Some Guys Have All the Luck

by Deborah Cooke

  Cassie started to giggle. “Very solemnly, I’m sure.”

  “Probably,” Tori agreed.

  “With that devious twinkle in his eye.”

  They laughed together. “What else is in that huge house?” Tori asked.

  “Not much. Bare essentials. Toothbrushes. There were four new ones, still in the packages. A green one, an orange one, a blue one and a purple one.”

  “Which one’s yours now?” Tori asked wickedly.

  “Purple.”

  “I hope you left it in the rack, like placing a claim on a piece of land.”

  “I did, but I’m sure it’ll be gone as soon as he goes home. Nothing to disconcert the next lady guest.”

  Emily gurgled then and Tori finished feeding her. Cassie watched.

  “You look a bit wistful,” Tori noted.

  “Just thinking.”

  “Want one of these of your own yet?”

  “No! But you probably want another.”

  “Mmm.” Tori nodded and cleaned up the baby’s face. “I think that kids do best when they’re close in age, like Nick and Luke were, but to be honest, I’m just too tired to think about sex.”

  “That’s the saddest thing I’ve heard in ages.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s also a good reason to never conceive.”

  “To you, maybe,” Tori said lightly and Cassie watched to see if she had any idea of the truth. To her relief, it didn’t seem so. “The thing is that if I get an hour alone, all I want to do is sleep.” Tori sighed. “There are so many things to do, and I’m glad to do them, but it’s tough to find time for romance.”

  Cassie straightened impulsively, seeing sudden purpose in her visit. “So let me help.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m here this weekend to help you out, and maybe you need a date with Nick more than you need me to wash dishes.” Cassie knew the appeal of the idea because Tori stared at her in awe. “You two should go out for dinner tonight, my treat. Pick a fancy place and indulge.”

  “But Emily...”

  “I’ll watch her.” Cassie forced a smile because she wasn’t nearly as confident as she tried to sound. Maybe all she needed was the right motivation and she wanted to do this for Tori. “You’re the one who said I had a gift with babies.”

  “Oh my God, Cassie, that would be awesome!” Tori caught Cassie in a tight hug and swung her around. “You’re amazing!”

  “I haven’t done it yet...”

  “But you offered and that’s so great.” Tori sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. “I’d just love it, but are you sure you can manage?”

  “I can always ask my mom for help if I need it.” Cassie didn’t even want to think about what she’d have to offer in negotiation for that assistance. Emily looked peaceful and quiet. Maybe she’d stay that way.

  “You’re right. She’s just down the street.”

  “So, pick a restaurant. Didn’t you always go to that steak place where you had your first date?”

  “It’s so expensive, Cassie.”

  “Well, you’re not going to some diner or chain restaurant for a hot date, not on my dime.” The idea grew the more that Cassie thought about it. “And you should spend the afternoon being pampered, so you’re radiant tonight and on Sunday. Does Millie still do those awesome spa treatments and haircuts? My treat again.”

  “So, suddenly you’re my fairy godmother,” Tori teased. “Do I look that bad?”

  “You look great, but I know you haven’t been indulging yourself lately. Do it today and I’ll hang out with Emily.”

  Tori looked between Cassie and the baby, who kicked her feet as if she liked the idea, too. “I think I love you,” she said to Cassie. “Let me phone Nick and tell him while you have your shower. I’ll get everything ready so it’s easy for you.”

  Her excitement was infectious and Cassie smiled as she went to the guest bathroom. She refused to indulge her little niggle of fear. Two or three hours in the afternoon with Emily, then Tori would be back to do the feeding. They’d be gone at most four hours for dinner. Surely, she could endure the demands of an infant that long?

  It was a nice thing to do.

  She had to make it happen. To date, she’d pretty much looked after herself. But with her fresh start, Cassie would look out more for the people she loved.

  It was such a good idea that it had to work.

  She stood under the shower and tried to convince herself.

