Chapter 21

Cassie had been quiet on the drive to Brian’s mother’s house. She’d slept in the second bedroom after their discussion over gelato and he’d slept badly, hoping that she would crawl into bed with him during the early hours of the morning. She didn’t and he had woken up frustrated and cranky.

He’d used his shower that morning to take matters into his own hands and as he’d stroked his aching shaft, he’d thought about her and what it would be like to have her up against the wall of his shower, the hot water beating down on his back as he pounded into her. He’d come fast and hard, but it hadn’t done much to improve his mood.

She’d barely spoken to him over their late breakfast and now they were headed to a family lunch and she was so very distant from him that he didn’t know what to think. Had he taken it too far last night? Had he been too honest with her?

The last thing he wanted was to push her away, but he knew it was about time she looked at the situation without her rose-colored glasses. The more time he spent with her, the more he believed that she was in love with the idea of Nathan, the fairytale, rather than the man. But it wasn’t something he could just come out and tell her, it was something that she needed to realize herself.

He parked the car and walked around to open her door. She took his hand absently as he helped her out of the car and he worried that she wouldn’t make it through the lunch without giving their ruse away. He stopped and turned her, putting his hands on her shoulders and forcing her to look at him.

“Cassie,” he said, “look at me.”

She tipped her head up and met his eyes. Hers were hollow like she’d just found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real.

“Cassie,” he said softly and pulled her into a hug. “Come on sweetheart, snap out of it.”

She took a deep shuddering breath and he felt her spine stiffen. She pulled away from him and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She straightened her shoulders, shoring herself up, and then nodded.

“Let’s do this,” she said turning from him and marching up the stairs.

His mother answered the door and greeted them both with hugs before leading them into the sitting room. The other bridesmaids were there with the bride and the bride’s mother. The scene was achingly sweet and his teeth ached just looking at them. The bride and her attendants were perfect little society princesses with butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-their-mouth smiles and titanium claws under their perfect manicures and his Blue shouldn’t be anywhere near them. She was too good for them.

“The men are in Patrick’s den,” his mother said.

He kissed Cassie on top of her head and squeezed her shoulder before leaving her to the women and finding his way to his stepfather’s office.

He heard the deep timbre of male voices as he approached and plastered on a smile before walking into the room. This was the last place Brian wanted to be, but it was too late to get out of it. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans to remind himself not to punch Nathan, although the desire to do so was strong.

The others greeted him and he acknowledged them with a jut of his chin. Nathan looked at him, a knowing smile on his face like he had a dirty secret and he was just waiting for the right moment to spill the beans.

“Drink?” Patrick asked holding up a decanter of amber liquid.

“Sure,” Brian replied walking over to take the heavy crystal tumbler that his stepfather handed him.

Nathan wandered over and slapped him on the shoulder. “Can I have a word with you in private?” he asked and walked away without waiting for an answer.

Brian followed him over to a corner of the room and took a sip of his drink.

“So you and Cassie are serious?” Nathan asked, narrowing his eyes at him over the rim of his glass.

Brian exhaled through his nose and grit his teeth, counting to ten to calm himself before answering.

“Yes,” he said and stepped closer to Nathan, lowing his voice to a deep growl, “and if you ever pull another fucking stunt like the one you pulled last night, I will fucking lay you out.”

“I don’t think you understand the nature of my relationship with Cassie,” Nathan said smugly.

“What I understand is that you no longer have a relationship with her. I thought we had this discussion yesterday on the golf course. Cassie is with me now and you will stay the fuck away from her.”

“Hey, don’t go getting your panties in a wad,” Nathan said. “I’m just giving you fair warning. Cassie will always be mine. She’s been mine for five fucking years and there is nothing you can do about it.”

“You are so full of shit Nathan,” Brian said, “and Cassie knows it.”

Nathan’s face turned red as he fought to control his anger and he stepped close to Brian.

“You may think that you have Cassie now,” he said, spittle gathering at the corners of his mouth as he spat the words at Brian, “but she will get tired of you and when she does, she will come crawling back to me. I’ve had my cock inside her in so many different ways that no one else can satisfy her.”

Brian’s hand flew to Nathan’s shirt and he fisted it hard, shoving Nathan back against the wall. Nathan dropped his glass and the crash of crystal stopped the conversation on the other side of the room. Brian leaned in close and whispered menacingly into Nathan’s ear.

“Your cock is not coming anywhere near Cassie ever again and if it does I’m going to fucking cut it off.”

“We’ll just see what Cassie has to say about that,” Nathan sneered.

“Maybe you should be more worried about what your wife will say about it.”

“Hey, now boys, what’s all this?” Patrick said, rushing over to them.

Brian smiled brightly and straightened Nathan’s shirt, patting him companionably. “Just a little brotherly affection,” he said picking up his drink from the side table and sipping it. “So what are the plans for the bachelor party?”

Brian moved away from Nathan, swallowing his anger and putting on a cheerful façade. Cassie had warned him that Nathan might throw their history in his face, but he hadn’t realized it would affect him as much as it did. Hearing the crass way Nathan had spoken about Cassie had been just about the most awful thing he’d ever heard and it cemented his resolve to never let the fucking prick near her again.

He desperately wished he could go and get her and leave without looking back. Neither of them really needed to be here and Brian wanted to spare Cassie the humiliation of watching Nathan pledge his love to another woman. He wanted to protect her from finding out who the real Nathan was, to protect her from ever finding out how he spoke about her to other people.

