What a Woman Gets (20 page)

T
HESE
ain't real, sugarpuff,” Vito said as he removed the eye loupe. “Somebody pulled one over on you. They ain't worth what you're asking. I'll give you two for them and not a penny more.”

“Two thousand?” She'd been hoping for at least five.

Vito snorted and rolled the stones in his palm like a pair of dice. “No, sweet thing. Two
hundred
. These are CZ and barely worth even that to me, but you look like you could use a break.”

Cassidy stared at the stones. Two hundred dollars? Cubic zirconia? These were
not
the earrings Dad had bought. Or if they were, he'd wanted to go cheap on the
Flavor du Jour
who was supposed to have gotten them.

It'd be funny if he hadn't given them to
her
instead. How he must have laughed at her for being happy with a pair of worthless pieces of glass.

She didn't know whether to be horrified or sad. Insulted, definitely. Who
was
her father? She'd thought she'd known him. Thought he'd only been a bastard to the outside world and his control over her life had been for her well-being when she'd been younger, then for his image when she'd gotten older. But what good was giving her fake diamond earrings? All she'd had to do was take them to an appraiser and the jig would've been up.

But she hadn't. Why would she? She'd had no reason to think they wouldn't be real.

It was a good thing Vito didn't know who she was or dear ol' Dad's name would be smeared across the front page.

She ought to do it. Play his game and leak the story. But that wasn't who she was, and it'd let him know he'd gotten to her. Plus, it'd take too much time and energy, both of which she'd need to make her future happen on her own merits now.

After
she took Liam up on his generosity yet again.

“Well?” Vito clinked the earrings against the glass countertop. “Whatddya think? I'm sure I can sell 'em to a prom-bound teenager, but other than that, there's not a big call for these. Those who can afford to buy diamonds this size don't buy 'em here, and the kids who do ain't gonna pay big bucks for 'em. I can retail 'em for about two-fifty if I'm lucky. Two's the highest I can go. Sorry it ain't more, sweetheart, but a guy's gotta make a profit. Might want to take it up with your sugar daddy.”

She was so upset she didn't bother to correct him about the sugar daddy thing. What would be the point?

“I'll keep them. Two hundred dollars isn't going to get me far and I have a feeling keeping these could get me a lot farther. Thanks, though.” She stuck the earrings in her pocket, nodded at Liam, then strode out of the shop, all the while trying to pull her dignity back together from the shroud it'd become. God, she was going to have to take down the online listing before someone
did
bid on them. One more thing to add to her To-Do list.

Liam, thankfully, kept quiet all the way to his truck. Then into it. Then starting it and pulling out of the parking spot until she couldn't take it anymore.

“Go ahead and get it over with.”

Liam glanced at her, but she couldn't meet his gaze.

“Get what over with?”

“The gloating. The I-told-you-so's.”

He zipped the truck into a parking spot and turned it off. Then he angled himself so his right knee rested on his seat and his hand gripped the corner of hers. “Cassidy.”

She blew out a breath and tried desperately not to cry. She hated crying and she especially hated crying in front of anyone. Crying was a sign of weakness. She'd learned that lesson early on at boarding school and had been sure to never let anyone see her cry again. She wasn't about to start with Liam. “What?”

“Look at me.”

She so didn't want to.

But she did. “Satisfied?”

“Sweetheart, I'm not going to gloat. I'm sorry your father is such a prick that he lied to you and gave you crap jewelry.”

She didn't even bother trying to defend Mitchell.
Prick
pretty much summed him up.

“I'm not going to say not to be upset or take it personally, because, yeah, it was a shitty thing to do. But the fact is, it's done. You're no poorer than you were a half hour ago, but you have your work, a roof over your head, and food on the table. And my offer's open for as long as you need it.”

Dammit.
He
was going to make her cry.

“Why are you being so nice to me, Liam?”

She tossed the ball back in his court because she needed time to work on her composure. She'd been
hoping
for the recriminations so she could take all her anger and mortification at her father out on someone and Liam was the one who happened to be handy.

Too damned handy.

