Until We Meet Again(70)

Chapter 28





Cassandra


’m going to lose it. The stress of this whole situation

I



will break my sanity. I have no doubt of this. I pace on

the warm sand, waiting. It’s been forty-five minutes. Lawrence

still hasn’t come. I refuse to accept what that might mean. My

heart couldn’t bear the pain.

I’m going to kill Brandon. Someone has to answer for this.

I’m going to go completely rogue and extract my revenge on

the entire town of Crest Harbor. One by one, I’ll—



“Cassandra.”



I spin around. At the sight of Lawrence, my eyes slide closed

and I exhale with relief.

“I’m so sorry,” he says, rushing to take me in his arms. “Ned

was home and I couldn’t get away.”

I melt into the embrace. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just so glad

that you’re here now.”

Lawrence kisses me. I can feel the difference in his kiss.

There’s an urgency, a hunger to make each embrace count. I

recognize it because I feel the same way.

We hold each other for a long time and then sit together in

the sand.

“So,” Lawrence says finally, “what do we do now?”

“I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I think we have to accept

that Brandon could be a culprit in your murder. Or at least

cause a chain of events that will lead to your murder.”

Lawrence exhales slowly, ruffling his hair with frustration.

“I’m a fool.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. All of this is my fault. At the

start of this, Cooper Enterprises was the only plausible suspect. Now, thanks to my meddling, Brandon and this Fay girl’s family have both become possibilities.”

I want him to tell me I’m wrong, but even he can’t muster

the lie. “If I’d just followed my instincts and left things alone.

If I’d left you alone.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s true. If I had never come back to the beach

like I promised, you’d have a long, happy future to look forward to.”

Lawrence. “Don’t talk like this, Cassandra. I won’t hear it.” He

holds the side of my face. “I don’t want a future without you.”

His lips come to mine. My eyes sting. I don’t deserve this rush

of adrenaline at the feel of the kiss. I don’t deserve someone to

love me so perfectly. It’s an ideal summer evening—golden and

warm and fragrant. Everything about tonight, possibly our last

night together, should be perfect. And it would be, if not for

this horrible, sinking fear that I’ve ruined everything.

“You shouldn’t take this so hard,” Lawrence says softly.

“Nothing may come of this Brandon business.”

“Or everything might.”

“There’s no way to know, so we might as well not think

about it.”

Lawrence laces my hand in his. “I don’t want to spend our

time together like this.”

“Neither do I.”

He kisses my cheek, and the warmth of his lips runs through

my entire body. But tonight every sweetness is overpowered by

the bitter reminder of what Lawrence is about to face.

“I’d better go in for dinner,” I say, my heart heavy. “Mom’s

probably wondering where I am.”

Lawrence brushes a strand of hair from my face, tucking

it behind my ear. “Will you sneak out when your parents go

to bed?”

I nod, hoping I’ll be able to shake this gloom by the time I

come back. If these really are my final hours with Lawrence, I

want them to be like last night, not this.

“See you later,” I say.

Lawrence pulls me into a hug. “I’ll be waiting.”

My feet feel like stones as I head back to the house. The last

thing I want to do is leave Lawrence. I should be in his arms,

not moping a hundred years away. Sitting in the kitchen with

Mom, Frank, and Eddie and pretending to be fine. Dodging

questions from Mom. Torture. But when I step into the house,

it’s not Mom waiting for me. It’s Brandon.

A zing of terror cuts through me. Is he back to fight with Lawrence?

Is he planning to reveal my secret to my mom and Frank? It’s as if

all my worst what-ifs are suddenly coming true at once.

“Who let you in?” I ask.

The silence in the house rings like a heavy note in my ears. I

don’t think anyone’s even here. Maybe they went in to pick up

something for dinner and bring it back.

“Let’s go for a drive,” Brandon says.

For a moment, I don’t move. What is he up to? Maybe he’s

planning to kill me.

I almost roll my eyes at my own thought. Brandon is many

things, but murderer isn’t one of them. Still… I don’t completely trust him. But I need to get him back on my side.