And Cassie wasn’t without her own reservations. “But what if he…turns me down?”
“That’s a risk you have to be willing to take,” Gabrielle said.
“Yeah, what’s the worst thing that can happen?” Wendy pressed.
“I’d be humiliated,” Cassie said.
“But what’s the best thing that could happen?” Page asked.
“Salvaging what could be a great relationship for both of us,” Cassie said.
“So you have to be willing to put it all out there,” Jacqueline added.
Gabrielle sat back and clasped her hands. “Lady Chatterley’s decision to seduce Mellor turned into a wonderful, but problematic, love affair. Will you be okay if you’re able to seduce this man, but a long-term relationship doesn’t work out?”
Cassie’s heart fluttered with teetering indecision for a few seconds, then resolve set in. “Yes. This is something I want to prove I can do, and this man is someone I’d feel safe with.”
“Well, then…” Gabrielle smiled. “Good luck!”
“We’ll be rooting you on from the sidelines,” Wendy said. “Send us text updates to let us know what’s going on.”
“That’s a good idea,” Page chorused, and the group coordinated their text addresses.
“Are you excited to be first?” Jacqueline murmured.
Cassie nodded as anticipation flowered in her chest like an orchid. She suddenly felt so alive and so…self-aware. Desire quivered through her midsection. Her breasts felt heavy. She lifted the glass of wine to press against her heated cheek and thought of all the delicious things she had planned for Mark. She reached for a plump strawberry and considered its ruby perfection before sinking her teeth into it. The sweet juices flooded her mouth and she nearly moaned with pleasure.
It was as if she were tasting a strawberry for the first time.
I guess we’re just not that into each other. Something’s missing…
Mark Shapiro, Cassie vowed, would live to eat his words.
2
MARK SHAPIRO HAD BOTH HANDS around a thick burger when his cell phone rang.
“Leave it, man,” his coworker Steve Hamlin said with a wave. “Whatever it is, it can wait until after lunch.”
Mark glanced at the caller ID as the phone flashed from the table. At the sight of the name CASSIE GOODWIN, his brow furrowed in surprise. Cassie had been on his mind ever since he’d seen her firm listed as a competitor bidding for the Belzer Tower job his firm was also bidding on. He realized that he missed her. But why would Cassie be calling after—how long had it been? Six months?
Steve glanced down. “Uh-oh. When an ex-girlfriend calls, it can’t be good news. What if she’s pregnant?”
Mark shot Steve a glare. “Trust me—if she’s pregnant, the baby’s not mine.”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted in Cassie’s bed. She was a looker and smart as a whip, but she was just too…tame to get his blood going. After surviving a serious illness as a teen, Mark prided himself on having a passion for everything in life, and he wanted the same in his partner. At times he had detected chemistry between him and Cassie, but when he’d moved in for anything more than a kiss, he’d always gotten shut down. Still, he’d had his fantasies about her long legs and her full breasts—
“Wait a minute,” Steve said, cutting into Mark’s thoughts. “Doesn’t Cassie work for Rugers and Associates?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re bidding on the Belzer Tower project, too.” Steve gestured. “Answer it. Find out what you can about their bid.”
Mark frowned because Steve was the lead architect for their firm on the Belzer project. “I’m not going to spy for you.”
“Man, you owe me for letting you go to the conference in Denver so you could go rock climbing. Besides, this kind of thing goes on all the time.”
Mark wavered. He didn’t like the idea of trolling for information, but he couldn’t deny the sudden compulsion to talk to Cassie again. Knowing his phone was getting ready to roll over to voice mail, he connected the call. “Hello?”
“Mark? Hi, it’s Cassie…Goodwin.”
She’d always had a great voice, so warm and sexy. False advertising, he noted wryly. “Hi, Cassie. What’s up?”
“Busy, like always,” she said breezily. “I’m on vacation doing some spring cleaning around my house today and found a couple of things that belong to you. I could drop them off at your office some time if you like.”
Meaning, he didn’t have to actually see her if he didn’t want to. He glanced up to Steve, who rolled his hand in an encouraging gesture. Mark didn’t plan to milk Cassie for information, but it gave him a cover to see her again. “Cassie, I’m in the field today. I could stop by your place this afternoon if you’ll be around.”
Steve gave him a thumbs-up.
“Okay, sure,” she said. “It’ll be great to see you.”
He blinked. Had he imagined the note of flirtation in her voice? “You, too.”
When he ended the call, he looked up to find Steve studying him. “Well?”
“Well…nothing,” Mark said, setting aside the phone. “Cassie found some things at her place that belong to me. I’m going to pick them up.”
Steve nodded. “A perfectly innocent excuse for you to poke around.”
“Don’t get your hopes up about me getting info on Ruger’s bid. Cassie’s no dummy.”
“Hey, maybe she’s calling you to try to get information about our bid.”
Mark gave a little laugh. “You’re wrong. This woman doesn’t have a misbehaving bone in her body. Believe me, Cassie Goodwin has no ulterior motives for calling me.”
CASSIE SET DOWN her phone and expelled a long, shaky breath. The call with Mark had actually gone better than she’d expected. She’d given him an out in case he truly didn’t want to see her, but instead he’d offered to come by to pick up the mislaid items. Just hearing Mark’s voice sent a shiver over her shoulders. On one hand, she was glad the reunion would take place on her turf. On the other hand…she didn’t know what to do next.
Cassie picked up her phone and scrolled through her contact list until she came to Red Tote Book Club. She needed help. Cassie texted Meeting ex bf in few minutes; advice? and sent it to the group. Hopefully someone would get her message in time to respond.
A few seconds later, her phone chimed. Cassie picked it up and smiled to see a note from Page Sharpe—Page was the quietest woman in the group, and the last person Cassie expected to hear from.
C—what would Lady Chatterley do?
Cassie pursed her mouth and nodded. Good guidance. On the table next to the phone lay a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence, the book that had inspired Cassie to take control of her sex life. She picked up the book and flipped through the pages, skimming some of her favorite scenes featuring Connie Chatterley and the gamekeeper Mellors. If Connie Chatterley lived in this modern day and age and Mellors was coming over, what would Connie do?
In one scene after spotting Mellors, Connie had stripped in front of a mirror and studied her body, analyzing which parts of it Mellors might