"Okay." She leaned over and reached for her. They hugged. "Now you go back in that party and give them h.e.l.l. Tomorrow, we start. I promise you it'll be okay. I'm taking you to lunch. Be ready at eleven."

"Thank you, Joan. I don't even know you, and I feel like I have always known you."

"Yeah, well, it's my Irish charm. Let's go."

"I need to speak to you," Cain whispered in Andrew's ear. His father in-law nodded, exchanged another jab at playful banter over some friendly debate with the Senator and then turned to his son in-law.

He dropped his hand on Cain's shoulder and walked him away. "What is it?"

"Keith Livingston," he said, cutting his eye over to the honored guest. Keith was talking with some neighbors. Simone was nowhere to be found. That troubled Cain. It bothered him a lot.

"What of him?"

"He's been digging into OPAL. He accessed my login to the system. I just discovered it the other day."

Andrew's eyes narrowed. "Really?"

"Yes. Now he wants to get more info into Keemler. He wants into your inner circle. He's working for the partners, Andrew. He's trying to set you up. I'm not sure what to do. I fear that-"

"That's enough. Not here," Andrew said through clenched teeth. He glared at Keith. "It's time we taught him a lesson."

Cain nodded. "I was thinking of something like a way to bring him in and make him yours, if you'll allow it. He'll take all the risk. I just need you to give me some rope."

Andrew smirked. He cut his eyes to Cain. "You're just like your mother, kid."

Cain flinched at the comparison, but he held his ground.

Andrew chuckled. "Tomorrow at the club I want to hear of this plan. Tonight, let's make Keith Livingston feel welcome. Shall we?"

Before Cain could answer, he walked off. Cain watched as Andrew joined Keith, and both men placated each other.

Simone and Joan returned, but according to Joan, she looked like a racc.o.o.n. With no other choice, she slipped through the side door in search of the bathroom. Joan convinced her to return to the party, to cut out the antics, and ride the night out as a good wife. She wanted to go home, but to do so would be her giving up and giving in. She couldn't ask people to fight for her if she wasn't going to fight for herself. She walked through the kitchen to the left side of the house where she knew, like in her own home, there was a bathroom. She heard voices and angry whispers that sounded both male and female. Stopping, she stepped into the shadows and looked on. It was Maryanne and the Senator's son, Gerald.

"Let me go, or I'll scream," Maryanne pleaded.

Gerald threw his hand up. "Your mother has been talking, princess. She told my mother that you aren't happy. That Cain has been ignoring you, again."

"That's none of your business!" Maryanne tried to walk around him.

"I want it to be my business. How many f.u.c.king years are you going to stay with him before you admit that your marriage is a joke? Five years of this s.h.i.t, Maryanne? You made a mistake and both of us know it," he said in a low threatening tone, moving in on her.

Maryanne looked cornered, fearful. She stepped back.

"You were my girl, mine. Then you flip and marry that yokel. I'm tired of waiting, Maryanne!"

"You're crazy. I was never your girl. You raped me in high school, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"Not this again," Gerald huffed.

"Daddy may not have believed me and Mother may not have believed me, but you and I know what happened. You're sick and disgusting, and the thought of you makes me want to slit my wrists!"

Gerald laughed. "And you're still full of drama. Everyone knows you cry wolf. Even your own parents know, so cut the s.h.i.t. We were kids. We kissed and made up. We were engaged when you went to college, and then you came back with him." He took another threatening step toward her. "And you've given me plenty of p.u.s.s.y since then."

"No!" Maryanne shouted through tears. "Cain loves me. He is three times the man you ever will be. If you come near me again, I will tell him what you did to me, and he'll kill you. Now get out of my way!"

Gerald grabbed her by the throat. "You say a word of your lies to him, and I'll deny it. With your track record, who do you think he'll believe? I'll tell him you've been giving it up to me the entire time you were married. We've done this before, sweetheart. Who will he believe?"

Maryanne whimpered. She turned her face away as he felt her up. Simone had to do something. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, seeing. She stepped out of the shadows. "h.e.l.lo? Anybody back here?"

Gerald released Maryanne, who turned toward the wall and tried to fix her eyes. She turned back on Simone and forced a smile. "Hi there."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for the bathroom. In our house there's one back here. Is everything okay?" She shot Gerald a glare.

"Everything is fine. The bathroom is right there," Maryanne smiled.