Did the other groomsmen know who Cassie was and what she’d been to Nathan? He wouldn’t put it past his stepbrother to have regaled them with his sexploits with her. The thought of her being debased in such a way churned in his stomach and he shot the other three men a dirty look.

God, how was he going to make it through to the weekend?

Cassie accepted the champagne cocktail from Maree as she sat in one of the chintz armchairs. Her skinny jeans and peasant blouse were out of place amongst the girly dresses the rest of the bridal party wore. Did she miss the memo?

Spread out before them was an assembly line of sugar-coated almonds, heart-shaped chocolates, and miniature bottles of liqueur surrounded by rolls of gauzy fabric and cards of ribbon. Cassie had thought this was just another get-to-know-you lunch, she didn’t realize she would be pressed into slave labor.

She drained her glass and reached for another one as Ainsley’s mother walked past with a tray. There was far too much juice and not nearly enough alcohol in the glass for her to get through this day, especially if she was going to have to sit through the other bridesmaids fawning over the bride. The bride could go suck it for all Cassie cared.

“Okay ladies,” Ainsley said, bringing them all to order. “We have two hundred and fifty bonbonnières to make, so let’s get busy. Someone needs to cut the gauze into squares and then in each square we need to put one chocolate heart, one bottle of liqueur, and five sugared almonds and then someone can tie the bags up with ribbon.”

The other bridesmaids (she really should learn their names) squealed with delight and arranged themselves around the bounty to do the bride’s bidding. Cassie thought it best that she stay away from the scissors or anything that needed precision because she was determined to drink herself into a nice, numb haze. Alcohol and sharp objects didn’t mix.

She downed her glass and picked up another from the tray that had been so thoughtfully placed near her elbow and then she plunked herself on the floor between bridesmaids Two and Three. They were both blonde and tanned and…oh what the hell, they all looked the same to Cassie.

Two and Three put her in charge of adding the chocolate hearts. She would have preferred to get her hands on the liqueur bottles and maybe misappropriate some of them along the way, but Miss Three had them out of her reach. She unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it in her mouth while they waited for the square of gauze to come their way. Surely Ainsley would’ve had the foresight to buy extra chocolates…not that Cassie really cared if the bonbonnières were uneven, she just had to make sure that nobody else knew they were.

Two and Three chatted at her like magpies, but Cassie didn’t seem to be able to make much sense of what they were saying, and she didn’t care enough to ask them to repeat it. She let the noise wash over her as she added a bar of chocolate to each pile and passed it along the line, occasionally unwrapping one and slipping it into her mouth. Chocolate and champagne cocktails, what could be better?

A nice collection of empty champagne glasses and chocolate wrappers started to gather around Cassie and she had a comfortable buzz going on. She even managed a smile and a giggle at something Two and Three said.

“It looks like you have this all under control,” Maree said. “Kathy why don’t you come with me and we’ll check on lunch.” Ainsley’s mother stood and followed Maree out the door and there was an audible sigh from everyone as they relaxed.

“So, Ainsley,” Cassie said as she set yet another empty glass down, “you and Nathan sealed the deal yet?”

Ainsley looked at Cassie, confused. “Sealed the deal?” she asked.

“Yeah, you know, done the nasty, played hide the salami, danced the horizontal tango, given him a good swiving.”

Two and Three giggled, One looked appalled and Ainsley just smirked at her.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Ainsley said.

Cassie snorted, “Well, that’s a big fat no,” she said, picking up another glass and taking a fortifying drink. “You holding out on him?”

Ainsley’s cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat. “We both agreed it would be more special if we waited until the wedding night.”

Well, at least Cassie didn’t have to worry that Nathan had been dipping his wick in this press while doing her too.

“But you have seen it right?” Cassie went on.

“Seen what?”

“His cock,” Cassie said and delighted in the gasps and nervous titters from the entourage.

Ainsley’s mouth thinned and her eyes narrowed. “I don’t think that is any of your business,” she said.

Cassie shrugged and sipped her drink. She could push Ainsley, lay out the whole sordid truth right here, right now, and then walk away leaving Nathan to clean up the mess. Brian wouldn’t mind getting outta dodge, there was no love lost between him and Nathan. She could escape back to her home in Melbourne and wait for Nathan to come crawling back, his life in ruins. He would beg her to take him back, might even beg her to marry him. That’s why she’d come here, wasn’t it, to break up the happy couple? So why did it feel wrong?

“I hear Brian’s hung like a god,” Two whispered to Three and they both turned to look at Cassie.

She smiled, her eyes sparkling. He was indeed hung like a god and he wanted her. Why the hell was she even thinking about Nathan when she had someone like Brian willing to take her to bed?

Two and Three saw the look on her face and dissolved into giggles. These two twits weren’t all that bad, after all. One was a bitch though and she scooted closer to Ainsley, making her alliance very clear.

“Why are you so interested in Nathan and Ainsley’s sex life?” One asked.

“Isn’t it a bridesmaid’s duty to make sure the bride is well prepared for her wedding? I just want to make sure Ainsley knows what she’s in for on the wedding night. You know, as a public service.”

“I know how sex works,” Ainsley said.

“Maybe,” Cassie said, “but there is a big difference between having a theoretical knowledge of sex and having actual experience.”

“I’m not a virgin,” Ainsley gasped, her hand going to her throat to clutch at her non-existent pearls.