The Billionaire Boyfriend Proposal: A Kavanagh Family Novel (9 page)

I returned to the summer house and cleaned
out the fridge while Blake and Robbie pulled out rotten shelves
from the kitchen. I prepared lunch at the house around noon and we
ate it on the back porch, watching the butterflies dance from
flower to flower in the fall sunshine.

"We'll get going," I said to Robbie after
he'd washed up the dishes. I knew Blake wouldn't leave until we did
and I didn't want him to be late.

Blake reached into his back pocket. "Take my
credit card."

"It's okay," I told him. "I can afford a few
things for Robbie."

"Let me pay. Bazillionaire, remember."

Damned Kavanaghs.

Robbie snatched the credit card out from
Blake's thumb and forefinger. I held my hand out and he slapped it
in my palm with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

Blake scowled. "If you do anything to
embarrass Cassie, I'll have you working on that summer house so
hard you'll want to join the army just for a break."

Robbie laughed, not at all worried. "You guys
are good at this good cop, bad cop thing. Or is it Mom and
Dad?"

I choked on my own tongue. Blake glared at
him and Robbie left through the back door, laughing.

"He's got an attitude," Blake said.

I recovered enough to answer him, but kept my
hot face turned away. "He's a pretty good kid considering all the
crap he's been through."

Blake turned to me. "Hey," he said softly.
"Are we okay?"

I nodded, but I felt anything but okay. In
some ways it would have been easier to get the cold shoulder from
him this morning, maybe a snippy response or a snide retort. But
that wasn't Blake's way. It never had been. When he was upset with
me, he always told me direct and without getting emotional, but
those times were so rare anyway that they hardly registered. Still,
having him hate me this morning would have been better. At least
then I could have easily kept him at arm's length.

***

To my surprise, Robbie was careful not to
spend too much money. For all his cockiness, he refused to shop
anywhere expensive and insisted on buying only half of what I
suggested. We bought just enough clothing and other necessities to
get him through, nothing more. He was a good kid. He deserved
better than Skull for a brother.

"Tell me about your parents," I said as we
drove home a few minutes before five. Blake had called me just ten
minutes earlier to say he was already at my place. It was safe to
return.

"There's nothing to tell in the case of my
father. I never knew him. Mom said he was a rock star, but she was
always making stuff up. Could have been anyone."

"And your Mom?"

"She left."

"Do you know why?"

"Nope." It was a brush off if ever I heard
one.

"So Skull brought you up in the last few
years?"

"Kind of."

"Then why are you such a good guy and
he's…not?"

He stared out his side window so long that I
thought he wasn't going to answer me. "He's not so bad," he said
eventually. "It was tough for him, protecting himself as well as
me. That first year after Mom left, it was hard. We had to vacate
our house because we couldn't pay the rent so we lived on the
street. We joined a gang of other kids. It's safer in a group than
on your own. But we had to prove ourselves, not just once but lots
of times. I didn't like the things we had to do so Skull sometimes
did my share. It hardened him, changed him. Then once he became
leader there were other pressures and after that there was no going
back." He ran his hand through his hair and seemed surprised that
most of it had been cut off. It wasn't as short as Blake's but was
much shorter than the shag he'd sported before. "If it weren't for
him, I wouldn't be here today. I'd be dead or in jail."

"I like your version of Skull better than the
one I've seen. I'll try to be more tolerant next time we cross
paths."

He sighed. "I hope he doesn't come by again.
I really don't. But thanks, Cassie. You and Blake…" He shook his
head. "There's no way I can repay you for what you're doing."

"We don't want you to repay us."

"Maybe, but I don't want to be a charity case
either."

"I know. Nobody does. But maybe one day
you'll be in a position to help out someone who needs it and that
can be your way of repaying us."

"Like karma?"

"I guess."

We traveled in silence and reached the bridge
that crossed the Serendipity River and led us into the outer
reaches of the suburb of Serendipity Bend. I always liked crossing
that bridge. It signaled home was near.

