Hot Under the Collar

by Roxanne St Claire

  Jelly Bean barked, hard, right between their faces, as if he thought he had to be the one to stop this insanity. Braden used the excuse to pull away, putting his hands up as if that could halt her.

  “See? Jelly Belly understands,” she cooed.

  But JB didn’t understand anything. He barked again, staring out of the car, then a low, menacing growl rumbled from his chest.

  Braden turned to follow the dog’s gaze, his own gaze landing right on the woman he wanted to be sitting with in this truck. Cassie was about fifteen feet away, shimmering in a shiny pink dress that wasn’t sprayed on, but fit in a way that made a man want to do nothing but take it off.

  Ella, Alex, and John were behind her, but Cassie was walking side by side with her Greek god, who looked down at Cassie with an expression that said he knew he was the luckiest guy at this shindig tonight. And then he laughed so hard, Braden could hear it inside the truck.

  “See? Jelly Bean knows,” Simone said softly. “He never barks or growls unless he doesn’t like someone.”

  The damn shame of it was that was true.

  “He’s not dating her, I am.” He gave a stern look to Simone. “And you and I are here as friends because you paid for the night. Please, Simone, don’t say another thing you’re going to regret.”

  “I don’t regret anything except breaking up with you.” She reached for her bag and the door handle, not waiting for him to get out and open the door for her. “And you have nothing to worry about, Braden. I can fake that we’re just friends who mean nothing to each other. I won’t do anything to sabotage your relationship. I care about you too much for that.”

  Relieved, he nodded. “Thanks.”

  As he climbed out of the truck and reached for his jacket, he took one more look at the lady in pink, just in time to see the man next to her put a casual hand on her back and lead her to the front door.

  He should never have let himself fall so hard for Cassie Santorini, but it was too late to change that now. He just had to get through this cocktail party and know for sure that Cassie would be in his arms tonight, and no one else’s. He hoped.

  * * *

  “Welcome to Overlook Glen.” A tall, slender blonde greeted Cassie and Jace as they entered, extending her hand and adding a warm smile. “I’m Grace Donovan, the new owner and oenologist.”

  “Hello, Grace. Cassie Santorini, and this is Jace Demakos, who’s with Family First Pet Foods, the main underwriter of the Paws for a Cause event.”

  “Oh, hello.” She turned her attention to Jace, her blue eyes widening with the appreciative look Cassie had already noticed he got from pretty much every female around. Except Ella, who treated him about the same way Jelly Bean treated Cassie.

  But, yeah, Jace was a ten and a half and didn’t seem to even realize it. “Wonderful to have you here,” Grace gushed. “I hope you’ll take the tour of our newly renovated winery, taste some of our product, and have a wonderful night.”

  Cassie glanced around, taking in the oversize reception area and what looked like a banquet hall beyond it, all of it spilling to a large terrace already populated with partiers.

  “An oenologist?” Alex asked, coming up behind Cassie to shake Grace’s hand and hold her gaze for a moment. “Then you’re not the winemaker?”

  “I’ve hired someone as a vintner,” she said. “But my interest is the science of winemaking.”

  Alex gave a soft snort. “There’s more passion than science in winemaking, like food.”

  She slowly withdrew her hand and tilted her head, looking up at him. “I couldn’t disagree more, Mr. Santorini. Without science, there would be no wine.”

  Alex inched back as if the very idea hit him hard. Or maybe Grace Donovan did.

  While the others greeted her and exchanged pleasantries, Cassie took in the scope and beauty of the place. Huge, high windows flooded the whole area with the golden glow of the sunset, and the stonework on the walls gave it the feel of an old castle.

  “Do you hold a lot of events here?” she asked Grace as the rest of her party moved on. Well, all but Jace. He seemed glued to her side.

  “We’re starting to ramp up this summer,” Grace said. “We just haven’t quite established ourselves yet, but we hope to.”

  “Would you do a wedding?” she asked.

  “Oh!” The woman looked from one to another, her smile growing. “Are congratulations in order for you two?”

