When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 272

Chapter Two Hundred And Seventy–Two: How Long Are We Going To Keep Doing This?

Ray Simpson’s penthouse stood in calm isolation. Its terrace opened to the night air, with the faint shimmer of the pool beside it. The water reflected the soft lighting around the space, rippling gently whenever the breeze passed over it. It was peaceful here. Private. The kind of place where the world felt far enough away to forget everything else, at least for a while.

Ray leaned back against the lounge seat, his breathing slow but not entirely steady. Daisy Noah straddled him, her movements deliberate and confident. She was never hesitant, with Daisy, everything felt effortless, as though she moved through moments without ever second–guessing herself.

Ray’s hands rested at her waist, guiding her gently. His touch was firm but careful. This was not new to him. But it never felt routine either, because with Daisy, there was always something just beneath the surface. Something he could never quite reach.

“You’re distracted,” Daisy murmured, her voice low but clear enough to cut through the quiet.

Ray exhaled softly. His fingers tightened slightly at her sides. “I’m not.”

Daisy tilted her head, studying him. “You are,” she said simply. There was no accusation in her tone, just certainty.

Ray did not answer immediately, because she was right. His mind had not stayed in one place all evening. It moved between too many things. Dreston, Cassienne. The growing tension around them, and something else he could not yet name. Something that felt like it was approaching slowly, without

warning.

Daisy leaned in slightly. Her hands rested lightly against his shoulders. “Where did you go?” she asked.

Ray met her eyes. “I’m here,” he said.

She held his gaze for a moment longer, then let out a small breath. “No,” she said quietly. “You’re thinking.”

That was the difference between them. Daisy lived in the moment. She never thought too far ahead. Her life was filled with adventures, but Ray carried everything with him.

He shifted slightly beneath her. His hands stayed at her waist. “How long are we going to keep doing

this?” he asked.

The question came without force. But it stayed.

Daisy’s expression changed. Not dramatically, but enough. “What does that mean?” she asked. Her tone was light, but her eyes were sharper now.

Ray held her gaze. “You know what it means.”

She smiled faintly. “Do I?”

There it was. The deflection.

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Chapter Two Hundred And Seventy Two. How lorier Are We Colng to Kemp Doug High

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Ray exhaled slowly. “We pretend this is enough,” he said. “We act like it does not need anything else.”

Daisy’s hands slid from his shoulders. She rested them instead on her own lap as she straightened slightly. “And it does not,” she replied. Her voice was calm. Too calm.

Ray studied her. “That is where we do not agree.”

A quiet pause followed.

Daisy looked away briefly. Her gaze drifted toward the water beside them. “You are overthinking it,” she

said.

“No,” Ray replied. “I am finally not ignoring it.”

Her jaw tightened slightly. That was new, because Daisy rarely let anything show.

“You knew what this was,” she said.

“I did,” Ray replied. “But I did not expect to stay there.”

She let out a short breath, almost a laugh. “That sounds like a problem to you.”

Ray did not smile. “I do not think it is.”

The tension between them shifted. It was subtle, but undeniable.

Daisy reached for his hand. Not out of affection, but as if to steady the moment. “You are trying to turn this into something it does not need to be,” she said.

Ray looked at her fingers resting against his. “And you are trying to keep it from becoming anything at

all.”

Silence followed. A real silence this time. Then her phone rang. The sound cut cleanly through the

moment.

Daisy froze at the sound, it was brief–Almost unnoticeable–But Ray saw it.

She pulled back slightly, reaching for her phone where it rested on the table beside them. The screen lit up, causing her expression to shift, and just for a second, then she declined the call.

Ray watched her. “Who was that?” he asked.

Daisy did not look at him as she set the phone back down. “No one important.”

Her response was too quick, and too smooth. It was a lie, and Ray knew it.

Before he could respond, the phone buzzed again. But it was a message this time. Daisy hesitated, then picked it up. Her eyes moved across the screen. And this time, she did not hide it well enough. Her

expression did not break. But something in it changed.

Ray leaned forward slightly. “What is it?” he asked.

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Chapter Two Hundred And Seventy–Two How Long Are We Going To Khop: Daiber This

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