“Why am I needed, again?” Julia asked as she was pulled into the house by her arm.
“You’re our cheerleader,” Cassie said as she shut the door.
“Basically,” Eric said, “we need someone to go on and on about how great we are together.”
Cassie nodded. “Naturally, that person can’t be either one of us.”
“Well, it can,” Eric said, “it’s just that we’ve done enough of our own cheerleading.”
“Right,” Cassie said. “It lends a bit more credibility when the cheerleader is someone not in the relationship.”
“And seeing as you’re the only person in on this with us … ” Eric said, letting his thoughts trail off.
Julia looked from one to the other. “Whatever. All I know is that I am not paying for my own meal.”
“My life is in shambles and all you’re worried about is not picking up your own tab?” Cassie gave her a dirty look.
“Hey, I paid cab fare to get here. I’ve spent enough.” Julia ran her fingers through her long, auburn hair. She stopped and frowned. “Wait. Why did I do that?”
“It’s best you don’t drive.” Cassie shrugged. “You tend to drink a lot.”
Julia paused a moment before nodding. “That’s true.”
“I offered to come get you,” Cassie reminded her.
Julia waved the comment away before turning to Eric. “So, I heard you got naked this morning.”
Eric didn’t miss a beat. “I wasn’t naked, technically.”
“Mm-hmm,” Julia said, “but damn close, am I right?”
“Who on earth told you that?” Eric looked at Cassie, eyes twinkling.
She looked down, making a show of adjusting her dress.
“How did he look, Cassie?”
“Yeah, how did I look?”
There was no way in hell she was going to answer that. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The knock on the door saved her.
“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past Julia and Eric.
She opened the door and smiled at Steven. “Hi,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “I was beginning to wonder if we’d been stood up.” She stood aside to let Steven and Ann enter.
“Never,” Steven said. “You look beautiful.”
Cassie melted a little inside. “Thank you.”
Julia cleared her throat.
“Sorry,” Cassie muttered. She made introductions.
“Is there still time for us to change?” Ann asked.
“I don’t see a thing wrong with you,” Eric said.
Ann’s eyes flew to his face. “That’s very sweet of you.”
Eric shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
Ann batted her eyelashes at him.
Julia leaned close to Cassie’s ear. “What the hell is this?”
Cassie patted her on the arm. “The two of you look fine, but we still have time if you want to change.”
Steven and Ann walked off to the guest bedroom, promising to hurry.
After they were gone, Julia put her hand on her hip as she turned to Eric. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What did I do?”
“Flirting with that woman? And right in front of your fake fiancée?” Julia punched him in the arm.
“She doesn’t mind,” Eric said.
“Who? The woman or your fake fiancée?”
“My fake fiancée.” Eric thought about it. “I don’t think Ann does either.”
Julia held up a hand. “Wait a minute.” She looked at Cassie. “You don’t mind?”
Cassie shook her head. “I want him to, in fact.”
“We have plans,” Eric said, smiling.
“Shh,” Cassie admonished.
“Sorry,” Eric said, making a motion of zipping his lips.
Julia frowned. “What kind of kinky shit is this?”
Eric and Cassie looked at her, but remained silent.
Julia gasped. “I know what this is.” She wagged her finger at Cassie. “This is downright cruel for you. Something I would do, yes, but cruel for you.”
Cassie groaned. “Tell me how awful I am.”
“Awful, hell. I was about to congratulate you for finally growing a pair.”
Eric chuckled.
Cassie punched him in the arm and he stopped. “This isn’t cruelty,” Cassie said. “Everyone will get what they want.”
Julia arched an eyebrow. “How so?”
“I get Steven and Steven gets me.”
“Steven wants you?” Julia asked.
Cassie scoffed and turned to Eric, hitching her thumb in Julia’s direction. “Can you believe her?”
Eric nodded. “Oh, he wants her.”
“Thank you,” Cassie said, turning back to Julia. “And Eric gets Ann, Ann gets Eric.”
“Ann wants you?” Julia asked Eric.
It was Eric’s turn to scoff before looking at Cassie. “Is she crazy?”
“Oh yeah, she wants him,” Cassie said, nodding.
“And you want Ann?” Julia asked.
Cassie scoffed again. “Are you kidding? She’s just his type.”
“I was asking him,” Julia said. She looked at Eric. “You want her?”
Eric shrugged. “She is my type.”
“Thank you,” Cassie said.
“What have I done to deserve this?” After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Julia took a deep breath. “Fine. We’ll play this your way.”