  “No, no,” Cassie said quickly. “I’m actually thinking of my mother’s wedding coming up in October. She’s looking for a venue just like this.”

  Her whole face brightened. “How awesome. Just call me and set up a tour and appointment. We’ll be harvesting then, and the fall colors will be spectacular.”

  “I will,” Cassie said. “Don’t let anyone steal the second Saturday in October if you still have it open.”

  “I think I do.”

  “Fantastic.” Cassie reached out for another handshake. “I’ll call you, Grace. Thanks.”

  As they walked on, Jace leaned down a little bit to talk over the noise. “I see you never turn off your inner event planner,” he said.

  She laughed and looked up at him. “It does run hot sometimes, but my mother recently asked me if I could help her find the right place for her wedding.”

  “So, your mom is getting married? You cool with that?”

  “Absolutely. She’s marrying Ella’s uncle, as a matter of fact.”

  He frowned, slowing his step until he stopped. “Wait a second. Ella will be your cousin?”

  “Not really, just extended, unrelated family.”

  “Whew, that’s good to understand.” He glanced over her shoulder and fought the tiniest smile.

  “Why?” She frowned at him. “Do you say that because you don’t like Ella for some reason?”

  “Ella doesn’t like me for some reason,” he said. “But I was a little confused because you were bidding pretty hard for a date with her brother, the firefighter. So he’s also like extended family?”

  He sounded just a little too interested in her relationship with Braden, and she had to nip that in the bud, pronto. “Jace, I’ve been seeing him.”

  “Oh, is it serious?”

  “It’s…” Temporary. She opted for the same thing she’d told anyone who poked around this relationship. “Fairly new.”

  He searched her face as if considering that, then gave his head the slightest nod in the other direction. “And it explains why he was staring at me like my mother when I steal the last koulourakia.”

  She wanted to laugh at the all-too-true analogy, but couldn’t resist turning, and sucking in a soft breath of surprise.

  For the love of God and all that was holy, Braden Mahoney in a tuxedo ought to be illegal. And he wasn’t staring at Jace now. In fact, he was talking to the winery owner, introducing his date, who looked like she’d stepped off a magazine cover and seemed to always have one hand on that shoulder that Cassie liked so much.

  And of course, Jelly Bean was glued to Simone with his tongue hanging out.

  Cassie turned back to Jace. “Never steal the last koulourakia, agapi mou.” She grinned up at him. “That’s me channeling my inner father, who made those cookies all the time.”

  “Really? My mother’s recipe is the best.”

  “You’ll have to debate that with Alex.”

  They chatted easily as they walked out to the terrace and looked for the others, but Alex had already gone to inspect the buffet, John was talking to a Santorini customer Cassie recognized, and Ella had flat-out disappeared.

  “Let’s get drinks and sit over there,” Jace suggested. “There’s nothing I love more than talking about growing up Greek.”

  And have Braden walk by her cozy little tête-à-tête? “First, let’s go talk to Mayor Wilkins. Have you met her yet?”

  He smiled. “You’re right, Cassie. We’re here to network, not relive our childhood. I admire that work ethic.”

  She led him to Bla
nche Wilkins, who was just finishing up a conversation, and introduced Jace without bothering to explain his connection, because by the look on the older woman’s face, she knew exactly who he was.

  In fact, she clapped her hands with picture-perfect Southern charm. “Well, if you aren’t the guest of honor here, I don’t know who is. Thank you, Mr. Demakos, for underwriting such an important event for our wonderful town. How do you like Bitter Bark so far?”

  “It’s…”

  Cassie shot him a sneaky don’t snark warning look, which she knew he got.

  “Quite possibly the cutest town I’ve ever visited.”

  Mayor Wilkins lifted her wineglass in appreciation. “And how long will you be staying, Mr. Demakos? Maybe there’s time to do something special for you. I don’t know what, but we have to make a big deal out of your company’s generosity.”

