Chapter 27
CASSANDRA
Cassandra wakes up to a heavy sensation around her waist. Blinking her eyes open, she finds it’s Emilio’s arm.
Did he really stay the whole night? That’s new.
She turns to face him, resting her head on her hand, and takes in his sleeping face. Even in slumber, Emilio is a sight to behold. A slow smile creeps onto her face as she drapes her legs over his and snuggles in closer.
Feeling something hard against her thigh, she glances down and her breath hitches. Emilio’s arousal is evident.
Her head snaps up to look at him, only to find Emilio grinning at her. She blushes as he rolls over her, his arousal sliding into her. Her eyes widen as his face slowly moves closer to hers.
Emilio takes his sweet time making love to Cassandra that morning.
***
An hour later, they join Emilia for breakfast. Emilio looks healthier than he did yesterday, the dark circles under his eyes almost gone, and Cassandra can’t help but smile. He seizes the moment and kisses her.
She was completely smitten with this man.
“Mama,” Emilio greets, kissing his mother.
She smiles warmly at him. “Good morning. Such a warm greeting—did something happen? Is Cassandra pregnant?”
Cassandra’s cheeks flame, but Emilio just laughs. “No. Is it wrong for me to greet my mother on such a beautiful morning?”
“It isn’t, but it’s not an everyday occurrence.” Her eyes scan him. “You seem different.”
“You’re imagining things, Mother.” Emilio sits down and pours himself a cup of coffee. “Where is Alex?”
“Annah is feeding him,” Emilia answers. She looks at Cassandra. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
Cassandra glances at her husband. “I wish I had gone. Why don’t you ask your son?”
Emilia turns her gaze to him.
Emilio sips his coffee. “What?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“What time did you get home?” his mother asks.
“Late. I’m not sure. Why?”
“Playing dumb seems to be his new hobby,” Cassandra mutters under her breath.
Emilio’s hand finds her thigh under the table, and she tenses. As he begins to stroke her leg, she sucks in a breath.
“I wanted to spend some time with my wife; I haven’t seen her in a week. And today I’m taking her and my son out—does anyone have a problem with that?”
Cassandra can’t focus on anything with his hand on her thigh. She shifts slightly in her chair.
“Where are you going?” Emilia asks.
“Somewhere we can be alone and have some privacy.”
Emilio winks at Cassandra. Even though she’s wearing pants, his warm hand stirs up a whirlwind of emotions within her. She sips her juice to distract herself, but it doesn’t help.
Suddenly standing from her chair, Cassandra says, “Let…let me go and see how Annah is doing with Alex.”
“Cassandra…are you okay?” Emilia asks. “You look flushed.”
She gives a shaky laugh. “Yes! I’m…I’m okay. It’s a bit hot in here.”
“Strange,” her mother-in-law says. “The air conditioner is working perfectly.”
If Emilia only knew the real reason why she is so hot…
As she leaves the table, her eyes meet Emilio’s. There’s a twinkle in them, and he has the audacity to smile at her over the rim of his coffee cup.
Cassandra rushes upstairs, breathing heavily. Emilio is something else. How can she be so turned on by him when they had sex less than an hour ago? Why can’t her body get enough of him? Why does she crave him every time she looks into those dark, captivating eyes?
Safe in the nursery, Cassandra says, “Morning, Annah.”
“Good morning, Señora. Can I get you anything?”
“No, I came to see this little one.” She gently takes Alex out of his baby basket and cuddles him. “Morning, my angel.” She kisses his cheeks. “I missed you.”
“Not as much as me,” Emilio says from behind her, taking Alex from her and rubbing his cheeks.
EMILIANO
Alex smiles up at Emiliano, and when he wraps his tiny hand around his father’s finger, Emiliano brings the little hand to his lips. His son’s scent surrounds him, and he feels his heart swell with love. When did he get so lucky?
Emiliano looks up at Cassie and finds her staring at him, her eyes filled with so much love that he thinks he must be imagining it. She can’t be in love with him; this is all for show since Annah is in the room with them.
“Careful,” he whispers so only his wife can hear. “If you keep looking at me like that, I might actually believe that you’re in love with me.”
Emiliano sees her cheeks turn red, and he smiles.
“Sorry,” Cassie mumbles.