Liam scrubbed his chin. “It's no big deal, Cassidy. I've got the room, I need the help, and you've got the skills. It works for both of us and, frankly, I can't stand when people take advantage of others. Your father really pulled the rug out from under you and that just sucks. So, if I can lend a hand, I'm happy to.”

And there went a tear.

Cassidy tried to sniff it back, turning her head so he wouldn't see it track down her right cheek. She had to stop it before the same thing happened on her left. “I'll work so much you'll never see me so I can get those pieces ready for sale and get out of your life. You've been more than generous.”

He touched her shoulder.

Really
? She didn't have the fortitude to take all this niceness when her emotions were bouncing all over the place.

Just don't kiss him again
.

Right. She wouldn't.

“It'll be all right, Cassidy. Stay as long as you need. Don't rush your painting; you want to do your best work. Remember what you told me: it's all about your brand. Make your Cass Marie furniture the best it can be.”

“C. Marie.”

“What?”

“C. Marie. That's the name of my brand. The minute I stick Cassidy on it”—she'd never use Cass—“is when the world knows that I'm Cassidy Davenport. I'm not cashing in on my father's name for all the sales in the world. He'll think I won't because he told me not to, but it's really because I want to do this on my own merits. And I've got them. That first sale—hell, the offer to carry them in the gallery—was proof. He's not going to deter me from my dream.”

Liam squeezed gently. “That's the spirit. You can do this.”

She pasted that Showpiece smile on and looked at him, tears fully in control. “Not without you, I couldn't. And I'm more grateful for that than you'll ever know.”

*   *   *

H
E
didn't want her gratitude. He didn't want the tears she was holding back, and he especially didn't want her looking at him like she was.

Remove the hand, Manley.

He turned back around and put all body parts firmly on his side of the van. “So, do you want me to drop you off at your new place or take you back to mine?”

“Yours. It's closer and I need to get the truck, otherwise you'll be going out of your way later tonight, and I'm not sure what time I'll be done. I had incentive before, but now I have even more. Plus, I need to get Titania. I'll keep her with me so you don't have to worry about her when you come home tonight.”

Two things hit him at once as he started the van. One, she called his house
home
, and two, he would miss the little mutt when she left for good.

When
she left. Cassidy
was
getting out of his life at the first decent sale she made and that was a reality he had to face. It was a reason not to get involved with her. He didn't need another broken heart.

W
HEN
Cassidy said she was going to work so much he'd never see her, Liam hadn't thought she'd meant that literally, but it turned out she did. The only way he knew she was actually keeping her part of the cleaning bargain was that he purposely messed things up so she'd have something to clean. But she was up and out of the house before he was, and came home after he'd gone to bed. He figured she stopped back during the day to clean up and set the automatic timer on the oven so his dinner would be warm when he came home.

He'd heard her come in late last night, but hadn't gotten up. No sense tempting fate. He needed to keep his distance.

Easier said than done.

And, annoyingly, he'd missed her. And her little dog, too.

His cell phone rang and he answered it as he yanked the van door closed and started the engine. “Yo, Jared. What's up?”

Jared, longtime friend and professional baseball player, was staying at his grandmother's house—Gran's best friend Mildred—recuperating from a car wreck. “Hey, Lee. I got tickets to the ball game tonight. Suite seats. You interested?”

Perfect. Keep him from staring at the four walls. “Cool. Yeah, count me in.”

“What about your brothers?”

“I'll give 'em a call and let you know.”

It'd be good to hang out with the guys. Talk sports, eat some dogs, swill some beer. A manly night with zero thoughts of anything remotely feminine.

*   *   *

Y
EAH,
that wasn't happening. There was no getting away from Cassidy Davenport. Her father advertised heavily at the stadium and her gorgeous face was on placards all over the damn place.

Bryan nudged him. “That's her? She looks familiar.”

“Other than the fact that her picture's all over the place, I'm sure you've been to the same parties.” Liam couldn't help the sarcasm. Rachel had bugged the shit out of him to get tickets to the same events his brother would be at. He wasn't jealous of Bryan, but he had a huge problem with his girlfriend being a hanger-on, so he'd told her tickets weren't available even though Bryan could've gotten him as many as he'd wanted.