Giddy, Cassie clapped her hands together.
“Yippee,” Eric said in a flat voice.
“How does my extolling the virtues of your fake relationship help get you back with Steven and you,” she looked at Eric, “in Ann’s pants?”
Cassie looked at Eric. “You’re so much better at explaining this than I am.”
Eric ran a hand down his face. “Steven wants Cass, but he’s reluctant to admit that. The more he — ”
“Wait,” Julia said. “Why do you keep calling her Cass? She hates that.”
“Unfortunately, I now have to pretend I like it.” Cassie shot him a filthy look.
“But only for me, sweetheart.” Eric returned his attention to Julia. “The more he hears how happy and in love we are, the crazier it makes him.”
“How do you know that?” Julia asked.
“I have functioning eyes and ears, that’s how.”
“Is it that obvious?” Julia asked, looking at Cassie.
Eric smiled. “You’ll see.”
• • •
The French restaurant, Délicieux, was located between Bricktown, the entertainment district of downtown Oklahoma City, and the small business district. It was on the same grounds as The Mireille, a luxury hotel that had been built only a couple of years earlier.
Cassie tried to take in as much of the expansive architecture as she could on their way into the restaurant. The work, on both the hotel and the restaurant, was gorgeous.
“This is beautiful,” she said, more to herself than anyone else.
“You think so?” Eric asked.
She grabbed his arm and leaned close as they continued to walk to the entrance of Délicieux. “It was the perfect choice,” she whispered. “You did great.” She glanced behind at Steven and Ann.
Ann was clutching Steven’s arm with one hand, pointing up at the hotel with the other. Steven nodded as he gestured to the grounds.
Even Julia, an Oklahoma native, took her time taking in the surroundings and she had to have passed the buildings several times since they had been there.
Cassie was almost disappointed to enter the restaurant, but she was eager to get this evening started and finished. “Is this part of the hotel?” she asked Eric.
“Yes and no. They’re owned by the same corporation, hence the French names for both, but they operate independently.”
She nodded. Her truck driving bartender certainly knew random things. Her amusement vanished as they stepped into the restaurant.
It was lushly decorated and spacious. Dim lighting helped the room achieve the illusion of intimate dining. A few exotic plants decorated the vast space, some hanging from the ceiling. A couple of richly colored tapestries, hued in golds and dark reds, hung on opposite walls.
Cassie couldn’t drink the atmosphere in fast enough.
“Reservation for five,” Eric said to the maitre d’, as more of the dinner crowd trickled in behind them.
“Name, sir?” the gray-haired gentleman asked with a soft voice.
“Eric Sommer.”
Sommer? Cassie made a mental note of her fiancé’s last name. She was grateful Steven had never asked, especially since Eric’s last name had been the furthest thing from her mind. Still, it was a nice name, and vaguely familiar. In any case, Cassandra Sommer had a nice ring to it.
God, I’m a loser.
Eric put his hand low on her back as they followed the maitre d’ to their table. Then he pulled out her chair. He’s good. She sat down and looked up at him, giving him an adoring smile. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss close to her mouth.
She felt like she’d had the wind momentarily knocked from her lungs. She needed to recover quickly. Steven and Ann were surely getting an eye full.
Cassie reached up and stroked the side of his face. “Thank you, honey.” They shared a long look.
Eric cleared his throat as he straightened. “You’re welcome.” He pulled out one of the chairs next to her for Julia to sit before taking the other seat next to Cassie.
Steven looked from Cassie to Eric. Ann nudged him with her elbow. Steven looked at her. “Yes, sorry,” he said as he pulled out her chair for her. After she was seated, he took his own.
“This is a nice place,” Steven said as he looked around. “How did you hear about it?”
“I’ve known about it from the start,” Eric said.
“Really?” Steven asked, surprised.
“Really,” Eric said. “Is that shocking?”
“Not at all. Mildly surprising, though.”
Eric smirked. “Why’s that?”
“I just wouldn’t expect a bartender to patronize such a high-end place.”
“There’s a lot you wouldn’t expect about me, Steve.”
Steven opened his mouth to speak, but after looking up at their server, who had just approached, he closed it.
After ordering the wine, Steven decided to dive back into the conversation. “I haven’t even opened the menu yet, but something tells me the bill won’t be cheap,” he said. “Are you sure you’re comfortable handling the check, Eric?”
Eric stared at him, unwavering. “Very.”
