The Billionaire Boyfriend Proposal: A Kavanagh Family Novel (16 page)

"A dozen!"

He shrugged. "He couldn't see the extra two I
did have so why not let him think there were more? Guys like him
think we're all stealthy ninjas anyway."

I smiled. "What if he tries to extort more
money out of us? Will you keep paying him?"

"I told him this is a once off payment and if
he comes back, I'll call the cops whether Robbie wants me to or
not. I told Skull that I know he's been in trouble before and that
kidnapping will be a serious charge. He seemed to get the
message."

I squeezed his hands. "Thank you, Blake. You
were amazing."

He kissed my forehead, his warm lips
lingering. "As were you."

"I was scared to death. I don't know how you
do it. You head into more dangerous situations than that every day
for your job."

"Not every day." He did not tell me it was no
longer his job.

Because he hadn't quit like he'd let me
believe.

I bit the inside of my lip to stop myself
getting emotional. I'd thought having Robbie back would be enough,
but I guess it wasn't. I wanted Blake. I wanted him in my arms, my
bed, always. Not just while he was between tours. I didn't want to
experience the fear I'd felt in that car, waiting for him to come
out of the house, multiplied by a thousand. Because that's what it
would be like when he went overseas. I would jump at every phone
call, feel sick watching the news, and imagine it was Blake every
time a soldier's body was brought home. I didn't want to live like
that. I didn't want to lose him forever.

But I told him none of those things. How do
you tell a man not to leave you when he needs to go? I hated being
needy, whiney, and yet I knew that's how I would sound.

"Cassie, I want to take you out to dinner
tonight. Somewhere nice."

My heart flat-lined. My blood slowed in my
veins. From the intense way he looked at me, I got the feeling he
wanted to tell me something big. Maybe tell me about his recall to
the army or even ask me to marry him. What would I answer? That I
couldn't marry a guy who might not come home? That I couldn't give
him my heart and risk having it broken again?

The breeze picked up, rustling my hair and
chilling my skin. I folded my arms and hugged myself. "I'm tired.
It's been a long day. I'd like to stay home and get an early
night."

The pulse in his throat throbbed. He watched
me for a moment, those blue eyes of his searching mine as if he
could read my mind. Then he blinked once and turned away.

"Another time," he murmured, climbing into
the car.

I didn't stay to watch him drive off. Even
though I knew he'd be back later, it was still too painful.

CHAPTER 11

It was dark when Blake returned. I watched
for him through the window and my heart leapt when I saw his car
headlights. The waiting and wondering had been hell on my nerves.
How did the wives and husbands of servicemen and women cope,
waiting for their loved ones to come home?

Home. Would Blake stay here now that Robbie
was back and there was no threat from Skull? Or would he return to
his parents' place until he had to rejoin his army buddies?

I settled in front of the TV with Robbie,
prepared to greet him with a casual 'hey' when he walked in. But as
soon as I heard the two sets of footsteps, I spun round.

"Lyle!" I leapt up and took a step toward my
brother, but stopped. I glanced past him to Blake. He watched me,
his expression unreadable. "You found him?" The words 'for me' hung
heavily in the air.

Blake nodded.

"You can't hide from the armed forces," Lyle
said with a wry grin. His red hair fell like a curtain over his
face. He looked like he hadn't shaved since he'd last been here and
his eyes were as bloodshot as always. He was a mess, but he wasn't
my mess to pick up anymore. I refused.

Robbie switched off the TV and headed into
the kitchen. "I'll brew some coffee."

Lyle went to hug me, but I shoved him away.
"You stole from me."

He dragged his hand through his hair, pushing
it off his face. "I was desperate, Cass. I needed money."

Tears stung my eyes. It was the same old
bullshit. Why had I ever thought he'd changed? "I would have given
it to you."

"You told me the last time that you wouldn't.
You said you weren't a bank," he spat.

"It's not
my
fault you can't make ends
meet. You fucked up your own life, Lyle. Do
not
blame me." I
shoved him in the chest again, harder, and he stumbled back. "I'm
your sister, not your bank, your keeper or your mother."

