The Renegade (The Moorehouse Legacy #3)(52)

Chapter Sixteen




When a knock sounded, Cass looked up from the novel she’d been skimming through.

She pushed herself a little higher against the pillows. “Come in.”

The door swung open. The big, dark shape between the jambs could only be Alex and he was holding a tray on his palm like a waiter would. She wondered how he’d worked the knob with his cane.

But then, that was Alex. Great physical coordination.

He stepped into the room and kicked the door shut. “Before you say anything, I owe you this, remember? You brought me food when I wasn’t doing too well.”

She pulled the comforter up to her chin. Even though her flannel nightgown was as translucent as a two-by-four.

“You can leave it over there on the bureau,” she said. “Thank you.”

He ignored her and came to the bed. “You aren’t going to let me feed you this soup, are you?”

“No, I’m fine.”

He put the tray down and sat on the edge of the mattress, his weight causing a dip she had to fight not to get swallowed into.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

His eyes narrowed. “No matter what I ask you, you’re going to answer fine, right?”

“Alex—”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bait you.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “You’ve been working too hard.”

“Not really.”

“You need time off.”

“I’m—”

“Fine. Yeah, sure. Listen, maybe you should take a few days for yourself. Or a week. Maybe you could even take a vacation. Go somewhere with—” Alex’s face tightened “—O’Banyon or something.”

God, she wanted to scream at him. “Alex, I’m going to give this one last shot and then I’m done, okay? There is nothing going on between Sean and me. That kiss you saw? It was the one and only time our mouths have ever met. I was…trying to feel something for him, but I didn’t. That’s the truth and I refuse to justify my business to you again.”

Alex’s brows came down and his eyes shifted away. He took a long slow breath. “You felt nothing?”

“No.”

“O’Banyon did.”

She shrugged. “I suppose.”

Alex glanced at her. “He wants you.”

“And he’s a grown-up so he’s willing to just be my friend. I don’t—Oh, hell, Alex, what are we even talking about this for?”

He put his hands on his knees and shook his head. “Damn. Okay. I’m sorry that I read you and him wrong. I just assumed that…Well, the two of you look right together. So I just assumed…”

From out of nowhere, she remembered him leaning over that half-naked sex goddess, Mad Dog. While the woman was wearing his boxers.

Talk about looking right. The two of them were perfect together: beautiful, athletic, oozing raw sexuality. How he managed to stay away from the woman was a testament to his self-control because he and Mad were a hell of a combination.

And, even though she shouldn’t bother, she felt for him; she really did. She was getting a good idea of how hard it was to want something you couldn’t have, and he had wanted his Miracle for years.

“It’s really tough, isn’t it?” she murmured.

“What is?”

“Not being with the one you want.”

He closed his eyes. “A living hell.”

She stared at his strong profile. “Yes. Yes, it truly is.”

As she looked at Alex, she thought about Reese. And remembered hearing his voice on the other end of the phone that night when his double life had finally been exposed.

Alex’s woman would never have to worry about that. Had he actually been with his Miracle, had the two of them been in a relationship, he never would have taken Cass to bed. He never would have even looked at her.

The confidence she had in him made her ache. She’d thought fidelity was relatively unimportant to her, that security and safety were enough. She’d been so very wrong. For a marriage to work, it all had to be there. Love and passion and monogamy and…

“How much did you know?” she blurted out. “About Reese and the other women?”

Alex’s head whipped around, shock peeling his eyelids back. “Excuse me?”

Talk about putting the man in a difficult position. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“What did you just say?” he demanded harshly.

She cowered back, but then realized he wasn’t angry, he was horrified.

No doubt because he was surprised that she knew what had been going on.

“You don’t…you don’t have to cover it up. I knew what was happening. I caught him red-handed one night about two years ago. Before then, I had suspected, but was never really sure.”

Alex stared at her, his dark blue eyes unblinking. Maybe he was trying to form excuses in his head.

God, she hoped he didn’t try and defend Reese or downplay the truth. She could understand Alex not wanting to get tangled up in his partner’s marriage. But she wouldn’t appreciate it if he glossed over the reality of the situation.

Alex’s voice was stark. “He couldn’t have—He couldn’t have done that to you. How could he have done that?”