Bryan rolled his eyes. “I told you, Lee, I have to go to those things. Good for the image and for PR. And backing, too. Those rich guys are always looking to invest and they like the idea of being part of a movie. Know what I mean, Jare?”

Jared twisted around in his wheelchair. “Yeah, and the catering and top-shelf drinks aren't bad either.”

“Hey, aren't you Bryan Manley?” A kid ran up beside them, tugging a giggling teenage girl beside him.

Liam shouldered Bry. “Looks like you're up, baby bro.”

“Don't call me that,” Bryan muttered as he handed over his food carrier before stopping to talk to the kid. “Yes, I am. Would you like an autograph?”

“Yeah. On my sister's arm. She says she'll never wash it again if you do and I wanna see that fight with Mom.”

Liam handed Bry's food carrier to Jared. “Here, make yourself useful. That bogus injury's not getting you out of doing some work.” He started pushing the chair.

“Bogus? If I could get out of this damn contraption, I'd show you bogus.” Jared repositioned the three food carriers on his lap, trying to keep the beers upright. “And trust me, I'm working these days. Your sister . . .” He shook his head.

Liam smiled. Jared and Mac had been butting heads since forever. “Don't tell me she's put you to work.”

Jared swept a hand over the chair. “Sorry, Lee, but she's a pain in the ass even if she is your sister.”

“Hey, you don't have to tell me.” Maybe he'd feel Jared out about doing some sleuthing to see how Mac had won the game. After all, Mac was cleaning Jared's grandmother's home, which was where Jared was recuperating.

Liam couldn't help but chuckle. He'd pay to witness that. The place was probably a disaster from all the plaster falling off the walls during their verbal sparring. He didn't know what it was, but Jared and Mac had rubbed each other wrong from day one.

Bryan caught up to them. “Thanks for abandoning me, guys.”

“Aw, come on. You love it. Isn't that why you got into the business? So you could get all the women?” Liam elbowed him.

Bryan shook his head. “That's just wrong. The kid was fifteen.”

“Long time to never wash an arm.”

“I signed her T-shirt—the one she'd just bought, not the one she was wearing. What kind of pervert do you take me for?”

Jared shrugged. “Just your average, run-of-the-mill pervert, I guess. What's the difference?”

Bryan slapped the back of Jared's baseball cap so it fell over his face. “Watch it, you. I say your name just a little louder and we'll have a swarm crawling all over you, too.”

Jared's head turned so quickly the cap spun to the other side. “Don't you dare, Bry. I don't need that nightmare.”

Bryan held his hands up and stepped back. “Backing off here. No need to get psycho on me.”

Jared straightened his cap. “You're all about publicity these days and I get that, but me? I'm all about recovery since the accident. I don't need cameras and mics in my face asking me how it's going or when I'll be back. If I knew, they'd know, you know? I'm so sick of the intrusion into my privacy. Do they think I
like
having to relearn how to walk? That I
want
to show up in a stadium in a wheelchair? Or hear what my ex-girlfriend who did this to me is doing these days? Why the hell is any of it news? Can't they just leave a guy in peace to do his job?”

Bryan looked at Liam. Liam said nothing. He wasn't on the publicity wheel they were, and seeing their lack of privacy, didn't want to be.

Cassidy was just as much a publicity magnet as these two. Yet another reason to stay away from the woman.

Not that he could because she was staring at him as they headed toward their seats from yet
another
poster. Jesus, had her father blown his entire advertising budget at the stadium? Seriously, how many guys coming here for a game were in the market for luxury condos?

Then he was actually in his seat and she was staring at him
again.
This time from a giant billboard next to the scoreboard, dressed to the hilt in a sparkly nude
-
colored (good God, why?) outfit. Even when he
tried
to get away from her, he couldn't.

“Damn, that's a gorgeous woman.” Jared got out of his shitty mood long enough to appreciate her.

Yeah, Cassidy could have that effect on a guy.

