Page 86 of Finding Forgiveness

“Poor Henry and Henrietta,” I say, pouting.

“Who’s Henry and Henrietta?”

“The chickens … the ones in the oven.”

“You named them?”

“It felt like the right thing to do. God rest their sweet little souls.”

When I do the sign of the cross, Connor shakes his head and barks out a laugh. “Fuck I love doing life with you, Cass.”

“Me too, Con. You make me so happy.”

He leans in and covers my mouth with his, kissing me so passionately it makes my toes curl in my heels. When he draws back, he rests his forehead against mine and smiles. “I love you, Miss Lewis, more than you’ll ever know.”

He doesn’t profess his love often. He doesn’t need to. I know how much he loves me; I feel it in every kiss, every touch, every gesture, and it’s something I’ll never take for granted. “I love you too, Mr Maloney.”

Chapter26

Connor

Ilean my shoulder against the entrance to the kitchen and observe my girl—the hostess with the mostest—greet our guests at the door.

She’s in her element, I can tell, and fuck if it doesn’t make my heart sing seeing her smile like that. She deserves it all, and I’ll make sure she gets it. I always thought I couldn’t love her any more than I used to …I was wrong. The feelings I have for this woman run so damn deep they scare me sometimes.

Cassie spent hours yesterday looking up the perfect drink recipes for our dinner party and ended up choosing three: Raspberry and Passionfruit Martinis, Cranberry Sours, and Bourbon Cocktails—complete with garnishes—and a mocktail for Jaz since she has a bun in the oven, which she’s now perfectly balancing on a large silver tray.

“What’s this?” Jacinta asks, taking the drink she’s offered. “And why are you dressed up? I thought this was a casual thing.”

“Don’t worry, this one has no alcohol. And Connor and I decided to host a dinner party tonight … we wanted to surprise you all with our awesomeness.”

“Yum,” Jacinta says after taking a sip of her mocktail. “You know you’re supposed to serve nice food at a dinner party, right?”

Cassie juts out her chin. “I know, Jacinta.”

“What are we eating then?”

“Connor and I have cooked.”

She throws back her head and laughs. “Yeah right.”

“It’s true,” I say, stepping forward and grabbing a Bourbon Cocktail off the tray.

Mason reaches in and follows my lead, grabbing one too and bringing it to his mouth. “Mmm, what’s in this?” he asks.

“Bourbon, lemon wedges, mint leaves, maple syrup, soda water and crushed ice … shaken not stirred,” Cassie recites.

“You made this?” he asks. She nods her head proudly. “It’s delicious.”

“Thank you, Mason,” she says, raising her chin a little higher and giving Jaz the side-eye. I bring my glass to my mouth to hide my smile.

“What’s in mine?” my sister asks.

“Pineapple wedges, thinly sliced orange, fresh passionfruit, cranberry juice, ginger beer, fresh mint, pomegranate seeds and ice cubes.”

“Impressive,” she says.

“Cass and I have been attending cooking classes at a culinary school.”