Chasing Destiny (12 page)

Cassie fastened the top to her red bikini and adjusted the material, making sure it was situated properly. She turned
her body in the mirror, observing her lean
figure and when she was satisfied with how she looked, she disguised her body with a gauze cover-up and slid her feet into a pair of gold leather sandals. She meticulously packed a pool bag with all of the essentials she would need for the day
and then headed downstairs to the
condominium lobby to retrieve her mail on her way out.

The air was thick as she entered the parking garage, making it particularly difficult to breath; thankfully, she hadn’t parked far. She positioned herself behind the wheel and then carelessly tossed her mail in the passenger seat beside her. It had been eight, long days since she last saw
Landon; he’d been away in
Washington State for business and she was eager to spend time with him, poolside.

Many changes had taken place since her return from New York last fall. She had withheld information from Landon regarding the kiss she’d shared with Jacob. She wasn’t proud of her dishonesty, but she did have her reasons. Confessing meant that she would have to admit her past romantic involvement with him; a detail that she’d purposely left out during her conversation with the two of them while visiting Jacob in the hospital last
fall. She’d also considered their
business relationship and feared that Landon would back out of the contract with Jacob’s firm if he was made aware of the incident.

The conversation she’d had with Landon upon returning had gone pretty well, too. He’d made an honest effort to convince her that he was serious about his feelings—vowing to spend less time buried in his work and more quality time with her. He wasn’t completely sold on the idea of marriage or more children, but he certainly hadn’t closed the book on the subject either.

Cassie arrived in Glencoe, a northern suburb of Chicago, and steered her SUV down the asphalt driveway
toward the massive, two-story Tudor
home. The estate was situated on two acres of vibrantly landscaped terrain near Lake Michigan. She parked her vehicle in its usual place in the arched driveway and quickly sifted through her mail before exiting the car. Most of it was junk, but one envelope in particular caught her attention
. She recognized the return
address belonged to one of her dearest friends, Emily.

She knew this was coming. Emily had phoned her roughly five months earlier with news of her engagement to Tanner. Although she wasn’t chosen as a bridesmaid, she was still requested to attend the festivities leading up to their nuptials as a special guest. Holding the wedding invitation made her hands tremble and she couldn’t deny that she
was nervous about seeing Jacob again
.

She hadn’t spoken to him since the night she’d left his apartment last fall. Landon was still engaged in a substantial business contract with his firm. It wasn’t unusual for he and Jacob to converse over the phone and Landon hadn’t relayed any messages on his behalf.

Jacob was undoubtedly Tanner’s best man, which meant at some point during her stay in Maine she was bound to run into him.

Cassie stuffed the invitation back into her bag and vacated her car. She retrieved the house key that Landon had given her from her tote, a clear sign that their relationship was evolving, and opened the front door. She advanced down the colossal hallway and ultimately found Landon in the kitchen, engaged in a domineering phone conversation with one of his business partners. He gestured with his hand that he would only be a
moment and then continued his
conversation while simultaneously mixing the two of them a refreshing cocktail.

When Landon finished his phone conversation, he placed his cell phone on the counter and ambled toward her. He gently pressed his lips against hers and
embraced her body in his arms
.

“Damn, I missed you”, he said as he buried his face in her neck.

“I missed you, too.”

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Cassie pointed to the mixed drinks sitting on the counter. “What did you make us?”

“Mojitos; I thought it would be refreshing. We aren’t in the Caribbean, but lord knows it feels like it!” He handed one of the glasses to her and motioned for her to head outside.

She kicked-off her sandals once she came upon the black, wrought-iron lounge chair and placed her tote on the brick patio beside it. She removed her gauze cover-up and heard a distinct whistle behind her. After lying down, she took a small sip of her mojito and wiped her watery eyes.

“Landon—how much rum did you put in this thing?”

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

“Um, yeah—but it’s strong…
really strong
!”

Landon snatched the glass from her hand and took a sip. “It tastes fine to me.”
He hovered close to her ear and
whispered seductively, “I’m trying to get you drunk so I can have my way with you later.”

Cassie smiled. “Is Landon Woods
insecure
? That’s certainly a first”, she stated playfully.

“I don’t gamble—I prefer guarantees and I can almost guarantee that after one of these, you’ll be putty in my hands. So, hurry—drink-up”, he said as he handed the glass back to her.

Once he was settled in the lounge chair beside her, she reached into her bag and handed him the wedding invitation. Before he could offer any comment, she interjected. “It’s in five weeks—I can’t believe it’s here already… I was hoping
that you would be able to join me
?”

Landon turned his head to face her, shielding the sun from his eyes with his hand. “C’mon, honey… you know I don’t like weddings.”

Cassie traced the rim of her glass with her index finger. “No, you said you weren’t fond of marriage—you’ve never said anything about weddings”, she replied.

