would roll over in his grave if he thought I’d leave his daughter defenseless,” he said, taking hold of the lever to work the shutter into place.
A puzzled frown crossed Cassie’s brow and she stopped in her tracks. “You knew my father?”
He glanced over at her, knowing he would be completely honest with her from here on out and would tell her anything she wanted to know, provided it wasn’t privileged information between attorney and client. “Yes, I knew John. I’ve known him all my life. He and my father, Stan Washington, were close friends, and had been since college.”
He saw the surprised look in her eyes seconds before she asked, “Stan Washington was your father?”
“Yes. You’d met him?” he asked, moving to another window.
“I’ve known him all my life, as well,” she said. “But I never knew anything personal about him other than he and Dad were close friends. He was the person Mom knew to contact if an emergency ever came up and she needed to reach Dad.”
Brandon nodded. He figured his father had been. As close a friendship as the two men shared, Brandon had been certain his father had known about John’s affair with Ava. Besides that, Stan had been the one who’d drawn up John’s will and who had handled any legal matters dealing with the Garrison Grand-Bahamas exclusively. Once Cassie had taken ownership of the hotel she had retained her own attorneys.
“What about all the other windows?” he asked, after securing the shutters in place.
“I had my housekeeping staff help me with them before they left.”
“Good,” he murmured as he glanced over at her. She was still barefoot but had changed into a pair of capri pants and a blouse. And like everything else he’d ever seen on her body, she looked good. But then she looked rather good naked, too.
“Now you can have your say and leave.”
His eyes moved from her body to her face. He had been caught staring and she wasn’t happy about it, probably because she had an idea what thoughts had passed through his mind.
“I’d think my help just now has earned me a chance to get out of these clothes.”
Her back became ramrod straight. “You can think again!”
He suddenly realized how that might have sounded. “Calm down, Cassie,” he said, running his hand down his face. “That’s not what I meant. I was suggesting it would be nice to get out of these wet things so you can dry them for me. Otherwise, I might catch pneumonia.”
Cassie bit down on her lip to keep from telling him that when and if he caught pneumonia she hoped he died a slow, agonizing death, but then dished the thought from her mind. She wasn’t a heartless or cruel person, although he was the last human being on earth who deserved even a drop of her kindness.
“Fine,” she snapped. “The laundry room is this way,” she said, walking out of the room knowing he had to walk briskly to keep up with her. “And I suggest you stay in that room until your clothes are dry.”
“Why? Don’t you have a towel I could use while they’re drying?”
She shot a look at him that said he was skating on thin ice and it was getting thinner every minute. “I have plenty of towels but I prefer not seeing you parade around in one.”
“Okay.”
She abruptly stopped walking and turned to face him. “Look, Brandon. Apparently everything you’ve done in the last three days was nothing but a joke to you but I hope you don’t see me laughing. You don’t even see me smiling.”
The humor that had been in Brandon’s eyes immediately faded. When he spoke again his voice was barely audible. “No, I don’t think the last three days were a joke, Cassie. In fact I think they were the most precious I’ve ever spent in my entire life. The only thing I regret is coming to this island thinking you were someone you are not and because of it, I screwed up something awful. The only thing I can do is be honest with you now.”
She refused to let his words affect her in any way. There was no way she could trust him again. “It really doesn’t matter what you say when we talk, Brandon. I won’t be able to get beyond the fact that you deliberately deceived me.”
“Not all of it was based on deceit, Cassie. When I made love to you it was based on complete sincerity. Please don’t ever think that it wasn’t.”
“You used me,” she flung out with intense anger in her voice.
He reached out and gently touched the cleft in her chin and said in a low voice, “No, I made love to you, Cassie. I gave you more of myself than I’ve ever given another woman, freely, unselfishly and completely.”
Knowing if she didn’t take a step back from him she would weaken, she said, “The laundry room is straight ahead and on your right. And since you’re so terrified of catching pneumonia, there’s a linen closet with towels in that room. But I’m warning you to stay put until your clothes dry. I have enough to do with my time than worry about a half-naked man parading through my house. I need to fill all the bathtubs with water in case I lose electricity.”
“And if you do lose electricity, the thought of being here in the dark won’t bother you?”
“For your information, I won’t be here. As soon as your clothes dry and you have your say, I’m going to the hotel to help out there.”
“You’re going out in that weather?” he asked in a disbelieving tone.
“I believe that’s what I said,” she said smartly.
“Weren’t you listening when I said the authorities are asking people to stay off the streets?” he asked incredulously, refusing to believe anyone could be so pigheaded and stubborn.
She lifted her chin. “Yes, I was listening with as much concentration as you were when I was telling you to leave.” She narrowed her eyes and then said, “Now if you will excuse me, I have things to do. When your clothes are dry and you’re fully dressed again, you should be able to find me in the living room.”
Narrowing his eyes, Brandon watched as she turned and walked away.
Cassie kept walking on shaky legs, refusing to give in to temptation and glance over her shoulder to look at Brandon once again. The man was unsettling in the worst possible way and the last thing she needed was having him here under her roof, especially when the two of them were completely alone.
She shook her head. At least he was taking off those wet jeans. She hadn’t missed seeing how they had fit his body like a second layer of skin. She was glad he hadn’t caught her staring at him when he had been putting the shutters up to the windows. Every time he had moved his body her eyes had moved with it. Not only had his wet jeans hugged his muscular thighs but they had shown what a nice tush he had, as well as a flat, firm stomach.
She sighed deeply, disgusted with herself. How could she still find the man desirable after what he had done? And she’d had no intention of accepting his help with the shutters but he hadn’t given her a choice in the matter. He did just whatever he wanted. Even now his behavior and actions were totally unacceptable to her.
After filling up all the bathtubs and
