A/N: Sorry it has taken me all weekend to get this out to you all! I have been crazy busy and this one required a lot of work. Thank you again for the amazing reviews. They are all fantastic and keep me moving forward. :) I hope you enjoy!
Eight months earlier...
"Alex Cabot, so has a crush on you!" Kim spouted as she and Casey made their way to the blonde's home the next morning.
The redhead could only pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. "No, she doesn't. She was only being nice...or something."
"No woman buys another woman sheets if she doesn't like her."
Watching her friend steer into the club Alex lived in, Casey frowned, "Would you please stop. I don't know what she was doing or thinking. It doesn't even matter, she is a client that's all. She was just being weird, or screwing with me, or something."
"Hold on, what is the issue with you today. Yesterday you thought it was a little weird, but seemed interested in her. Plus, you said she was really nice when you knew her in high school. Now, today you are thinking she's screwing with you," the brunette said glaring at the redhead over her sunglasses while sitting at a stop sign. Her accusing green eyes told Casey there was no escaping, "Spill it Novak."
Sighing knowing she's lost, Casey confessed, "Elle sent me a text last night saying to stay away from Alex, that she couldn't be trusted."
"Did you ask her about it?" Kim questioned resuming their course not wanting to be late.
"No, I couldn't, she was getting on a plane for a case, and they don't like to be bothered when profiling, it helps keep their concentration or something," she replied with a wave of her hand.
Kim pursed her lips in concentration. "Well, so what's the deal, she can't be trusted like she might be a gossip or can't be trusted because she is a serial killer? Because if I wind up dead in a basement Serena will be pissed. Who would make her coffee in the morning? Serena that is, not The Bay Harbour Butcher."
"Seriously?" Casey chuckled, "Stealing from Dexter much?"
"It's a catchy name, what can I say?" He brunette laughed.
Shaking her head, the redhead continued, "She isn't a serial killer..."
Still laughing as she turned down Alex's street, Kim continued, "Well, like I said, Serena would be pissed, and your sister would royally suck at her job!"
Rolling her eyes dramatically, the redhead sighed, "Ha, ha, ha. You are hilarious."
"You love me and you know it."
"Yep, just remember, I'm the Mary..." Casey laughed.
"No, you aren't, I am! You are the Rhoda! I'm the Mary!"
Preparing to reclaim the name again, Casey paused as they drove up to the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, "Oh my god, that's her house?" Pausing to look at Kim, both their mouths agape, she looked back at the very large two story aged brick home, "No wonder Elle always liked to hang out over here."
The stately aged brick home was easily 5000 square feet, with double stacked front porches and a beautiful brick drive with exquisite landscaping consisting of oak trees and flowering white and pink dogwoods, not to mention lush green grass. It was simply breathtaking. Easily, the best part was the fact that it backed up to the river.
"If this is the outside, I can only imagine what the inside looks like..." Casey muttered.
"We may have hit the jackpot for clients. If she needs a lot of work, we will easily make year in a couple of months. Marry her Casey." Kim exclaimed pulling up the brick drive.
Smacking her friends arm, she laughed, "I am not for you to whore out for money!"
"You could spend all your time writing on that gorgeous porch, plus God only knows how beautiful the back of the house is!" Kim joked putting the car in park.
"Okay, maybe I will consider it..." Casey teased back as they exited the car.
As they made their way up the brick steps to the large mahogany and glass paned front door, Kim rang the bell, announcing their arrival. Within seconds of pressing the button, Alex came around the corner inside the house to open the door for them. Casey couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked even through the glass, dressed in hunter green khakis, a white fitted tee, blonde hair down landing perfectly at her shoulders, and black framed glasses. She too was breathtaking.
Opening the door, Alex greeted them, "Right on time! I just finished getting ready."
Walking inside, Casey was amazed by the exquisite millwork and interior detail of the home. The wood floors were magnificent, followed by all the stunning trim work. There was a lovely staircase next to the front door, and living room and dining on either side of the foyer, followed by what appeared to be an open hallway on the other end. Casey wasn't sure if she'd ever seen such a beautiful home before in her life and she hadn't even really seen the home yet.
Recouping, she looked at the smiling blonde. Their was definitely something hiding behind those blue eyes. "At ten o'clock," Casey questioned a little harshly, quickly earning a scowl from Kim.
"No," the blonde laughed, "I have actually been up since about 5:30. We were testing a new line of Catamarans early this morning and I ended up getting into a race with my cousin, that may have ended with a swim in the Cooper River. Hence, the just finished getting ready."
