Sydney chose to believe her, and as long as Cassie told her the truth, they could work through any situation together. "And were you going to meet him at the mall today?"

Cassie swallowed hard. "Yes. But I was going to be with Becky, too." Then, she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, God, you're going to ground me for life, aren't you?"

Holding back a smile at her daughter's dramatic display, Sydney pulled Cassie's hands away so she could look into her eyes. "Truly, if I had my way, I'd keep you my little girl forever, but that's just not going to happen, now is it?"

Cassie shook her head. "No. I'm fifteen years old, and you need to let me grow up."

"I know," Sydney admitted. "It's just hard for me to accept sometimes, but I promise to work on being better about it."

Cassie stared at Sydney, a humorous look changing her expression. "Who are you and what have you done with my real mother?"

Sydney laughed, knowing that this sudden change of hers must be a shock to her daughter. "I'm still your same old mom. I'm just trying to handle things differently, in a way that will hopefully strengthen our relationship."

Reaching out, she smoothed Cassie's auburn hair away from her beautiful face. A face that had matured over the years and would no doubt turn male heads one day-if it wasn't already. Cassie was a good kid, and Sydney's goal was to keep her that way as much as possible. "It's important that you talk to me and tell me the truth, always, and I promise to listen and give you the best advice that I can. But this doesn't mean you have free rein to run wild and do whatever you want. I still have final say, okay?"

Cassie rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to run wild, Mom. I just want to have fun, like the rest of my friends."

And Sydney had to trust that her daughter would make the right decisions and not be swayed by peer pressure when it came to all those issues that every teenager came up against at some point in their lives.

"Mom… what's going on with you and Mr. Barnett?"

Just as she'd thrown her daughter off kilter with her unexpected question about Ryan, Cassie had just done the same to her. "Why?" Sydney asked curiously, unsure what her daughter knew. "Did he say something to you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "But you've been crying the past few days, which you never do, and he wasn't in a great mood yesterday at school, so I thought that maybe the two of you had a fight or something."

If she expected Cassie to be truthful at all times, her daughter deserved the same respect. "Yeah, we had a fight."

A frown creased Cassie's brows. "Are you not dating any longer?"

"No, but I'm hoping to change that." Then a thought dawned on Sydney. "Does my seeing Daniel bother you?"

Cassie shrugged. "At first, I wasn't thrilled about it, but I really like Mr. Barnett and he seemed to make you happy. So even though it's not the coolest thing for my mom to be dating my math teacher, I guess I can live with it."

Sydney grinned. "Thanks." She'd always kept the men she'd dated in the past out of Cassie's life because it made no sense to bring a man into her daughter's life who was only going to be around for a few days or weeks at the most. But Daniel was Sydney's first real, serious relationship, and her daughter's acceptance and approval mattered to her.

Cassie bit her bottom lip again. "Ummm, you never did say if I could go to the mall today."

Sydney thought a moment before answering, letting her daughter sweat it out just a bit. "I'll tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. How about I drive you and Beck to the mall so I can meet Ryan for myself, and then the three of you can hang out for a few hours, and go to a movie."

A horrified look transformed Cassie's features. "Mom!" she wailed in protest. "Do I have to make Ryan meet you?"

Apparently, it wasn't so cool to have the boy you liked meet your mom so early in the game, but Sydney held firm, needing her daughter to realize that she was still setting boundaries for her. "Yeah, you do. That's the deal, and a damn good one, I'd say, considering what you've put me through the past few weeks." She gently chucked Cassie beneath the chin. "So take it or leave it. It's your choice."

"I'll take it," Cassie grumbled.

"That's what I thought." Sydney stood, and so did Cassie. But before her daughter could walk out of the bedroom, Sydney pulled her into a tight hug.

"I love you, Cass," she whispered into her ear. "You know that right?"

Cassie pulled back and grinned. "Of course I know you love me. You tell me every single day. And, I love you, too."

