“It’s very nice,” he told her.
“Thank you.”
He released her hand and straightened in his chair. “If you’ll leave me the phone number of your employer, I’ll call and check the reference. Then I can phone you later and confirm our arrangements for tomorrow.”
He sounded so formal, Cassie thought as she resisted the urge to smooth her hands against her thighs. Her fingers were still tingling from where he’d touched her. She didn’t want Ryan to guess that she was nervous. Fortunately he couldn’t hear the jackhammer pounding of her heart or know that her knees were practically bouncing together like bowling balls.
She’d never seen a man like him before. Of course she wasn’t around that many men in the course of her day. Harried fathers picked up their children from the preschool. There was the UPS driver, although the new one was a woman. All in all, except for her sister’s husband and Joel, she lived in a world of women.
Ryan was talking about the terms of her employment. He’d named a generous salary that far exceeded what she earned at the preschool, and was explaining that because her employment was for only two months there wouldn’t be a benefit package, although he would be happy to reimburse her for her medical coverage during that time.
She nodded her agreement because it was a little hard to talk, what with her throat closing up and all. He was so incredibly sophisticated and worldly. Helen, his sister-in-law, had often talked about Ryan’s business, his early success, how driven he was. He’d always been too busy to visit, even after Sasha was born. He was the younger of the two brothers, but older than Cassie, probably by eight or nine years. At least she’d thought ahead enough to wear her best summer dress, even if it was doubtful he’d noticed anything about her other than her ability to care for Sasha.
“I believe that’s everything,” he said. “If you can write down the phone numbers.”
She did as he requested, all the while telling herself not to stare. She didn’t usually have problems around people she didn’t know, but Ryan was different. Part of the reason was he was so good-looking. He had a strong-jawed face with perfectly chiseled features. She could barely bring herself to glance away from his dark green eyes. It had been hard enough to maintain her equilibrium when they’d met at the memorial service, but at least there she’d had lots of other people to distract her. But here there was only Sasha, and the two-year-old was no match for her dreamboat uncle.
Cassie finished writing out her phone number and handed the paper to Ryan. She knew she was behaving like a schoolgirl with her first crush, maybe because he was her first crush. After all, the only boy she’d really noticed was Joel and they’d been dating forever.
“I’ll call you this evening,” he said in his well-modulated voice.
She had to fight back a sigh. Between his handsome face and his smooth-as-Godiva chocolate voice, he could be on television or in the movies. But instead he was in Bradley and she was going to work for him.
Sasha had wandered into the living room and was watching a video. “I’ll just slip out,” Cassie said quietly, as they passed in front of the open door. “I don’t want to upset her by saying goodbye.”
Ryan looked relieved. “The tears are the worst part.”
“They pass quickly and then there are lots of smiles.”
He didn’t look convinced.
When they reached the front door, she thought about risking a second handshake, but the first one had about made her swoon, so instead, she waved. “I’ll talk to you soon,” she told him and walked quickly down the front stairs.
* * *
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER she let herself in through the back door of her house, an equally large Victorian mansion in the small town of Bradley, California. Unlike the house Ryan’s brother had bought three years before, this one had been in the family since it was built in the late 1800s.
Cassie made her way up to her room without encountering her aunt. Normally she loved to talk with Aunt Charity, but for once, she needed to be alone.
When she reached her bedroom, she moved to the window seat and sat down on the thick cushion. It was too dark to see the well-manicured backyard, but she wasn’t staring out the window for the view. She didn’t see the lace curtains that matched her bedspread, or her own reflection in the glass. Instead she saw Ryan Lawford, tall, broad, handsome. The perfect hero.
She drew in a deep breath, then released it as a sigh. If only someone like him could be interested in someone like her. The thought made her smile. She might be the romantic dreamer in the family, but she wasn’t a fool. She was too young, too unsophisticated, too ordinary. Men like him fell in love with fashion models, or at the very least with beautiful, charming women like her sister, Chloe. Besides, she had Joel. While it was fun to fantasize about Ryan, she knew it was just a game. She loved Joel as much today as she had on their first date, nine years before.