"I don't have a mother," he snapped. "Maybe
that's the whole problem."

"Neither do I and I seem to have
managed."

"Have you?" He barked out a harsh laugh.
"You've shut everyone out of your life for years. You never liked
having me around, you never go out, and don't have friends or
boyfriends. Not since Blake left. You've shut yourself away from
the entire world, Cass, because you're too screwed up to let anyone
in."

My lower lip wobbled, but I sucked it in and
bit the inside of my cheek. I didn't dare look at Blake. "I let
Robbie in."

"Because you see yourself in him. A loner
with no one else."

"She's got me," Blake said.

Lyle glanced over his shoulder and merely
shrugged. Clearly he didn't think it was a good idea to point out
to Blake that his leaving had triggered my fear. Fury darkened
Blake's eyes and rippled off him in waves. He looked like he wanted
an excuse to hit Lyle.

Fear. It was more powerful than any drug, and
more debilitating too. I had been afraid these last few years—I
could at least acknowledge it, even though it hurt to do so. Afraid
of everyone leaving, afraid of being hurt, because I'd been left
and hurt so many times in my life. I'd wanted to close myself off
to the pain, but in doing so had closed myself off to living.

I struggled against the emotions welling
inside me and somehow I conquered them, although I knew I would let
them out later when no one could see. I couldn't look at Blake
anymore, but somehow I knew his gaze had shifted to me.

Lyle dug something out of his pocket and
opened his palm for me to see. The diamonds from Gran's rings
glinted in the light. "I spent the money," Lyle said sheepishly.
"But I couldn't bring myself to pawn these." He gave me the rings.
"I'm sorry, Cass. I don't expect you to forgive me any time
soon."

"I…I don't know what to say." I stared at the
rings then looked up at Lyle. His eyes were filled with unshed
tears.

"I'm going to keep this ring for you," I
said, holding up Gran's solitaire engagement ring. "When you find a
girl you want to marry, you should give it to her. But until then,
it stays here."

He nodded. "Okay, I guess. You could be
waiting a while. I've got a few things to get in order before I
think about ruining a woman's life."

"You better give it to a nice girl, that's
all I ask."

"No Vegas show girls?"

I smiled through my tears.

"I'll find a way to pay you back, Cass," he
said softly. "I promise."

I shook my head. "Forget it. I don't want the
money. It was never about the money or even these." I indicated the
rings. "Although I am glad to have them back."

He frowned and shrugged one shoulder. "Then
what was it about?"

"You. My brother." I drew in a shuddery
breath. "I just wanted my brother back." And Blake had known it all
along. That's why he'd found Lyle and brought him home. He could
have just fetched the rings, but he'd gone one step further and
fetched my brother too because he knew I needed my family at a time
like this.

A time when he was going to leave me
again.

"I can't live here, Cassie." Lyle's gaze
flicked quickly around the room, taking in the furniture and knick
knacks that hadn't changed since Gran died. The only piece of me in
the living room was a painting I'd done of the river. "Unlike you,
I don't like living with ghosts."

"I know. I don't want you to live here. I
just want you to stay in touch. Let me know where you are, call me
once in a while, that sort of thing." I shrugged, suddenly shy that
I should be admitting this to a brother I didn't really know very
well. "We're family, Lyle. Family needs to stay connected, even
when it's painful."

He threw his arms around me and hugged me
fiercely. I hugged him back. We stood like that for a long time and
I got the feeling he was too emotional to pull away.

When we finally did part, Blake had gone.
Lyle and I headed into the kitchen to find both Blake and Robbie
making coffee, waiting for us. We sat at the kitchen table to drink
it and talked quietly for over an hour about what Lyle would do
next to get his life back in order. He was saying all the right
things, but I suspected most of it he wouldn't do, like the rehab.
At least he was involving me in his life rather than accusing me
and storming off like he used to. I felt more comfortable with him
than I had in years.