And damn if it didn't piss Liam off that Jared had noticed. Jared wasn't exactly the most monogamous guy—not that he had a harem, but he always had a new woman. Perks of the job, Liam guessed, but Cassidy wasn't going to be another notch on Jared's belt.

And not yours either, loverboy.

“Steer clear, Jare,” said Bryan, helping Jared maneuver out of the chair and into a seat. “Woman like that . . . I don't know if you've got enough bank to keep her happy. And if you do, she's only after it. Not the marrying kind.”

“Who says I'm in the market to get married?” Jared lifted his leg onto another chair. “But she might be the perfect incentive to get back on my feet.”

“On your feet isn't where you're planning to be with her.” Bryan picked up a cup. “Lee? Here's your beer. You look like you could use it. I bet she's a pain in the ass to work for, right?”

Liam took the beer and let them think that was it. He wasn't going to tell them about her getting evicted and he sure as hell wasn't going to let on that she was living with him. And he definitely wasn't going to mention that little kiss.

And its really big effects.

“I pity the guy who ends up with her.” Bry handed Jared his beer. “We learned to steer clear of daddy's-girls. Right, Lee?”

Liam chugged half the beer. Why the hell couldn't Bry let it go? He really didn't want to have this discussion so he let his beer drinking speak for him.

“See what a hardship it is?” Bry asked. “He's gotta chug a few after spending the day cleaning her froufrou shit. I bet it's all pink and lacy, am I right?”

Liam wiped his mouth with his arm. Usually he was right there with the guys, doing guy things and occasionally bordering on being an ass. Tonight, not really. He didn't want to talk about Cassidy and he didn't want to talk about Rachel. “What about the place where you're working, Bry? How's that going?”

“How? Well, let's start off with: Beth's a widow. And a mom. Of five.” He said it as if it were a mantra.

“Five
?” Jared choked on his beer. “Who has five kids anymore? Who'd
want
five kids?”

“You don't like kids?” Bryan asked him.

Jared shrugged. “I like kids well enough, I guess. But five? That's a little much.”

“It's a basketball team.”

Jared picked up a dog and slathered it with ketchup. “It's not enough for a baseball team, so what's the point?”

“Hang on. You want
nine
kids?”

“No. I'm just saying. If you're going to go for five, what's another four?” He downed half the dog.

“Uh, a lot more mouths to feed,” said Bryan. “Diapers to buy. College tuitions to pay. Ballgame concession stands to go broke at. I can't imagine having even one.”

Jared grinned and finished off the dog. “Yeah, but once you get beyond two, it's just numbers.”

Liam looked at Bryan with new eyes. Bryan said he was never getting married because it was impossible to find someone who could deal with his lifestyle. Apparently that meant he was never having kids, either. Liam hadn't thought their childhood was
that
bad, so he was surprised to hear his brother didn't want to repeat what they'd had. Not the parents-killed-in-a-car-accident thing, but the four of them had been close. And very much loved by Gran. He definitely
wanted a family someday. It was a shame Bryan didn't.

“But a widow, huh?” Jared asked, picking up his next dog. Liam had been wondering how long it'd take him to pick up on that fact. “How long's she been single?”

“Seriously?” Bryan's eyebrows almost touched his hairline. “Did you not hear me? I said
five
kids. Need I say more?”

As long as he wasn't saying it about Cassidy, Liam was fine with ending the discussion before he did. “So what's the prognosis, Jared? When're you gonna be back in the game?”

Jared sucked the inside of his cheek and grimaced. “I have to wear this damn brace awhile longer and do a shitload of rehab. Doc says nine months. I'm planning on it being sooner.”

Bryan chimed in about listening to the doc, which segued to some injury he'd sustained while doing a stunt in Sri Lanka and the lack of medical care, and pretty soon Cassidy was forgotten.

Well, by everyone but Liam.

Liam kept hearing Bryan and his “five kids” and he wondered if Cassidy wanted kids. She'd have to have them to keep the Davenport dynasty alive and well—he could see her father paying his son-in-law for each male heir. Making that heir wouldn't be a chore for the lucky bastard who got to marry Cassidy.

He wondered what it'd be like to be that guy.