It wasn’t until he gave Nicole a good-night kiss, then went off to take a shower, that Cassandra remembered she should have called Penny. It was too late now with Dominic in the house, so it would have to wait until tomorrow. And that would work out even better, she decided. She could visit her father first, then give her sister an update.
“If you want to change anything about the place,” Dominic said over dinner, “then let me know.” Change anything?
“No, this place is perfect.” And that reminded her…“By the way, I went for a drive this afternoon.”
He went still. “A drive?”
Ooh, she was going to enjoy paying him back. “In your Porsche.”
“My Porsche? What the hell!”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t damage it.” She deliberately bit her lip. “Of course, I did come rather close to that bus.” She wrinkled her nose. “But no, there were a few inches left between us by the time I slammed on the brakes.”
There! Go smoke that in your pipe, Mr. Roth.
He muttered a curse. “I don’t give a damn about the car. There are people out there who don’t have any scruples about who they hurt, let alone a woman with a small child.”
Her amusement instantly vanished. She hadn’t thought of that. “I didn’t take Nicole. Nesta looked after her.”
His mouth tightened. “A woman by herself or with a child makes no difference to some. You put yourself in danger.”
Was he just trying to frighten her to keep her on some sort of leash? “That’s a bit overkill, isn’t it?”
“No. Don’t you remember six months ago when that wealthy woman was kidnapped and killed by a disgruntled employee of her husband’s? And the gem dealer who was killed in a bungled robbery a month ago? I don’t think their families would say it was overkill, do you?”
A flutter of fear went through her, but she tried to ignore it. “I can’t live in an ivory tower, Dominic.”
“You don’t have to. If you want to drive the Porsche, then we’ll do it on the weekend together, but if you need to go out during the week, I’ll have my driver take you.” He stopped, his eyes resting firmly on her. “Promise me, Cassandra, or I’ll put a tail on you.”
“A ta-tail?” she stuttered.
“A bodyguard.”
Her heart jumped in her throat. If he did that, then she wouldn’t be able to visit her father. She couldn’t let that happen. “No one worried about any of this before I married you. I could come and go as I pleased.”
“Things have changed. All our drivers are trained to protect the family now.”
“Good Lord,” she muttered. The real possibility of something happening to any of them, but especially to her baby, made her feel sick.
“Look, it’s nothing to be too stressed over,” he assured her, his tone mellowing. “The world’s getting to be a dangerous place and we’re simply not taking any chances. Go about your business, but be aware of what goes on around you.” He paused. “It wouldn’t be nice for Nicole to lose her mother now, would it?” Thud.
So this was about him being alarmed over Nicole’s welfare, not her own. She really was grateful he was thinking about her daughter, but just once it would have been nice to be included in his concern.
Suddenly, his lack of concern for her was the catalyst she needed to stop her guilt over visiting Joe. She’d begun to feel bad about the lies she’d have to tell, but now…
“Does this mean I can’t keep my appointment with my dentist tomorrow?” she said, the excuse popping into her head. “I made it weeks ago.”
His eyes sharpened. “My driver will take you wherever you want to go. If he’s not available, there are others on hand.”
“I don’t want to put anyone to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” he said coolly, but she could feel him watching her with an unexpectedly intense look.
Then she understood why. He was distrustful of her motives. He probably suspected she was going to meet a lover. God, it still hurt that she’d never been able to convince Liam of the truth. And now his brother had taken up the baton.
Ignoring the pain in her heart over being wrongly accused, she continued eating her meal, aware she’d have to be doubly careful tomorrow. Somehow she’d have to give the driver the slip. It wasn’t going to be so easy….
Of course! Her dentist was in the city center in one of the many arcades. She could get the driver to drop her off where there was no parking. If by some chance he came looking for her, she’d say she’d gotten her appointments mixed up and had gone shopping instead. And if Dominic challenged her about it later, she would deal with it then.
“So,” Dominic said, leaning back in his chair after Nesta took away their plates and while they were waiting for dessert. “Did you go anywhere in particular on your drive?”
All at once her anger rose inside her again. She glared at him. He was so damn arrogant. “To my old place. I see you’re selling it.”
“There’s no reason not to.” His mouth drew down at the corners. “Is there?”
“That’s not the point. The dust hasn’t settled on our marriage and you’ve already put the house on the market. And you pack up all my and Liam’s personal belongings and take them somewhere without even asking me.”
“Your personal belongings are in one of the spare rooms here in this house, until such time as you want to sort through them.”