Gerald straightened his tie before walking off. Maryanne tried her best to fix her dress and face.

"You okay?" Simone asked.

Maryanne glared at her. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing, you just look upset."

"I'm fine," she mumbled. She walked off. Simone watched her go. Joan was wrong. Maryanne wasn't cheating on Cain. Her secret was far worse. She went into the bathroom and threw her back against the door. What had she done?

The party went on, and eventually he couldn't stand it any longer. He set his drink down and went in search of her. She wasn't outside, and she wasn't inside. He began to believe she'd gone home. Cain was more than disappointed. He turned down the hall and headed for the back guest room when Simone appeared from the bathroom. She looked up, shocked and relieved to see him.

He smiled. "Hi."

She lowered her eyes, fixing her arms over the front of her dress to cover herself. "Hi."

He walked toward her. "I've been looking for you."

She tried to walk away, but he threw his arm up to stop her. "You okay?"

"I need to go. Keith's looking for me."

"No. No, don't go. All night I've been waiting to talk to you. Don't go."

"Cain, please don't touch me."

"Don't go." He reached and opened the bathroom door behind her, walking her backward and inside. She shook her head as he closed it. "You look beautiful."

"No, I don't." She touched her hair, now conscious of the hack job she did.

"Yes, you do. Your hair, everything. You look beautiful." He touched her face. Her cheek burned against his palm. She felt the warmth radiate through her. Immediately, she fought back against that feeling, turning her head away from his touch by stepping away, near the shower and leaving him at the sink.

"Just don't touch me. I can't handle it, okay?"

"Okay," Cain said.

She turned from him, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Talk to me, Simone. It's me, remember? Say something. Whatever it is."

She looked back over her shoulder through her tears. "You need to talk to your wife. Have a long talk with your wife. I'm sorry that I brought you into my mess. I'm so sorry for everything."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because she's your wife, Cain! Your situation isn't like mine. Maryanne loves you and she trusts you."

"Don't tell me about my marriage. You don't know a thing about it!" Cain snapped.

"I know what we did was wrong, d.a.m.n it! I can't take it back. It's not too late for you."

"So you don't have feelings for me?" He choked down the emotion rising in his voice. She was scaring him. She was his lifeline and all he could think of. He wanted her safe, happy, and most of all to be his. That night they spent together in the motel changed him. It gave him hope. Now she wanted to deny it happened, or worse, say it was a mistake. He'd made plenty of mistakes in his life. This wasn't one of them.

"Look me in the eye and tell me the truth. Am I imagining this? Do you or don't you have feelings for me?"

"What does that matter? We aren't supposed to have feelings for each other. Love doesn't work backwards like that!" she said.

"Love? Love works any way it chooses when it's real." Cain stepped to her. "It's love and no matter how bad you think it is, it's real and we both feel it. Forget them-"

"We can't!"

"We can, d.a.m.n it! I don't love Maryanne."

"You don't understand your wife. I think she's in trouble."

"What is it?" Cain asked.

"I've got to go." She went for the door. "It's not my place to say."

He caught her hand and drew her back. She smelled so heavenly. She looked so beautiful, even in her sadness. He inhaled her, turned her palm over, and pressed a kiss inside. Simone closed her eyes.

"It's too late," he whispered.

"No. It's too soon," she whispered back, still unable to look at him.

"Do you understand? I care for you. I want to help you. Let me."

"I don't want to be the reason for anyone's pain. I know how bad it hurts." She removed her hand, but he circled her. He stepped in close, and they breathed the same air between them. "How did I get here? Why am I here, in another woman's home and in love with a man that's not my husband? Why now, when my life is in shambles? I wish we could go back to the motel and change it."

"Undo what we did?" he asked. Fear and dread was thick in his voice. He feared she truly did blame him. That she thought of him as her greatest mistake.

She touched his face. "I wish we could go back to that motel room and never leave. Stay there, just you and me. Forget everything else and just be us."

"Me too. Me too," he breathed, his face coming in close. He brushed his lips over hers. They were so soft, so succulent that he couldn't stop there. And even her sad sigh filled him with deep urges to go forward. "I missed you," he said against her lips that slowly parted and his tongue slipped inside. Her eyes fluttered shut, and he prolonged the kiss for as long as she would allow, tasting her, remembering her.

