The Wedding Agreement (3 page)

“Are all women in a conspiracy to give me a hard time lately?”

Alex's voice was light, but there was a slight agitation infused that made his words come out more clipped than he probably intended. “What happened now?” Cass questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Who else is giving you a hard time? Because I gotta tell you, I don't like sharing the role of resident ballbuster with other women. It makes me feel dirty.”

“You love feeling dirty,” Alex joked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Cass wasn't having it. “Spill it, Alex.”

He let out a loud sigh. “Tessa's giving me shit again. She wants to travel around the country this summer with that asshole, selling tofu and protein shakes or some shit. She plans to leave Nina with her parents instead of with me. I got to hear a whole speech about how I can't even handle having Nina for a weekend, let alone a couple months. I know she gets pissed about my sometimes-erratic work schedule, but I'm a good dad. Nina should be with her father, not her grandparents.”

Alex let all the words out in a rush, as though he'd been holding them in for so long that, once given the opportunity to break the dam, he couldn't contain the flood. Cass felt horrible for him. She'd met Nina a few times, and it was clear that the father and daughter had a special bond. “When did she tell you this?” Cass asked.

“Sunday, when she picked her up.”

Well, that explains the tirade.
“Have you talked to anyone about it? Maybe seen a lawyer?”

Alex groaned. “I haven't even wanted to
think
about it, let alone talk about it. But I did give my lawyer a quick call, and from the brief conversation we had, I
could tell he didn't think it looked good for me. Tessa's going to cite the times she's had to pick up Nina early or I've needed to reschedule because of work. And since the judge will have no reason to prevent Nina from spending the time with her grandparents, fighting this in court will just end up being a waste of time and money. Not to mention the fact that I don't want to put Nina through a custody dispute over two months' time. It won't go my way. I just know it.”

“You don't
know
anything.” But Cass didn't quite believe her own words. Alex had been married to his job for the entire time she'd known him. That was something Cass could relate to and didn't fault him for. Cass had known for most of her life that her primary goal was to be successful in whatever career she chose. Her mom had been a homemaker, and while she had always seemed to enjoy taking care of her family, Cass always wondered if it was as rewarding as her mother always made it out to be. Surely her mom had had dreams—goals she'd wanted to accomplish besides raising three ornery girls. She'd gone to college with hopes of a career, but once children came along, her mom had put getting a job outside the home on hold. And that hold became permanent. Cass respected people who raised children more than she could ever put into words, because that life was absolutely not for her. She liked playing with her sisters' kids, but also deeply enjoyed being able to give them back after a few hours. Cass was the first to admit that she was selfish with her time. And unlike her sisters, who were working moms, Cass wasn't willing to give up what little free time she had so she could chase a toddler around at a Gymboree class and attend parent conferences. Liking to take things at her own pace and do what
she felt like, when she felt like it, was a character trait she'd always had. So much so that even settling down with a man caused her to break out in hives. And listening to the stress Alex was dealing with didn't sway her opinions in the least.

“I know enough,” was all Alex offered in response, and Cass had nothing much else to say.

Consoling depressed men in domestic disputes was not her forte. So she elected to change the subject instead. “Should I get something pretty for the house or a bottle of expensive booze?”

Alex snorted. “Clearly they're both enamored with pretty things. Go with that.”

Cass smiled as she thought of her friends. “Pretty” was putting it mildly. They were definitely one of the most sickeningly attractive couples she'd ever seen. “Pretty, it is.”

“Okay. Thanks, Cass. I owe you one.”

“You can repay me after the party. But it's going to take more than once.” Cass smiled, hoping returning them to their shared language—flirty banter—would help Alex's mood a little.

And as he laughed, she knew that it had worked. “You're on. Schedule me for back-to-back appointments, then.”

“I'll pencil you in. See you Saturday.”

She ended the call and reclined in her chair, unable to keep her thoughts from how there'd be much more than a penciling in on Saturday.

Undercover

Alex stared at the phone in his hand, willing it to stop ringing so he didn't have to answer. He couldn't believe Don was calling him again . . . two weekends in a row. And this time on a Saturday. He couldn't call Tessa to get Nina early again. It would only validate her accusation that his schedule interfered with his relationship with his daughter. Not to mention that since Tessa's birthday was tomorrow, he had Nina for just one day. He couldn't let Tessa think that he'd wasted his only day with his daughter by working.

