The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3) (11 page)

“It’s hard for me, Carter. Leave me with this wonderful memory, please. It’s a great way to end our date-by-date arrangement.”

No!
He held her tight. “Cassie, please just give me time.”

She extricated herself from his embrace and sat up, her eyes misty. “I’m sorry, but I’m really a coward.
I can’t handle a non-committed relationship with you with the full knowledge that you’re also considering another woman. My heart won’t be able to take it when you tell me that you’ve chosen Susan.”

“Cassie, there’s nothing going on between Susan and me,” he said, sitting up to lean close to her.

“So why do you have to continue seeing her?”

“But we’re not sleeping together!”

“The fact that
you aren’t makes it harder for me, Carter. We just had another night of hot sex and yet you can’t make yourself stop seeing her? If even our intimate moments can’t make me win you from someone you haven’t even slept with yet, what chance do I really have?”

“Cassie...” He had absolutely no idea how to fix this and he so wanted to punch the wall.

“I’ll stay if you tell me you won’t go out with
her anymore.”

He covered his face, so close to breaking and telling her everything.

Don’t make her a target, you fool.

Cassie pulled down his hands and cupped his cheeks. “Thank you for a wonderful time, darling,” she said, tears running down her cheeks.

She kissed his lips, quickly got dressed, and walked out of his room.

And all he could do was watch her, his heart shattering.

C
assie sat on Erin’s sofa, staring blankly at the wall as more tears continued to stream down her face. Damn it. When would this crying stop?

“Here you go, honey,” Erin said, handing her a glass of water.

“Thanks. Sorry I woke you up,” she said, sniffling.

Erin sat next to her and placed an arm around her shoulder. “Don’t be ridiculous. You know I don’t mind.”

She sank into her
friend’s embrace, tears flowing faster. “I can’t help but feel so unlovable,” she said in a small voice.

“Don’t be like that!” Erin scolded. “It was you who told us that Carter’s a playboy, and that was why you didn’t bet on him to be the next guy to fall in love. You already knew there were no promises when you hooked up with him, so this is not about you. It’s about him not wanting a relationship
with
anyone
.”

“I guess I’m just really stupid, then,” she said dryly. “I should have known better than to hope for anything more than what we’d agreed to.”

“Oh, Cassie, there’s nothing wrong with you. You know what I believe? I believe that finding true love is one of hardest things in the world. And when you do find it, keeping it is just as hard. We could say that Jade and Lexie are extremely
lucky to have found Lucas and Rick—and they are. But they’d had great lows too before they settled down. And what about Marilyn? She’s so pretty and has a wide circle of friends. Her family is filthy rich and influential. Yet, she’s still on the lookout for love. And you said Tash has had her fair share of heartbreak, too. And then there’s me. My boyfriend of two years travelled to Europe with
his buddies—and came back married to a Spanish girl. So you see, it’s not
you
who’s to blame. It’s
love,
for being so damned difficult
.
”

Cassie smiled, hugging her friend tightly. “Thank you, Erin. You always know what to say to make me feel better.”

“Anytime, honey.”

Cassie was grateful for her best friends. And she couldn’t help but hope that she had good friends at work who’d be able to
give her a boost if her emotions ran away with her. The next few days—perhaps even weeks—would be hellish with Carter and Susan working in the same place as she did. She wasn’t a bad actress and she’d always been able to put on a decent face despite any turmoil she might be feeling inside. But she was different when Carter was around. She seemed to unconsciously wear her heart out on her sleeve where
he was concerned. It would make the coming days all the more difficult.

*****

“
Cassie?”

Cassie composed herself before looking up. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Carter said, walking towards her desk. He looked tired, like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep.

“I don’t think we finished our conversation last night,” he said in a low voice.

“We did, Carter.”

“Well, for me we didn’t. There’s a lot I need to explain,
Cass. But I can’t do it right now. Can I ask you to just...” Carter took a deep breath, looking as if he were trying to contain his emotions. “Can I ask you to give me that chance to explain? Not now, but later.”

