marriage, she’d only ever been a giving wife toward him. Sure, they’d had their problems but they’d all been caused by his belief that she was fundamentally flawed. Now he knew she wasn’t. She was perfect. She had integrity and principles. He was damn proud to have her as his wife.
He was damn proud to love her.
At that moment something very right straightened inside him. He loved Cassandra. She was his beautiful wife and the mother of his beautiful daughter, but it was the person she was that he loved.
As soon as Christmas was over, he’d sit her down and tell her the truth about Nicole. It wouldn’t be easy, but only then could they start afresh with complete honesty between them. And hopefully then she would listen when he told her he loved her.
Cassandra didn’t remember Dominic coming to bed, but it must have been in the early hours of the morning. The next thing she knew, the sun was shining and Nicole was crying for her breakfast. She went to slip from under the blankets, but Dominic kissed her cheek and whispered, “Go back to sleep,” and she did, gratefully.
The next time she woke, she found a note on the bedside table. Dominic had called the nursing home for an update, and her father was fine after his late-night adventure. It was a sweet gesture.
Then she heard a noise and realized it was the vibration from her cell phone. She’d have to remember to put it on sound now that Dominic knew about Joe.
“Cass, thank you so much,” a delighted Penny said as soon as Cassandra answered.
Cassandra decided not to tell her sister about their father’s escapade. Penny had enough to worry about. “So you got the money, then?”
“Yes, and it’s such a relief, but I can’t believe you put seven thousand dollars in our account.”
“How much?”
“Seven thousand.” Penny sounded cautious now. “Why? Is it a mistake? I see there’s two amounts—one for two thousand and one for five thousand. Didn’t you mean to put that much in?”
Cassandra was quick to assure her. “Dominic sent the money, not me, so I’m sure it’s correct.”
She couldn’t say she’d put the two thousand in, not after telling Penny yesterday that she had no money at all to give her then. Best to let her sister think that Dominic had put the lot in himself.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” It didn’t matter, anyway. The money was in the account now. “If Liam’s money had come through in time, I would have done the same thing.”
“I know you would, sis,” Penny murmured.
Cassandra remembered something else. “Penny, Dominic said he’d help Dave get a job, as well.”
“What! Oh, my God, Cass. I’m going to seriously break down here.”
Cassandra didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “As Dominic said, you’re family.”
There was silence as Penny considered that, and Cassandra knew she was gently crying.
Her sister sniffed. “Dominic’s so much better for you than Liam.”
“I know,” Cassandra agreed softly.
Penny sniffed again. “I hope you find love with him, Cass. I really do.”
Cassandra swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to tell Penny that she was already in love with her husband. “So do I.”
“Tell him thank-you. Or better yet, let me speak to him. I should thank him personally.”
“I can’t right now. He’s downstairs with Nicole.” Cassandra was rather relieved Dominic wasn’t close by.
“Another time, then.”
“Definitely.”
They rang off after that; then Cassandra showered and dressed. Downstairs, Dominic and Nicole were nowhere to be seen inside the house, but she found them out on the lawn. Dominic had spread a rug on the grass and was holding a camcorder, taping Nicole playing with her toys.
When Nicole saw her, she dropped her toys and started crawling toward her in her cute little denim jeans and pink T-shirt. Cassandra scooped up her little angel and cuddled her, her heart swelling with maternal love.
And then she realized Dominic was still recording. She wrinkled her nose. “I hate having my picture taken.”
“It’s not a picture. It’s a video,” he said, continuing to record. “I want Nicole to see how beautiful her mother is.”
She turned to putty. He’d often told her she was beautiful while they were making love, but not like this. Something had definitely changed between them. Where was his hostility? It was like it had taken a break.
She dragged her gaze away and buried her face in Nicole’s hair, biting her tongue. Dominic was making it so difficult for her not to tell him she loved him. If only…
All at