Then their mouths parted with her hand pressed to his chest to keep him back. She just stood there staring, battling with something she wouldn't share. He closed his arms around her. She closed her arms around him. "You can't take it back. You can't take back my feelings for you and my desire for you. I'm in love with you, Simone, and whether you want me or not, that won't change."

"You don't understand. There are things about Maryanne you don't know."

"I'm sure there are," he said, forcing her to look up at him. She blinked at him, confused. "My wife wears a mask, just like your husband. She has from the day she married me, for whatever reason she married me. I understood that at first. My mother wore masks. She hid who she really was, especially from my brother and me. I thought that's what I wanted in a woman. But it's not." He wiped her tears from her cheek with his thumb. Her face rested in his hands. "I want to be with someone that doesn't hide who she is and that lets me be who I am. I want to grow up, Simone, and stop playing make believe. Be my own man. Whether I do it with or without you, I'm leaving her. Do you understand?"

"I'm not a bad person, Cain."

"No, you aren't. But you're in pain and I want that to stop too. Do you hear me? I want you to stop punishing yourself for being human." He kissed her forehead. He hugged her to his chest, his eyes lifting to the mirror to see them both. They were running out of time. He was going to lose her. He felt it. He had to do something. But first, he had to make sure she was safe.

"You need to get away for a few days." He released her. His body cooled without the warmth of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed into his chest. He almost drew her back to him. "Go to your sister's. I'll pay for it. You can't go on like this. I see what it's doing to you." He touched her hair. "How this is changing you. I don't want you to change."

"I can't," she said sadly. "Not yet. I have to see this through. I'm going to leave him. But I have to do some things first like get an attorney and find something on him. I need your help."

"I am helping you. Let me handle your husband. Just leave. I don't like the way he looks at you," Cain admitted. It was true. He caught the glares Keith gave his wife, and he never forgot the bruises he saw. He just got an uneasy feeling next to them both, as if something was building, escalating. It was making him jumpy, possessive. He'd rather have her away than in that house with Keith another night. "Promise me you'll call your sister and make some arrangements. Promise me."

"I promise," she said.

He kissed her weepy eyelids, then her nose and then her mouth. It awakened her at first. Her sweet tongue slipped into his and her body. The body he loved pressed against his. Then she withdrew, shaking her head. "Talk to your wife. You need to know all the facts."

"If there's something she said to you..."

"It's not my place. I've already violated her enough." Simone let him go. "I'll go to New York if you promise to talk to Maryanne. If you want me, then no more secrets, okay? Maryanne has one, and you need to know it before you throw your life with her away."

Simone smiled. It was the first she'd given him all night. Her entire face glowed. He smiled back. Suddenly, he felt less desperate. He had hope. She stepped away. He watched her pace, wipe at her eyes, put her hands to her s.e.xy hips. He tried not to stare at her curves, the way her muscles bunched in her calves when she stepped in her slender heels or the perfect shape of her backside and heart shaped hips. She turned with a sad smile, and he pushed his desire for her away. "What if we fail? What if six years from now we're those people that we can't stand? What if this is all a result of being lonely, disillusioned with our spouses? What makes us any better than them if we start out this way? We have no moral ground here, Cain."

"You want an answer to it all, don't you? You want me to rea.s.sure you, package it all in a neat little bow, and promise you the rainbow?" Cain asked.

Simone nodded.

"That was our first mistake, with your husband and my wife. We tried to make them perfect and believed our marriages were perfect. That's not us, sweetheart. This here is real. It's messy, it's complicated and it's raw. We've seen the worst, and we're learning the best of each other. If I had started out this way with Maryanne, if I had really known her the way I know you now, I might have never ended up here."

Cain smiled. He took her hand and put it to his heart. "I don't care what other people think or say about what we've done. I just care about you. I won't fail you now or six years from now, because I can't be anything but BigDaddyCain with you."

Simone laughed.

He chuckled, drawing her to him. He spun her around and started to sway with her in his arms. Music played outside, and in the silence they heard it. She danced with him. "How about when this is all over we move back to New York. I miss the city. Best place for an architect, don't you think?"

"They need good ones. New York is known for some of the best architecture," she smiled.

"And I'm sure they're hurting for good beauticians," he winked, turning her.

"You would like my sister. My mother can be a handful. She's a bit racist too. But she'll grow to love you."

"Mine too," he smiled.

She laughed. "I think I would like to meet her sometime."