At that moment, Sydney felt more content and fulfilled than she had in a very long time. Like she'd finally come to terms with her past, her fears, and just maybe it wouldn't screw up her future. She'd resolved her dilemma with her daughter, now she had one more issue to go. Sydney just hoped that Daniel was as easy to sway as her daughter had been.


THE last person Daniel expected to find standing on his doorstep on a Saturday evening was Sydney. One, because he never thought he'd see her again after how they'd parted ways, and two, she normally worked at The Electric Blue on the weekends. So this was a surprise in many ways, though he was reserving judgment as to whether or not her visit was a good or bad thing until he found out why she was there.

"Can I come in?" she asked, a slight, hesitant smile curving her glossy lips.

No matter what happened between the two of them, he'd never turn her away. He also wanted to believe that if things didn't work out with them, they could at least be friends, and he extended that olive branch to her now.

"Sure." He stepped back and let her walk past him into the entryway, then shut the door behind her, wishing she didn't look and smell so damn good. He led the way into the living room, switched off the TV show he'd been watching, and turned back to Sydney.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked pleasantly.

She shook her head, though he could tell that she wasn't quite sure what to make of his amicable attitude. "No, thank you."

While it was cold outside, it was warm in the house, and she was wrapped up in a wool coat. "Can I take your coat?" he asked.

She shifted anxiously on her feet, which were encased in a pair of sexy red pumps, the kind that made him think of a dozen erotic scenarios that included her wearing those seductive heels. "I… ummm, sure," she said, and unbelted the sash.

Once the coat was off, she handed it to him, and he laid it over the back of a nearby recliner. When he turned around and glanced at Sydney again, his mouth went bone dry. She was wearing a red blouse to match her shoes, and a pair of jeans that showcased her phenomenal curves. The bright, cherry color suited her normal outrageous personality and take-charge attitude, yet at the moment that brash and bold female was no where to be seen. In her place was a woman with uncertainty in her eyes who was wringing her hands nervously.

He stood across from Sydney, fighting the urge to wrap her in the security of his arms and give her the reassurance she seemed to be searching for. He didn't, only because he had to know what she'd come here to say. "So, what brings you by?" he asked in his most casual tone.

"You. Us." She glanced away from him and let out a low, defeated groan. "God, I am so not good at this sort of thing," she muttered.

The first part of her reply gave him hope, and the second comment almost made him smile, because she just looked so adorable, like a young girl coming clean with her first crush. And in a lot of ways, he supposed he was exactly that for her.

Even though he had a pretty good indication of where she was heading with her emotional statement, he prompted her to finish what she'd just started. She needed to say the words as much as he needed to hear them. "What thing are you talking about, Sydney?"

She met his gaze, looking so sweet and vulnerable. So everything he wanted and needed in his life. "You know, that thing called a relationship?"

He tipped his head. "Is that why you're here?"

"Yeah," Sydney whispered achingly. "I don't know what to say or do to make up for the way I treated you the other night, and I wish I could take back some of the things I said. I never meant to hurt you."

The relief that Daniel felt in that moment was incredibly profound-that he hadn't lost this woman he'd come to love. "I know. You were scared, and that was your way of protecting your emotions, and I understand that, Sydney," he said, and slowly walked toward her. "I understand you more than you realize."

Because he cared. Because he hadn't allowed sex to get in the way of knowing her, really knowing her and who she was beneath the I-don't-give-a-damn façade she'd hidden behind for so long. Because he'd stayed around long after most men would have cut their losses and moved on.

"There's more I need to tell you," she said. "I talked to Cassie about her math and Ryan."

"And?" he asked curiously.

"I think we've come to an understanding." She smiled, obviously proud of what she'd accomplished with her daughter. "I'm going to try and lighten up with her and boys and being a teenager, and she promised to be open and honest with me, though I know she'll slip up from time to time."

He chuckled and folded his arms loosely over his chest. "Most teenagers do, but it's a fair compromise."

"I think so," Sydney said, and wished she still didn't feel so uncertain about where she stood with Daniel. He'd yet to touch her, or give her any sign that he still wanted her to be a part of his life, and it was making her insane not knowing.