Chapter 29

Rebecca ranher finger across her name on one of the many awards that lined the shelf in the office. Her office. It didn't take a memory to know that much when her degrees hung on the walls, along with clippings of successful businesses. A tear rolled down Rebecca's cheek. Maybe Aunt Wills was right. Maybe Samantha didn't break her.

"Knock, knock." Cass kept her voice low, not wanting to startle Rebecca.

Rebecca looked back over her shoulder and smiled. "Hey, sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

"I figured. You were lost in thought there. Everything okay?" Cass kept her distance, not wanting to crowd Rebecca or make her feel uncomfortable.

"Mmhmm." Rebecca wiped the tear from her cheek before turning to Cass fully. "I really did all of this?"

"Sure did," Cass grinned. "And this isn't even the half of it. You're a brilliant businesswoman, Becca."

Rebecca lowered her eyes, blushing at the compliment. "Hopefully, I can still do it. I'll need to find a job at some point."

"We can talk about all that later," Cass said amicably. She wondered how this Rebecca would handle being retired—semi-retired, she corrected herself. "I got a ton of different finger foods. Actually, Ellie helped me pick some stuff out. I thought maybe we could have a little living room picnic." She noticed Rebecca hadn't changed her clothes. "If you're done exploring for the moment, maybe you wanna get comfortable while I get everything set up?"

"That sounds wonderful. I hope you don't mind that I looked around."

"Of course not. It's your house, Becca."

Rebecca bit her bottom lip. "I saw some of your paintings in the other room. I didn't touch anything," she said quickly. "But what I saw was beautiful. You're extremely talented."

Cass smiled. "Thank you. And seriously, there's nothing off limits in this house, Becca. If you want to go through paintings, papers, closets, or whatever, do it. I have nothing to hide, and everything in this house belongs to you as much as it does to me."

Rebecca tilted her head, studying Cass. "Why is the room down the hall locked?"

Cass's brows rose. Well, shit. How the hell do I explain this? "Oh, um, we have a service that comes out a couple of times a week. We keep that room locked so they won't go in there."

That was the dumbest non-answer in the freakin' world, but it was all Cass could come up with that wouldn't cause Rebecca to go screaming back to Aunt Wills.

"Hmm." Rebecca chewed her lip as she considered what Cass told her. This must be one of those things Rebecca wasn't ready to know. She trusted Cass enough to wait, right? As she looked into those kind, bi-colored eyes, Rebecca knew the answer. "I'll only be a few minutes getting changed. Then I'll help you with the food."

Cass released the breath she'd been holding. Rebecca obviously knew there was more that Cass wasn't saying about the room—their playroom—but she graciously let it go—for now. "Take your time. I got this," she grinned.

The flamesof a low fire danced on the walls, beckoning Rebecca with their rhythmic swaying. She almost expected music to be playing, matching their motions. Instead, the TV was on, the sound muted, illuminating a massive blanket with delicious-smelling food spread out. The scene, with Cass as the focal point in shorts and t-shirt, was decidedly romantic. Oddly enough, that didn't bother Rebecca one bit.

"This is quite epic." Rebecca's eyes twinkled with delight.

Cass beamed with pride, gesturing to the empty space across from her. She twisted the cap off a sizeable green bottle that hissed as the pressure was released. Pouring clear, bubbly liquid into a wine glass, Cass glanced at Rebecca. "Perrier," she explained as Rebecca watched her. "I hope you don't mind. Alcohol was one of the items that should be avoided during recovery."

Ah, yes. Recovery. Rebecca was on the verge of forgetting about the tumor, the surgery, the memory loss, and recovery. Why couldn't this be a simple date?

"And that's the last time we reference anything about that," Cass announced. "Tonight is about the present." She lifted her glass. "Here's to a beautiful night with a beautiful companion."

Rebecca only hesitated for a split second before touching the rim of her glass to Cass's. How did Cass seem to always know what Rebecca needed? She loves you. Rebecca's eyes fell on Cass's full lips on the glass, blushing at the thoughts the sight conjured up. She drained her glass in one big gulp, holding it out to Cass for a refill.

Oh, Cass didn't miss any of that, including the desire in Rebecca's eyes. Let it go, Cass. She's not there yet. "So," she cleared her throat. "Did you finish the book?"

"Mmm, yes! It was intelligent, entertaining, and so hot!" Rebecca laughed as she picked up a sausage roll and popped it into her mouth. "This food is fantastic, by the way."

"Yeah, Ellie is freakin' awesome. You tell her what your plans are, and poof! The perfect meal to take your plans to the next level. Here, try this." Cass handed Rebecca a beef empanada. "Don't forget the chimichurri. Chef's kiss!" She emphasized the praise by kissing her fingers with an exaggerated ‘muah!'. "And I totally agree with your assessment of the book! What did you think of the twist?"

"I did not see that one coming!" Rebecca answered, hiding her mouth full of food behind her hand. "But I'm reading one of the other books in the series now, and it seems like that's a theme with her books. I really like that little aspect."

