Chapter 12

Cassie and Brian shared a look, one full of heat at the memory of how they met the first time. Cassie hadn’t been able to look at tequila, salt, or limes the same way since.

“Irish picked me up in a bar,” Cassie said and he laughed heartily. Maree smiled uncertainly.

“It’s true,” he told his mother. “I walked into a bar one night in Melbourne after a particularly bad day dealing with CASA and there she was. Fortunately, there was an empty barstool beside her, so I took it.”

“Yes,” Cassie said, picking up the commentary, “and I was just coming out of a messy break-up and was trying valiantly to drown my sorrows.”

“How long ago was this?” Maree asked, hanging off every word.

“About six months ago,” Cassie replied.

“You’ve been dating for six months?” Maree asked, her eyes swinging to Brian in accusation.

He laughed. “Not exactly,” he said, “but we have been emailing back and forth. Cassie works for the PR firm that we hired to promote the new airline.”

And just like that she was reminded that she was on a date with a man who not only owns his own private plane, but a whole fucking fleet of them.

“Oh, did you know she worked with the PR firm when you met her?”

He shook his head while Cassie took a drink of the wine that the waiter placed in front of her.

“No, that was purely coincidental,” he assured her.

“And when I asked Brian to be my date for the wedding, he confessed that he was attending the wedding too. We had no idea that we had such a close association with each other.” Cassie glared at Brian and he had the good grace to look abashed.

“It’s like fate brought you together,” Maree said, clasping her hands in front of her and looking dreamy-eyed.

Cassie choked on her wine and coughed, Brian rubbed her back. If this was fate then she sure had a twisted sense of humor.

As soon as the door closed on the elevator, Cassie started in on him.

“What the hell,

“Hey, not my fault you didn’t know my name,” he said keeping his voice reasonable. “I gave you ample opportunity to find it out. If I recall correctly, I left you a note specifically asking you to call me so we could get to know one another better.”

She bit the corner of her lip in guilt and he wanted to pull it between his own teeth and plunder her mouth with his. But he kept his composure, and he doubted very much that she would be appreciative of his advances when she was pissed at him.

“Okay, fine,” she said, her eyes flashing, “but what about on the plane? You could have said something then, or, come to think of it when I told you Nathan’s name in the lounge, you should have said, ‘Oh, Nathan’s my stepbrother!’”

“You’d had three strong drinks and some herbal shit that had messed you up, I really didn’t think it was the time.”

“Just how long have you known?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “Did you know when you walked into the bar? Did you know when you sought out my PR firm?”

He scrubbed his hand through his hair and looked at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. “No,” he croaked, “I didn’t know until this afternoon when you told me Nathan’s surname.”

“Oh,” she said, some of the fire going out of her. “So you didn’t tell Nathan when you saw him today?”

He sighed. “I told him I was bringing a date to the wedding, but I didn’t tell him it was you.”

“He’s going to be pissed,” she said, her voice soft.

Brian took a step closer to her and tucked a curl behind her ear. God, he loved touching her hair, her skin, her.

“It’s his own fault,” he murmured, “for letting you get away.”

She looked up at him and swallowed. He could see the confusion in her eyes and the yearning. What he didn’t know was if the yearning was for him or for his douchebag stepbrother. He dropped his hand and stepped back. He was asking for trouble getting involved with her when she was so hung up on him. Nathan couldn’t give her what she needed but until she saw that for herself, his advances were going to just confuse her more.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened on her floor. She paused before exiting.

“Do you want to come in for a drink?” she asked, her voice small.

He wanted to say yes, but he couldn’t. He needed to keep the boundaries in place until she made her choice. He shook his head.

“No, I have some work I need to do,” he said, making an excuse. “I’ll see you in the lobby at nine so we can go to the brunch together.”

She nodded and stepped out of the elevator. She looked back as the doors closed and she looked so lost he wanted to reach out and keep the doors from closing. He wanted to go to her and comfort her and tell her it was all going to be okay. But he couldn’t tell her that. This was what she wanted…she wanted Nathan, not him, and he refused to be a second choice or a substitute.