"You have family in the area," Kim quickly questioned with a smile, hoping to move away from the Spanish Inquisition Casey seemed to be bringing to the table.
"Right this way," Alex said leading them into the main living room, "My cousin Amanda and her wife, Olivia, live in the carriage house out back. It's a temporary setup while their house is being built. They bought a place in the neighborhood of Ion."
"Where are they from originally," Kim pried as they all took a seat.
"She is from Atlanta. Her wife, is from NYC. I met Liv when we moved there after my father's passing and we became best friends. My cousin would came to visit my first summer up there and they and Liv hit it off then. They basically are high school sweethearts. They work for me as well. Liv and I work with designing and overseeing construction of the boats, while Amanda heads up sales and distribution. Amanda and I test every craft before it ever is open for sale. We only let our customers buy quality merchandise." Alex explained.
"That sounds almost to good to be true," Casey quipped again gaining a scowl from Kim. She couldn't seem to control it. There had to be something devious with the blonde if Elle said to stay away.
"It is," Alex smirked, "How about I take you all over after I show you the house?"
"We'd love it," Kim replied so fast Casey never stood a chance to object.
"Great," the blonde continued, "Let's get started then."
Standing the blonde began by showing them the downstairs of the home. She pointed out from their current location the obvious living room they were in, followed by the foyer and dining room, before walking them down the open hallway and into the family room. The space was open and airy with a large bay window allowing natural light to stream into the room. There were built-in bookcases and a beautiful gas fireplace, and it was open to the gourmet kitchen.
Off of the family room sat a large beautiful grand study that with solid wood walls, built-in bookcases and a gas fireplace as well. The only thing decorated in the room at the moment was the bookcase. It was filled with books and some pictures and other knickknacks. Casey thought the walls were a bit gloomy looking for her taste but as if on cue, Alex explained, "This was my father's office. I wasn't ever a fan of the solid wood walls, but he loved them, so I keep them in his memory. I plan to use it as my drafting room. So, I thought I could set up my drafting table over here by the window and arrange maybe a seating area near the fireplace."
Kim immediately jumped and began tossing out ideas, but Casey couldn't help but notice a picture sitting on the bookcase. It was a picture of Alex and her father. They were standing on a sailboat, both smiling so bright. Alex had to have been in high school, it was the Alex Casey remembered in the picture.
"That was my first sailboat. My father bought this old beat up sailboat that couldn't even float for us to fix up together. I was sold from that moment on," the blonde smiled. However, there was something else behind that smile and Casey couldn't put her finger on it.
Alex continued the tour leading them upstairs by the back staircase off the kitchen. There were three large bedrooms and baths and a long hallway open to the family room below that led to the the very large master bedroom. All rooms had access to the porches, but the master suite had access to both. The room was huge, and had a glorious bathroom complete with a large walk-in shower and separate tub, not to mention the two giant walk-in closets.
"Your bedroom is magnificent," Kim gasped. Alex nodded a thanks and they continued to go over some details, while Casey nosed around. She was determined to discover what exactly her sister didn't like about the blonde, but so far Alex seemed perfectly nice to Casey.
"So, obviously I need some more furniture and help with decorating and fabrics," the blondes voice cut through Casey's thoughts. Looking up, Casey locked eyes with the blondes bright blue ones. Something behind those eyes kept Casey wondering.
Making their way back downstairs, Alex began to lead them outside. "Well, if you all are still up for it, I will take you over to headquarters."
"We'd love to go," Kim exclaimed quickly following the blonde outside only to suddenly be met by Alex's over eager harlequin Great Dane, "Oh my god, it's a cow!" She shrieked.
Laughing, Alex introduced the dog, "Guys this is my dog, Maximus, Max for short. He is my sidekick."
"That is a dog," the brunette questioned in a wide eyed stare at the giant beast that was nearly half her size. She figured if he stood up on his hind legs he'd be taller than her easily.
"Yes, you do like dogs, right?" Alex questioned with a little chuckle in her voice.
Casey couldn't help but genuinely smile at the blonde as she called Max over. Loving on the large beast, she locked eyes with Alex once again. There really didn't seem to be a malicious bone in the blondes body. Why could she not be trusted?
As they followed Alex down to the boat dock, they saw a tan brunette carrying a hysterically laughing blonde piggyback style on her back. The blonde woman couldn't control her laughter and eventually took them both down into the breaking waves. Casey and Kim looked at Alex who just smiled and nodded, "My cousin and her wife. They are always up to something crazy. My guess is a bet was involved."
Waving to the now laughing women, Alex called out, "Taco Boy at 1?"
"Yeah!" The blonde Casey registered as Amanda yelled back.
