CHAPTER 21

Later that night, Wadetapped lightly on Cassie’s door, juggling the grocery bag he was carrying in order to smooth his damp palms on his jeans. His heart was racing. Why did the thought of spending time alone with Cassie still make him sweat? He and Cassie had been spending a lot of time together lately, but usually in a public or outdoor setting. They’d never really been alone—just the two of them. Although he was nervous about it, he couldn’t help but feel excited. The more he discovered about Cassie, the more intense his feelings for her became. But his growing desire for her made him uneasy, as well as some deeper feelings he wasn’t sure he was ready to face.

The door swung wide and he silently sucked in his breath, struck afresh at how beautiful she was. Cassie stood there barefoot. She still wore the simple white shorts and sleeveless black V-neck that she’d had on earlier. He admired the way they highlighted her trim figure and tan legs. Her thick, red-gold hair hung in loose waves over one shoulder, and he suppressed an urge to reach out and bury his fingers in the glossy strands.

She moved aside, making room for him to pass. “I made us popcorn,” she said.

He could smell it when he stepped into the apartment. “Perfect,” he said, and lifted the brown paper bag he was holding. “And I brought us one of my favorite summer mocktails.”

Her face held a bemused expression. “A mocktail, huh?

“Yup,” he said with a grin, moving toward her kitchen area. “And yes, little pup, I have something for you, too.”

“You’re totally spoiling her,” Cassie said as Angel danced in little circles beside him, licking her doggie lips in anticipation. Cassie pulled two glasses out of her cupboard.

“Nothing wrong with spoiling the special ladies in your life,” he said, presenting Angel with her treat and making an unfamiliar but not unwelcome feeling of warmth blossom deep in Cassie’s belly.

“Do you have any ice?” he asked, pulling the rest of the contents out of the bag. On the kitchen counter, he placed a sealed pitcher filled with a cream-colored liquid and a sterling silver cocktail shaker. He unscrewed the lid of the cocktail shaker and held it out for her to drop several chunks of ice into it from her ice cube tray. Then he poured the contents of the pitcher into the shaker, screwed on the lid, and shook it in true bartender style.

“Wow. You really take your mocktails seriously,” she said, leaning against the counter and watching him.

“This is my Coconut Lime Fizz,” he said, pouring the now foamy liquid into their two glasses. “It’s made with lime juice, coconut milk, non-alcoholic rum extract, and honey.”

Cassie took a sip and her eyes widened. “This is delicious!” she said.

He took a sip himself and closed his eyes. “Ahhh.”

She smiled and took another sip. “So, are you ready for Alfred?”

“Sure!”

She grabbed the giant bowl of popcorn from the countertop and led him to her living area, which held a small, dark wood coffee table with a shelf underneath, a loveseat, and a well-worn recliner. The coffee table shelf held her Psychology textbook, a spiral notebook, and a scattering of magazines and books. The top of the table was bare except for her laptop and the package of Alfred Hitchcock DVDs he’d given her. He hesitated for a moment in indecision, then moved toward the recliner. But she stopped him by saying, “We should probably sit together on the loveseat here. I don’t actually have a television, so we’ll have to watch the movie using the DVD drive on my laptop.”

He felt his stomach lurch and forced himself to breathe slowly, keeping his expression bland. What the heck! He could be in the most stressful situations at work and his hands would be bone dry and rock steady. But the thought of sitting so close to Cassie made him feel like a nervous teenager on his first date...which actually wasn’t too far off from the truth. He rubbed his damp palms surreptitiously against the legs of his jeans again and tried to act casual. “Okay, if you’re sure there’s enough room?”

Enough room? What was that supposed to mean? It’s designed for two people! Get a grip, Riley!

She patted the seat beside her, then leaned forward to open up her laptop. He quickly averted his eyes as her V-neck fell away a little, revealing a tantalizing view of what lay beneath. He focused on her hands instead. Her fingers were flicking over the keyboard, making her pinkie ring gleam.

“So, what’s the story with your and Ani’s rings?” he said, trying to distract himself as he eased his body carefully down beside her. He sat up as straight as he could, but the loveseat was old and sagged toward the middle, causing their thighs and shoulders to bump together. He tried to ignore how intensely he noticed the contact between their bodies.

“What?” She looked at him in confusion. Then her expression cleared, and she looked down, spanning the fingers of her right hand to show the ring on her little finger. It was a delicate, silver ring in the shape of the infinity symbol.

She didn’t respond at first, but sat staring at the ring, seemingly lost in thought.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said softly.