  Cassie stepped closer. “How about a Family First Day, Mayor?” she suggested. “Bitter Bark is all about families, and their pets. We could celebrate the brand and have it be the ‘official dog food of Bitter Bark.’”

  “I love that idea!” Mayor Wilkins exclaimed.

  Jace inched back a little, giving Cassie a look of surprise and approval. “Did you just dream that up now?”

  “Kind of, yeah.” She gave a nervous laugh. “Unless you hate it, then I absolutely stole it from Purina.”

  He cracked up. “It’s genius, Cassie. And yes, Mayor, I’ll be here almost the entire month, though I do have to fly back to Chicago for a few meetings.”

  “Oh, then you’ll have to come and tour our town hall and historic sites. Thaddeus Bushrod’s home, too.”

  “Ah, the founder.” He winked at Cassie at the very moment that Braden and Simone walked by on their way to the bar.

  Of course he’d cruise by at the worst possible time. But when her gaze shifted and locked on Braden’s, hot adrenaline shot through her. Simone pretended like she didn’t see Cassie, and the mayor was chattering to Jace, so for those few heartbeats of time, it was just the two of them, and the rest of the world sort of faded away.

  Why weren’t they together tonight?

  His expression mirrored her thoughts, but then Simone took his arm and pulled him toward a friend, and the moment was lost.

  “You’re in good hands with Cassie,” Mayor Wilkins was saying as Cassie dropped back to earth and the stupid, mundane work talk she didn’t want to be having. “Every idea she has is gold. We’d kill to have her on our tourism committee.” The mayor gave her a playful nudge. “But every time I ask, she’s got something else going on.”

  Because she didn’t want to get embroiled in Bitter Bark. She wanted to leave. But…out of the corner of her eye, she saw Braden look past his date’s shoulder at Cassie.

  She had to fight the urge not to look back and let him know—let everyone know—how she felt about him.

  Talk about getting embroiled.

  “I’m happy to consult as needed,” Cassie said smoothly. “And, oh, Jace, you need to meet Lisa Stillman. She’s the features editor of the Bitter Bark Banner. She’s right over by the buffet.”

  They said goodbye to the mayor and headed toward the food.

  “I underestimated you,” Jace said under his breath as they walked. “You’re a powerhouse in this position.”

  She smiled up at him. “I told you tonight was work.”

  “From one workaholic to another, I appreciate that.”

  She took him straight to Lisa Stillman, made the introductions, and in ten minutes, an interview was lined up. They drank a glass of wine, had a bite of quiche, and Cassie started looking for her next networking opportunity…preferably as far away as possible from Braden, who seemed to be just ten feet from her at every turn.

  “Oh, great.” Cassie pointed to a man on the other side of the terrace. “You need to meet—”

  “Stop.” Jace put his hand over her finger and guided her hand down. “You need to come with me to that table under that tree. I want to talk to you.”

  She stared at him, her whole body tightening. Oh God. He liked her. It was obvious from the way he smiled and how attentive he was, from the way he praised her skills and made little comments about her being Greek.

  She could no longer beat around the bush. “Jace, I hope I made it clear that I’m not on the market. You do know that, don’t you?”

  “Which market?”

  She frowned, not understanding the question.

  “Come with me, Cassie.” He put a light hand on her back just long enough to send her in the direction of the empty table. Not sexual, not flirtatious, not even overly friendly. But still…

  They sat down, far from any other people, and he turned his chair to face hers.

  “The job market,” he said simply.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You asked which market I meant. My question is, are you on the job market?”

  This time, the adrenaline rush was for a completely different reason. “I might be,” she said, purposely vague. “I guess it depends on the job.”

  “I need someone to head special events at Family First. Right now, I’m using an outside agency, and I’d prefer in-house. Special events fall under the PR division, which is mine, and I have a good budget for the position. I’m looking for—”

  “In Chicago?” The question came out as a croak of disbelief.

  He leaned back. “Is that a deal breaker? Yes. The offer would be good, but I’d want you to relocate.”

