Dance With Me - By Hayden Braeburn Page 0,6
He sighed. “It's worse now that she's an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney.”
Whoa. He'd only told her Cassidy was a prosecutor. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney? Great. Instead of freaking out, she said, “I can see how putting the bad guys away can jade a person.”
“She's seen a lot of bad things over the years,” he agreed, distracted a bit as he pulled into traffic.
Wait a second. Cassidy couldn't be that much older than she was. Just how long had she been with the prosecutor's office? “Cassidy is the second oldest, right? After you?”
He nodded. “She's two years behind me, then Cale is two years behind her. Cam is six years younger than Cale– ten years younger than I am, believe it or not.”
She knew most of that, but was doing the math in her head as he talked. Mason was thirty-four, making his sister thirty-two. If Cassidy was associated with the prosecutor's office eight years ago, then she might have been involved with Mila Nemecek's trial. Kat herself had been only twenty-two at the time, dancing in the US National American Smooth Closed Dance Champions with her partner Damian Naccari. They had won, but two weeks later her mother had been convicted and Damian had decided he couldn't dance with the daughter of a convict, no matter her talent. She shook off the unwanted trip down memory lane. She had come home to Tyler to open her studio three years ago hoping her mother's conviction wouldn't taint her, and it hadn't so far. Maybe she was being paranoid. Swallowing, she asked, “Remember when Cassidy said I looked familiar?”
“Sure,” he acknowledged with a barely perceptible shrug.
“I look a lot like my mother.” She paused, then said again, “A lot.”
He nodded slightly, his eyes still on the road. “She must be beautiful, then.”
“Thanks, but that's not what I meant.”
Confusion on his handsome face, he turned toward her. “I'm not sure I'm following you here, babe.”
“Well...” she started. “Mom was tried just under eight years ago. Cassidy might've been in the prosecutor's office when my mother was convicted.”
“Oh,” he said.
“Yeah, 'oh' is right.”
He took his hand off the gearshift to place it on her thigh. “It'll be fine, Kat. Don't worry.”
Sure, sure. Why would she worry if her rich fiance's prosecutor sister knew her mother was a thief and a fraud?
~*~
“Everything will be fine, babe,” Mason reiterated when they arrived at his property.
“I hope so. My mother made her choices, and she's serving her time.” She had to believe the Everetts could separate her from her mother when it came down to it. She smiled as they turned into the driveway. There were much better things to do than worry about her mother. She loved Mason's house, and she was finally alone with him after not only admitting she was in love with him, but he had proposed! She'd been here only a few times before, and was blown away every time. Crafted in stone and glass, surrounded by trees and backing up to a creek, the house was beautiful and rustic in an upscale way.
He pulled into the attached garage, sliding the Audi into its spot between a Mercedes SUV and a custom built motorcycle.
“A motorcycle, Mason?” she asked. “You could get yourself killed.”
He grinned. “Sometimes I like to remember what it was to be a rebel.” He gestured toward the kitchen they'd stepped inside from the garage entrance. “I can't always be Mister Banker-man.”
She swept her gaze around the room. Granite, maple and stainless steel, his was an immaculate gourmet kitchen. She ran his tie between her fingers, fitting her body to his. “So, I get a buttoned up banker and a rebel?” She pulled him closer as she thought back to the last time they were together and his absolutely unrestrained passion, deciding she liked the rebel in him. Why had she never realized that about him? She had never thought about Mason having a rebellious side, just as she'd never expected his family to accept her so easily. “How well do I know you?” she asked. “I love you,” she assured as she pushed to her toes to kiss him, “there's no question about that, but I expected something completely different from your family.”
He wrapped her in his arms, holding her still. “You know me better than anyone. You know how I think.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “You know how I feel.” He dropped kisses down her neck. “You know what I want,” he finished before claiming her mouth completely.