“You haven’t seen her in a rage,” Emma retorted.
“So you think I’ll be safe with Hone?”
“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed for him to act as your bodyguard.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Cassie said.
“He’ll treat you well, the sex will be excellent, and you’ll have a laugh. If you want more than that, you should keep your distance and aim for friendship. I’ve told you that already. Wait, you said there was kissing. It’s too late for warnings.”
“Yeah.” Cassie rearranged her fringe with a swipe of her fingers. “He’s gonna break my heart, isn’t he?”
“Probably.”
“A broken heart won’t kill me. I’ve had one before. As long as you ply me with chocolate I’ll get through it.”
“I can do chocolate. That’s what friends are for,” Emma said lightly.
“I might get some songs out of it too.”
“There you go. Silver linings. Look, Cassie. Just enjoy yourself and worry about everything else later.”
“It worked out okay for you with Jack.”
Emma remained silent for a few seconds. “Jack and Hone are different. Jack wasn’t as big a player as Hone and his cousins.”
“So if I was interested in Manu, you’d give me the same talk?”
“Yes.”
“Right then.”
“Have you heard from your mother?”
“Buzzkill,” Cassie said. “Now she’ll leap into my mind when I’m with Hone. If I were a man that would give me performance issues.”
Emma snort-laughed through the phone. “Go. Enjoy yourselves. Send me a text or two, okay?”
“I’ve organized tickets for you and Jack for Saturday at the Matakana vineyard. They said to give your names at the gate. My segment starts at eight.”
“Cool. We’ll see you Saturday night. Gotta go. This sleazeball is on the move. Need to take photos. Bye.”
“Right.” Cassie tossed the few belongings she’d unpacked the previous night back into her bag. She frowned, removed her glasses to check the lenses. No wonder her sight was fuzzy. She cleaned them, put them on again and squared her shoulders.
Despite all the naysayers, she liked Hone, and if he wanted to take her to bed, she was all in.
Hone’s gut bucked, and his dragon growled warnings and complaints during the drive north from Auckland, despite Cassie sitting in the seat beside them.
“I have this weird feeling.” Cassie glanced over her shoulder and studied the traffic behind their vehicle before turning back to the scan the motorway in front of them. “I keep looking without trying to be obvious but my neck is prickling as if someone is watching me. Am I crazy?”
“No, I sense it too.” Hone sped up and took the next off-ramp.
“Hope we don’t attract a cop.”
“A friend lives not far from here. We’ll see if we can shake our tail and swap vehicles for the weekend.” He darted down a side street, taking the corner fast but competently. Beside him, Cassie didn’t squeak or go all girly on him. Instead, she braced and watched the road.
Five minutes later, they shot up a tree-lined driveway and came to a halt behind a wooden bungalow.
“Stay here,” Hone said. “My friend is a recluse and doesn’t take well to strangers.”