  Either way, it would be over by midnight.

  She had this.

  Reid couldn’t believe that Sharon Meyer had a blocked toilet again.

  She was the tenant on the top floor of the apartment building he’d had constructed a few years before, an attractive redhead who was single and clearly more interested in Reid than he was in her. She ran an interior design business and he suspected that most of her clients were out of town.

  She seemed to work a lot of strange hours, and her toilet blocked at the weirdest times.

  And invariably when there was no plumber available.

  He told her he’d be there as soon as he could and took the pickup truck because it had all his tools in the back. He called Bill Whittimore again and was told one more time that the plumber’s number was currently unavailable. Bill didn’t have voicemail because he insisted he could only do one thing at a time and didn’t need a list of jobs every time he turned on his phone. As a result, getting him to do a job was kind of like buying a lottery ticket: sometimes, he answered on the first ring and came right over; other times, someone else would get lucky each time Bill finished a job and turned on his phone, looking for his next assignment. It was more than a bit irritating, but he was the only plumber in town.

  And the reason Reid had learned to do a lot of simple fixes himself.

  Sharon was fully made up when she answered the door, although she was wearing a sheer negligee. The navy was a good color for her, Reid noted, before he headed to the bathroom. Sure enough, the toilet was overflowing and he’d arrived just in time to keep the water from pouring down to the next floor.

  She hadn’t turned off the water, even though he’d shown her how at least three times.

  “You can turn off the water, right here, you know,” he said to her, hiding his irritation. She was hovering behind him, the small room filled with the scent of her perfume. “I showed you that last time. It would improve the chances of avoiding damage on the lower floors.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Reid. I just find it so upsetting when it clogs and I get all flustered!”

  Reid had to wonder about that. The last three times, the cause of the blockage had been a tampon, which was not his favorite item to pull out of the bowl. But he’d noticed that each time, it had been white, which made no sense to him. Why would anyone flush a new one before it was used?

  He used his plunger, ignoring Sharon’s running commentary about how good he looked and how she’d been waiting for him, and quickly worked the offending item free.

  Another clean tampon.

  He put on a rubber glove and fished it out of the bowl, tossing it into the bucket he’d brought, and did a little less well hiding his annoyance. He straightened and faced her, letting her see what was in the bucket. “You know you’re not supposed to flush these,” he said.

  “I keep forgetting,” she said with a blush and a smile. “I’ve always flushed them.”

  “Before you use them?” he asked and her blush deepened. “It’s almost like you do it on purpose,” he began and her agitation made him realize that he’d stumbled on the truth. “You do flush them on purpose!”

  She fled into the living room, her consternation complete. “I just want to talk to you, Reid!”

  “But how do you know that I’ll be the one to come and fix it?” he asked, then looked beyond her to the living room window. She had a view of Bill Whittimore’s shop. He could see the empty parking space where Bill parked his van. He turned to her in astonishment. “You’r
e willing to flood your bathroom and potentially damage the building to talk to me? Don’t you have a phone?” He knew she did, because she’d called him on it that morning.

  “I do, of course, but I want to see you. I want you to see me,” she confessed, then caught his sleeve in her hand. “I know we’re perfect for each other, Reid, if you’d just give me a chance.”

  “How could you possibly believe such a thing?”

  “Well, you like sex and I like sex, and if I moved in to your place, you wouldn’t have to look for a date all the time...”

  “I like being with different women.”

  “But you could be with me, and I could be with you, and, and...” She faltered then took a breath. “And if you really wanted to be with other women, too, that would be okay.”

  Reid was astonished. “It would be okay,” he echoed and she nodded, then smiled.

  “I would be okay with it.”

  “But I’m okay with my life right now.”

  “But you’re alone in that house! I could make it a home for you. A haven, a refuge...”

  “It’s all that and more to me now. I don’t need anyone else living there, thanks.”

  Her expression was stricken.