Finally he slid his thumb over the bottom of his phone, exhaling the breath he must have been holding. When Don quickly confirmed Alex's suspicions that he would need to go in to work for a few hours, he hung up and began dialing his list of potential babysitters. His first phone call was always going to be his sister, Christina.
Family is family, after all.
But Alex wasn't surprised when Christina said she was over
two hours away at his nephew's AAU basketball game.
Why do her kids have to be such good athletes?
Alex immediately moved on to a few other people who had watched Nina in the past—an elderly neighbor who had a granddaughter about Nina's age, the mother of one of Nina's friends. He even called Xavier, who'd had Nina over once when he was babysitting his niece.

But when none of them were available, Alex started to panic. He glanced at the clock, taking note of the fact that he had to leave in less than forty-five minutes.
Think, damn it.
He knew Lauren and Scott would be getting ready for their housewarming party, and it wouldn't be fair to dump a child on them in the midst of all that. Nearly out of options, he almost considered asking the man who peddled bootleg porn in the apartment complex down the street. Surely he'd have time to watch her.

But Alex knew there was only one person left whom he could legitimately ask. Before he could change his mind, he clicked on Cass' name and hit Call.

A groggy voice answered almost immediately. “Hello.”

“Hey, sorry to bother you. It sounds like I woke you up.”

Cass yawned. “You kind of did.”

“Oh, well, sorry again. Although if it wasn't almost noon I might feel worse about it.”

“Not all of us have real responsibilities. Rough night.”

Alex laughed, wondering but not wanting to ask what that meant. “Well you might be in for a rough afternoon too.”

He waited a few seconds for Cass to speak again. When she did, her voice sounded more alert than it
had only moments before. “What does that mean exactly?”

“I kind of need a favor.”

Cass was silent.

“You can say no.” Alex thought for a second, exhaling a defeated sigh. “Actually, you really can't. Well, not unless you're okay with Tessa castrating me with a rusty butter knife.” Alex rubbed his hand across his scalp. “I need you to watch Nina for me. It'd just be for a few hours. I could drop her off at your place on my way in to work, and you guys could just meet me at Scott and Lauren's house later.”

“You need
me
”—Cass sounded incredulous—“to watch Nina.”

“Yeah, I do. I know it's not really . . . your thing. But I have no other options. I called everyone else before you—my sister, Xavier, a neighbor, Nina's friends' moms. If anyone else could do it, I wouldn't have called you.” He realized how that sounded, but it was too late to take it back.

“Did you check with the woman we saw on the metro that time? You know, the one who was singing that Kelly Clarkson song and wearing a beaded necklace as a shirt. I bet she'd provide hours of entertainment for little Nina.”

Alex hesitated, unsure of what to say. He did feel slightly bad that Cass was his last call, but he knew kids weren't her thing. And she never tried to hide that fact. “Cass, listen. I—”

She let out a laugh, relieving Alex of any need to apologize. “Relax, Alex. I'll do it.”

Alex's body released all the tension it had been holding, and he exhaled a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Cass. I owe you big time.”

“It's really not that big of a deal.”

“It is to me. If there's anything you ever need, just ask.”

“Well, now that you mention it,” Cass said slowly. “I could go for that thing you did with your tongue that night after we left that party at Simo—”

“Are you really bartering sexual favors in exchange for the care of my seven-year-old daughter?”

“Well when you put it like that . . .” Cass paused for a second. “You know what? On second thought, I'm actually okay with it. I'll just put it on your tab.”

Alex rolled his eyes but couldn't hold back the grin that spread across his face. Cass was saving his ass. The least he could do was give her some in return.

*   *   *

Cass and Nina sat across from each other in Cass' living room. Despite having been around Nina before, this was the first time Cass was alone with her. “Are you hungry?” Cass asked.

“No. Daddy made me lunch before we left.” Nina's voice was soft but steady. Considering that she was in the home of someone she barely knew, she didn't look overly uncomfortable. Cass wished she could say the same for herself.

“Are you thirsty?”

“No. I'm fine.”

“Do you want to watch TV? Play a game? Go to the park?” Cass was firing questions at the poor kid like she was a murder suspect. She wasn't ordinarily so awkward around kids. Her sisters both had children, and Cass had babysat them on occasion. It shouldn't have felt so strange for Cass to spend a few hours with a little girl.

