Best Friends With the Billionaire(31)

“You’d better be. Now, can you get back to the cards?”

Cassie returned to her task, not minding her sister’s bossiness now she’d lent her a glamorous dress.

Several hours later, she was outside the wine bar, where she paused to straighten her hem and tried to gather her confidence. This morning, when Kirk had casually mentioned meeting Lex and Jacinta, she hadn’t been sure if he wanted her to go or not. But then she’d reasoned if he didn’t want her there, he wouldn’t have told her about the invitation, so in the end she’d accepted.

The situation between her and Kirk was so confusing, and growing more complicated by the day. She’d considered moving back to her mom’s place, though the guest bedroom had now become the bridal dressing room and was overflowing with supplies. But despite everything, she clung on to a wisp of hope that somehow, miraculously, she might still get Kirk to see her in a serious light, to consider that she had so much more to offer him than friendship.

She entered the bar, nervously tugging at her dress. The damn thing squeezed and pinched her flesh and made her want to scratch her butt, not exactly the sexiest thing to do in front of Kirk. The bar was crowded, but she had no problem spying Kirk, Lex, and Jacinta sitting at a corner table. She pushed her way through, vaguely conscious of a few admiring leers from various men, though all her attention was concentrated on Kirk.

Lex spotted her first and waved before nudging Kirk. When Kirk turned, he did a visible double take, and she held her breath, desperately hoping for his eyes to light up and smolder with admiration. But instead his gaze narrowed, and a veil fell over his expression. She exhaled slowly, feeling deflated, and moved forward to greet them.

“Gorgeous dress,” Jacinta said when she’d sat down. “I love it. Doesn’t she look great, Kirk?”

Kirk gave a non-committal grunt. He continued to scrutinize her, but for the life of her she couldn’t detect any admiration in him.

“Are you going somewhere else later?” he asked.

She sucked in her stomach, battling her hurt. So Kirk assumed she hadn’t dressed up for him. That she suffered this itchy, squeezy dress for someone else.

She shook her head nonchalantly. “Nope. I’m just having fun with my sister’s dress.”

His gaze lingered on her tightly bound breasts. “Is it fun being trussed up like a mummy?”

Her breasts tingled despite the constricting fabric. Damn it, even when he baited her she couldn’t help reacting to his eyes.

“It’s mostly itchy,” she said. “If you catch me scratching my ass, please look the other way.”

“If you scratch your ass, you’ll have half the bar offering to help you.”

Lex and Jacinta grinned, but Cassie’s cheeks heated. This dress so wasn’t her. Instead of empowering her, it made her feel she was trying too hard, looking too desperate.

“Stop teasing her,” Lex said as a waiter arrived to take their order.

“You can’t drink beer wearing a dress like that,” Kirk said, clearly not taking his cousin’s advice. Without consulting her, he turned to the waiter. “She’ll have a White Russian.”

Why was he acting like a dick, making fun of her outfit and ordering cocktails she hadn’t asked for? Was it because she looked different? Maybe this dress was a huge mistake. Self-conscious, she tugged at the hem and tried to join in the conversation that had fortunately moved onto other subjects. The drinks had just been delivered when a woman pushed through the crowd and leaned over the table toward Kirk.

“Hi, Kirk! I thought it was you.” Shawna Parnell rested her frosted fingernails on the table, a thick cloud of perfume enveloping everyone.

Kirk greeted her politely. “You remember Cassie, don’t you? And this is Lex and Jacinta.”

Shawna flashed a smile at Lex and gave a limp nod to Cassie and Jacinta. “When am I going to see you again?” she purred at Kirk as if the two of them were completely alone.

Cassie clenched her hands as she watched Shawna bend over, giving Kirk a prime view of her impressive cleavage. She had to admit Shawna wore the micro mini dress with the right flair. It suited her, whereas Cassie was an imposter in her borrowed bandage dress. The only consolation was that Kirk didn’t appear very interested in Shawna’s cleavage. But then Kirk drew up a chair next to him for Shawna. Lex didn’t seem surprised, maybe because they were discussing business, while Jacinta shot a frown at Kirk before giving Cassie a sympathetic grimace. Cassie’s fingernails gouged into the flesh of her palms. What the hell was going on? Did Kirk want to spend time with Shawna after all? Cassie took a gulp of her cocktail and choked as the alcohol hit the back of her throat.

