“He’s number one!” Junie adds, though I’m certain she’s never seen the article. She just likes contributing to the discussion, and I can hardly blame her for that.
“I’m not number one,” is my feeble reply. “I was pretty far down the list, actually. Near the bottom.”
I glance at Cassie, hoping she sees the humor in the situation. Hoping she doesn’t hate my guts.
But she’s staring at me like she’s never seen me before in her life. “I don’t understand,” she says.
Neither do I. She deserves an explanation, but at the moment, I have nothing. I open my mouth anyway, hoping something helpful will come tumbling out.
But Missy beats me to the punch.
“Nice going, Cass!” She gives me an approving once-over. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Oh, I’ve had it in me, all right,” Cassie mutters. But she’s not smiling. In fact, she’s starting to look pissed.
But that seems to sail right over her sisters’ heads.
“You have our approval,” Lisa says. “He’s a very upstanding citizen. We’ve read all about him.”
“Better marry this one,” Missy adds.
Beside me, Junie gasps. “You’re getting married?” She beams up at me. Before I can say anything, she turns to Cassie and engulfs her in a huge hug. “You’re marrying my brother!”
Oh, God. Oh, God, no.
“No one’s getting married.” I bark the words a lot more loudly than I mean to. Everyone jumps. Even Junie bolts backward, breaking the hug like Cassie just bit her.
This is so not how I saw today going.
“Look, Cassie and I are friends,” I tell Junie in my best calm-brother voice. “That’s it. Just friends.”
“Friends,” Missy repeats, scowling. “Didn’t you just take her on a romantic getaway to Ponderosa Resort?”
“And didn’t you take her on a special road trip to that wilderness area she loves so much near?—”
“Okay,” I interrupt, raking my fingers through my hair. I shoot Cassie an imploring look, hoping she’ll have my back on this. Hoping I haven’t fucked everything up.
But Cassie’s expression is blank.
“Sure,” she says slowly. “We’re just friends.”
Beside her, Missy rolls her eyes. Lisa is busy glaring. But Cassie just stares at me like she’s seeing me for the first time.
Like she can’t stand what she sees.
“Actually, more like acquaintances,” she says, her voice a little louder now. “We hardly know each other at all.”
Chapter 18
Cassie
I’m such an idiot.
“Here.” Lisa hands me a glass, then plunks down on the hotel bed beside me. “It’s homemade elderflower liqueur mixed with fresh-squeezed orange juice.”
“And vodka,” Missy adds, dropping onto the bed on my other side. “Lots of vodka.”
I take the drink, but I don’t sip it. I rest it on the knee of my faded gray yoga pants and try not to cry. “How did I not know he was a gazillionaire?”
