Hunk for the Holidays (5 page)

“Yeah, if you like arrogant men with Napoleon complexes.” He shot her another nasty look before he turned and strode off.

Cassie started to apologize for her brother’s rude behavior when Amy grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway to a bathroom. Once inside, she closed the door and turned on Cassie like a rabid dog.

“So?”

“So what?”

“So who is this guy? There’s no way he’s an escort.”

Cassie moved to the cushioned vanity bench and sat
down. Her feet were killing her. She tugged at the straps of the high heels. “What kind of torture devices are these?”

“Cassie!”

“Fine!” She knew Amy wouldn’t leave her alone until she had the entire story. She dropped the shoe to the floor and rubbed her abused toes. “He’s from the agency, but I think he’s more gigolo than escort. He drives a Land Rover.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope.”

Amy straightened the towels on the rack before moving to the sink, where she rearranged the white roses in a vase. “So what’s his name?”

“James.”

“James what?”

The other shoe slipped to the floor, and Cassie sighed in relief. “I don’t know; nor do I care. He’s just another employee.” It really wasn’t the truth. He may have started out as just an employee, but after listening to his strong, deep voice, smelling his subtle, spicy scent, and feeling his soft, warm touch, he was fast approaching a status of definite interest. Sexual interest, but interest just the same.

She looked up to see Amy studying her in the mirror.

“You have the condoms I gave you?”

“Real funny, Amy.”

She didn’t laugh. “It might’ve been funny to begin with, but after seeing your date for the evening, I think you’ll be happy you have them.”

Cassie slipped her shoes back on. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious. If you’re ever going to do something totally irresponsible, it should be with that guy.”

“Well, I’m not going to do anything totally irresponsible.” She stood, and cringed at her sore toes. “So did you set up a meeting with Sutton?”

“No. Didn’t you get the message I left on your cell?” She removed a tube of lipstick from her purse and took off the cap. “Here, put some of this on.”

Knowing that Amy wouldn’t relent, Cassie took the lipstick. “I left my cell phone at the office.”

Amy stared at her. “You never leave your cell phone. This guy must have ruffled your feathers pretty good.”

“Not at all.” Cassie applied the bright red lipstick. When she was finished, she handed it back to Amy. “As I said before, the man is just another employee.”

“Well, that’s probably for the best.” Amy put the lipstick back in her purse. “I just saw Aunt Wheezie leading him to the greenhouse.”

“Did she have a bottle?”

“Two.”

Great.
Cassie turned to the door. There went her date for the evening. The last escort Aunt Wheezie had commandeered had been carried out feet first.

Chapter Four

James sat at a table in the greenhouse and watched the woman across from him down another shot of Scotch whiskey. He couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the one that knocked her out cold. Instead, Louise McPherson blotted her mouth with her handkerchief and sat back in her chair as if she’d just taken a sip of afternoon tea.

“So what did you say you do, Jimmy?”

Stalling, he took a deep drink of the beer that he’d planned on giving Cassandra before this wily woman had abducted him. He didn’t know exactly how much to tell Cassie’s aunt, especially when Cassandra had given strict orders to say as little as possible. But he couldn’t see the harm in telling her a few things. Even if it was more than her niece knew.

“Construction.”

Aunt Louise’s eyes twinkled, eyes that were the exact
shade of green as her great-niece’s. It was an intriguing mixture of deep jade and sparkling emerald. “So you like construction, do you? Don’t know a thing about the business myself. I let my nephews handle all that while I just spend their money.” She poured herself another shot. “I was in the bar business in Chicago.”

Surprise. Surprise
.

“My husband—God rest his soul—and I owned a small bar. It wasn’t much, but it was a haven to plenty of men and women, I’ll tell you that. That was back when people didn’t come to a bar because they were horny.”

After meeting her niece, James could relate to being horny, so he nodded.

“In my day, people came to a bar to relax and enjoy each other’s company,” she continued. “When times were hard, they counted on me and Neill to be there with a warm welcome and a stiff drink. And for close to fifty years, we were. There wasn’t any need for therapists and antidepressants. All most people need is someone to listen to their problems and let them know that things are going to be all right.”

She downed her shot, then scowled at the full shot glass she’d poured for him. “You’re not keeping up, Jimmy.”

Bluto from
Animal House
couldn’t keep up with this pint-sized woman, and James wasn’t stupid enough to even try. Still, he might’ve downed the shot just to be polite if she hadn’t been drinking whiskey. He had an aversion to the liquor ever since his mother had passed away and he’d tried to drown his sorrow by drinking an entire bottle. Now just the smell brought back bad memories.

“Humph.” Aunt Louise’s sharp eyes studied him for a few seconds, before she smiled and pushed the glass and the bottle away. “So you’re smarter than the rest.” She winked. “Brains and looks. I like that in a man.” She leaned forward and rested her wrinkled hands on the glass table. “But if you’re planning on catching Cassie, you’ll need more than brains and good looks. You’ll need the patience of a saint and the endurance of a pack mule. In case you haven’t noticed, my niece is a real fireball.”

James had noticed. If the daring clothes hadn’t given Cassandra away, the escort service certainly had. That and the fact that she was walking around with a purse filled with condoms. Which pretty much made her a fireball and James toast.

As if knowing where his mind wandered, Aunt Louise cackled. “It isn’t really her fault. Growing up with four brothers, she had to fight for everything she got—from toys to her daddy’s attention. You could say it made her a little aggressive. Which is why she scares a lot of men off.”

She studied him. “Of course, in my book, they were all a bunch of candy asses anyway. Every last one of them. Especially that Mike fella. Now, if you ask me, something wasn’t quite right in his head. He looked big and capable, but any man who can tell you where to find the best buys on women’s shoes has got something out of whack. And him bringing his baked goods to every family function was more than I could take. Although he makes pretty damned good pumpkin bread, I’ll give him that.”

