Friends With Benefits (7 page)

He’d behaved like a crazy fool. He pulled back and stood up.

She sucked in a breath. “Seb?”

The question in her tone bled through him. What could he say? The truth. “I can’t do this.” He dragged his hand through his hair. His libido refused to believe he’d deny his body relief, but his ethics outweighed any physical pleasure he could have at the moment.

“Tell me what’s wrong?”

He stood in the middle of the room, his back to her. “It’s not right.”

“Explain.”

He turned and shrugged. “Cassie–”

She jumped up and reached for her shirt, tugging it haphazardly over her head. “Don’t ‘Cassie’ me.” She sighed. Her gaze landed on his forgotten phone.

He started to go for the cell still buried in the corner of the cushion, but she beat him to it.

Her expression went from confusion to a grave one. “Where were you tonight?”

“Out.” He knew where this headed. She had that look in her eye, the one she got when she was about to accuse him of something.

“Lila called.” One corner of her mouth curved into a cold grin. “You may want to call her back.” She tossed the phone at him.

He caught it against his chest.

“Don’t want to make her think you and I are up to something.” Her icy tone cut through the room.

“Don’t freak out over a phone call.”

“Freak out? Is that what you think I’m doing?”

He shook his head. “Are you jealous?” He knew immediately he’d said the wrong thing.

“Jealous?” Her eyes became a thunderstorm blue. “Why would I be jealous? You and I are friends, right?”

“The best.”

Her snicker made him cringe. Her eyes were still slightly swollen and her lips were pink from his kisses. He wanted nothing more than to take her back into his arms and make love to her. Cassie believed Lila had kept him from following his desire. It was more than that. Much more. He should tell her and then there would be no secrets. I–”

“You should go. I shouldn’t have called you.”

His heart sank. “Come on. Don’t be stubborn.”

She turned her back to him. “Lila and you have been seeing each other a lot here lately. We shouldn’t have allowed things to get out of control tonight. Forgive me, but I felt very needy after getting stood up. That’s all it amounted to.”

She couldn’t have hurt him more if she’d blasted him with a grenade. Without another word, he turned and left the apartment.

* * * *

The next day at the shop, the anxiety hit Cassie. Glancing at Sebastian working in the kitchen, the way his body moved stealthily, reminded her of the way she had tuned to lava under his touch. With each knead of the dough, his muscles tensed. His waist tapered to his firm ass. The loose khaki shorts didn’t even hide the fact that he had buns worth cupping.

“Daydreaming, Cassie?”

Engrossed in her naughty thoughts, Cassie hadn’t heard Robin come through the door behind her.

Sebastian also stopped what he was doing and turned.

“I–I’m not daydreaming.” She shot a look around the kitchen, attempting to find something, anything, to keep her from appearing the fool who’d been watching Sebastian like a perverted stalker. Then she saw her scapegoat. “I was just thinking to myself that we need another kitchen island. Sebastian you won’t mind, will you? Unless you’ve grown fond of hunching over while you work.”

“Well, since you’re concerned about my physical form, thank you but no thank you. This table works fine,” Sebastian said. Although a smile spread over his mouth, the cold look in his eyes told Cassie she’d pushed him too far last night. She’d meant to. Her intention had been to push him away. She’d done it out of hurt because he’d turned her down cold.

“So be it.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stomped out of the kitchen and straight into Lila. Her stomach turned. Just what she needed. “Can I help you?”

“I’m sorry. There was no one out front.”

Cassie had the urge to wipe that sweet grin right off the other woman’s face. A pang of guilt followed. What right did she have to be angry? She forced her bitterness to the back of her mind and concentrated on Sebastian’s happiness. “Are you looking for Seb?”

“Yes, I am.”

“He’s in the kitchen.” Cassie gave a quick nod over her shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you.”

“You think he will?” Lila’s eyes twinkled.

There were moments in life when one must dig deep, deeper than imaginable, to find the gumption to do right and not what one wished to do for selfish reasons. “I’m sure he will. He seems to like you very much.”

“That is so nice of you to say that, Cassie. Sebastian thinks a lot of you, so I respect your opinion. I’d started to think you didn’t like me.” A doe couldn’t have looked more innocent than Lila did. Cassie felt like the devil’s spawn. She had to let Sebastian go. She had to let him be happy. For the life of her, it was the last thing she wanted. Reality finally plugged in. She loved her best friend. She probably had been for years. It had taken his attraction to another woman to jolt the truth through her.

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

Lila shrugged. “I must have just been imagining it. I hope we can be friends.”

“Of course we can.” Cassie swallowed the lump of realization building in her throat. She had mistreated Lila. Not in words, but in actions. Whenever Lila had come into the shop, Cassie had given her a cold shoulder. “I better get out here and take care of the customers.” Cassie hurried toward the counter. She felt someone staring and turned to find Robin’s accusing eyes on her. “What?”

Robin shook her head. “Too much damn pride. The both of you.”

Cassie glanced over her shoulder where Lila had disappeared through the swinging doors. “She doesn’t seem prideful in the least.”

Robin huffed. “You know who I’m talking about.”

Cassie grabbed the damp towel from underneath the counter and began wiping it with unneeded vigor. “I haven’t a slip of an idea what you’re talking about.”