  Reid packed up his tools and flushed the toilet once more, just to check that it was okay, then picked up his gear to leave. “Let’s get something straight here, Sharon. If you do that again, I won’t come to fix it, no matter how long it takes Bill Whittimore to answer my call. And if you don’t turn off the water, just like I showed you, and if there is damage to the building as a result, I will add the cost of the repair to your rent, and I will not do it myself. And if the cause of the blockage is once again a clean tampon, then I will evict you and give you a bad reference.” She was very pale by this point. “Do we understand each other?”

  “I just wanted a chance,” she whispered.

  “And you had it. I’m not interested. Let’s move on.”

  “I could change your mind.”

  “No, you couldn’t.”

  “You have to marry someone!” she cried as he crossed to the door.

  “No, I don’t and I won’t,” Reid said firmly, then left.

  “But you’re rich!” Sharon wailed, her words loud enough to be heard through the closed door.

  And money, clearly, couldn’t buy happiness. Reid marched down to his truck, his mood grim, and thought about Cassie. The morning hadn’t started off well, but he could appreciate her honesty—and her desire to make things right.

  He admired how direct Cassie was, and liked his own conviction that she’d never play emotional games. She’d just tell a guy what she wanted.

  The way she had that morning.

  The memory was enough to make Reid want her all over again.

  He started his truck, thinking about creating a new objective. Would she want to see him again? Or had once been enough?

  Reid considered calling her to ask, but then decided to think about it a little longer.

  In the end, he was glad he did.

  Tori fed Emily and changed her before racing out the door for her spa appointment, and Cassie was glad to have the tough stuff done. She rocked the baby until she fell asleep, then eased Emily into her crib and watched her nervously.

  The baby seemed oblivious to her concern and slept contentedly.

  Cassie exhaled. Emily seemed so fragile and vulnerable. She was kind of amazed that Tori had entrusted the baby to her, even for a couple of hours, and was already wondering what was in her mind to have made such an offer.

  But she could do this.

  She was doing it.

  She checked Emily again, afraid she was missing some portentous clue, but it seemed that all was well.

  Her phone rang, the sudden sound making her jump. Fortunately, the ring tone was a snatch of a song. Emily’s brow furrowed and she chewed on her fist, but she didn’t open her eyes.

  Cassie answered in a whisper, not wanting to take her gaze away from the baby long enough to see who was calling. “Hello?”

  “Hello,” Kyle whispered back, his words filled with mischief. “Are you somewhere you shouldn’t be, doing something you shouldn’t be doing? Enquiring minds want to know.”

  “You would.”

  “I would. Come on ’fess up.”

  Cassie retreated to the hallway, where she could still see the baby but maybe not interrupt her sleep. “I haven’t got anything to confess.”

  “Of course not,” Kyle scoffed, then made a pitying tsk. “You’re in Montrose River, and you’ve told me enough about that place to convince me that it’s the sleepiest corner of America.”

  Cassie didn’t comment on that. He’d have a field day with the news that she’d had lots of great sex that morning, and all the partners would know about it within seconds. There wasn’t a broadcast system anywhere more effective than Kyle when he was delighted to have discovered a friend’s secret. “I’m watching my friend’s baby.”

  “The one who’s going to be christened this weekend?”

  “The very same.”

  “Is this a diabolical plot to convince you to join the ranks of blissful mommies everywhere?”

  “It’s my diabolical plot to help Tori and Nick have sex again.”

  “A noble scheme. I salute you.” Someone spoke to Kyle and he answered, then came back to the phone. “How did they convince you to even go there anyway?”

  “I’m Emily’s godmother.”

  “Because you are such a model of religious propriety and will keep her straight on her Bible lessons?” He sounded skeptical and rightly so.

  “Because Tori thinks I’ll help Emily look beyond possibilities here in town.” Cassie held her breath as Emily rolled over. “And I want to do that. I want to show her that she can dream big, even leave town if that’s what she wants to do. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’m guessing she doesn’t dream too big just yet.”

