The way their two heads were angled together in the grainy picture did imply something more than a business meeting. The intimate table for two complete with bouquet and candles also added to the ambience of love.
Cassie glanced back up to Derek. “What about it?”
She would not give her ex the satisfaction of letting it get to her, of coming between something she and Ian had built and worked hard at.
“Looks like your boy toy has someone else on the side.” Derek smirked. “Is this really what you’ve moved on to?”
“Why are you here?” she demanded. “What do you want from me?”
“If you’d answered my calls or texts you’d know I want my family back. I had no idea you opted to replace me with such a younger man.”
Cassie smacked the paper down on the table beside the door. “Don’t you dare judge me. You left me, remember? And if we’re casting stones, I’ll remind you that when you left, you moved on with a much younger woman with boobs as her only major asset.”
Fired up and more than geared for a fight, Cassie advanced on him. “You’re just upset because Ian is a real man. He cares about me, about Emily. My looks don’t matter, my size doesn’t matter and he’s taken to Emily like she is his own, which is a hell of a lot more than you ever did for either of us.”
Derek clenched his jaw as he loomed over her and held her gaze. “I just want you to know that this man, this kid, really, will get bored with the family life. He’ll move on, and then where will you be? I’m man enough to admit I was wrong and that I’m willing to try again.”
She hated that she felt a small tug, hated that for months she’d prayed for this moment. But she loved Ian. How could she deny herself the man she felt she’d been waiting for her whole life?
But on the other hand, how could she deny her daughter the bond of her parents raising her in the same house?
Cassie shook her head, refusing to listen to the conflicting voices in her head. She needed to think, needed to be alone.
“I waited for months for you to come back,” she told him, hoping her words would make him squirm, make him feel the heavy dose of guilt he was due. “I cried myself to sleep when I thought of Emily not knowing her father. But you know what?After the tears were spent, I realized that Emily was better off. Both of us were, actually. Neither of us needed a man in our life who didn’t put us first. We needed a man who would love us, put our needs above his own selfish ones and be there for us no matter what.”
When he opened his mouth, Cassie raised a hand to silence him. “I would’ve given you the same in return. I married you thinking we were both in love, but I was wrong. You didn’t love me, because if you did, you wouldn’t have found it so easy to leave me.”
“I’m back, though.” He reached out, touched her face. “I want my family back, my wife back. I know I made a mistake, but you can’t tell me you’re ready to throw everything away.”
When the door opened behind her, Cassie didn’t have to turn to know Ian stood just at the threshold. She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Actually,” she whispered. “You already threw it all away.”
Derek’s eyes darted from hers to just over her shoulder before he dropped his hands. “You can keep the paper. Maybe it will give you something to think about.”
She didn’t move as he skirted around her. When the door shut once again, Cassie turned slowly to see Ian, hands on his hips. Even with the space between them, Cassie saw so many emotions dancing in his eyes: confusion, hurt, love.
“Where’s Emily?” she asked, hoping to keep the conversation on safer ground.
“I actually just left her with Linda. She’s taking a nap.”
Cassie nodded, worry lacing through her. “What you just saw was—”
“I know what I saw,” he murmured. “I know he wants you back. He’d be a fool not to. It’s just—”
Ian glanced down, smoothing a hand over the back of his neck, then froze when his gaze landed on the paper. Slowly he picked it up, skimming the front page.
Cassie waited, wondering how he would react.
When he muttered a curse and slammed the paper down, Cassie jumped.
“Tell me this wasn’t Derek’s defense,” Ian begged. “He surely wasn’t using me as his battle to win you back.”
Shrugging, Cassie crossed her arms around her waist. “It’s a pretty damning photograph.”
Closing the spacious gap between them, Ian stood within a breath of her and tipped her chin up so she looked him in the eyes. “The media is known for spinning stories to create the best reaction from viewers. It’s how they stay in business.”
Cassie nodded. “I’m aware of that.”