Home. It wasn't mine anymore. Reece may be
letting me live there, but for how long? My rent was way too low
for what a property that size in that location was worth. How long
would it be before he increased the rent or sold it off?

"What about your parents?" Robbie asked.

His question jolted me out of my thoughts.
"They died in a car accident when I was thirteen. My sister was in
the car too and saw them die."

"Wow. Harsh."

"Yeah. She never got over it. It affected her
for years."

"What happened to her?"

I swallowed and stared hard out the
windscreen. My fingers began to hurt and I loosened my grip on the
steering wheel. "She died." I drew in a deep breath and let it out
slowly. "Suicide."

"Shit. Um, sorry. I shouldn't have
asked."

"It's okay. I can talk about it." I didn't
like
talking about it, but he'd been candid with me and I
should show him the same courtesy. "She was never the same after
they died. She worried all the time and got depressed easily. There
was really only one thing that made her happy in the months before
her death. One person, actually. Reece Kavanagh. They had a thing
going, but he ended it and she killed herself."

His silence had me taking my eyes off the
road to glance at him. He was staring at me. "I'm just trying to
process that," he said. "Poor guy to have that happen."

"Poor Reece? She was
my
sister."

"Oh, yeah, I know. It's a crap thing to have
happen to you. So is that why you don't like the Kavanaghs?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a couple of things you've said and the
way you treat Blake."

"How do I treat him?"

"Like you love him but don't at the same
time."

I laughed, but it sounded hollow. "That
doesn't make sense."

"I guess not."

"The Kavanaghs aren't like other people. It's
hard to explain, but they just aren't."

"Maybe because they're bazillionaires." He
chuckled. "I hear having money can change a guy. Not that I would
know. I've never had more than ten dollars in my pocket at a
time."

"I wouldn't know either." I didn't laugh
along with him. I was still rattled by his observation:
you love
him but you don't.

***

"They're getting married," Blake announced
when he greeted us in the garage.

I popped the trunk and joined he and Robbie
in grabbing our purchases. "Who?"

"Cleo and Reece."

I blinked slowly. "It's only been a few
months. They're that serious?"

"Seems so."

Cleo was going to marry
Reece
. Did she
know what she was getting herself into? They may look cute and cozy
whenever I saw them together, but Reece had a history of dumping
girls. I hoped she knew what she was doing. I would hate to see her
hurt. "Do you think she's tamed him?"

He hefted all the bags out at once, making
the muscles in his biceps bulge. "He didn't need taming. He just
needed the right woman to come along and rescue him."

"But…there've been so many other women
according to the papers."

"The papers don't tell the full story.
Cassie, I know you and Reece haven't gotten along in recent years,
but before he dated Wendy, you used to like him."

"He was different then."

"He was the same as he is now. He was
different in
between
." He walked off and I had to scoot past
him to open the door. Robbie followed behind, seemingly oblivious
to our discussion, although I suspected he was listening.

"There'll be a formal engagement party in a
couple of weeks, but the family are having a small celebration
tonight at Mom and Dad's." He dumped the bags on the table while I
contemplated a very important question.

"Coffee or wine?"

Blake checked his watch. "Wine for you, beer
for me. Lemonade for our underage friend."

Robbie rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. In
fact, he poured the wine and served me. "So I take it you'll be
going next door tonight," he said to Blake.

"We're all going."

I spun round to face him, almost spilling
some of the wine over the rim of my glass. "It's a family thing and
we're not invited."

"You are. I told Reece that I couldn't leave
you two alone here so he said to bring you along."

"That doesn't mean we're invited, it means
you strong-armed him. I'm not going anywhere I'm not wanted."

He picked my glass out of my hand and gripped
my shoulders. "Listen to me, Cass. You've been our neighbor for
years. You're a good friend to Cleo."

"I hardly know her," I protested. "She's the
sister of my student."

"Who also happens to be your friend."

