“I’d love one. Paris was amazing, but I couldn’t find decent coffee anywhere. What have you been doing while I was away?”
Cassie took two cups out of a cupboard. “I’m not sure where to begin.”
“I saw Brooke before I came here. She told me you went to Manhattan to accept the Wilson Award. When did you decide to go?”
“After your wedding, Noah asked if I would create an exclusive range of jewelry for his company. One of the conditions of the contract was that I attend the awards ceremony.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “You’re working for Wilson Enterprises? That’s fantastic! It will make a huge difference to your career.” She studied Cassie’s face and frowned. “Or maybe not. Has something else happened?”
“The man who accused Dad of stealing his designs was working for Noah when he made the complaint. Wilson Enterprises paid his legal expenses even though they knew the chance of winning the case was remote.”
Sam sat on a kitchen stool. “How did you find that out?”
“A reporter asked me some questions at the awards ceremony. The only reason Noah employed me was because he felt guilty about what happened to Dad.”
“Did he tell you that?”
Cassie handed Sam a cup of coffee. “No, but he might as well have. He’s rebranding his company and he wanted to use my face and jewelry to attract different people to his online store.”
“That happens all the time.”
“Except you usually tell the person what you’re doing. He knew I didn’t want to have my photo everywhere. Even going to the award ceremony as C.J. Davis was a big risk.”
“Because of your dad?”
Cassie nodded.
“You said a reporter was asking you questions. What did they do with the information?”
“She was going to publish a story, but nothing has appeared in the paper or online.”
“Have you spoken to Noah?”
“There’s no point.” Cassie hadn’t seen or spoken to him since the award night. She thought he was the man she could have spent the rest of her life with. But she couldn’t trust him and no amount of talking would change that.
“Noah seemed like a nice person. Look at what he did for the tiny home village. Without his company’s support, the church wouldn’t have anywhere to build the houses. And he spent a fortune at the auction for The Welcome Center. You don’t do things like that unless you want to make a difference.”
“He has lots of money and he knew both projects are important to me. Noah probably thought he would have a better chance of working with me if he showed an interest in what I was doing.”
Sam frowned. “That doesn’t sound like the man I met. Are you sure you aren’t overreacting?”
“I wish I was.” Noah’s enthusiasm for both projects didn’t make sense, unless he had an ulterior motive. Cassie just hoped he knew what a difference his company was making in Sapphire Bay. “Tell me about your honeymoon. Did you go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and eat baguettes filled with French cheese on the Champs-Élysées?”
The worry on Sam’s face was replaced with a smile. “We did. You should have seen our honeymoon suite. It was huge and filled with beautiful furniture and the biggest bed I’ve ever seen.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“It was, but the best thing was spending time with Caleb. He’s a wonderful man and so is Noah.”
Cassie shook her head. “I thought he was, but I was wrong.”
“Before you write him off completely, talk to Pastor John. I think you might be surprised by what he has to say.”
“When did you see John?”
“He was on the same flight as Caleb and me. For the last couple of days, he’s been in New York City, talking to investors about the tiny home village.”
“Did he say how it went?”
