I take a deep breath, sitting up. “Look, Brandon. We need
to talk…”
He stiffens. “Okay.”
“I think you’re a really great guy—”
“Who wants smoothies?” Mom glides into the room, holding
a tray with two big glasses filled with pink Strawberry-Banana
Delight. Excellent timing, Mom. As always.
“Looks delicious,” Brandon says, flashing a grin.
“It’s my own special recipe. I won’t tell you the secret ingredient. Let’s see if you can guess.”
I get to my feet, and Mom’s smile fades.
“Cass? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this,” I say. “I…have to go to bed.”
Without waiting for a response, I run upstairs. I push my
bedroom door shut and lean against it. I sit there for a long
time. The stress is starting to grate on me.
Across my room, the sheer white curtain on my window rustles, caught in a gust of evening wind. I can smell the ocean.
The beach. My jaw sets.
Snapping into action, I lock my door and scramble to
turn on some soft music on my radio. The old row-ofpillowsunder-theblanketthat’ssupposed-to-looklike—
my-body trick seems a bit middle school, but I’m not above
that. I tug a black sweater over my shirt and slide into black
pants. Apparently I’m not above looking like a pathetic
ninja either.
The great thing about living in a huge house is that it’s
fairly easy to sneak around. There’s only one close call as I
slide past the study, where Frank is on a late video conference with Beijing. I don’t know where Brandon went, and I don’t care. Mom’s probably going to yell at me. Also don’t
care. As I break through the bushes to the beach, it’s all
worth it.
Lawrence waits in our usual spot. He turns, but instead
of rushing toward me, he just studies me. I tug at my shirt,
selfconscious.
“I look dumb, I know, but I had to sneak out.”
“You’re a vision, Cassandra.”
Now, he comes toward me. The feel of his kiss is even better
than in my daydreams. We spend the first half hour or so
reminding each other of that fact. Every second in that library,
every tense word with Mom was worth it if it buys me more
moments like this.
The thought of the library reminds me. We have important
things to discuss.
“We need to talk about Cooper Enterprises,” I say as Lawrence
moves his lips down the line of my throat.
“Do we have to?” he asks between kisses.
My eyelids flutter with pleasure. “Mm-hmm.” I sit back a
little. “I mean, yes. We have to talk. No more kissing.”
“Well, that’s no fun.”
“We can have fun later. Right now, we need to discuss what
I researched today.”
“Or…” Lawrence grabs me close again. “We could kiss now
and talk later.”
I resist his embrace. “This is serious, Lawrence.”
He sighs. “You’re right. So, did you find out something about
Cooper Enterprises?”
“Yes. They’re trouble,” I begin. “This article I found is from
nineteen twenty-seven. It talks about how almost all the top
guys at Cooper are arrested.”
“For?”
“Crime. Mostly business related, I think, but the article didn’t
really go into much detail.”
Lawrence frowns, deep in thought. “I could have guessed
this. I thought I smelled a rat.”
“It seems really serious.”
He nods. “I’ll do a little digging tomorrow.”
I grab his arm. “Be careful. Don’t go seeking out trouble just
to impress me. I’ll make out with you regardless.”
Lawrence nods. “Very good to know.” Then his smile fades.” But
maybe I’m bringing trouble just by knowing this information.”
“Don’t talk like that,” I say, cringing.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be morbid.”
“This is useful information,” I say. “And if we’re cautious and
thorough, it could be what saves your life.”
He presses his hand over mine. “I want to believe that.”
“I won’t give up on you, Lawrence. I really believe this is my