“When did they break up?” James asked.

“A little over a year ago. No great loss, in my opinion.
And I think Cassandra pretty much feels the same way. She was just killing time with him. Just like all the ones since. Young, good-lookin’ group. But not one could hold their booze worth a darn.” She lifted one penciled-in brow. “But you, on the other hand…”

James tried not to squirm under those penetrating eyes. The last thing he was looking for right now was a serious relationship. Not when he had a new company to get up and running. He was attracted to Cassandra. No, more than attracted. But what he wanted from her had more to do with the condoms in her little red purse than joining the McPherson family. “But doesn’t she work a lot? Maybe she doesn’t have time for a serious relationship,” he said, in an attempt to dissuade any matchmaking attempts. It didn’t work.

“You sound just like Cassandra. But I’ll guarantee you that once she discovers the right person, she’ll find time to spend with him. Everyone needs to have a reason to quit work and go home. No one wants to go home to an empty house.”

He knew exactly what the woman was talking about. He put off getting an office just so he wouldn’t have to leave work. Ever. His home seemed less lonely when filled with assistants, fax and copy machines, and computers.

“And Cassandra’s long hours are even more pathetic when you consider the fact that she doesn’t even like her job,” Aunt Louise said. Before James could question her, she leaned closer, her strong whiskey breath almost knocking him out of his chair. “I’ll tell you a little secret. I think Albert made one hell of a mistake putting that girl behind a desk. Just like her daddy, she loves to be in the
thick of things and doesn’t mind getting her hands a little dirty.”

The mention of Cassandra’s father brought up a question that had been plaguing James for most of the night. “Where is Mr. McPherson?”

Aunt Louise chuckled. “Worried about coming face-to-face with Big Al, are you? Well, don’t be. Alby’s more bark than bite. Besides, he just had heart surgery, so you won’t be running into him tonight. Old Doc Matheson put a stop to that.” She got to her feet, and James followed. “Which reminds me. I better be on my way.” She picked up the full bottle of whiskey and tucked it under her arm. “I promised Mary Katherine I’d stop by before I go home.” She held out a hand. “Jimmy, it was nice meeting you.”

“Same here, ma’am. Are you going to be okay to drive?”

She gave his hand a hard shake. “Son, I was just getting warmed up.”

James didn’t doubt her, but he still couldn’t let her drive. Not after an entire bottle of whiskey was almost gone.

“Just the same, I think I’ll call you a cab.” He pulled his cell phone from the inside pocket of his tux. Since he had turned it on vibrate when he was in the elevator at M & M Construction, he took note of the five calls he’d missed before he started to dial information.

She stopped him, her green eyes sparkling. “You don’t have any trouble taking control. I like that, Jimmy. I like that a lot. But there’s no need to worry about me. I won’t be driving, not when those crazy nephews of mine went
and got me a big old Cadillac with a cute, young chauffeur.” She patted his arm. “I’ll be fine. Besides, what you need to worry about is standing right over there.” She tipped her head, and James glanced behind him.

On the other side of the glass wall of the conservatory, Cassandra stood talking with a man.

“That would be Foster,” Aunt Louise answered James’s unspoken question. “His parents are friends of the family, or like to think they are. Foster’s another candy ass, but at least the other candy asses had jobs. He hasn’t worked a day in his life. Although he’ll tell you different.”

“Is Cassandra interested?” he asked as he watched the tall, blond man reach out and take her hand. James’s eyes narrowed. He heard Aunt Louise snort, but he kept his gaze pinned on the scene before him.

“I’ll let you find that out for yourself,” she said. “I think I’ll be seeing you, Jimmy.”

A sudden draft of cold air pulled his attention away long enough to watch the old woman slip out through the side door. He didn’t watch her for long, more interested in what the candy ass was doing with Cassandra’s hand. He actually had to fight down a feeling similar to jealousy. It surprised him. He wasn’t the jealous type. Yet, for some reason, he felt not only jealous but protective, which was strange considering he and Cassandra didn’t have any kind of a relationship.

Except the bizarre escort thing.

After meeting her large, overbearing family, it made more sense. As a fellow workaholic, he understood how difficult it was to maintain a relationship. His ex-girlfriends could attest to that. It looked like Cassandra had found
a solution. Not one he would have chosen, but a solution nonetheless.

But understanding her motivation didn’t explain why he had gone along with the charade.

As soon as he realized she’d mistaken him for someone else, he should’ve introduced himself. But she surprised him. He wasn’t expecting a beautiful, dark-haired woman. He was expecting Al McPherson, the gruff man who had called him earlier in the day to set up a meeting. James had stepped off the elevator, nervous and excited about meeting one of the most respected men in the business, and was completely sideswiped by long, sexy legs and a tiny patch of red satin. Once his gaze locked on those undies, his curiosity and excitement about meeting Big Al had flown straight out the window. Along with every coherent thought he’d ever had.

Follow sexy underwear with sparkling green eyes and full, luscious lips, and he was lucky that he had remembered his name. He sure didn’t give a second thought to her father or to the Christmas party he was supposed to attend. Damn, his mind had been on penis-pilot way before his name even came up. In fact, he was still on penis-pilot, which would explain the sudden intense desire to kill the bastard who had just bent his head for a kiss.

To hell with it.

James pushed his way through the overgrown plants of the greenhouse and headed for the door that led into the house. He shouldn’t have bothered. By the time he stepped into the hallway, Cassandra had already taken care of the situation. She didn’t slap Foster, but rather punched him right in the face. And from the bunched muscles in her
arm and the way Foster’s head snapped back, it wasn’t a girlie tap.