  Holy moly. “Chicago,” she muttered. “That’s a…big city.” It totally qualified as dreamy.

  “Does that scare you, Cassie?”

  She almost choked. “It’s perfect.”

  His face lit up. “Really? You want to leave Bitter Bark? I couldn’t tell, since you seem pretty well settled here, so—”

  “No, no, not settled. I’m living in an apartment with my brothers because they opened a new restaurant and needed help.”

  He glanced out at the terrace, and she didn’t have to guess who he was looking for. “And the guy you were ready to spend nine hundred and seventy-five bucks for tonight? I don’t mean to pry into your personal life, but I had this idea before we even got here, and now that I see you in action? I’m going to be crushed if you don’t take the job.”

  He didn’t like her…he wanted to hire her. For a great job in a huge city.

  “Is he…enough to keep you here?” he prodded.

  Well, if that wasn’t the million-dollar question.

  “Most of my family is here in Bitter Bark now,” she said slowly, deliberately steering the conversation away from Braden. “But I…” She closed her eyes. “I’d like to think about it, obviously.”

  “Obviously. I have to go back to Chicago this week, and when I’m there, I’ll have HR put together an offer package. You can think about it as long as you need to. Well, not too long. I need you for a Family First event in Millennium Park.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A massive headache that we’re sponsoring. I’ve got the local agency working on it, but I need someone smart with boots on the ground that weekend.” He leaned closer. “Your boots, Cassie Santorini. On the Fourth of July.”

  She gulped. “So, you’d want me to start in July?”

  “I know you’ve committed to this.” He gestured toward the terrace, but obviously meant the whole Paws for a Cause. “Unless you could leave sooner? I know you said you have some scavenger hunt thing, but maybe someone else could handle that, and you could get set up in Chicago by midmonth.”

  Midmonth? Some scavenger hunt thing. Braden.

  “I couldn’t do that,” she answered without a second’s hesitation. “I couldn’t let down my…”

  “Your client, of course,” he finished for her. “That’s okay. You can start July first. It’ll be baptism by fire, but something tells me you’re not worried about getting burned.”

  Just worried about burning…the firefighter. Which was precisely why she hadn’t wanted to
give in to this attraction in the first place.

  “Let me get you some wine,” he said. “You look like you need it.”

  She just nodded, still not quite wrapping her head around the last ten minutes. The second he was gone, she heard her phone buzz from inside her evening bag. She slipped it out and stared at the text from Braden.

  Nine o’clock? My place? This nightmare should be over by then. He added a little picture of a bow tie, which normally would have been cute and funny and sexy, but…

  July? In Chicago? Forever?

  File that under be careful what you wish for.

  Letting out a breath, she lifted her gaze to meet Braden’s across the crowded terrace. The sun was setting behind him, backlighting him in a glow that made him look…

  Her mother’s voice echoed in her head.

  He makes me feel so alive and secure and grounded, all at the same time.

  How did this happen? She’d been so determined not to fall, but one secret half smile and a scorching look, and Cassie’s heart was fluttering and floating and betraying her.

  If she went to his house tonight, if she climbed into his bed and made love to that man…she could kiss Chicago goodbye. She’d never want to leave him. Once they had that intimacy, once she looked into those blue eyes while their bodies joined, once he held her all night long…so long, big city.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Jace coming back with two glasses of wine, sidestepping a crazy little Pomeranian in a pink lace bandanna who barked like she could be the poster dog for Yappy Hour.

  Cassie had to make a decision about tonight…fast.

  She tapped the phone screen with a simple reply.

  Second glass of wine. Better not drive tonight.

  And even from this far away, she saw those broad shoulders fall in disappointment. And, no surprise, he didn’t text back with an offer to pick her up.

  Of course not. Braden Mahoney had been hurt enough, and the closer she got to him, the more it was going to hurt when she left.

  If she left.

  No, no, no. When she left.

  “To new beginnings.” Jace held out his glass and waited for her to toast with him.