The doors closed, cutting off his view of her and he leaned his head back against the mirrored wall, exhaling harshly. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to change the direction of his thoughts. He and Cassie were in a fake relationship and that’s all it could be unless she walked away from her silly infatuation with his stepbrother.

The doors opened again on his floor and he carded his way into the penthouse suite. He kicked off his shoes and loosened the top button on his shirt. He grabbed his phone and sat on the balcony overlooking the dark beach. It was June and winter in the sunshine state, but it was still warm enough to sit outside without needing a sweater.

Brian swiped his finger across the screen of his phone and flicked through his contacts. Choosing a number, he hit the call button and waited to be connected.

“Barry Benson,” a deep voice answered.

“Barry,” Brian said, “it’s Brian.”

“Brian, my man, how the fuck are you?”

“About to make a fucking fool of myself,” Brian said with a resigned sigh.

“Is it over a woman?” Barry asked knowingly.

“Yes, but it’s worse.”

“Aw, poor boy. You tell Uncle Barry all your problems,” Barry said in an annoying baby voice.

“Shut up asshole,” Brian growled.

“Geez, she has got you all wrapped up in knots. She must be special.”

“Yeah, she is and she’s also in love with Nathan.”

“Your stepbrother?”

Brian grunted.

“Shit man, you sure can pick ‘em.”

“Hey, so where are you? I didn’t even check the time. Did I interrupt anything?”

“Nah. I’m in the New York office and it’s eight o’clock in the morning here, so you’re good,” Barry paused and Brian imagined he was sipping his coffee. Barry had either a cup of coffee in his hand or a bottle of beer, depending on the time of day. “So, this chick, she’s really into Nathan?”

“Yeah, and Nathan’s getting married this weekend…to someone else.”

“What the fuck?”

“Agh! It’s such a fucking mess. Listen to me, I’ve turned into a fucking girl spilling all my secrets to you like a pathetic virgin teenager. When I met her, I didn’t know she knew Nathan and we had this hot night together. I knew she was on the rebound and I didn’t hear from her again and then I ran into her at the airport and we were both going to the same fucking wedding.”

“That’s messed up,” Barry sympathized, “but why not just flash some cash around and distract her from your idiot brother?”

“Stepbrother,” Brian corrected. “And she knows who I am. In another fucking twist in the tale, she’s the PR account manager for Colleen Aviation. And…”

“And…”

“I kind of offered to help her break up Nathan’s wedding before it happens.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“And you really like this girl?”

“I do,” Brian said with a sigh. “She’s fucking gorgeous and the one night we had together was definitely not enough.”

“Does Nathan know?” Barry asked.

“Not yet,” Brian said, “but get this. The prick thinks he can keep Cassie as his piece on the side after he gets married. And she’s fucking willing to do it too.”

“Walk away,” Barry said in a very serious voice. “I repeat. Walk the fuck away. I wouldn’t touch this mess with a ten-foot pole.”

“Yeah.”

“Brian, man, you don’t need this crap in your life. Seriously. She might have a magic pussy that grants wishes, but it is not worth the pain of getting wrapped up in someone who loves someone else.”

Brian knew Barry was right. Barry had married someone who had unresolved feelings for another guy and it didn’t end well. He knew from experience what he was talking about.

“When are you back in the country?” Brian asked. “We need to get the brotherhood together, it’s been too long.”

“Shit yeah,” Barry hooted. “I’m back next weekend, all being well. These fuckers are giving me the runaround, but if everything goes according to plan, I should be free and clear by next Thursday.”

“You need a plane?” Brian asked.

Barry laughed. “I finally bit the bullet and bought my own. My flight home will be its maiden voyage.”

“Nice,” Brian said with a smile. “Well, I should let you get back to work. Call me when you’re home and we’ll hang out.”

They said their goodbyes and disconnected. Brian lay down on the sun lounge and closed his eyes. Barry was right, he needed to walk away from Cassie. The whole thing was too messy and was bound to get even more so before the week was out. It’d be better to cut and run now while he still could.