When Cassie’s first pay came in, she nearly went into shock. At her interview for her position as Felix’s PA, she had come to an agreement about what her salary should be at the end of every month but when the check came in, she still couldn’t believe the figure. It was probably nowhere as large as what it would have been if she had decided to pursue a career in software engineering but it was a whole lot more than double what she had been earning at The Bean House, Books-A-Plenty and Club Indigo combined. With the money she had gotten, she had been able to pay off her credit card debts (which weren’t that large to begin with), pay off a small fraction of her student debts, stock up on groceries for the month, buy school supplies for the twins and get a plush dog bed for Snowflake who was more than happy to have something comfier than an old limp throw pillow to sleep on. She had even bought a snazzy pant suit to wear to her court appearance at Robert Smith’s trial happening sometime

The first thing that popped into Felix’s mind when his lips had met with Cassie’s was that he should have done it a lot sooner. He had been absolutely enamored with the way her soft lips had felt against his, the way their tongues had danced against each other, the way she had raked her hands through his hair and his favorite part, the way she had moaned into his mouth when he had deepened the kiss. Try as he might to dismiss it, he hadn’t been able to get Cassie off his mind. One way or another, his mind always drifted back to her. When he tried thinking of his cousin, Eliza, he thought of how well she and Cassie would have gotten along. When he had seen the girl from Fantasies on his bed, he had sent her back, telling himself and her that he had done so because he wasn’t in the mood. The truth was that Cassie had become such a big presence in his life that even considering sleeping with another woman felt downright disrespectful. He couldn’t even see someone drinking a cup of coffee

Cassie didn’t stir again until it was properly morning and when she did, the first thing that came into view was Felix’s face.“Good morning, sleepy head.” He greeted looking down at her.Granted, Cassie was startled by his close proximity but composed herself and managed to rise from his lap without making a fool of herself.“Good morning.” She said groggily. “What time is it?”Felix shrugged. His phone had died the night before and his laptop had done the same a couple of minutes after he had woken up in the morning. Still, he hadn’t gotten up to charge any of them as he hadn’t wanted to bother Cassie.She stood from the couch and walked down the hallway to the grandfather clock that had lost its chime a while ago but still told the correct time. “Oh my God! It’s past nine.” She screeched from the hallway and ran back inside the room. “I’m late for work. You’re late for work. And you guys are late for school! Hit the showers, you guys.” She demanded, nudging her siblings awake and

When Cassie had agreed to Felix’s date, she had been expecting to have dinner with him at a restaurant and not to be chauffeur driven to a greenhouse. When the driver had dropped her off at the entrance, she had asked him if he was sure of the address.The sunlight was just beginning to dip below the horizon casting the glass walls of the greenhouse in an ethereal glow, turning the walls into a kaleidoscope of oranges, pinks and purples. Once she stepped inside, she was greeted by the delicate scent of flowers and the earthy scent of dirt. Flowers and other plants of varying shapes and sizes spilled out from terracotta pots. The pathway was illuminated by a row of glowing lights and as she walked through them, her footsteps were muffled by the soft and dead foliage underneath. No matter how much she wanted to deviate from the path and wander aimlessly through the greenhouse, she kept to it, the anticipation of seeing Felix far again greater than the desire to explore the greenhouse.A

“Can you please slow down?” Isabel begged, already out of breath.Cassie crooked a brow at her friend. “Are you talking to me or Snowflake?”Ever since the day Big Daddy had gotten thrown out of Cassie’s house, Isabel had been staying at Cassie’s and everyone in the house had fallen into an easy routine. When Cassie woke up in the mornings, she would pour a bowl of water and kibble for Snowflake, put the washed and dried dishes from dinner away and then head into the shower. Around the time that she would be toweling her body, Isabel would wake up and begin to prepare breakfast for the four of them – a suitable arrangement as between the two of them, Isabel was the better cook and unlike Cassie, she actually enjoyed cooking. By the time the twins would have woken up, Cassie would have already left for work so it would fall on Isabel to get them ready for school. Isabel and the twins usually left the house around the same time, sometimes leaving Snowflake behind, other times dropping h