CASSANDRA
Cassandra mentally kicks herself for letting her emotions show so openly. How could she forget that he can read her like an open book? She needs to keep her feelings in check when she’s with him, not let them show.
Still holding Alex, Emilio wraps his free arm around her neck and pulls her close.
“W-what are you doing?” Cassandra asks nervously.
He answers by planting a light kiss on her lips. When they pull apart, desire is clear in his eyes. The arm around her neck falls to her waist.
“Come on,” he says, leading her and Alex back to the dining room.
Emilio, true to his promise, takes them out after breakfast, showing them the beautiful sights of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. As they walk around Vallvidrera Reservoir, Cassandra hangs onto every word Emilio shares about the place’s history. They enjoy the planetarium and indoor rainforest at the CosmoCaixa Museum before heading to a restaurant for lunch.
Cassandra relishes these moments alone with Emilio and Alex, feeling like they’re a real, happy family.
She’s in the middle of enjoying her ice cream when her phone rings. It’s Gwen.
“Hey, stranger,” Gwen greets her. “You’ve stopped calling—what’s up?”
“I’m sorry, Gwen. I’ve been busy.” She smiles, watching Emilio feed Alex his bottle. He’s a natural with their son.
“Busy snagging the richest, sexiest, most handsome playboy ever… You’re right—you have been busy.”
Cassandra blushes. “Sorry, friend, I didn’t want to bother you. I’ve leaned on you enough.”
“That’s what friends are for, Cass. Thanks for the wedding invite.”
Cassandra immediately feels a pang of guilt; Gwen had been there for her when she needed someone. “Everything happened so fast, Gwen; I didn’t have time to invite anyone. Please forgive me.”
“Only if you promise to come and visit. I miss the little guy—where is he?”
“I promise. He’s here with his dad.”
“Give him a kiss from his Aunt Gwen.” She pauses. “Why didn’t you tell me that the Emiliano Rodriguez is his father?”
“I’ll tell you everything when we see each other,” Cassandra promises. “How are you settling in?”
“Okay. I miss New York, though.”
“You’re welcome to come back.”
“If I didn’t love my job, I would,” Gwen says. “I’ve gotta go. Don’t be a stranger.”
“I won’t. Take care.”
The line goes dead.
“I thought you didn’t have any friends,” Emilio says.
“Gwen was my roommate before you decided to sell my apartment. We’ve known each other since college, and I consider her a friend. In fact, if it wasn’t for her, you and I wouldn’t be sitting together like this.”
He caps Alex’s bottle. “Meaning?”
“She was the one who sent my resume to your company. I didn’t know about it until a week before my interview.”
“Is she working there?”
“No, a friend of hers does. Gwen applied for me and told me afterward.”
“Were you working before you started your job at the bank?”
Cassandra shakes her head. “Our company filed for bankruptcy, and we were let go. Luckily I had some savings that kept me and Alex going until I got the job at the bank.”
“Why did you never get married?”
The question catches her off guard. Marriage hadn’t been on her mind at all; if she hadn’t met Emilio, she might never have gotten married.
“The stable, honest, and trustworthy ones were all taken, and the ones that did show interest were only looking for a good time. Plus, there was Alex to think of. I couldn’t bring all kinds of men around—what kind of a mother would I have been?”
Her gaze lands on her son’s sleeping form.
“I’m glad I married you,” Emilio says. “If I didn’t, some other idiot would’ve swept you off your feet, and that would’ve been my loss.”
Cassandra stares at him, transfixed. For some reason, she actually believes him. “Why didn’t you marry?” she asks.
“If there were more women like you, then maybe I would’ve fallen in love and gotten married sooner, but unfortunately, these days there’s no such thing as honesty or loyalty. People only care about how they can benefit from you.” She can hear the emptiness and coldness in his voice.
After a while, Emilio asks, “Are you ready to go?”
She nods.
They ride home in silence, and then Emilio goes upstairs to take a call. Cassandra lays Alex down in the nursery, kicks off her heels in the master, and walks over to the balcony.
Emilio was affectionate all day…almost loving, like a real husband. Although he was pretending, every caress he made, every kiss he stole made her fall deeper in love with him.
Cassandra wraps her arms around herself and sighs inwardly. For the first time ever, she feels like she belongs somewhere… like she has a home and a family. But in her heart, she knows this isn’t really her life. It can all crumble down at any moment because she loves a man who is only sexually attracted to her.
