Resisting Cassidy (A Forbidden Romance)

Cassidy

How hot are we talking about?

The text message lit up my phone on the counter. I set the freshly-baked muffins on a cooling rack before replying to my best friend's never-failing curiosity when it came to men.

Lava hot, I typed at first even though it wasn't nearly enough to describe Tate. I deleted it and started again. Imagine Ryan Reynolds' much sexier older brother.

Dayum, girl. You're in trouble. Are you gonna go for it, or what?

Or what! I can't. He's my boss.

So?

So? What do you mean so?

So who cares? That only makes him three times hotter! And he's older, and a doctor, he knows his way around the female body.

I could almost see her pursing her lips and winking at me. Shut up! I'm not gonna do it. I can't.

Girl, you can and you should.

I watched the three dots on my screen and waited, patting my heated cheeks.

Live a little. Have a summer fling. God knows you deserve it after what that asshat did to you.

I could defend Brandon, but doing so was moot. He wasn't popular in my circle of friends. Chelsea hated him the most. To her, he'd wasted my time, time I could've spent dating someone better, according to her. Even though I'd known it wasn't getting anywhere for months now, I still kept our relationship going. I loved him. And my heart did ache when he finally ended it. I could lie and say it was a mutual breakup, but even I couldn't deny he'd been eyeing other women for a while, and not in a subtle way either. My only hope was that he never cheated on me. Chelsea thought he had, but as of now, there wasn't any proof of Brandon's unfaithfulness.

Yet, there was something nagging at me as I pondered on that. We'd broken up just two days ago and here I was ogling another man. Much worse, he was someone I shouldn't be interested in, if the rules of society were to be followed. I'd never been a rebel. Being under my brothers' constant watch made sure of that. They'd given Brandon a hard time, but they eventually accepted him. Would they be as accepting if I was dating someone older?

My phone exploded with texts I'd been ignoring while I was lost in my thoughts. Before I had time to read them, I heard Tate holler for me from the living room.

"Cassidy? Are you home?"

Home. There was something about the way he said it that squeezed my heart.

"I'm here." I made sure everything looked pleasing in the kitchen before I greeted him and Maddy.

He had her cradled in his arms. Her face was buried in his shoulder, and all I could see were her light brown curls, her tiny arms wrapped around her father's neck, and a little body in a princess getup. On Tate's right shoulder was a pink fluffy bag with a head of a doll sticking out of it.

"Hi." I couldn't help but beam. Tate as himself was sexy; Tate as a doting dad was something ovaries cheered on. "Let me help you with that." I reached out for the bag on his shoulder.

"Thanks. I have the rest of her stuff in the car."

"Is she asleep?"

He turned his head and kissed the top of her curls before saying, "Nope. She's just pretending so she didn't have to walk." He gave her a little tickle and a cute giggle burst out of her. "See. Told you."

"Stop it, Daddy!"

"Maddison, say hello to Cassidy." He set her down on her feet, and as soon as he did, she gave me a toothy grin. I had seen her photo but it didn't quite capture how adorable she was. Not that it was a surprise. Her father was handsome, and although I'd never seen a pic of her mother, my sister-in-law, Marianne had met her and told me she used to be a runway model. Although Marianne had other choice words to describe her.

I got down on my knees and offered her a hand and a smile. "Hello, Maddison. I'm Cassidy, but you can call me Cass or Cassie."

"Hi." Her grin widened as she limply shook my hand, then she reached for her doll. "This is my doll. Her name is Vanessa." She leaned forward and added in a whisper, "She's a princess in disguise."

"Oh, I see." I wanted to asked what it was disguised as since the doll she'd pulled out was completely naked. "What happened to her clothes?"

"They're at the dry cleaners," Maddison said as though it was the most natural answer.

"Of course."

"You want a hug?" Tate's daughter offered out of nowhere.

"I'd love o--." Before I could finish my reply, she had her arms wrapped around me.

All this time, Tate had been watching our interaction. He must've been testing me, wanting to see how I'd deal with his daughter and how she'd react to me. I looked up to him as I hugged Maddy. His eyes crinkled at the edges, and although I had a feeling he had barely slept, all his exhaustion seemed to fade at that moment. His face smoothness. There was something else behind his relaxed smile I couldn't quite describe.

When Maddy let me go, I told her about the cookies and muffins I made and her hazel eyes turned into  bright saucers. She was practically shaking with excitement. 

She turned to her dad and asked, "May I please have cookies?"

I was more than surprised at this. My nieces would be asking as they were chomping on treats, and my nephews wouldn't have bothered asking their parents. I made a mental note to ask Tate how much treats she was allowed.

"Sure, sweetie. Go to the kitchen with Cassidy and I'll grab your bags."

"Need help with her bags?" I asked stretching to my full height.

"No. I'm good. I might need your help unpacking them though. Her mother always packs in excess." I couldn't help but notice a slight bitterness in his tone when he referred to his ex.

"Sure thing. We'll be in the kitchen. I'll save you a plate."

"That would be great." He hovered a bit longer until I got up and took Maddy to the kitchen. When I looked back, he was still watching us with a small smile on his lips. Then he shook his head, running his hand through his hair, and walked back out the door.

***
A/N: Reader suggested Barbara Palvin as Cassidy. I like it. She's naturally beautiful and has the right amount of sex appeal too.

Will likely have 🔥🔥🔥 updates this weekend.