Kirk frowned at her. “You okay?”

Oh yeah, tres sophisticated, spluttering vodka and cream all over her borrowed Herve Leger dress. Nodding, she wiped the corners of her lips, hoping to sink into the background.

Jacinta was talking to her about the wedding, and somehow Cassie managed to respond, though all her attention was consumed by Kirk and Shawna. Maybe Kirk had come to see Shawna in a different light after he and Cassie had slept together. Or maybe this was his way of gently showing her that their little affair was over. Or maybe he was being an asshat. Whatever the reason, he surely couldn’t know that her heart contracted more each second he spent with Shawna, and that very soon she’d have no heart left except a wrinkled prune.

…

Kirk inhaled gratefully as he and Lex stepped outside the wine bar. The warm night air felt good after the crowded confines of the bar.

“The girls shouldn’t be too long,” Lex said, referring to Cassie and Jacinta, who had stopped off at the bathroom. “Jacy doesn’t fuss too much with her looks, and I think Cassie’s the same, isn’t she?”

Kirk blew out his breath. He didn’t know what to think about Cassie anymore. When she’d sashayed up in that drop dead sexy dress, all he could think about was how to get the damn thing off. What was she doing to him? Why was she teasing him like this? Maybe she still wanted to sleep with him, even though Russell was back in the picture.

It had almost been a relief when Shawna had showed up. Far easier to look at her, knowing she did nothing for him, than staring at Cassie and wondering if she’d let him scratch her ass. He could envisage his hand cupping her butt, shaping the stretchy fabric, rubbing his palm around and around. His cock hardened, and he had to stamp his feet to distract himself.

“Is Shawna Parnell trying to prove something to you?” Lex asked.

Kirk shrugged. “Maybe she’s trying to prove herself to her father, and unfortunately she thinks flirting will get my attention. I didn’t want to be rude to her.”

“Jacy didn’t like her, and I’m betting Cassie didn’t, either.”

“Cassie knows it’s just business.”

“Does she?” Lex slanted him a penetrating look.

“Yeah, sure.”

“You’re lucky she understands after you poked fun at her dress.”

“Poked fun?” Kirk scowled. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“She rocked that dress, and you said she looked like a fucking mummy.”

Kirk rubbed the back of his neck. “She took me by surprise. I was confused.” Yeah, he was confused, all right. On the one hand, he wanted to do the right thing by Cassie and not touch her while she was still considering her ex-boyfriend; on the other hand, he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off.

“D’you ever think something could develop between you and Cassie?” Lex asked.

Kirk stared at him. “What makes you say that?”

“You know each other well. You’ve been friends for years. Plus, Cassie’s pretty hot, and I say that as a happily married man.”

Another wave of discomfort swamped Kirk. “We’re friends,” he insisted, hoping his cousin would drop the subject.

Lex pushed his hands into his pockets. “She’s very different from Alison.”

Kirk jerked upright and narrowed his eyes at his cousin. This past year he and Lex had grown closer, but neither of them had ever talked about Alison. Did Lex know the truth about her? Did he know that Cassie was everything Alison wasn’t? That Cassie was warm, generous, big-hearted. That Cassie deserved more than he was able to give.

“There’s no comparison,” Kirk said loudly and firmly. “Cassie is nothing like Alison.”

…

Cassie stumbled to a halt as Kirk’s unequivocal voice reached her ears.

There’s no comparison. Cassie is nothing like Alison.

The words circled her like sharks and she was the blood in the ocean. Tears rushed to her eyes and spilled over. She had no control, no power. She was nothing but a mass of hurt.

She’d almost stepped out of the wine bar when she’d overheard Kirk. Now she blundered back, her legs quaking, a cold sweat breaking out over her body. A group of people entered the bar, and she was swept farther inside, limp and helpless.

A hand touched her elbow.

“Cassie?”

Jacinta’s concerned expression swam into view. Her voice seemed to come from a long way off, muffled by the jagged pounding of Cassie’s heart.

“Are you okay?” Jacinta leaned closer, supporting her.