Stephanie Rowe - Stress and The City

“He’s gone.” Leo’s amused voice broke through his fog.

Their lips froze, locked in the kiss like a pair of teenagers wearing braces.

“I said, Drew is gone.” Leo’s voice was louder now and even more amused.

Finally, Ty broke the kiss, but didn’t let go of Cassie. She kept her hands around his neck, staring at him with a look of startled awe. “I know,” he said.

Cassie blinked and finally appeared to realize what she was doing. Color rushed into her cheeks, turning them red through the bronzed tint of her skin, and she released him so quickly it was as if she’d been burned. Which was exactly how he felt. With regret, he let his hands slide off her soft sweater as she stepped away from him.

Leo moved into his line of vision, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “That looked like one hot kiss.”

Cassie’s cheeks turned even redder, though he wouldn’t have thought that was possible. “Um…Drew was being a jerk, so I, um, you know…I couldn’t let him…and Ty was being so nice…and Drew…idiot…so I guess I had to do something.…”

How could a woman capable of delivering a kiss like that be so genuinely embarrassed and cute afterward? There had been nothing “cute” about that kiss, yet now he wanted to wrap his arms around her and snuggle up with her to watch a movie in companionable intimacy. And then he’d take her to bed for some of that lovin’.

Hell, what was he thinking? He had no business letting his mind wander in that forbidden direction.

Cassie turned toward him, her eyebrows puckered in mortification. “Um, Ty, I’m really sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize.” No need at all. He’d take that kiss with him to his grave.

“No, really. I’m not the type to molest men I don’t know.”

“Or even men she does know,” Leo chimed in.

Cassie nodded. “Right. I don’t attack men. I swear.” She pressed her thumb and index finger into her forehead and shook her head. “I’m so embarrassed.”

Ty chuckled. “Trust me, any woman who can kiss like that has no reason to be embarrassed.”

She furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips, as if she wasn’t sure whether he was serious. Surely she’d gotten compliments before. No man could be the recipient of a kiss like that and not fall at her feet.

A strange pain in his gut surprised him. Was he actually bothered by the thought of her kissing other men as she’d just kissed him? He’d have to get over that and fast. Time to depart and get away from her influence.

There were certain things he didn’t want to know about himself, and his reaction to Cassie was one of them. Engaged men simply didn’t have those kinds of reactions to other women. Entirely unacceptable, regardless of whether the love between himself and his fiancée extended beyond friendship or not.

When he’d asked Alexis to marry him, he’d committed to her, and that’s how it was going to stay. So what if they both knew their relationship was based on friendship, not romantic love? When her parents had died, he’d vowed to take care of her, and he would. Committing to a marriage that had no hope of romantic love wasn’t a sacrifice. He’d never been in love in his life, so it wasn’t as if he was forgoing that sort of opportunity.

Or at least, he hadn’t thought so until Cassie’s kiss created a possibility that loomed most unwelcome.

“I have to go,” Ty said. “Nice to meet you, Cassie.”

He left the two women staring after him, Leo looking utterly delighted and entertained and Cassie still looking as if she wanted to crawl beneath one of the tables and hide under the paper tablecloth until everyone was gone. He wanted to stay to reassure her that she had nothing to be embarrassed about.…

Which was why he had to leave.

Now.

And consider buying a house in a different town.

Or a different state.

Or better yet, a different country.

He had a bad feeling that even Australia wouldn’t be far enough to make him forget about Cassie.

CASSIE WATCHED TY disappear through the raucous crowd, her cheeks still roasting.

“Wow. Was that kiss as good as it looked?” Leo folded her arms across her chest and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Depends.” It was absolutely astonishing that Cassie was able to speak coherently. She was truly gifted in her ability to don an exterior that hid the fact that her insides had melted. “How good did it look?”

“Like we should’ve called the fire department.”

Cassie plopped down on a folding chair and propped her chin on her hands. “The fire department would’ve been impotent.”

Leo sat down across from her and whistled. “That hot, huh?”

“If we hadn’t been in a roomful of people, I think it’s very possible I would have thrown him down and torn off that gorgeous suit.” Cassie sighed and leaned on the table. Her body was still tingling where Ty’s hands had held her, and his scent seemed to have settled in the fibers of her sweater. It was almost as blissfully heavenly as Leo’s chocolate concoctions. Cassie had never felt like this with Drew.

Drew. Now, why did she have to go and ruin a perfectly good moment by thinking of him? Very annoying.

“That would have been something, to see you throw Ty on the table and rip his clothes off,” Leo said.

“Speaking of worthy visions, Drew stormed out the emergency exit, with a veritable billow of smoke coming out his ears.”

As the heat began to subside in Cassie’s body, sense began returning to her brain. An unwelcome phenomenon from both angles. “Good God, Leo. I attacked him.”

“Yes, you did. Quite brilliant, really.”

“No, Leo, it’s a bad thing. I made a complete fool of myself in front of the entire town.”

Leo snorted. “Nonsense. At least half the town isn’t here.”

Like that made a difference. Cassie moaned and dropped her head to her arms, trying to bury her face in the table. “I’m going back to the Bahamas.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The man loved it. You could see it all over his face.”

Cassie lifted her head off the table. “Really?”

“Yep. Maybe he could be your rebound man. Have a wild fling with him that restores your faith in yourself as a sexual dynamo when it comes to men.”

“I’m not a sexual dynamo.” A sexual flat tire was a more accurate description.

“I bet Ty would say you were.”

“I doubt it.” But a flutter of hope danced in Cassie’s belly at the thought. Wouldn’t that be interesting? As if it would happen. “Besides, I’m not ready for a relationship.”

“Because Drew burned you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I just want to be single. I’m not upset about Drew at all.”

Leo raised her eyebrow and Cassie lifted her chin. As if she’d ever let Drew win. “I could, however, use a little chocolate.”

Leo hopped to her feet. “Nothing like chocolate to solve a woman’s problems. After that display, I’m sure you’re in need of some therapy.”

“It’s going to take the entire dessert table.” And then some. Drew and a wanton display of impropriety all in the same evening? Not a good start to her life as a single woman.

Not a good start at all.

IT HAD BEEN LONG ENOUGH. Eight days since she’d returned from her honeymoon unwed. Eight days since she’d sucked face with a hot guy in front of her exfiancé. Eight days for her tan to fade.

Time to get her business going again. With the wedding approaching and Drew trying to convince her to close up shop so she could play little wifey, she’d been too stressed…ahem…busy to spend much time drumming up new clients.

Didn’t she look like the smart one now, refusing to listen to Drew and give up her career? What kind of shape would she be in currently if she’d quit her job and had no husband? Oh, and the monstrous bill from the wedding that she’d footed because Drew had insisted that was the bride’s responsibility. Mustn’t forget about that souvenir from the Almost Biggest Mistake of Her Life.