Ninety minutes later, a soft snore alerted him to the fact that Cassie had fallen asleep next to him. With her head lolling back and her limbs relaxed, she looked so peaceful. And cute. And sweet, too. Did she always look like this when she drifted off in front of the TV?
A memory of the last time they’d watched a movie together slid into his mind. It had been two years ago, when she’d come round to keep him company after Alison’s funeral. He couldn’t recall the exact details, but he remembered his overwhelming exhaustion and deep gratitude at her presence. He hadn’t been able to sleep for days, despite the pills he’d been prescribed, which he’d taken in a vain hope of getting a few hours respite. But with Cassie there, the pills seemed to work, and he’d slept for ages, his slumber punctuated by bizarre dreams conjured up by his over-stressed brain.
He rubbed his chest as a weird feeling took hold of him, a feeling he couldn’t label, couldn’t even decide if it was good or bad.
Cassie snuffled in her sleep, curling up and hugging a cushion like a child. A smile tugged at Kirk’s lips. He picked up a cashmere throw and drew it over her, watching as she snuggled into its soft folds.
…
“Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two?” Audrey asked.
Ignoring her mom’s prying eyes, Cassie bent to slide her foot into the shoe. They were at Neiman Marcus to buy wedding shoes to go with Cassie’s bridesmaid gown, but Audrey seemed more interested in dissecting Cassie’s friendship with Kirk.
“It’s a bit too tight,” Cassie told the store clerk assisting her. “Do you have a half-size up?”
The store clerk said she’d check and disappeared into the stock room.
“Well?” Audrey tapped Cassie imperatively on the arm.
“No, Mom. There’s nothing going on between me and Kirk.”
That near kiss the other night had been an aberration. When she and Kirk had played one-on-one basketball last night, there had been no repeat. It was like being back in college with him, a fact reinforced by their movie night. Everything between them was relaxed, friendly, platonic. Deathly platonic.
Audrey pursed her lips. “Perhaps he’d take more notice of you if you made more of an effort—put on a dress, have a manicure, do something with your hair.”
“Have you forgotten that he was once married to Alison Hancock?”
“Ah, Alison Hancock.” Audrey turned misty-eyed. “Now there was a beautiful girl in every sense of the word.”
Cassie ignored the sudden pinching in her stomach. Of course Kirk hadn’t noticed her yesterday when she was all hot and sweaty playing basketball. “Precisely. So do you really think Kirk would be interested in me?”
“I know it’s a long shot, but if you don’t try you’ll never know, will you?”
“Mom, we’re not having this conversation,” Cassie huffed, at her mental torture threshold.
She jumped to her feet and made a show of examining the other shoes on display. A pair of shimmering, jade-green stilettos drew her attention. Now these were sexy shoes. The front was sharply tapered, the straps delicate, the toothpick heels three inches high. If she wore these, Kirk was bound to notice. And she did need to buy a suitable outfit for tomorrow’s dinner with Hank Parnell and his daughter. Shawna would expect her to dress up like one of Kirk’s glamorous girlfriends, and these shoes were perfect for that.
“Cassie!” She started at her mom’s outburst. Audrey pointed at Cassie’s bare feet. “I insist you have a pedicure soon. You can’t walk around like that.”
Cassie self-consciously wriggled her unvarnished toes in the carpet. “Fine,” she replied.
Tomorrow she would buy those jade stilettos and a matching gown, and then she’d have a pedicure, manicure, her hair styled—the whole works. And then maybe Kirk would sit up and take notice of her.
…
Kirk stood in the hallway, waiting for Cassie to come down so they could set off for the dinner with Hank Parnell and his daughter. He jingled his car keys and wondered what was taking Cassie so long. He was about to call out to her when a slight noise sounded behind him.
He turned as a tall, curvaceous beauty clad in a shimmering dress descended the stairs. The dress was sparkly silver, cut low in the front and tight at the waist, folds sweeping over her hips. The air caught in his throat as he took in the generous curve of her breasts highlighted by the clingy material. Her hair, streaked with blond highlights, was casually piled on top of her head, emphasizing the slenderness of her neck. As she moved toward him, a slit in her dress parted, revealing long, toned legs clad in sheer stockings and pointy-toed, high-heeled jade stilettos.
