7 Minutes in Heaven (Are You Game?) (18 page)

The air slid from her lungs when she saw the neatly wrapped present sitting in the centre of her desk. Cautiously, she made her way across the room and picked up the small box. A tiny card attached read:

Cassie,

These remind me of your eyes.

Luc

With shaking fingers, Cassie tore open the pretty paper to find a silver box. Lifting the lid, she stared at the glass bead bracelet inside. The beads were a selection of browns and golds. Her breath stalled. Luc must have made it at the birthday party on the weekend. It was such an unexpected gesture. One that pulled at every conviction she had that she shouldn’t see him anymore. She fell into her chair, the leather creaking beneath her, and contemplated what it meant. He’d let her walk out the door this morning without a word about seeing her again. And now he was leaving her a gift.

Cassie closed her eyes and dropped her head back. Just when she thought she was okay with her decision to cool things with Luc he went and did something that threw up a host of unwanted emotions. The biggest being longing. How could she want a man so deeply when she’d only known him three days?

Her phone rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She didn’t have time to dwell on her personal life, she had a business to run, and that was exactly why she shouldn’t see him. Lucas was too much of a distraction and Cassie couldn’t afford that any more than she could a Ferrari.

Luc watched Cassie until she disappeared from sight. He guessed he owed her and this guy, West, an apology. He’d fucked up. She couldn’t blame him though. Seeing her caught in a headlock just about exploded
his
head. Every instinct in him had gone on red alert at the scene he’d found when he came down the stairs five minutes ago. Having never laid eyes on West before Luc’s first impulse was to think threat, especially when the guy had Cassie in such a menacing hold.

“Cassie hasn’t mentioned you, so I assume you’re someone she just met.”

He turned to find West had stepped closer. The guy had puffed out his chest and stood ramrod straight too. Probably in an attempt to intimidate him, but Luc didn’t scare easily, so the guy was shit out of luck. “Yeah.” Luc wasn’t about to reveal anything about him and Cassie.

West grinned. “The strong, silent type, are you?”

The mockery in the guy’s voice set Luc’s nerves on edge, not that they weren’t already there. “If Cassie wants to tell you anything that’s up to her, but I’m not about to share my business with you.” Luc turned to leave but West’s next words stopped him.

“Want to know how to win her over?”

He turned back to face a smirking West.

“Yeah, thought you might, but let me give you some info first.” West crossed his arms and squared his shoulders. “I’ve known Cassie since I was a kid. Her brother is my best friend and I’ve been to as many family events at the Moreland house as she has, so I know a little more about the woman than most.”

Luc’s gut churned. He didn’t like that West had so much history with Cassie. Didn’t like the implied intimacy of it. He opened his mouth but stopped when West held up a hand.

“No. I’ve never gone there. Never thought of going there, so don’t insult us both by asking. She’s always been a kid sister to me regardless of our lack of blood ties.” West stepped forward and got in Luc’s face. He had to give the guy credit. He had balls. Luc topped him by a good three inches. “You fuck her over and it’s not just me you’ll deal with. She’s got five older brothers who would gladly take you apart with me.”

Luc laughed. He couldn’t help it. And when West scowled at him, he laughed harder.

“Listen—”

“Sorry, not laughing at you.” Luc sucked in a breath and got his mirth under control. “I just find it hilarious that you even think there’d be anything left if I fucked her over. She doesn’t need you or her brothers to fight her battles. She’d have me castrated, drawn and quartered and hung from the nearest lamppost before I ever
fucked her over
.”

West smiled. “Ah, so you have met the real Cassie then.”

“Oh, yeah. We spent most of Friday night butting heads.”

“Obviously something changed between now and then, though.”

Ah, they were back to fishing for info. “Something changes every second.”

“You know, I think I like you.” West stuck out his hand. “West Mann.”

Luc gripped his hand and shook. “Luc Wilhelm.”

“So, about winning her over.”

“At this point.” He turned his head to look over at the stairs Cassie had disappeared up. “I’ll take any advice you have.”

“Don’t push her. Let her come to you, but don’t let her think you’re not hanging around. Small things will get her over the big ones, so don’t go ordering flowers or some such shit. Stick with simple things like making sure she’s got lunch on a busy day. She’s always forgetting to eat and then she’ll gorge on chocolate bars or those horrible TV dinners she has in her freezer.” West shuddered as he said the last part.

Luc could see how that might work. And he wanted to look after her, wanted to be sure she took care of herself. She’d already admitted to eating crap most of the time. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No worries. Just don’t go overboard, something simple will get her every time. She’s a sucker for thoughtful gestures, not so much the extravagant ones like jewellery.”

Jewellery. Shit. He hoped she wouldn’t think the bracelet was over the top. It was only a kids’ party trinket not a diamond ring. He looked towards the stairs again. She hadn’t come back down and thrown it at him. And surely she’d found and opened it by now. Then again, maybe she’d tossed it in the bin. Luc hoped not, but he didn’t really have a say now he’d given it to her. She’d do with it whatever she wanted. He’d just have to accept any choice she made.

West’s hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck, man.”

Luc turned back to him. “Thanks.” He smiled but he wasn’t really feeling it. For the first time since Cassie had walked out his door this morning, he had real concern about the outcome of their relationship.

Cassie looked up from her paperwork at Dan. “Thanks, but I don’t recall you asking me if I wanted anything for lunch.”

“I didn’t.” He put the paper bag on her desk. “And I didn’t order it.”

Before she could get a word out, he’d turned to leave. “What do you mean you didn’t order it?”

“The deli down the street delivered it,” he said over his shoulder.