"Becky and I just have a teacher-student
relationship."

His thumbs rubbed slow circles on my
shoulders, easing the knots in them. "You call the Denny sisters to
talk, they were the first ones here to help you with the protest,
and they care about you. That sounds like friendship to me."

I bit my lip and said nothing.

He let me go. "Besides, I didn't strong-arm
anyone. I suggested it to Reece and he said Cleo was going to call
you anyway to invite you."

As if she'd heard our conversation, my cell
rang. I fished it out of the depths of my bag and checked the
screen. Yep, Cleo. I scowled at Blake and answered.

"Guess what!" she said down the line. "Or do
you already know?"

"I know and congratulations! I'm so happy for
you." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. It
was the natural thing to say to a woman announcing her engagement.
But I still felt uneasy that she was getting in over her head with
Reece. Maybe later I would speak to her in private.

She invited me to the family gathering and I
said yes. She also invited Robbie and I accepted on his behalf. I
hung up and rejoined the guys around the kitchen table.

Blake watched me from beneath lowered lashes.
"So you're coming?"

"I guess I have to. You won't go if I stay
home and I don't want to be blamed for you missing your brother's
engagement."

He inclined his head and that was the end of
that.

***

The first person I saw at the Kavanagh house
was Ash. He opened the door to us and kissed my cheek. He shook
Robbie's hand and slapped Blake on the shoulder.

"How was the shopping?" he asked Robbie.

"Mostly painless, although I miss my
hair."

Blake ruffled what little hair Robbie had
left. I smiled. It was good to see them getting along. Robbie
needed a responsible, caring older male figure in his life and
being a good brother was something Blake did well.

"You sort out that little problem?" he asked
Ash.

Ash's smiled faded. "Not yet," he said
tightly.

My curiosity was piqued by the exchange, but
it was none of my business. Once upon a time I would have asked,
but not these days.

He led us through to the main living room
where most of the Kavanagh family was standing, drinks in hand. The
French doors leading out to the pool deck were folded back since
the air was still. The lights around and in the pool were lit, as
well as some in the surrounding palm trees. It was like Christmas
in Florida.

Ellen greeted me the way she greeted
everyone, coolly. Harry was a little more enthusiastic as he handed
me a flute of champagne and kissed my cheek. Damon Kavanagh, the
youngest brother, lifted his chin in greeting and sized up Robbie.
I'd had very little to do with him over the years aside from
watching him come and go on his motorbike. Damon, or Demon
according to those who knew him well, must have been about
twenty-six now. Sheesh, where had the time gone? I was only four
years his senior, but hanging out with the older Kavanagh brothers
had always made him feel like a kid to me. I remembered the first
time he stayed out all night. Ellen and Harry had sent a private
investigator to find him and read Damon the riot act when he
returned. The day he'd come home with his first tattoo was
indelibly imprinted in my brain. I could still hear Ellen's screech
of horror ringing in my ears. Now he had one entire shoulder
covered in them. Like his brothers, his shoulders were nicely honed
from surfing and working out.

The fourth brother, Zac, kissed my cheek and
grinned. "Hey, Cass, it's been awhile."

"It has. I hardly see you since you moved
out. Enjoying the bachelor life?"

His grin widened. "You could say that." He
leaned in and lowered his voice. "If only Mom would cut a few
strings, I might enjoy it even more."

"Does she still control what you do and who
you see?"

"Not so much who I see anymore." He winked
and I smiled. I'd always liked Ash, brother number three, and it
seemed Zac was made in his mold. Like their father, they were more
laid back than their mother and other brothers. I bet the girls
fell over themselves to date them.

The couple of the moment entered, and Becky
too. The sisters beamed when they saw me and I was showered with
hugs and kisses. It felt odd. I didn't want to be there, yet they
made me feel like I
should
be there. And not just Becky and
Cleo, but most of the Kavanaghs too. Only Reece and I avoided one
another. Maybe he thought it was best that way. I know I did.