"Yeah, me too. Are you on the third book?" Cass looked up from picking cilantro off the samosa she was about to devour and saw Rebecca nod.

"Mmhmm. It's so different than the last one in terms of the spice factor, but it still works, don't you think?"

"Totally," Cass readily agreed. "I like how Joslyn Cohan stays true to her characters' personalities."

Rebecca watched Cass pick at her food with amusement. "You don't like vegetables?"

Cass glanced up, poised to flick a bell pepper off a hummus phyllo cup, and grinned. "Nope."

Rebecca reached over, grabbed the offending bell pepper, and ate it. "They're good for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm getting better, but bell peppers are a hard no for me. Ellie continues to put them on my food because you like them."

"Hmm. Good teamwork."

"The best," Cass said, handing Rebecca another bell pepper.

After another houror so of food and conversation, Rebecca and Cass moved from the picnic to the couch to watch a movie. Cass was surprised and delighted that Rebecca chose to sit close to her, their thighs touching. Even so, Cass was careful with her movements and hand placement. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Rebecca, and really, this was all Cass had needed since Rebecca had surgery—just to be close to Rebecca again, to be home with Rebecca.

Rebecca stretched her legs out, aiming to prop her feet up on the coffee table along with Cass's. Yet her toes were the only part of her feet that touched the table. That was because she was flexing her feet as much as she could without cramping. She felt Cass's body shake, and she rolled her head to the side, narrowing her eyes.

"Are you laughing?"

"Me?" Cass shook her head, pointing to the TV. "I, uh, saw something funny on the TV."

"We're watching a drama." Rebecca playfully tapped Cass on the leg. "You're laughing at me because I can't reach the coffee table, aren't you?"

Cass's body shook again as she lost the battle to hold in the laughter. "I'm sorry!" she gasped. "You're scooting so far down on the couch, your ass is about to hit the floor." She observed Rebecca's position and laughed even harder when Rebecca stuck her tongue out at her. "You're gonna get a crick in your neck."

She sat up and pulled the table closer. It didn't matter that her own feet would now hang off the other side as long as Rebecca could sit more comfortably.

"Better?"

Rebecca snickered at the new dilemma. "Surely we have a more effective way of doing this that benefits us both."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"But?"

Cass hesitated. "You, um, kinda lay on me. Y-your head on my lap, I mean. With a pillow," she amended quickly, hoping to make it less awkward. It didn't help. She lifted a shoulder when Rebecca just stared at her.

Rebecca reached over Cass and plucked what she now knew was her favorite pillow from the couch's arm. She deposited it onto Cass's lap and proceeded to lie down.

"Oh, you're right. This is much better."

Cass smiled down at Rebecca before they both turned their attention back to the movie. It was easier to pretend this wasn't affecting them than to deal with emotions Rebecca didn't quite understand. However, Cass remembered that this position had two different outcomes. If Cass trailed her fingers across Rebecca's shoulder, their night lasted into the wee hours, doing incredible things to each other. But if Cass softly scratched Rebecca's head, Rebecca would fall asleep before whatever they were watching ended. She gently scratched Rebecca's head, carefully avoiding the area of the incision.

Sunlight filteredin between a small opening in the curtains, landing on Rebecca's face. She frowned, slowly opening her eyes only to close them against the brightness of the morning. Morning? Her eyes flew open, and she moved her arms out, fanning them as though she was making a snow angel. She was alone, in bed, and — she lifted the covers — still dressed in her sweats. That explained why she was hot but didn't explain how she got here.

The last thing she remembered was lying on the couch, her head on Cass's lap, and Cass's incredible fingers doing wonders on her head. No amount of meds had made Rebecca feel so relaxed. She obviously fell into a deep sleep in her thoroughly relaxed state since she had no recollection of coming to bed. Cass wasn't here, though. And while part of her was disappointed by that, her trust in Cass grew.

She rolled out of bed and cracked open the bedroom door to listen for any activity downstairs. When she heard none, Rebecca wondered if Cass was still sleeping or had left to run errands or do… whatever Cass did during the day.

Rebecca stopped in her tracks on her way to the bathroom. What did she do? She had been forced out of the business world when she was with Samantha. Had she gone back to it after? Did Cass allow her to work? Rebecca signed with frustration. She needed to stop thinking of Cass the way she thought of Samantha. Cass had already said Rebecca worked. But it was still frustrating that there was so much she didn't know. The only thing that kept Rebecca from crawling back into bed and throwing the covers over her head was the fact that she had taken the first giant step by moving in with Cass. Last night was wonderful with Cass, and Rebecca felt hopeful that this was the right decision. She wouldn't allow herself to screw this opportunity up.

Rebecca was determined to remember, starting today. Now that her brain knew what to envision, it was game on! She'd jump in the shower and put on something other than sweats. If she were lucky, Cass would be home, and they could have breakfast together.