Page 87 of Courting Trouble
‘Iheardyou,’ Cassie said again, her eyes not so hard now.
‘I have no idea what you think… Wait, my agent?’ Delilah quickly cycled back. ‘I was telling her about us, but I didn’t say… I would never have said…’
That was when she remembered it. She’d broken off the conversation because James Rourke had been bringing her a nemesis to conquer, and she’d needed Ashley to stop talking. And she had said something like,I don’t have time for that.
All at once, she understood. Not just the misunderstanding, but that Cassie was hurt.
Because she wanted to be with her. Wanted Delilah in the way Delilah wanted Cassie.
Delilah felt exhilaration and self-loathing in the same moment. If she could have just stopped being a little mouse and said how she felt, this, Cassie,hurt, wouldn’t have happened. But it had because Delilah had been too afraid.
This was her whole problem. She didn’t know how to feel deserving of what she wanted. For the second time today, it was time to stop being frightened and make it happen.
Eighty-
Four
Delilah took a step closer, her hands slightly trembling. ‘Cassie… I didn’t mean it like that. I—’
Cassie held up a hand, cutting her off. ‘Don’t. Don’t say anything. Just… don’t.’ She’d said too much, exposed herself. She needed to get out of here.
Delilah wasn’t giving up easily, though. Clearly, she was very embarrassed to have been overheard. ‘I know I messed up, but I—’
‘You don’t know anything.’ Cassie’s eyes flared. ‘You don’t know what it’s like to wait to see if someone gives a fuck about you while you trail around after them like a bloody puppy dog.’
Delilah opened her mouth, but Cassie didn’t let her finish. She shook her head, turning slightly away. Now she’dreallysaid too much.
Then she walked past Delilah, intending to get the fuck away from this club.
But then she stopped. No, she didn’t stop. Delilah had hold of Cassie’s arm gently.
‘What the bloody hell are you doing?’ Cassie asked, voice sharp, eyes wide.
Delilah looked at her with such seriousness that Cassie had no idea what she was gonna say. What did come out was truly surreal.
‘You got a banana?’
Eighty-
Five
Delilah could see from Cassie’s expression that she wasn’t tracking a single thing.
‘Do you?’ Delilah asked anyway, her mouth moving faster than her brain.
Cassie blinked at her. ‘Why the fuck would I have a banana?’
‘Because you always have a banana,’ Delilah insisted, even as the words sounded insane to her own ears.
Cassie narrowed her eyes. ‘Have you lost your mind?’
‘I guess you wouldn’t have anywhere to keep it,’ Delilah muttered to herself.
Cassie laughed nervously. ‘Yep. You’ve lost it.’
Panic pressed in on Delilah. She couldn’t stop now, not with everything at stake. Somehow, this made the fight for her entire life, her career, her break, her tennis skills, seem smaller. Simple, even. She wanted the role, she worked for the role, she was good enough for the role, she deserved the role, she got the role. Why was that obvious now?
Because the woman in front of her had believed in her. And that had allowed Delilah to find that glimmer of belief in herself. And now Delilah had to find a way to deserveher. She was willing to do whatever it took, however crazy.
