and a driver were waiting as they stepped out into the underground car park. Soon they were whizzing out of the city, toward his home at Sandringham, a bayside suburb southeast of Melbourne, renowned for its yacht club and golf course.
“We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us,” he said beside her on the backseat just as her heartbeat had slowed. “We do?” Oh, no. “Please tell me we’re not going on a honeymoon, Dominic?” The family had a holiday home in tropical Queensland.
Something flickered at the back of his eyes. “Not exactly. A friend has lent us his bush retreat not far from Lorne on the Great Ocean Road. We’re going there for a week.”
A week with Dominic in a secluded cottage? It was going to be bad enough settling into married life with this man…sharing a bed with this man…but she hadn’t expected they’d have too much time alone together. He had a busy life. And she intended to keep busy, too, wanting something more than being a trophy wife, like she’d been to Liam.
At the thought of being considered nothing but a trophy wife, Cassandra knew she had to stand up for herself—and keep on standing up for herself—until Dominic realized she wouldn’t be pushed around.
“You really should have told me about all this,” she said, sending him an irritated look.
He turned his head toward her. “Why? What good would it have done?”
“I might have had my own plans.”
“Then you would have had to change them.”
Oh, he was so smug.
“Like I’d change my dress? Don’t be too sure, Dominic,” she said coolly, then looked out her side window, intentionally dismissive.
Tension strung between them.
Then his cell phone rang, and he reached into his pocket and answered it. He was still talking on the phone when they turned onto a tree-lined street close to the beach. At the end, behind a pair of high gates that were now automatically opening, they drove through the grounds to a mansion nestled in sun-soaked seclusion.
It was a glorious house, but Cassandra had been in no mood to appreciate it earlier, when his driver had collected her and they’d dropped Nicole off here. And she was in no mood to appreciate it now as the driver halted behind a luxury SUV parked in front of the steps.
As soon as they were out of the car, Dominic dismissed the driver, who then drove off in the BMW just as the housekeeper opened the door, carrying Nicole.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Roth,” Nesta said, coming toward them.
Cassandra’s smile was genuine as she lifted Nicole from her. There had been a kindness in the other woman’s eyes earlier that had made her think they could be on friendly terms. “Thank you, Nesta. Has she been a good girl?”
“Oh, yes. She’s a darling little thing, and I’d be happy to babysit her anytime.” Nesta touched Nicole’s cheek. “I bet she takes after her mother.”
Cassandra laughed. “Only when it comes to luxuriously long baths.” Nicole loved playing in the water at bath time, and she loved to lie back in the bubbles and soak when she had the chance. When she was growing up, there had never been the opportunity to take too long in the bathroom.
As if she agreed with her mother, Nicole babbled something, making them chuckle. She could always rely on her beautiful daughter to make her smile, Cassandra mused, stroking her daughter’s blond curls away from her chubby face.
All at once, she caught Dominic’s eye. He was staring back at her, a muscle pulsing in his cheek, his eyes dangerously dark and drawing her into that web of physical awareness between them again. Her throat went dry.
The moment was broken by Nesta. “I’d better let you get on your way,” the middle-aged woman said, oblivious to the undercurrents. “Everything’s ready and in the car, Mr. Roth.”
There was a small pause; then Dominic’s expression became inscrutable again. “Thanks, Nesta,” he said, but he was still looking at Cassandra. “Do you want to change your clothes before we leave?”
She noticed he had taken off his jacket and tie and was looking tantalizingly informal. “No. I’ll wait.” She wasn’t ready to go inside to the bedroom she’d share with him on their return. Right now it seemed too intimate.
His mouth compressed. “It’ll be hours before we get there,” he pointed out. “That’s okay.”
His eyes turned cool. “Suit yourself.” He strode toward the SUV.
His coldness was discouraging, but there was nothing for it except to follow him, but before