  “Give her five or six years. Then I’ll start working my magic.” Cassie glanced back into the nursery, knowing that wasn’t all of the story.

  Kyle chuckled. “I’ll bet. And Tori will hate you for convincing Emily to move out of town.”

  “Not Tori. She wants everyone to be whatever they want to be.”

  “A good friend, then.”

  “The best.”

  “And one who’s going to have sex again today. That makes you a good friend.”

  “Thanks. So, did you call to start an admiration society or is something up?”

  “Maybe I missed you,” he teased. “Maybe F5 isn’t the same without the sunshine of your smile.” Someone snorted in the background and Cassie thought it sounded like Damon.

  “You do need something done, then. Aren’t you in San Francisco?”

  “Nope. Left the final details in Theo’s capable hands. He’s planning an awesome party and I’m just in his way.”

  “So?”

  “We need to sharpen the launch campaign out there. We don’t have the numbers we wanted for the opening, and I’m thinking the campaign needs to be tweaked or Ty will kick my ass. We might be missing the mark because of regional differences. I thought you might have some ideas.”

  “Sure. I’ll have some time on my own tonight and I brought my laptop. Can you send me your notes and ideas, as well as the numbers, and I’ll see what I can come up with?”

  “Awesome,” Kyle said with approval. “Because we’re really getting down to it. I was hoping you’d be able to squeeze in some review this weekend, even though you’re busy.”

  “Got it.” Cassie smiled, glad in a way to have a task to complete. “Have I missed anything else?”

  “In a day? Other than my return to cheers of rapture and joy, not a thing.”

  “You going to work the club tonight?”

  “You bet. Tyler needs a night off and I’m looking forward to it. Hunter tells me he has some major new moves and I want to see them.”

  “You should have a dance cont
est, between the two of you.”

  “Oh yes,” Kyle said with approval. “Because I will kick his butt.”

  Cassie grinned. “As long as you haven’t lost your confidence.”

  He snorted then she heard him snap his fingers. “I have a surprise.”

  “Tell me!”

  “No way. It’s got to be shared in person.”

  “Then you can tell me Sunday night.”

  “No!” Kyle said, laughter running beneath his words. “You’re going to have to wait until later in the week to hear about it. I have missions to accomplish.” He made that sound mysterious and Cassie knew he was bursting to share his news.

  “Wednesday night meeting then?”

  “Maybe. Damon’s back. We’ll probably end up talking about the potential of opening in Chicago, since Ty is freaking out that we’re even thinking about a third location before F5 West is open.”

  “Ty doesn’t freak out.”

  “Quietly. He freaks out quietly. You have to look closely to see it.”

  Cassie leaned against the wall and smiled. “And how does it show?”

  “His eyes widen ever so slightly. You can see more of the iris and even glimpse a bit of the white when he’s totally freaked.”

  “I guess I’ve never seen it.”

  “Maybe you never noticed. He also exudes this tension, like a bad aura.”

  Cassie laughed. “You’re making that up.”

  “I am not. Remember when he helped teach that class, the one that Amy signed up for? Remember when you put that fake tattoo on him?”

  Cassie caught her breath. She remembered that very, very well—and she remembered Ty’s intensity. “Sure.”

  “He was doing that exuding thing then. I thought he was tense about the class, but it was about Amy...”

  Cassie frowned and turned away. “Well, he had no reason to worry. It all worked out, didn’t it?”

  Kyle dropped his voice low. “Is that your little green monster I hear? Are you still feeding him—or her—from that particular buffet? Tsk tsk, Cassie.”

  “Don’t you have something to do?” she asked and Kyle laughed, knowing he’d hit a nerve. He was like a little kid sometimes. “Aren’t you going to send me those files?”

  “I will! And hey, if you want to talk about anything, I’m your man.”