“When?” she asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

“I can’t tell you exactly when.”

She went for complete honesty. “I can’t keep going through with this unless there’s some
commitment involved, Carter. That means you not going out with Susan.”

“Cassie, there’s nothing going on—”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to be friends with other women, Carter,” she interrupted. “But she
likes
you. Can’t you see why I’m asking for this?”

“Yes, but I...” Carter looked out the window, as if looking for an answer out there.

Argh! This man was killing her!

“When you’ve made
up your mind, you know where to find me,” she said, her tone dismissing.

“It’s not what you think, Cass.”

“Then explain it to me, please.”

Carter just stared at her with that pleading look on his face.

She snapped. “If you can’t explain right now, then leave me alone. You have no right to mess with my head and keep me hanging, Carter. No right.”

Carter exhaled harshly. “Okay,” he said, then
he walked out.

She glared at his retreating back before going back to what she was doing, but her eyes were blurry and her mind wouldn’t cooperate.

Damn him.

*****

C
assie walked back to her office from the kitchen. She was proud of herself. Even though her heart was still as broken as it had been five days ago when she’d ended things with Carter, she’d survived the week without losing her
composure—apart from that time on Tuesday when Carter had pleaded with her in her office.

She’d thrown in all her time and attention to her work—her usual MO for burying unwanted emotions—and it was working. As long as Carter kept his distance, and as long as she only talked to Susan when she absolutely had to, she’d remain fine.

“Hi, Cassie.”

Cassie smiled at Bronwyn, who was standing by her
door. “Hi.”

“Do you have time for an impromptu meeting? I want to discuss something with you.”

“Sure.”

“Let’s go to the French café and have an early lunch. I had very little dinner last night and no breakfast. I’m starving.”

“Okay,” she said. Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten much in the last few days either. She grabbed her purse and joined her boss.

A couple of her co-workers, who
were having a chat by the reception area, abruptly stopped their conversation when they saw them approaching. Cassie didn’t understand why some of her colleagues seemed to be afraid of Bronwyn. The boss had never been anything but friendly and relaxed with her.

“Ugh, it’s been quite cold this week, hasn’t it?” Bronwyn said as they stepped out of the building, buttoning up her coat.

Cassie murmured
her agreement.

“I don’t know how much you’ve noticed it, though, Cassie, seeing that you’ve been cooped up in your office all week. Have you even been going out for lunch?”

“Yes,” she said with a laugh. “I just buy my food and eat it in my office.”

“I also noticed something else,” Bronwyn said.

“What’s that?”

“You seem to be avoiding Carter.”

Cassie faltered in her steps. She wasn’t expecting
that.

“Lover’s tiff?” Bronwyn asked with a sympathetic smile.

Her mouth dropped open.

“I’m a very astute observer, Cassie. No use denying it.”

Wow. What was the point of denying it, indeed? “It’s over between us,” she answered.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. And I’m sorry for prying, but I’m just a nosy bitch. So what happened?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at Bronwyn’s intrigued look. “I
want commitment and he doesn’t,” she said candidly.

“Oh,” Bronwyn said with a
tsk
. “Is Susan getting in the way?”

This time, Cassie’s jaw hit the ground.

“I know more than you think, Cassie,” Bronwyn said dryly.

She took a deep breath. “Well, you can see what I’m up against. I’m hardly competition against Susan.”

Bronwyn shook her head at her in censure. “You really think that?”

She shrugged,
smiling mirthlessly.

“I want to tell you something,” Bronwyn said conspiratorially. “I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you this, but under the circumstances...”

Cassie waited, intrigued.

“Carter’s in deep financial trouble.”

“What?”

“Not many people know. In fact, not even his family knows.”

“Why? And how did you know?” Cassie asked in disbelief.

“I can’t tell you my source because I’ve
promised to keep this to myself. I was told he’s drowning in debt. The reason? I don’t know.”