"See you there!" Alex waved as she led them onto the speedboat. Max joined them on the boat, happily letting Alex snap his large life jacket on before laying on one of the bench seats. Kim took the pilot seat next to Alex making sure to put distance between her and the large cow, while Casey took a seat on the bench seat opposite Max.
Alex smiled back at the redhead as she turned the engine over and headed out into the river. On the way, she explained taking the boat to work was the fastest way to get there, a simple ten minute ride, versus a thirty minute battle with traffic. Everything about this woman seemed a little exotic to Casey.
Completely leaving the conversation Alex was having with Kim behind, Casey traveled into her mind. Watching Alex's blonde hair blow lightly against the wind, Casey couldn't help but notice the different shades of blonde. Following them up to their owner, she noticed how Alex's eyes seemed to change when she laughed, they seemed to light up with life. The blonde in general seemed driven, yet so carefree and Casey couldn't help but find herself drawn to her despite Elle's warning.
Noticing the boat start to slow, Casey looked up to see Alex's shipyard. The showroom was closest to them and had its own dock, separate from the dry-dock and shipyard. "So, this is where the magic happens!" The blonde boasted as she docked the boat.
Walking them up the dock to the main building, Casey couldn't help but look it over in awe. The showroom building itself looked like a piece of artwork with expansive windows overlooking the river and brushed steel. Making their way inside, they followed Alex towards the various boat models on display as Max made his way to an enormous dog bed next to a window. The design of the boats were shockingly detailed and it was clearly obvious that Alex had poured herself into her business. As she showed Kim and Casey the different variations and types and explained how a customer can buy them, Casey found herself getting lost deeper and deeper in the blondes words.
Suddenly, a tanned skin dark haired man in about his late twenties appeared. His dark brown eyes were large and round and made him look friendly even when he wasn't smiling. "Alex, I am sorry to interrupt," he began, "I have a potential buyer from Bermuda on the phone and they had a question about transport and wanted to ask you directly."
"Sure thing," she said patting him on the shoulder, "By the way, Kim, Casey, this is my number one sales associate, Philip."
"It's very nice to meet you," he said shaking their hands, taking an extra moment with Casey.
As they turned and stepped into his office, Kim turned to Casey. "I'm going to check the stores messages. Mary Lee wanted to stop by and pick up her chair today and this is taking just a little longer than expected!"
Watching Kim walk to a quiet corner, Casey began to explore on her own. Walking from display boat to display, she eventually found herself at a wall of pictures. They were of a family on many different boats, particularly a little girl and her father.
It only took Casey a second to realize it was Alex and her father, the similarities in looks between them were shocking, same blonde hair and blue eyes, even their facial expressions were the same. Looking over easily thirty if not more pictures, Casey's heart began to hurt for the blonde. Her father had clearly taught her all she knew about boats, and in every picture you could see their bond grow deeper and deeper. Casey could only imagine what the loss of Alex's father did to her. Noticing the same picture from Alex's study at home at the end of the wall, Casey stopped to focus on the version of Alex she once knew.
"See something you like?" Alex's voice broke her thoughts.
"I don't know how to drive a boat, so no." Casey quipped back as she scanned the room for Kim.
"If you are looking for Kim, she just left with Philip. She had to get back to the shop, but said you wanted to stay and look around," the blonde explained, quickly realizing Casey didn't know what she was talking about. "If you are ready to leave I can take you now...or you are welcome to join Amanda, Liv and I for lunch at Taco Boy."
"Thank you, but I don't think that would be appropriate," The redhead replied with zero conviction in her voice.
"Casey, what's going on?" Alex bluntly asked as she walked closer. "Yesterday, you were different...sorry, a better choice of words would be more relaxed around me. Today, you seem guarded, like you are waiting for me to attack or something."
Biting her lip, Casey wasn't sure of what to say.
"It's Elle, isn't it?" Alex deadpanned.
"She told me to stay away from you because you couldn't be trusted. Why did she say that, what have you done?" She didn't know why she confessed her sister's message to the blonde, or why she'd asked her for the truth. All she knew was she needed to know more.
Alex looked to the floor, moving her feet back and forth, before looking up with a look of determination. "I will tell you, on one condition."
"What?" Casey asked moving closer as if being pulled forward by some unstoppable force.
Taking a quick deep breath, Alex took the plunge, "You take the next two weeks to get to know me, the real me, then I will tell you."
"Why?" The redhead questioned.
Standing face to face now, Alex whispered as she stared into Casey's green eyes, "Because...because I really like you Casey, and I want you to know the real me, before judging the old me..."