She turned her gaze on him. Her eyes were the deep green of Lake Michigan before a summer storm, and they drew him into their depths, making it impossible to look away.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just...” She leaned back and looked down at the ring again, twisting it on her finger as she spoke. “Do you remember me telling you how Ani and I used to live together in the same foster home?”

Wade nodded.

“Well, like I said before, our foster parents were terrible. Worse than the ones Ani lives with now. When I met her, it was my sixteenth placement, but it was Ani’s first. She was only four years old and for her it was a particularly rough introduction into the system.” Cassie’s face darkened, but she continued. “Anyway, I told you how I got busted for vandalizing their home, got kicked out, and that’s how I ended up with Rachel and Mark?”

He nodded again.

“Well, Ani was devastated when she found out I had to leave. And to be honest, I was too. I felt like I was abandoning her. I’d always tried my best to protect her from Devlin and Cora, our foster parents, and now I was leaving her all alone to fend for herself. The night before I left, we sat together on her bed and I just held her all night while she cried. I promised we’d always stay connected and I would visit her whenever I could. And I kept that promise.” She lifted her head and met Wade’s eyes again. “One weekend, a couple of years ago, I took Ani to a summer craft show downtown, and we found these rings there. I bought one for each of us to symbolize that no matter what, we would always be sisters. Sisters forever.”

Wade felt tears well up in his own eyes at her story. “I’m glad you two have each other,” he said simply.

“Me too,” Cassie said.

They sat for a moment just looking at each other. It was as if time stopped for an instant. Like the world was holding its breath.

Then, before he could think, he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. She didn’t resist. But he pulled back anyway and looked into her eyes, questioning. In answer, she reached up and slipped her hands behind his neck, pulling him back to her.

With his hands, he tenderly cupped her face and they kissed again. Gentle at first, a series of light, quick kisses that slowly grew longer and deeper. Her lips were soft and yielding, and she tasted like coconuts and honey. Tingling heat rose from his core and spread throughout his body, making him hypersensitive to her every touch. And she was touching him. Her fingers trailed down his neck and over his arms, coaxing shivers from deep within him. The two of them sank against the cushions and logic left him. All he could think about was that he wanted more of her.

He had no conscious thought as to how it happened, but somehow she ended up reclined back, her head pillowed against the loveseat armrest. He lay partially over her, her softness pressed enticingly against his hard chest. He felt as much as heard her moan softly, and his tongue flicked to explore the sweetness between her parted lips. Passion roiled through him as their lips and tongues danced together.

Suddenly, he had the odd feeling that someone was looking at him. He pulled back and noticed Angel, right at their feet, staring up at them. At him. The dog blinked. Wade gulped and sat up slowly, pulling Cassie with him as he fought to regain control.

Cassie’s breath was ragged, and so was his, plus his head was spinning. Sitting up now, she leaned against him for a moment, her head tucked beneath his chin, graceful fingers light as a butterfly lay against his chest. “What was that?” she whispered.

“Something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” he whispered back, his voice hoarse.

“What took you so long?”

He drew back to look into her eyes and saw the mischievous gleam in their depths.

“You wanted me to do that?”

“For so long.”

He laughed softly. “You’ve proven yourself to be a modern, confident woman, Cassie Sherwin. So, why didn’t you make the first move then?” he asked.

She gave a little shrug, her eyes cast down. “I dunno. I guess...this is new territory for me.”

“For me, too.”

Her head shot up and the mischievous look came back into her eyes. “Riley, tell me the truth. Was that your first kiss, or rather, make-out session?”

To his great frustration, he felt his face flame.

“Unbelievable!” she laughed, and then to soften it, kissed him lightly on the lips once more before settling comfortably next to him. “Well, you must be a very fast learner because you’re awful good at it.”

He grinned, feeling pleased. Then he noticed the dog again. “So, can you tell Angel you liked it, because...uh, she won’t stop staring at me.”

Cassie looked down at the little dog who sat like a frozen white statue, still staring at Wade. Then she looked back at him and slowly grinned. “It’s not that,” she said. “You’re sitting on her toy.”

“What?” He lifted up and felt around, then pulled out a stuffed squirrel that was squished between the loveseat’s cushions. He squeaked it, and Angel barked. He tossed it to her and she settled down immediately to poke at the squeaker with her nose.

“Whew, I thought she was starting not to like me again,” he said.

“Nah, not a chance. She knows a good thing when she sees it,” Cassie said, looking at him in a way that made him feel hot all over again.

He sat back and threw his arm around her shoulder. “So, are we going to watch Alfred or not?”

“Yes!” She popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth from the bowl then offered it to him. While he helped himself, she grabbed the DVD box off the table. “Which one should we watch first? Start at the beginning?”