“What do you want to do?” Nina asked, her head cocked slightly to one side.

Pour myself a drink so I can relax,
Cass thought. The way Nina was looking at her made Cass feel like it was crucial to answer the question correctly. Cass had never felt such pressure. “I want to make brownies.”

Nina's eyes lit up, letting Cass know she'd said the right thing.

“You want to help?” Cass prodded.

“Yes!” Nina jumped up off the couch and smiled widely.

“Let's get to it, then. I'm pretty sure I have everything we need.”

Nina followed Cass into the kitchen. Pulling a dining room chair in behind her, Cass told Nina she could stand on it, as Cass began gathering the ingredients and preheating the oven. She plopped everything down in front of Nina and read the directions. For the next few minutes, the girls worked side-by-side, with Cass reading the steps on the back of the brownie box and Nina carrying out the instructions. Cass gave the mix a few extra stirs to make sure everything was fully combined, spread the batter into the pan, and put it in the oven.

Turning back around to face the little girl, Cass saw Nina's eyes drift toward the bowl of brownie batter. “You're not going to make me eat the leftover mix alone, are you?” Cass asked.

Nina shook her head vigorously, picked up the wooden spoon, and licked it clean. Cass couldn't help but smile at her. Nina really was a cute little thing. She had Alex's dark brown hair, with big brown eyes and porcelain skin. It was a good thing Alex worked for the FBI, because he was going to have his hands
full keeping the boys away once Nina hit middle school. Having a firearm was going to come in handy.

Nina got what she could with the spoon, but when that was no longer yielding enough results for her, she resorted to swirling her finger around the bowl to collect the chocolate. When she was finally finished, Nina had done a better job of cleaning the bowl than a dishwasher would have. Too bad she hadn't been as successful keeping herself clean.

Cass let out a small laugh. “You have chocolate all over you face.”

“Oh.” Nina's expression dropped a little as she looked down at her hands, covered in batter. Her eyes began frantically scouring the kitchen for a napkin. “Sorry. I didn't mean to make a mess.”

Shit
. Cass hadn't meant to sound like she'd been scolding Nina. “You didn't make a mess. I usually get way messier when I bake. You must cook a lot.”

Nina offered a tentative smile.

Cass pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. “Here. Let me take a picture of you to send to your dad.”

“Oh, um, oh-okay.” Despite the hesitancy of her words, Nina brightened at the mention of sending a picture.

“Say ‘brownies,'” Cass urged as she positioned her camera to snap a photo of Nina.

“Brownies,” Nina said through a wide grin.

“Got it.” Cass turned the phone around to show Nina. “You look adorable.”

Nina blushed slightly at the compliment, which made Cass smile. She sent the picture to Alex and then wet a paper towel to help Nina clean up.

They had just finished washing the bowl and
spoon when Cass' phone dinged with an incoming text.
Looks like she's having fun. You didn't put pot in the brownies, did you?

Cass laughed, causing Nina to look up at her. “Is that my dad?”

“Yup. He said it looks like you're having fun.”

Nina smiled broadly before walking into the living room, seemingly more comfortable in Cass' house now that they'd bonded over brownies.

Cass stayed in the kitchen and replied to Alex.
People are capable of having fun in my company without being high. I believe you've enjoyed yourself a time or two.

She then went into the living room and found Nina pulling a coloring book and markers out of her backpack. “Is it okay if I color?”

“Well, that depends,” Cass said. “Can I color too?”

It seemed that Cass had said another thing right, because Nina nodded excitedly and got out an extra book for Cass. As Cass picked out a green marker to begin coloring a picture of Ariel, her phone dinged again.

How do you know I wasn't high?

Cass snorted, causing Nina to look up at her. “Is that my dad again?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

Cass fumbled for a reply since the truth wasn't an option. “He said we'd better save him some brownies.” Cass had never been more thankful that her job required her to think on her feet.

Nina looked pleased at that and resumed coloring Cinderella. “Tell him we can't make any promises.”

A smart-ass after my own heart
. Cass quickly typed
out a message telling Alex to leave them alone—they were busy coloring—and that they'd see him later.

And that was how the two girls spent the afternoon: coloring, talking intermittently, and eating brownies. Cass couldn't remember when she'd had a better day.