Afterward, Blake drove him back to the
apartment where he was staying. I half suspected he gave Lyle
money, but I didn't ask. While he was out, I went to bed. I heard
him return some time later and come up the stairs. His footsteps
paused outside my door, but continued on again to his bedroom down
the hall.

My fingers curled into a fist against my
pillow and pressed against my trembling lips. I wanted him to come
to me, yet I didn't. I wanted to thank him for bringing Robbie and
Lyle back to me, both on the same day, yet that would only lead to
a discussion about my fear of being alone. I wanted to talk to him
about his deployment, yet the idea of telling him how I felt scared
me to death.

So I just lay there until I fell asleep.

***

Classes resumed on Friday, keeping me out of
Blake's way. I managed to avoid him outside of lesson times. He
knew it, however. I could see the concern in the way he watched me
and the frown tugging his mouth.

The following day was Cleo and Reece's
engagement party. Blake shut himself away in the study to write his
speech then he had to help prepare at his parents' place. He
arrived in a limo to pick us up and greeted me at the door. His
gaze turned smoky when he saw me. "You look like a princess," he
whispered in my ear when he kissed my cheek. "I like that dress on
you." I wore a simple sapphire blue dress cut low at the front and
flaring gently from the cinched waist. It was an old dress, but I'd
always liked how it fit my figure.

"You look very dashing yourself." Indeed he
did. I'd never seen him in a suit before. The black pants fit
nicely across his ass.

I let him hold my hand and help me into the
limo. Robbie climbed in behind me. Blake didn't let my hand go the
entire journey to The Bayside Hotel where the party was to be held
in the grand ballroom. It was an old building built in the
mid-1800s that I suspected Cleo had chosen for the party. The
wrought iron fretwork balconies and dormer windows were more her
style than Ellen's.

It was still early and the only people
present were the Kavanagh brothers and the two Denny sisters. I
greeted them all with kisses and smiles that I hoped hid my heavy
heart from them, if not from Blake. He hardly took his gaze off me
and I braced myself for a conversation with him later. Hopefully I
could put him off until the morning.

"We were just discussing Ash's problem,"
Reece said with a grin.

"What problem?" Robbie asked.

"There's a foreign prince coming to town to
do some business with the Kavanagh Corporation. He's from a country
with very traditional values. He expects men of Ash's age to be
either married or about to be married."

"What if they're not?"

"He considers them to be gay."

"So?"

"Gay men aren't tolerated let alone respected
as businessmen in his country. Sad, but true. If Ash wants to seal
any deals with him, he needs to find himself a fiancée and
fast."

"Not a real one," Ash said quickly. "Just
someone willing to act like she loves me."

Damon slapped his brother on the back. "My
poor brother can't even get a date these days."

"I'm too busy to date."

"You mean you have no life."

Ash shrugged.

"Can't your father do it?" Robbie asked.
"Isn't he the head of the company? Or Reece?"

"I have my own company," Reece said. "And
Dad's semi-retired. Ash is the boss, and if he's not married or
engaged, the prince is not going to deal with him. So we're on a
temporary wife hunt."

"I'll do it," Becky said.

"You're too young," Cleo cut in. "Ash needs
someone older for it to be believable."

"What about you, Cassie?" Zac asked.

"No," Blake snapped.

Zac held up his hands in surrender and
mumbled an apology.

"I've still got a month," Ash said. "Loads of
time to find someone suitable."

"Suitable?" Damon echoed. "So you're not
going to ask that barmaid you've got your eye on?"

"Definitely not. She's the least suitable
person I know."

"But you like her."

"I'll get over it."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Where have we heard
that before?" he mumbled, flicking his gaze between his two eldest
brothers.

The guests began to arrive and so did Ellen
and Harry. She wore a hot pink chiffon dress that floated around
her like a cloud as she sailed through the room, greeting everyone.
Harry made his own course, laughing and welcoming guests with his
easy humor that had people laughing along with him.

When Ellen finally reached us, she pulled me
aside. "Has he told you yet?" she asked as Harry pulled Blake in
the other direction.

"Told me what?" I whispered back.

"About the contents of that letter."