“Normally, I would say yes,” he replied after swallowing a mouthful of popcorn. “Because that’s the right way to do it.”

“Of course it is,” she said.

“But,” he ignored her sarcasm, “I think, in light of your case, we should watch Ten Minutes From Now.”

“Why?”

He searched through the DVDs and pulled one out from the middle. “Because it’s about an art theft.”

“Oh, you’re hilarious,” she said, and poked him in the ribs, making him jump.

“Oooh, is somebody ticklish?” She turned toward him with a light in her eyes.

“Keep your hands to yourself, missy!” he said, gripping her questing fingers. “And pay attention!”

He popped the DVD into the player on her laptop and they leaned back together to watch it.

The figure of Alfred Hitchcock filled the screen as he stood there clanging a loud bell. “Good evening...”

Wade secretly watched Cassie’s face as she watched the show. Her expressive brows rose and fell, and he loved hearing her laugh at the kitschy parts. His mind wandered to the kiss. Or rather their “make-out session” as Cassie had called it. No way would he admit that it had been the first make-out session of his life. And besides, it wasn’t as if he’d never kissed a girl. There was Ellie, the girl “friend” he’d taken to senior prom. Of course, that had been a chaste kiss on the lips at the end of the night. But there was also that woman who he’d gone to the academy with. A bunch of them had gone out after a particularly grueling day, and she’d gotten drunk. He’d felt obligated to get her safely home. At her door, she’d caught him off guard and thrown herself at him. But after the first alcohol-infused lip lock, he’d successfully evaded her advances. And...well, that had actually been the extent of his experience. Until today. He looked at Cassie again and a feeling of protectiveness, along with something deeper, welled up inside him. He had an overwhelming urge to wrap her in his arms, keep her safe. And more than anything in that moment...he wanted desperately to kiss her again.

Suddenly, Cassie gasped.

“What is it?” He looked at the screen.

“That painting!” she said, pointing.

Wade leaned forward to pause the movie and study the painting. “What about it?”

“It’s so bizarre, but I saw a photograph of that painting the other day on Zack’s desk when I stopped by for a pick-up.”

He frowned and sat back. “That is bizarre.”

He pulled out his cell phone and searched for details on the film. “It says here the painting is The Concert by Johannes Vermeer.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it said on the photograph!” Cassie exclaimed.

He clicked on another link a few spots down from the Alfred Hitchcock trivia site and read quickly. “Cassie, it says here that this painting was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and it’s never been found. Apparently, on March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as police officers stole thirteen works out of the museum, including The Concert. It’s considered to be one of the most valuable paintings ever stolen, with an estimated worth of more than $250 million.”

“Whoa!” Cassie said, her eyes wide. “Sooo, why would Zack have a photograph of it on his desk?”

Wade looked off into the distance. “That’s a great question. I don’t know.”

“Do you think it could have anything to do with my stolen painting?”

He thought for a moment, then shook his head slowly. “I don’t see how they could be connected. I mean, they’re two completely different paintings. Plus, Zack has an alibi for the time the painting was stolen from your van. He was at Olga’s when it happened. And there’s no way he could have been involved in the theft of The Concert. He would have only been a young child when that happened.”

“But you agree it’s weird, right?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely weird.”

Cassie got up and started pacing around the tiny apartment. Angel and Wade’s heads moved in tandem as they watched her. The dog had hopped up onto the sofa beside Wade, taking Cassie’s place. “Let me get all this straight,” she said. “We know the painting that was in my van was Madonna and Child with San Giovannino by Cristofano Roncalli. And we know it was stolen by Brett.”

Wade opened his mouth, but she cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.

“I know we can’t prove that. Yet,” she said.

He grinned.

She continued pacing. “But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Brett stole it.” She began ticking off on her fingers in a way that strangely reminded him of himself. “Second, we know that Zack had a photograph of a very expensive stolen painting on his desk. And third, we know that there’s something strange going on between Zack and Brett.”

“Well...” he started to say, but she gave him a look and he closed his mouth.

She paced another minute and then threw up her hands. “I give up. What does all this mean?”

He shook his head and then gave a little shrug. “I guess,” he reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her onto his lap, “it means, Dr. Watson, that the game is afoot!”

“What?”

He closed his eyes, feeling as if he was in actual physical pain. “Please tell me you’ve watched Sherlock Holmes mysteries before.”

She bit her lip.

“Cassie, Cassie, Cassie.” He shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

She looked at him, her emerald eyes twinkling. “I’m sure you can think of something.” And she lowered her mouth to his.

All thoughts of the case and the stolen paintings left their minds as Wade entered willingly into the second make-out session of his life.