Steven looked like he wanted to say something more, but he just nodded before turning to Cassie. “So what have you been up to lately?” His eyes slid in Eric’s direction momentarily. “Besides getting engaged and all that.”
Cassie laughed. “Not much.”
“Come on,” Steven prodded. “You have to fill your days and nights with something.”
Work. And coming up with fake fiancés. “I’m really boring these days.”
“I don’t believe that,” Steven said, smiling. “You used to have something going on all the time. Visiting art galleries, doing volunteer work, traveling.”
Cassie shook her head. “Not anymore.”
Steven frowned as he tilted his head. “What’s wrong, Cassie?”
The sadness in his voice made her heart break. He really did love her, unresolved feelings or not. She wanted to break down and admit everything to him right then and there. She tried to speak over the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Julia said.
Thank you, Jules. Now elaborate, please.
“She was swamped at work when she first moved here. It took almost that first six months for her to get her bearings.”
Cassie nodded. “There’s a ton of responsibility being a director. I thought I was prepared for it, but you really can’t be until you actually experience something first hand.”
Steven nodded.
Their server returned with their drinks. After she walked away, Cassie gulped down some of the wine she’d been given.
“And then,” Julia continued, “she met Eric.” She smiled at the couple. “The rest is history.”
“Not quite,” Steven said.
Julia looked at him.
“That still doesn’t explain why she’s not doing what she loves anymore.”
“She’s doing who she loves, Steve.” Eric put his arm around the back of Cassie’s chair and smiled.
Julia laughed. “I’m glad you said it.” She looked at Steven. “I didn’t want to be indelicate, but we are adults. These two,” she nodded in the direction of Cassie and Eric, “go at it practically nonstop.”
Cassie slid down a fraction in her chair.
“It’s no wonder she doesn’t travel and go to galleries anymore,” Julia said. “To be perfectly blunt, I’m surprised she has the energy to come to the office.”
Cassie slid down another fraction. Enough with the elaboration.
Eric chuckled. “Now, Julia, you’re embarrassing my little honey buns here.”
Cassie gulped more wine, wondering if she could go ahead and hide under the table.
Julia got a glimmer in her eye.
Don’t do it. Please.
“I don’t want to embarrass anyone here,” Julia said, picking up her own wine glass, “but honey buns isn’t so prim and proper all the time.”
“Oh, I know,” Eric said, stroking Cassie’s bare shoulder with his finger. “She can get pretty wild when she lets loose.”
Julia nodded. “And she ain’t shy about sharing details.”
God, make it stop.
Ann leaned forward slightly. “I can’t imagine.”
Julia nodded again. “Oh, imagine it, baby. She’ll come to work after a particularly hot session with Eric … ”
“They’re all hot sessions,” Eric interjected.
“ … and all she can talk about is how many orgasms she had and how she didn’t think it was even possible.”
“Really?” Ann ran a finger up and down the neckline of her dress as she eyed Eric. “That’s not like her at all.”
Cassie wanted to slap her. She scooted closer to Eric and nuzzled her head against his neck. “It’s amazing. I can’t get enough of him.”
Steven cringed. “Cassie.”
Cassie tore her eyes away from the obvious longing on Ann’s face and looked at Steven before casting her eyes down. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Cass.” Eric kissed her temple. “We have a great sex life. We shouldn’t be ashamed of that.”
“There’s a difference between being ashamed and having the decency not to discuss it with guests,” Steven said.
“Guests?” Eric asked. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he laughed. “I thought you and Ann were two of her closest friends.”
Julia stifled a laugh by taking a sip of her drink.
“We are, of course,” Ann said. “I, for one, don’t mind hearing about the, ah, more private details of your life together.”
Eric smiled at her. “Of course you don’t. You strike me as a passionate woman.”
Cassie thought she actually heard Ann purr.
“That’s quite enough,” Steven said.
Eric gave him an innocent look. “What?”
Julia laughed. “Yeah, what’s wrong? There aren’t any kids here. I’d offer up my own details, but, sadly, there’s not a lot to share,” she pouted.
“This is all highly inappropriate,” Steven said.
“I wasn’t offended, really,” Ann said, finally looking at him.
“Well, then that’s another problem. You should be.”
Ann flinched as if he’d slapped her.
Cassie wanted to giggle.
The table fell silent.
After a few moments, Julia spoke. “And we haven’t even had appetizers yet.” She picked up her menu. “Let’s order, shall we?”
“Yes, please,” Steven muttered. “The evening will end sooner if we do.”
He had no idea how much Cassie wanted the same damn thing.