Chapter 23

“There’s a saying—when you start something, you see it through.” His voice was casual, calm. “Leaving a girl stranded halfway? Totally not my style.” “Mr. Blackwood, I get that you're trying to be nice, but we're not heading in the same direction. And it looks like you're in a rush too,” Cassandra replied, clearly trying to talk him out of insisting on giving her a ride. She really didn’t want to spend time with him. “To me, none of that’s a good enough reason not to take you,” he said stubbornly. Cassandra’s hands clenched her skirt on her lap. God, this man was seriously persistent. She took a deep breath and said, “The Hawthorne house.” Up front, the moment Max heard her say that, he didn’t even wait for Damien to respond—he just spun the wheel and turned the car in the other direction. From then on, silence. A weird kind of heavy silence filled the car, the kind that made the air feel thicker. Cassandra sat stiffly, anxious and alert. Damien lowered his head as he typed on his phon