Jill shrugged. “Show him what he’s been missing by neglecting you. Seduce him.”
“Seduce him?” Saying the word sent a shiver up her spine. It sounded so wild…so daring. “How?”
“I don’t know.” Jill waved her hand. “The usual. Sexy lingerie. Champagne. Why don’t the two of you go away for the weekend? Some place romantic.”
Cassie sagged against the counter and shook her head. “Can’t. Bob’s going up to Aspen Creek to work this weekend.”
Jill made a face. “What kind of work is an accountant going to do at a ski resort?”
“He’s rented a condo up there for the weekend. Said it was the only way he could catch up on all his paperwork.” Cassie opened the dishwasher and began unloading coffee mugs. “He’s been working really hard lately. I think he’s bucking for a promotion.”
“All work and no play are going to make that dull boy even duller.” Jill began stacking the clean mugs on the shelves above the espresso machine. “Why don’t you surprise him? Go up to the condo and convince him to take a break from the paperwork and work on what’s left of your relationship.”
“Maybe…” The idea sounded good, but was she brave enough to follow through with it? Could she seduce a man? Was this what she and Bob needed to set things right between them?
Even if the weekend was a bust, at least she’d know she’d tried. One way or another, she was bound to be better off come Monday. “All right. I’ll do it.” A shiver of excitement ran through her. Time to prove to Bob, and to herself, that she wasn’t boring, that she could do something she set her mind to do. If she didn’t, she might as well resign herself to spending the rest of her life as the invisible woman.
2
CASSIE WAS FAIRLY CERTAIN she wasn’t crazy. Desperate, maybe, but not insane. “Tell me again that this is a good idea,” she said as she and Jill pulled into the parking lot at Aspen Creek Resort two days later.
“Most men would be delighted if the woman they loved surprised them with a planned seduction,” Jill said. “Although, I wouldn’t say Bob is like most men. In fact, I’m a little surprised you’re doing this.”
Cassie stared at her. “But you’re the one who suggested it.”
Jill frowned. “Well, yeah. But I never thought you’d do it.” She glanced up toward the lodge. “Are you sure Bob’s worth it?”
“Of course he is,” Cassie said, without much conviction. Bob had been acting so differently toward her lately, she couldn’t be sure about anything. Except that she owed it to herself to try one last time to make things work between them. She opened the door and climbed out of the car.
“You know, you could find someone better.” Jill looked at her over the top of the car. “Someone who would really appreciate your efforts.”
“You mean, seduce a complete stranger?” Cassie pulled on her gloves and zipped her jacket against the biting cold.
“No. But there are probably a lot of men who’d be interested in you if you’d give them a chance.”
“Name one.”
“Guy Walters.”
Cassie laughed. “Guy Walters doesn’t know I’m alive.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. I’ve seen him watching you.”
A shiver danced through her at the thought. “You lie.”
“Trust me. I know a lot about men and I think Guy’s really interested in you. And he’d be a lot better for you than Bob.”
Sure. As if Guy Walters didn’t already have half the women in town after him. An ordinary woman didn’t have a chance. She shrugged. “Bob’s who I’m stuck with now, so I’m going to make the best of it.” Even to her own ears, she didn’t sound enthusiastic.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait around, in case things don’t work out?” Jill followed her around to the trunk. Fresh snow crunched under their boots and a gust of wind blew more snow down onto them from the trees.
“You don’t have to wait. I’ll be fine.” Besides, if she knew Jill was still here, she might chicken out before she ever got to Bob’s room. She hefted her backpack out of the trunk and checked its contents: bottled water, energy bars, champagne, strawberries, scented candles, some extra clothes and a change of underwear.
“What have you got in there?” Jill tried to peer over her shoulder, but Cassie quickly zipped up the pack.
“Don’t forget these, Miss Girl Scout.” Jill reached into the trunk and tossed her the box of condoms that must have slipped from the pack.
Cassie blushed and shoved the box into the pack’s outside pocket. “Bob always forgets,” she mumbled.
“He doesn’t forget. He just knows he doesn’t have to be prepared because you always are.” Jill stepped back as Cassie closed the trunk. “I don’t know why you’re going to so much trouble for him.”
She shouldered the pack and adjusted the straps. “You said it yourself. I can’t let things go on the way they have been. After this weekend, Bob won’t take me for granted anymore.”
Jill squinted up at the gray sky. “It looks like it might storm. I don’t like the idea of leaving you up here all alone.”
“I won’t be alone. Bob’s here. Somewhere.” She turned to study the log chalet at the base of the ski slopes. Good thing Aspen Creek was a small resort, with only this one building of condos. She’d never have found Bob at some big place like Vail or Copper Mountain.
“I still say what kind of guy goes to a ski resort to spend the weekend working?”
Cassie hugged her arms around herself and stamped her feet as a blast of icy wind gusted across the road. “Bob’s been really wrapped up in his job lately. This weekend will be a good chance for us to talk about our relationship.”
“From the looks of that pack, you don’t intend to spend much time talking.”
Cassie’s cheeks burned. So maybe talk wasn’t all she had in mind. Was there anything wrong with a woman surprising her longtime boyfriend with a little seduction? Somebody had to do something before whatever they’d once had between them died of neglect. “This was your idea, remember? And I thought it would be good to try something different.”
“This is different, all right. It’s not like you at all.”
Cassie knew what that meant. It wasn’t like quiet, dependable, conventional Cassie to take off for a wild weekend fling. “Maybe this is like me,” she said. “The real me.”
Jill didn’t look any less worried. “Just be careful.” She gave Cassie a quick hug. “Call me if you need anything.”
Cassie nodded. “I will. And thanks.”
“Call me Monday, anyway.” Jill opened the driver’s-side car door. “I want a full report.”
Cassie laughed and started up the road toward the lodge. At the top of the hill, she turned to wave at Jill, then took a deep breath and headed off for what was going to be either the greatest thrill of her life, or the biggest embarrassment.
Skiers crowded into the lodge office, some fresh from the slopes, clomping across the carpet in snow-dusted ski boots, others gathered around a massive stone fireplace, enjoying hot toddies or cold beers. A picture window behind the registration desk showed fresh snow falling on the groomed slopes, a line of skiers