“I barely know these people, Cassandra. I can’t possibly imagine why I need to be there!” He said, his voice
becoming gradually more elevated
.

“Okay, do you really want to go there? First, you’ve met Tanner and Emily on several occasions, not to mention Jacob; you’ve been working closely with him for almost a year now! And secondly, how can you sit there dumbfounded as to
why
you need to be there? How about this? You would be there for
me
—we barely see each other anymore! You’re always busy traveling and I’m always busy at the therapy clinic. Think about how great it will be for the two of us to spend some quality time together—away from our everyday distractions.”

Landon raised his hands and placed them behind his head. He exhaled loudly in frustration.

“You know what? Just forget it”, she said as she rose from her lounge chair. “I’ll fly to Maine and attend the wedding by myself.”

Cassie walked toward the pool and placed her glass on the edge of the deck before diving into the tepid water. Her
searing skin was immediately re
juvenated, as well as her frame of mind. She swam underwater and finally resurfaced where she had dove-in moments earlier. She leaned her elbows against the deck of the pool and gazed across the expansive lawn as she swallowed the last of her potent mojito. A few moments later she heard a loud splash and then felt his arms envelope her from behind.

“I’m sorry”, he whispered. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Cassie turned to face him. “I’m sorry, too.”

“I had no idea that this trip meant that much to you, and if you still want me to… I’d really like to go with you.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“If it makes you happy, then… yes, but please understand that I still have to run my business. I can’t guarantee that I won’t be pulled away on an occasional phone call.”

“Of course”, she acknowledged.

“Can you give me the dates?”

“We’ll be arriving in Maine on the Wednesday before the wedding, which is September second, and we’ll be returning Sunday morning, September sixth.”

“Five days?” He asked. Cassie gave him a playful scowl. “Okay, okay. Five days it is.”

* * *

Jacob placed his briefcase on the counter and gingerly tossed his keys and his mail next to it. It had been a long day at the office and unfortunately his work day was far from over. Shortly after he’d secured the contract with Landon’s development company, he had been promoted to junior partner. This was one of his dreams realized, although it came
with an immense amount of re
sponsibilities. Not only was he responsible for dispersing and over
seeing
the many projects assigned to his team, he was also held accountable for his own assignments. This meant that he’d come quite used to bringing his personal work home and he made a mental note to look into purchasing a cot for his Lower Manhattan office the following day.

After preparing a scotch on the rocks, he retrieved his leftovers from the
refrigerator and reheated them. He
quickly sifted through his mail and came upon a formal envelope addressed in elegant, black calligraphy. He opened it, revealing the chic invitation inside. The elegant black font was embossed on heavy, white cardstock and the sheer, white overlay was fastened with a violet, satin bow. Emily had unquestionably hand-selected it; she had impeccable taste.
In fact, Tanner had left almost
every detail and decision up to her except for one. His only request was that their nuptials take place at his parents’ exquisite two-story cottage in Bailey Island, Maine.

He’d been informed that Emily had invited Cassie to attend the pre-wedding festivities along with the family and bridal party and this meant at some point they would be almost forced to interact. As if
that weren’t awkward enough, he
assumed that Landon would be present as well. Seeing her again would reopen painful wounds and he was doubtful he was strong enough to witness the two of them together—
as a couple
.

After his attempts to express how he felt about her on her voicemail went unanswered last fall, he’d decided to abstain from contacting her again. He’d questioned many times whether or not he’d misread their kiss. He’d certainly felt as though it had reignited his feelings, but maybe it hadn’t for her. Maybe there wasn’t a connection like he’d thought—maybe it had been one-sided. He’d always been gifted in deciphering the female mind, but when it came to Cassie, he was utterly clueless.

He’d casually dated a handful of women since last fall, but they’d quickly fizzled out. Once his promotion was granted, he’d found it particularly difficult to
sustain a relationship. There
just weren’t enough hours in the day to fulfill his duties at the firm and entertain the opposite sex, and even if there were, he doubted he’d find anyone that generated the same feelings he felt for Cassie.

* * *

“What do you mean you can’t go?” Cassie asked, angrily.

“I’m sorry, honey. If it were up to me I’d be there with you, but I can’t.”

“Can’t or
won’t
?”

“Cassandra
, this is business
.
Sometimes last minute catastrophes
occur and I have to personally attend to them—this was completely unexpected and
it can’t be ignored
!”

“
Sometimes
? Landon, this happens regularly! Every time we have an event to attend that doesn’t involve one of your prospective clients, you bail—every time! Why
should this situation be any
different?”

“Oh c’mon, Cassandra—that’s not true!”

“Oh, really? Well, let me ask you this… when did you first learn that you were needed in Seattle?”

Landon hesitated for a moment before answering. “Um… I found out a few weeks ago.”

“You’ve known for several weeks and you’ve waited until the day before we are scheduled to leave to tell me that you’re not coming?”