Free KISS AND MAKE-UP by Leslie Kelly Page A

relationship with Wyatt. Not that I needed to look at my parents’ involvement in my life, and how I react to it.”
    Another pregnant pause. Cassie almost groaned, picturing the frown lines on the older woman’s forehead growing ever deeper. “Do you think he’s right? Is it possible my relationship with my family, my need to please them, was the heart of the reason for my breakup with Wyatt? That it was my fault all along?”
    Papers ruffled again. And her grandmother made a sighing sound.
    Cassandra barely noticed. Because her own words were echoing in her head, suddenly sounding plausible.
    No, she absolutely did not live her life for her family anymore. Her grandmother might have suggested this trip to Boston to see Wyatt in person, but Cassandra was the one who’d made the decision to actually do it. She was fully capable of making her own decisions.
    But this was now. And that—Wyatt, her marriage—was then. Maybe the Cassandra of eight years ago hadn’t been quite as confident and independent as she’d thought.
    “He’s onto something, isn’t he?” she whispered. “Maybe I wasn’t just asking for Mom and Dad’s financial help to set Wyatt up in business. What if I was seeking their approval, knowing how angry they were that I’d married him? Perhaps I was trying to make them happy by showing I still needed them, instead of waiting for them to acknowledge my right to make my own choices.”
    This time Grandmother had the courtesy to grunt a little.
    “And when I got their money but not their blessing,” she continued, still almost thinking out loud, “maybe I…is it possible I subconsciously sabotaged my marriage? Punished Wyatt for it, even? Maybe not even realizing it made him think I was giving him an ultimatum—to take their job or else?”
    “Mmm.”
    “Not intentionally!”
    “Mmm.”
    Cassie began to wearily rub the corners of her eyes. “Damn,” she whispered, finally forcing herself to admit the truth. Grandmother might be right. More importantly, Wyatt might be right. Maybe the problems she and Wyatt had had really weren’t because of money or financial worries. Or because of her need for security and his lack of patience. Maybe they’d simply been about Cassandra making a subconscious choice. The wrong choice. The choice to seek her parents’ approval, rather than have faith in her young husband.
    The realization stunned her into silence for a moment. She stared sightlessly at the wall, the cell phone still up to her ear, and let a montage of images sweep through her mind.
    Images of herself as a young girl. Needy. Lonely.
    Images of herself as a young wife. Scared. Uncertain.
    Images of herself today. A very different person. One who sure wasn’t the type to run when the going got tough.
    She immediately sat straighter on the bed and swung her legs around to dangle off the side of it. “Thank you, Grandmother,” she said, meaning it. “I can’t tell you how much this has helped. You really talked me off a ledge.”
    Her grandmother started to laugh, her amusement taking Cassandra by surprise. Then she said something completely unexpected. “Well, darling, you are most very welcome for my complete silence. Now, are there any other pressing issues you need to work through while I sit here and act as sounding board?”
    Cassandra chuckled as well. “Touché.”
    Disconnecting, she focused on what she had to do. Namely, unpacking.
    Because Cassandra Devane wasn’t going anywhere. Not until she’d had a chance to see if everything she’d been subconsciously seeking for the past eight years had been in the arms of the man she’d let slip away.
    This was no longer about closure, or letting go of the past. And it definitely wasn’t about getting him to sign the divorce papers.
    No. Severing all ties was the last thing she intended to do.
    In fact, she planned to do everything she could to give the two of them a second chance at happiness.
    Over the next few days, Wyatt came