“Hey, Hannah, what’s up?” I answered.
“Is that Hayden? As in Hayden my cranky pants older brother who thinks he knows better?”
“Ha ha,” I grumbled. I probably deserved that. I’d been an asshat when she started dating Mason, even though it’d been for all the right reasons, she hadn’t fully appreciated my big brother instincts. Thankfully, I’d apologized, something I didn’t want to ever have to do again and she’d forgiven me.
“What are you up to tonight?” Hannah asked mischievously.
I looked over at Cassidy. A night where our dinner wasn’t served in a cardboard box sounded like a great idea.
“Nothing really. What are you thinking?”
“Mason’s home tonight and he’s planning on grilling.”
“And you want to spend time with your big brother?”
“Yeah sure. Let’s go with that,” Hannah chuckled and I could just picture her rolling her eyes.
“See you at six then.”
“Done. And, Hannah?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m bringing someone.”
“Someone like Dickson?” she probed and I boomed with laughter. Dickson was a good guy but he was most certainly an acquired taste, one Hannah had never really taken a liking to.
I stared down at Cassidy who was swinging her legs back and forth, looking at nothing in particular at all. She had chocolate ice cream dribbled down the front of her shirt and it didn’t seem to faze her one little bit. She really was an enigma. A woman with a glamorous life and more sparkles than any one person over the age of five should own, but she was more comfortable in a pair of sweats, eating greasy pizza straight from the box. “Nah. Someone a lot prettier than Dickson.”
“That’s not hard.”
“Yeah well, Cassidy smells a lot better too,” I added. “See you at six,” I finished, ending the call before she had a chance to start interrogating me about the bombshell I’d just dropped. I might have been the one in law enforcement, but the way Hannah could argue and negotiate until she got what she wanted was enviable.
I walked over to where Cassidy was waiting. “You ready to keep going?” I asked, loving the way the sun felt on my face.
“Sure. Where are we headed?”
“Anywhere you want. I’m all yours.”
“I like the sound of that.”
6
CASSIDY
I don't knowwhere Hayden had scampered off too early this morning but I was taking it as a good thing. I’d been here four days already and I wasn’t looking forward to leaving. Even though I knew it was what I signed up for, suddenly life on the road didn’t hold the same appeal. I wanted to be here at night and sit on the couch, watching renovation shows and judging the contestants with him. I wanted to order noodles from the hole in the wall Thai place we’d found, then surprise him with a slice of pie, just because I could.
And that’s why I was sneaking out.
Putting on a pair of sensible wedge heels, I repacked my purse making sure I had everything and hurried out the door, double-checking to make sure I had the spare key Hayden had left me.
I was twenty minutes late when I almost fell through the door to find Skye’s judging eyes pinning me in place. When I joined the line, she rolled her eyes and summoned me. There, waiting on the table was a tall cinnamon frappuccino and a blueberry scone. I knew there was a reason I kept her around. She had me organized before I even knew what I was doing, where I was supposed to be doing it or who I was supposed to be doing it with.
“Sorry I’m late,” I apologized, dropping into the chair and setting my purse down.
I might’ve been Skye’s boss, but I wasn’t a bitch. If I showed up late, then she deserved enough respect to get my apologies.
“You’re actually earlier than I expected.”