Not good enough.
“You could have waited. I might have liked to do it myself.”
“I thought I’d save you the trouble.”
She wouldn’t say thank-you. She just wouldn’t.
He studied her. “You know, I used to think that house suited you and Liam, but now I realize it didn’t suit you at all. It was Liam it suited.”
As crazy as it was, a slither of pleasure made its way past her anger. Was he starting to see her as she really was? As quickly, she realized she was fooling herself. Dominic saw only what he wanted to see.
She pretended indifference. “That’s because Liam chose the furnishings.”
“Why?”
She blinked. “Why?”
“Why did Liam choose them? Why didn’t you choose them? I’d think a new wife would have wanted to incorporate her own ideas and designs in her new house.”
“You’ve already got your answer. It was Liam’s house and Liam chose the designs.”
He scowled at her. “It was your house, too.”
She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t, Dominic. Liam bought it with his money and it was in his name. He even deeded it over to you, remember?”
“I remember, but I’m talking about more than owning the house. I’m talking about both of you being a husband and wife in that house.”
“So am I.”
His eyes closed in on her. “Is that why you had an affair?”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t let him get away with this. It was important she stand up for herself. “No. I told you. There was no—”
Just then Nesta returned carrying dessert, and Cassandra quickly swallowed back her words. The housekeeper didn’t appear to notice anything out of the ordinary as she took their empty plates and passed on a message that Adam wanted Dominic to call him back after dinner.
Once they were alone again, Cassandra waited, but Dominic didn’t resume his questioning. He did shoot her a dark look and she knew he wouldn’t believe anything she said anyway, so she was grateful when he ate his dessert then excused himself.
She could kick herself now for discussing anything about her marriage to Liam with him. She and Dominic weren’t friends. Sometime in the future he may well find out what Liam had really been like as a husband and that she’d never had an affair, but right now she was risking everything by giving information away to a man who thought she slept around. Information he could well use against her.
She had to remember she didn’t want his team of lawyers investigating her marriage to Liam. Not now. If ever. In six months’ time, the lawyer would destroy that letter Liam had written accusing her of blackmailing him into having his baby. Then there would no longer be any written evidence to support her late husband’s “truth” that she’d blackmailed him. And that meant there would no longer be written “evidence” that she’d had an affair with Keith Samuels.
Unfortunately, it still wouldn’t be enough to set her free. Liam had told his brother about her and Keith, painting her an unfaithful wife so that Dominic could use it against her in court if need be. She had no doubt he would.
Seven
The next morning at ten, Cassandra left Nicole with Nesta and had Dominic’s driver drop her off outside one of the beautifully restored shopping arcades in the city. There were a few tense moments when he wanted to wait for her, but she assured him she would be a couple of hours and would call him when the treatment was finished. Then she left via another exit and caught a cab to visit her father. Joe didn’t always recognize her. He did today.
“Cassie, how lovely to see you,” he said, sitting on the bench in the nursing home garden as she walked toward him.
She gave him a hug and a kiss and blinked back silly, soppy tears. “Dad, it’s good to see you, too.”
“What are the tears for?”
“I’m just happy to see you.” She sat down on the bench next to him.
“Me, too. How’s Nicole? You didn’t bring her today?”
“She had the sniffles, so I thought it best she stay home.” Dominic would have been suspicious if he’d learned she’d taken Nicole with her to the “dentist.”
“And Liam? How’s he doing? He must be working really hard. I haven’t seen him for a long time.”
Her heart sank at the clear indication her father wasn’t getting better. She’d already gently explained to him that Liam had been very sick, though she hadn’t yet told him that he’d died. Perhaps in this case there was no need to do that when he probably wouldn’t remember, anyway.
“He’s still working hard. He sends his love.” Liam had always been too busy and had met Joe only a couple of times; once before their marriage and once afterward. Then both men had gotten sick.
Her father frowned. “He does?”
For a second she wondered if he’d heard about Liam’s death on the television or the radio.
“Your mother will be sorry she missed you.”
“Wh-what? You spoke to Mum?” she asked cautiously. This was worse than she thought. “Yes.”
“Where is she now?”
He glanced around and his eyes started to cloud over. “Somewhere.” There was a flare of panic in them. “I don’t remember.”
“That’s okay, Dad.” She patted his twisted hand, which had never recovered from the stroke. “Why don’t you and I sit and enjoy the sunshine for a while. It’s so nice out here.”