“I can’t quite believe that, Bronwyn,” she said, dazed.

“I wouldn’t even have breathed a word of this to you if I didn’t trust the person who told me.”

Cassie stared blankly at the path ahead of them. Carter had never indicated that he was in some sort of financial trouble. And if he was, how come
he didn’t ask his parents for help? They were rich.

She could guess why he didn’t, though. Carter, like Natasha, had always lived only within the means afforded by their respective salaries. Apparently, they could only share in the profits of the family’s electrical services company when they became directors, which neither of them wanted at this point in time. Besides, Carter was a proud man.
She could see why he’d keep this from his family.

Her heart went out to him. If he truly were in dire straits, she hoped he wasn’t carrying his problems all by himself.

“There’s something else,” Bronwyn said. “I was also told that Susan is key to him paying off his debts. She apparently has contacts who can help him. I think that’s why they’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. But
I’ve been watching Carter too, Cassie. From where I stand, it’s
you
he has feelings for. I’m guessing he just wants to solve this problem before committing to you.”

Cassie stared at Bronwyn as Carter’s insistent words filled her head. He’d said that there was nothing going on between him and Susan, and that things were not as they seemed. He’d also begged for her to give him the chance to explain—when
he could.

Could everything Bronwyn had said be true, then?

“If I were you,” Bronwyn said, “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Carter’s a charming man and many women do drool over him. But I’ve never noticed him look at anyone else with that emotion that seemed to be reserved just for you.”

“Really?” she asked shyly, joy slowly seeping back into her heart.

“Yes. Really. And if you need
my help in bringing the two of you back together, I’m more than happy to do whatever I can. By the way, have I told you I’m such a sucker for romance?”

Cassie chuckled.

“You’ll have to do me a favour, though, Cassie. Please don’t tell Carter or anyone else that I’ve told you this. It wasn’t my secret to tell and I don’t want the person who told me to stop trusting me. I just strongly feel you
should know because, as I’ve said, I’m a sucker for romance.”

“Okay. But I wonder how I can I help him without telling him I know of his problems.”

“He’s sorting it out himself, Cassie. Let the man keep his pride. I’m sure he doesn’t want you to know. Besides, there are other things you can do to make him feel better,” Bronwyn said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

She blushed even as she laughed
out loud. “Thank you, Bronwyn,” she said sincerely to the woman who was fast becoming a good friend.

“Anytime. And like I said, if I can help in any way, just let me know.”

“I will.”

They arrived at the café and bonded further over delicious food while chatting about love, romance and art. Funnily enough, Bronwyn didn’t want to talk about work at all. That suited Cassie just fine. Her head
was too muddled to think straight, anyway.

All she could think of was seeing Carter again.

C
arter surveyed the new electrical wiring he’d installed. The extension being built at Tellman Galleries was almost complete, and he’d run out of time. Everything that was required of an electrician was finished.

He’d worked as slowly as he could, but he wouldn’t have gotten away with doing a poor job just to have a reason to keep coming back.

Fortunately, he’d already established
a good connection with Susan. It should be easy to keep on seeing her even if he didn’t work at the gallery anymore.

But Susan had been busy lately—or so she’d said—and hadn’t had the time to have lunches with him. He’d even asked her out to dinner last night, but she’d said she had other plans. She seemed to be waiting for something—or someone.

Vera hadn’t had much luck getting anything regarding
Bronwyn, either. By all accounts, there was nothing suspicious about Bronwyn, except for the fact that she was a very generous boss. Little by little, he was starting to relax about Bronwyn. Maybe she truly was just a brilliant businesswoman who knew how to take care of great people like Cassie.

Cassie.

He missed her so damned much. But more than anything, he wanted her safe. And that meant
catching the culprits who were working here at Tellman Galleries.

He pulled out his phone and called up one of his favourite pictures of her. If he weren’t worried that someone might see him, he’d kiss his screen.

He snickered, shaking his head. He had it bad. Real bad.

So you better solve this case already, Carter.