“Cassie?”
His brain stuttered, his heart pounded, his body surged. White-hot lust streaked through him and consolidated in his groin. A silent groan lodged in his throat. That dress… So help him God, that dress was made for pulling off. He could picture it already—sliding the fabric off her shoulders, moving his hands to cup her naked breasts, lifting her legs in those come-fuck-me heels so they wrapped around his hips as he pressed into her.
“Hi, Kirk.”
She paused a few yards away, hands twisting together. She was nervous, he realized with a shock. She might have glammed herself up, but beneath the dress, the shoes, the makeup, she was still the Cassie he knew.
Conflicting emotions rushed over him. He couldn’t show her how much her appearance turned him on. He had to treat her like always, like the familiar, old friend, not a horny goat.
He cleared his throat. “You look, uh, very nice.”
A small V appeared between her eyebrows. “Nice?”
He forced himself to look away from her cleavage. “Very…glamorous. You sure you won’t get too cold in that?”
She pressed her lips together. They were colored with scarlet lipstick, plump and luscious and inviting. Heaven help him, how was he going to ignore her lips all night?
“I have a wrap.” She lifted a diaphanous wrap from the coat stand and settled it over her shoulders. Her gaze ran over his dark suit and clean, white shirt. She gave a nod of approval. “Shall we go?”
As she walked out the house ahead of him, he found himself hypnotized by her hourglass figure. Why had she kept this hidden for so long? Or was he only noticing now? The dress, which should come with a warning label, stretched seductively over her ass, inviting him to squeeze and caress. His cock hardened in anticipation. Damn, this was not the time or place to sport a boner. But it seemed his self-control had deserted him. He was flustered, turned on, and very confused.
He slammed the front door shut, his frustration leaking out. One way or another, this was going to be a tough night.
…
“Charming, charming.” Hank Parnell shook Cassie’s hand for a few extra seconds, his expression filled with appreciation.
Cassie finally got her hand back and took her seat at the table. At least Hank had complimented her on her appearance. He hadn’t labeled her “nice,” like Kirk had. Nice. Huh. All that effort she’d gone to, and all he could say was “nice.” And then he’d qualified it with “glamorous” after a very long pause that had revealed his true feelings on the matter.
She should have known that no amount of tarting up could put her on par with Alison. To Kirk she would always be one of the guys. He probably didn’t even notice she had boobs.
But at least Hank noticed, and Shawna, too. The young woman put on a languid, don’t-care attitude, but her sharp eyes darted between Cassie and Kirk, and Cassie sensed she hadn’t completely given up on Kirk.
The restaurant was packed with well-off diners. Reservations at Rawlins had to be made months in advance, but she guessed being a Rochester meant Kirk could jump the queue.
She was studying the menu, which featured “infusions” and “emulsions,” and prices that made her eyes water, when Kirk leaned in and murmured, “Try the caviar, it’s really good. And the sea urchin. I think you’ll like it.”
Caviar and sea urchin? She’d never had either before, but she trusted Kirk to know what she liked foodwise. “You order for me,” she said.
He lifted his eyebrows, smiling. “Okay.”
As he gave the order to the server, Cassie couldn’t help the warm toffee feeling inside her at his solicitous manner. Even though they were pretending, she knew this was how he’d treat her if they were a real couple—taking her to a Michelin starred restaurant, helping her to choose exotic food, ordering an expensive bottle of wine that he knew she’d enjoy. For a few moments she indulged in her fantasy, imagining that Kirk was really hers.
He and Hank quickly fell into business talk. As Cassie listened on, she saw the intelligence in Kirk’s arguments and admired his business skills. He’d always been the smartest man she knew, and now she got to see his cleverness in action. But Hank seemed less enthusiastic, so Cassie turned her attention to Shawna, thinking she could at least keep Hank’s daughter occupied.
Her attempts at conversation were met with general indifference until Shawna eventually asked, “Have you known Kirk long?”
“Years,” Cassie replied. “I met him in college, but we’ve only been dating recently.”