Cassie stared at the bag. He hadn’t. Not again. It was the same yesterday. And the day before. And both nights. Lunch and dinner, Monday, Tuesday and now Wednesday. She didn’t see him during the day, but he was always either waiting in his car or on her doorstep within seconds of her getting home with food. He’d not stayed. Instead, he’d delivered her meals and left. That confused her more than anything. Why would he not want to stick around and eat with her?

Confused and frustrated, she reached for the bag and ripped it open. A BLT. Her mouth watered. Damn, he’d ordered her favourite sandwich. It was even toasted. She sighed. How was she supposed to keep her distance when he kept doing nice things for her? The man was making it hard to stand by her decision not to continue their all-consuming relationship. Plus, he was making her arguments about distractions useless when he wasn’t around during the day to interrupt her work and barely said ten words to her at night.

She peeled back the wrapper and sank her teeth into the sandwich, closing her eyes as salty bacon flavour flooded her mouth. She polished off half before putting it down. Cassie grabbed her phone and she flicked through her address book until she came to Luc’s number. She’d programmed it in after asking Jody for it. It’d felt strange to have to ask her new employee for a number she should already have, but Jody hadn’t seemed fazed by it and rattled it off without a second thought.

Thumb hovering over the screen, she debated calling him or texting. She wasn’t sure how she’d react to hearing his voice, so she pulled up a new message and fired off a quick thank you. Within seconds her phone beeped with a reply.

You’re welcome
.

Cassie tapped out a reply.
You can’t keep doing this
.

Again his reply fired back.
Why not?

Yes, why not? It was a good question and Cassie couldn’t think of a good answer. It took her a few minutes to think of a reason, but even then she knew it wasn’t a strong argument.
Because you can’t keep paying for my food
.

You can pay next week
.

Cassie laughed. The man was insane. And not going away. But she had to be honest. As much as she didn’t want to see him again, she did. If she found him on her doorstep tonight she’d invite him in before he could run off. She’d been too shocked to think the last two nights so he’d gotten away with little more than a nod hello from her. That changed today. She fingered the beads around her wrist. He hadn’t said anything to her about the bracelet. Not yet, but she knew he’d seen her wearing it Monday night.

She wasn’t sure why she’d put it on. With everything she’d told herself about not getting attached to him, even she couldn’t understand why she wanted to wear it. Okay, that was a lie. If she was going to start lying to herself she was in trouble. She’d put it on and kept it on because Luc had made it. For her. It was a way to keep him close without keeping him close, and wasn’t that just fucked-up reasoning. Cassie let out a deep breath and slouched back in her chair. Her phone beeped, bouncing on the desk as it vibrated with an incoming message.

Is it yummy? Mine is
.

A smile curved her mouth. They were having lunch together.
Yes
.

How does pizza for dinner sound?

Will you join me?

Can’t.

Cassie frowned and sent a text with a frowny face in reply.

Have to work but I’ll order the pizza for 7. Sound good?

She didn’t want to eat alone again and really she should just organise her own dinner.
Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself tonight.

Too late. Ordered already.

Damn him.
Fine. But I’m cooking tomorrow night.

Aren’t you working tomorrow night?

Shit. She was. Wait. How did he know that?
How do you know?

Jody mentioned it.

Plausible. He’d obviously been speaking to his sister, and Cassie knew he was worried about Jody, so she fired off a quick message to alleviate some of his concern.
She’s doing great. She’ll be running her own events in no time. Thanks for sending her my way.

You’re both welcome. Gotta go. Meeting. See you later.

Cassie read his last message over and over. Did he mean he’d see her tonight? He’d said he’d ordered her a pizza but he wouldn’t be there, so was he planning on stopping by after he finished work? A pang of disappointment and a bubble of hope vied for space in her chest. She’d see-sawed back and forth about what she wanted so often over the last few days that she was beginning to get motion sickness.

She leaned forward and thunked her head on the desk. There was no getting around it. Lucas Wilhelm wasn’t just a distraction. He was a roadblock.

Chapter Fifteen

Cassie stared at the man on her doorstep. It was Thursday evening and the fourth day in a row she’d seen or heard from him. Monday morning, when she’d left his house determined not to think about him and all he’d made her feel in one weekend, she’d thought that was the end of it. She’d been wrong. Lucas had been in her face but not. He’d found an excuse every day since then to see her. She wanted to be pissed off about it, only the thrill of excitement that swept through her with each sighting wouldn’t let her get a good mad up. Besides, he never stayed for long and
that
was beginning to piss her off. He was teasing her with his presence only to disappear before she could give in to her body’s desire for his.

She sighed. Damn the man. She got out of her car and then took her time shutting the door to gather her thoughts before she walked towards him. He pushed off the wall and picked up the plastic bags at his feet. The closer she got the more obvious it became that he’d brought dinner. Again. He’d fed her lunch and dinner every day this week. Cassie suspected he was getting her work schedule from his sister, Jody, because he seemed to know exactly where she’d be at all times. It was Jody who’d insisted she head home now. Insisted she and Dan had tonight’s cocktail party under control. And Luc had even mentioned she was working tonight, so he had to have known she was heading home early somehow.

The tantalising aroma of curry wafted towards her and all turbulent thought stopped. “Oh my God, is that Indian?” She stepped onto her small porch.

“Yep. Complete with naan bread.” Lucas raised the bags and shook them slightly.

Shit.
She couldn’t turn him away now even if she wanted to. Not when he’d brought her favourite food and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. Slipping her key in the lock, she twisted and glanced over at him. “Is that for one or two?”

“Two?” He arched one thick brow.

Well, this was a first. He was planning to eat with her this time. Cassie shoved the door open. “Come in. If you want to put all that in the kitchen I’m just going to get out of these work clothes first then I’ll dish it up.” She headed down the hall to her room, the sound of Lucas shutting the door and moving towards the kitchen behind her.