Mike thought of Cassie’s kiss. He’d never been so jolted by anyone’s touch
before. How could one ordinary pair of lips be so soft, so seductive, to make him
forget everything but her?
Damn, but he had it bad. Could he get any more pathetic?
“So we’re agreed?” Cassie’s voice, which he suddenly realized hadn’t stopped,
cut through the fog around his brain.
“What?”
“Mike, you haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”
He bristled. “Of course I have.” Well, technically he’d heard them, but realistically
he couldn’t remember them.
Cassie huffed. “I doubt that. Just to be on the safe side, I’ll hit the highlights for
you.” Crossing her arms, she tipped her head back and looked him in the eye. Even
with her spiked heels, he still towered over her. He liked that, made him feel more
masculine.
“First, you confess to my mother that you were trying one of your misguided
rescues again―you know, like the time you tried to stop that mugger from taking Mrs.
Rawlins’s purse on that field trip, and ended up with a fat lip and a concussion.”
“And what was I supposed to do, just stand by and let that guy beat up the
teacher?”
“That’s not the point, Mike. The point is that you have this need to save people,
and it gets you into trouble. Like today. I didn’t need rescuing, yet you jumped in and
did it anyway. You can’t help yourself, can you?”
He wanted to wipe that smug look right off her face. “If I hadn’t done something,
you would’ve found yourself on a hot and steamy date with Kyle.”
Cassie scowled, and he pressed his attack. “Face it. If you don’t do something
quick, your mom and brother are going to go all out to find someone for you. Could be
Kyle is the best thing they can dig up.”
“Point made.” Cassie shuddered. “Personally, I think that you’re afraid of telling
your mother you lied.”
How well she knew him. “Of course I’m afraid. What sane person wouldn’t be?”
Cassie laughed. “You have a point.”
Realizing that customers were piling up at the bar, Mike decided to cut this short.
“Okay, here’s the deal. You don’t want to date any ‘Kyles.’ Someone has a crush on
me that I need to nip in the bud. So this’ll help both of us. We’ll play it up for a while,
then we can break up, which’ll give us another few months of peace while we ‘lick our
wounds.’ In the meantime, we flirt in public, pretend to be the perfect couple, but in
private we’re just friends. Deal?”
Cassie’s smile turned naughty. Not a good sign. “I’ll agree to the first part, since
it gets my mom off my back for a while. But that last one? No way, Boy Scout. You
started this pressure cooker. I’m going to enjoy turning up the steam.”
With a small gurgle of laughter, she bounced upwards, her mouth finding his with
unerring accuracy. Her lips lingered for a moment, but before he could react, she
pulled away. Brushing one ruby red nail across his cheek, she smiled up at him.
“Consider that a sample. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She pulled away and
headed for the door.
“Tomorrow?” What was she talking about? His nerves still jumped from that brief
kiss, and her tantalizing, mind-numbing touch to his face. “What about tomorrow?”
“Boy, you are a mess, aren’t you? You told my mother we had a date, so a date
it is. See you at eight!” With a mocking wave of her slender hand, she sauntered out
of the bar.
Tomorrow. Mike raked his hand through his hair. He’d said that right after he’d
kissed her. He hadn’t been thinking. Spending more time with Cassie, especially with
her drive-Mike-insane attitude, was the last thing he needed.
He had nobody to blame but himself.
Yes, he’d definitely started up a pressure cooker, and if Cassie had her way,
he'd be the main course.
***
