Dream Wedding(112)
“What?” Cassie asked. “You’ve got this weird look on your face.”
Chloe broke out into a smile. “Cassandra Bradley Wright, you have a thing for your boss! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Cassie desperately wanted to deny her sister’s claim, but she could already feel the heat crawling up her face. She ducked her head. “I do not.” The statement sounded lame, even to her.
“You do. I can’t believe I didn’t get this before. Is there anything going on?” Her teasing tone grew serious. “He’s not taking advantage of you or the situation, is he? Geez, Aunt Charity and I should have checked the guy out before letting you come stay here. Has he—”
Cassie raised her hand to cut off her sister. “Stop right there. Don’t get all worked up about nothing. I swear Ryan isn’t taking advantage of me.” Not that she would mind if he did, a little voice whispered in her head. Cassie tried to ignore it and the faint warmth that swept over her at the thought.
“Are you sure?” Chloe asked, sounding skeptical.
“Taking advantage of someone requires knowing that person is alive. While I don’t doubt that Ryan is aware of my existence, as far as he’s concerned, I’m just a helpful household appliance. He has no clue I’m female.”
Chloe looked at her and shook her head. “I can’t buy that. You’re very pretty.”
“Get real. I’m a good person, I’m amusing when I’m in a situation where I’m comfortable, I’m reasonably intelligent and I’m honest and have a way with kids. But I’m not his type. Why do you think Joel isn’t jealous, and please don’t say anything cruel about him. The truth is, a man like Ryan could never be interested in a woman like me.”
“Why on earth not?”
Cassie was so startled by the question it took her a minute to figure out how to answer. “There’s the age difference,” she said at last.
“What is it, five years?”
“Almost nine. He has a successful business, and as you so like to point out, I work in a preschool. What would we talk about?”
“What do you talk about now?”
“Sasha.”
“So you have something in common.”
Cassie reached for the bag and fished out the long length of fabric that would serve as Chloe’s tail. “You’re pushing this because you think it might be a good way to get me away from Joel.”
“Is that so terrible?”
It could be if the crush became something more, Cassie thought. She wasn’t looking to get her heart broken. “Maybe,” she said, then stopped when she heard footsteps in the hallway.
Chloe glanced toward the door and groaned. “This is not how I planned on meeting your boss.”
“You look cute,” Cassie told her and knew she was telling the truth. Chloe had pulled her dark red curls into a ponytail at the top of her head. Makeup accentuated her big eyes, while pregnancy added a glow to her cheeks. She looked like what she was—a radiantly beautiful woman in the prime of her life.
“Cassie, is there…” Ryan’s voice trailed off as he entered the kitchen and saw her company. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He glanced over the partially completed costume and raised his eyebrows. “So people do dress differently in Bradley than in other parts of the country.”
Cassie smiled. “Not exactly. Ryan, this is my sister, Chloe Smith. Chloe, this is Ryan.”
The two shook hands. “You have me at a disadvantage,” Chloe said, motioning to herself. “I don’t like making a first impression in costume.” She told him briefly about the party she and Arizona were to attend, then rested her hand on her stomach. “I figured my choices were limited if I didn’t want to spend the night as ‘pregnant’ Cleopatra and Mark Antony, or ‘pregnant’ Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler.”
“It’s very original. I suppose pregnant Wendy was out of the question.”
Chloe laughed. “I thought about it, but my husband refused to consider anything that involved wearing tights.”
“Smart man,” Ryan said. “I can’t say that I blame him.”
Cassie smoothed the tail to pin it in place, but Chloe stopped her. “I’ll have to do that at the last minute. Aunt Charity can help me. Otherwise, I’ll never fit everything in the car.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” Cassie turned to Ryan. “My sister drives a little BMW Z3 roadster. Cute car, with absolutely no trunk.”
“Very little room for my tummy, either.” When Chloe indicated she needed to step out of the costume, Ryan politely turned his back. “I’m going to have to start trading cars with Arizona so that there’s room between me and my steering wheel.”