Robin’s snort echoed off the walls. “Cut the crap, Cassie.”

Cassie stopped and tossed the rag back into its place. She turned on Robin, keeping her expression blank, or at least she hoped. “Okay, I realize you’re talking about Sebastian and I. I also know you think this is a romantic tale of best friends turning into a couple. We’ve been through this. You’re completely wrong. It’s not in the cards for us.” She busied herself with rearranging an already neat row of cups on the counter.

“She’s got it bad for him.”

“Who?” Following Robin’s nod, Cassie saw Sebastian and Lila coming out of the kitchen. Sebastian looked happy. He smiled and stared at Lila with affection in his eyes. “Yeah, I see.”

“Exactly. She knows a good thing when she sees it and she ain’t a fool. She’s trying to dig her way into that man’s single status and change it to taken.”

Cassie turned away. “At least he’s happy.”

“Come on, Cass. The man loves you,” Robin whispered.

This got Cassie’s interest. She waited for the couple of reference to pass the counter before she asked, “How do you know this?” Her heart skipped a beat.

With a slow shrug, Robin said, “By the way he acts around you. But he thinks you’re in love with your admirer.”

Those last words haunted Cassie. Was she in love with her secret admirer? Could it be possible? She barely knew him. She’d never met him, not in the normal fashion. In fact, he’d stood her up.

* * * *

Later that day, Cassie came from the kitchen and glanced across the empty seats, except for one. A familiar face, although she didn’t know his name. An elderly gentleman who had made it his nightly ritual to stop in and grab a cup of decaf, two cinnamon twists and the local newspaper. He saw her and gave her a quick wave. She waved back. She’d usually stop by his table in the corner and ask about his day, but Cassie wasn’t in the mood for small talk, or anything really. The day had seeped by. Sebastian had left earlier, saying he had errands, and Robin was gone for the evening.

Cassie poured herself a large cup of espresso and grabbed an eclair from the shelf inside the case. Mmm. Creamy, heavenly goodness. She lifted the delicacy to her lips and stopped. She saw something at the end of the counter. She lowered her hand and looked closer. Was it a note from her admirer?

She looked at the customer. He seemed engrossed in shaking his paper out like a wrinkled sheet as he pushed back his chair to get up. Cassie kept her eyes on the man as he dug into his pocket and pulled out loose bills. Tossing the money onto the table, he once again acknowledged Cassie with a wave.

Watching from the window, she saw the man disappear down the sidewalk, then popped the rest of her food into her mouth and moved toward the letter. She glanced around the shop again for good measure. Grabbing the familiar stationery, she read her name written across the front. Her heart stuttered. She couldn’t be more excited if she were a child staring into the window of a candy store.

She snuck into the kitchen. She wasted no time in opening the envelope, and reading the words aloud.

Cassie, my darling. You are my one and only. I want nothing more than to hold you each and every day. I watch you and you fill my soul.

Excitement surged through her, only to come to a sudden halt. She wasn’t sure she wanted to meet him. The game wore on her last nerve. Who was this man who had turned her world upside down?

A mixture of anger and desire sped through her veins. Could Sebastian be right when he said she was a fool for being interested in a man she didn’t know? The only connection between them was a few hauntingly touching words and space.

Yes, Sebastian was right.

She stared down at the words on the paper. But what if this man, this mystery man, happened to be the man she was meant to be with? What if these were the hands of fate working their magic, bringing two lost souls back together? Her mom would say
Stop sugar-coating the sour parts.

Confusion barreled through her.

She had to separate her desire for happiness apart from who could make her happy. She also needed to know this man wasn’t leading her on.

The door chimed. The clock read 7:59. Who would come in during closing time? She pushed through the swinging doors and almost collided with Sebastian. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here.” His eyes narrowed.

“Yes, but you said you’d be gone for the rest of the day.”

He shifted and slammed his hands into his pockets. “We need to talk.”

“About what? I need to start closing.” Cassie started to pass him, but he caught her gently by the elbow. “Seb, what is wrong with you?”

“Sorry.” He dropped his hand but the severe expression remained.

“You’re scaring me. Are you okay?”

His gaze dropped to the letter she held. “You received another letter.”

She nodded. “Yes. He must think I’ll fall for his sweet words.”

His gaze held hers. “What do you plan on doing?”

“I don’t know.” She needed time to think. “But you didn’t tell me yet what’s wrong with you?”

“I’m going to sell my share of the business and move.”

Her mouth fell open. How could everything fall apart all at once? “I must be hearing things. I thought you said you’re going to sell your half of Whipped Dream and move.”

“That’s what I said.”

Cassie chuckled. “Stop teasing me and just tell me what is up with you.”

“Cass, I’m serious,” he said.

“Did you just decide this in one day?”

“I’ve been debating it for some time now.”

“And you didn’t talk to me about it?” She was offended. “This is our shop. We went into this together because we both wanted it. Don’t you think discussing this with me first was the proper thing to do?”

He slid into one of the seats at the bar. “I went along with this because you wanted it.”

She couldn’t have been more floored if he’d told her he planned to color his hair purple and join a rock band. “What? You’ve never once told me you didn’t want to be here.”