Page 64 of Modern Romance July 2025 #4-8
‘It was a huge shock.’ Cassie sucked in her breath.
‘He’d always been protective of both of us, was always so proud that he could provide for us, so neither of us really delved into any of the company finances.
He took his eye off the ball, made bad decisions and even worse investments.
He’d dug into all the savings and he’d taken money from the company.
He’d borrowed from Peter to pay Paul.’ She looked away and swallowed painfully.
‘I’ve spent months unravelling all sorts of debts and selling stuff to pay creditors.
I came to you because the house is on the line and it would kill my mother if we lost that. ’
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why did he take his eye off the ball?’
Cassie lowered her eyes. She didn’t know why, exactly, but she could make a pretty educated guess. Tracing back through, it had all begun a few years after her mother’s diagnosis. On the surface, he had been dealing with it all, but underneath he had been slowly collapsing and no one had noticed.
They had always been a close couple but Mary had been the force behind the union, the one who had always been there for him—his backbone in many ways. He just hadn’t been able to cope with her diagnosis and the fact that there was so little light at the end of the tunnel.
There was a limit to what she wanted to reveal to Leo, however.
She hadn’t come asking him for pity. She had come asking for a loan.
He hated her for what she had done to him and most of her could understand why.
She had walked away from him, and she hadn’t been able to tell him why, so he had been left without any explanation. God, it had been so hard.
Looking at him now, she recalled the night she had excitedly, finally, told her parents that she was in love with Leo, that she wanted to go to catering college close to where he would be studying and that they had dreams and plans of a future together.
In response, her parents had brokenly told her about her mother’s diagnosis which they had been keeping to themselves and, because they’d begged her not to leave, just like that she had found herself in a hole with no way out.
She felt the weakness of tears sting behind her eyes and gritted her teeth against the temptation to cry now.
The past was the past. Leo had walked away after she’d texted him and had never looked back over his shoulder once to find out what had happened to her, and he wouldn’t be sitting here now if it weren’t for the fact that she had reached out to him.
He’d forged a prosperous life for himself and, as he had told her, was relieved to have left her behind because she would only have held him back. They stood on opposite sides of an impenetrable wall and she could never forget that.
‘These things happen. He didn’t leave a journal giving his reasons.’ She shrugged.
‘How is your mother?’
Cassie thought of her proud, frail mother and ached for her. She couldn’t bear Leo to be privy to the absolute vulnerability of her situation and she wasn’t going to discuss something she felt as very private with a guy who, painfully but understandably, no longer felt anything for her but dislike.
Even though his tone of voice was neutral right now, what lay in his heart would always be bitterness.
‘If you don’t mind, I’d rather we stuck to business, Leo. I haven’t come prepared with facts and figures, but I can tell you that the catering company is doing really well and we’re on the verge of expansion.’
‘How much are you asking for?’
She told him, not pulling any punches. It was a vast amount of money but what would be the point in pretending otherwise? He didn’t so much as wince at the figure.
‘I know it’s a lot—’ she cleared her throat ‘—and it will take a while for me to repay you in its entirety but the catering company is mine and I would do whatever it took to repay any debts from whatever profits I made. I would even be willing to let you have a share in it…surely an arrangement could be made…something that would work for you…’
‘You would never be able to repay me entirely, Cassie. We both know that. A catering company is a catering company, however successful it is, and the fact that you’re operating here, where the population density is low, restricts just how big it could ever get.’
‘So that’s it, then. Okay.’
‘Why not just sell the house and downsize?’ Leo shrugged. ‘Why would your mother object to that?’
‘She would find it very stressful,’ Cassie hedged, glancing away.
‘There’s no such thing as a life without stress,’ Leo said flatly. ‘I could put you in touch with my father if you want to learn all about that.’
Cassie tensed. It felt hopeless. He had no intention of lending her any money.
Had she contacted him because, like he’d pointed out, she’d subconsciously hoped he’d help her out for old times’ sake?
If she had, then she must have been crazy because his memory of those old times would never have him running along the track of being happy to help out.
‘Okay,’ she said quietly. ‘I’m glad I tried anyway and I’m sorry again about…everything, Leo.’
‘Wait a minute, Cassie.’
His voice, so low and velvety, as rich as the darkest of chocolate, settled around her, making her want to swoon.
She stared at him and licked her lips nervously.