’s sanity at times. “That’s not all, Aunt Sophia. The following weekend, Daddy told me you’d hired someone from your building to drive your new car, and somehow I knew it was the same guy I’d met. We were worried about you because we didn’t know anything about him, and…well…my dealings with him had been…unpleasant.

“I jumped to conclusions. I know I was wrong, but I assumed he was the type that might take advantage of an elderly woman with money.”

“Jace would never do that, dear.”

“I know that now,” Cassandra sighed.

“How did you find out?” Sophia’s voice was still patient and loving, but there was a note of curiosity.

“Daddy suggested we get his name…to learn more about him. He wanted me to ask you a few questions so he could check into it further.” She took a deep breath. “Only…I decided to handle the situation my own way.” She told her aunt what had taken place between them at the grocery store and the coffee shop but omitted telling her how they’d parted. “I realized he wasn’t at all like I’d judged him to be,” Cassandra acknowledged. “And that’s why I invited you out to the Town House. I couldn’t go to your place in case I ran into him.

“Now I feel terrible. I hated telling all those lies.” She paused, relieved to have finally admitted her wrongdoing but still wanting absolution. “Aunt Sophia, I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course, my dear. You were only doing what you thought was best. Don’t you worry another minute about this; everything’s fine now.”

“But Jace still thinks I’m Tanisha,” Cassandra objected. “It would be incredibly awkward running into him. Plus he’d hate me if he learned the truth. I’ve given him more than enough reason to.”

Sophia remained quiet on the other end, so Cassandra continued. “I’d really like to see you again, Aunt Sophia.” She left the statement free of suggestions, wanting to see what her aunt might propose.

“Of course, and I’d love to see you too, dear. We’re not done with our little project. We’ll work something out. Don’t you worry.”

Cassandra was filled with immense love for the dear old woman in that moment and didn’t hesitate to tell her. She felt lighter, having shed the burden of guilt. What would happen with Jace, she didn’t know. She hoped for a chance to ask his forgiveness one day. For now she was relieved to know that her aunt still loved her.

A PASSING WEEK helped Jace to get some perspective. He wasn’t as angry as he had been. Nevertheless, it was strange knowing the woman he’d kissed was Sophie’s niece. He doubted he’d ever see her again. She wouldn’t likely show her face near his building, and being from the city, not to mention a different social class, he doubted he’d run into her anywhere else.

That in itself brought up several questions.
Cassandra’s obviously well off. But does she come from a wealthy family? Or does she have a high-paying job, rich friends, and a taste for the extravagant? Who knows, maybe there’s a rich boyfriend in the picture.
Jace wasn’t ruling anything out.

It doesn’t make sense that her family has money,
he reasoned.
If so, why would they allow their aunt to fend for herself and live in this old apartment building?
Not that Sophie was suffering in any way. She seemed to enjoy her way of life. And she was definitely happy.

Sophie said she’d had all that once,
Jace recalled. Her furniture and china seemed to support her claim, and she spoke of the way rich people think as if it were knowledge she’d gained firsthand.
Maybe they are one of the wealthy families of Port Hayden and for whatever reason don’t associate with their old aunt.
The thought amplified his distaste for Port Hayden’s upper class.

People aren’t always what they appear to be at first glance, Jace.
Sophie’s remark echoed in his mind. Her words had a way of returning to him at just the right moment and sounding as if she were somehow inside his head. He grinned.
The old gal is getting to me.

It made him realize that he was judging her family when in truth he had only assumptions to go on. He was judging Cassandra, too, although in her case he had plenty of reason. The trouble was, as much as he wanted to despise her, he kept remembering his dream and the incredible kiss.

That kiss.
As he lost himself in the memory of it, more of Sophie’s advice came to mind: You can feel what’s right for you. Jace had been confused about his feelings toward the girl he’d known as Tanisha. His mind was telling him one thing, his heart another. He’d been shocked when Sophie’s comment seemed to address his plight.

How can I feel what’s right, when what I feel is so mixed up?
Thoughts of Cassandra caused desire to mingle with disappointment and anger, and if Jace was completely honest, somewhere in the mix was a little bit of hope.

CASSANDRA HAD arranged to pick Sophia up at her apartment, Friday afternoon. They would be traveling to the beach house together. She was pleased that her aunt had agreed to go with her to their summer home. It would be a change of scenery for Sophia, and Cassandra looked forward to spending a week with her favorite aunt.