Chapter 6
Walking into Chase’s house was enough to make anyone’s eyes pop. Located in one of the poshest neighborhoods in Atlanta, the ten-thousand-square-foot estate, plus additional acreage, boasted just about every convenience a person could ask for, including wide, open designer-decorated rooms, both indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, putting range, and indoor theatre. Not too shabby for some studio executive.
Cassie smiled, taking in the gorgeous holiday décor, which hit the line between whimsical and lush with the overall theme colors of gold and green. She could definitely see Anna’s influence there.
Anna spotted Cassie from across the room and gave a wave and a squeal before she dragged Cassie in. Anna’s golden hair was twisted up in a festive tie, and she wore a dress that seemed to be made of multiple colored scarves stitched together. It was a risky look that only Anna could wear perfectly. Even Nathan took more fashion risks than Cassie.
Soon settled with champagne in hand and introductions being made all around, Cassie almost bobbled her drink when she spotted Brody Miller across the room — the last person she had expected to see tonight. He gave her a slow, bright smile and a wink, raising his drink in her direction. Cassie returned the gesture, minus the wink and nerves rose high inside to settle like butterflies in her stomach causing her to look away. She’d have to talk to him at some point, but she hoped, if she was lucky, to avoid him altogether. There had to be at least a hundred people here.
“Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Anna was pulling Cassie forward. “He’s in finance, CPA, amazingly sweet. Works in Chase’s company. Of course I thought of you.”
“Anna, you promised.” Glaring at her friend’s back, Cassie was pulled unceremoniously along while trying to drag her feet as much as humanly possible.
Too late.
Anna pulled a man out of the crowd as if she’d conjured him up by magic. “Dennis, this is Cassie, who I told you all about.”
Cassie stared at Dennis then back at Anna, trying to keep her face carefully blank. Her friend could not be serious?
“You two have so much in common.” Anna was plowing on, keeping one hand latched onto Cassie, probably in case she decided to bolt.
There was a good chance of that happening. Dennis was of average height and bald. Cassie might have been able to get past both of those traits, but within ten seconds, she instinctively knew it was headed toward disaster. Dennis had the conversational skills of an overeager puppy and, unfortunately, not the cute puppy breath to go with it. An obvious misunderstanding about personal space allowed him to prove that last detail in spades, making Cassie want to gag every time he opened his mouth to speak. She was left alone with him, cornered at the side of the room, when Anna slipped away, saying she needed to find Chase.
Anna sauntered off on mile-high stilettos. Chase’s idea to get Cassie and Brody together was brilliant. Like something out of a screenplay he might have helped write, Chase had laid out the concept and tagged someone from a local actor’s guild to be every definition of horrible while he hit on Cassie. Anna was pretty sure the man had chewed raw garlic before he met Cassie, and the look on her friend’s face had been indescribable. Phase two was up next — bring in the hero. If all worked out according to plan, it would play out like a perfect romance story. Cassie deserved a happy ending for a change. Her ex had conditioned her to expect nothing but misery in a relationship, but Anna had recognized the look of interest in Brody’s eye every time Cassie’s name came up in conversation over the past few months. He was the one man, in a very long time, who wasn’t put off, at all, by her friend’s “back off” policy.
Cassie didn’t know what Anna had told Dennis, but apparently she needed to track her soon-to-be-ex-best friend down and kill her with a dull kitchen spoon. The duller, the better to ensure more pain. She would look up appropriate killing methods with dull spoons just as soon as she escaped. Research was one thing Cassie absolutely excelled at. By tomorrow, she would know enough to perform open heart surgery with a spoon.
Right now, however, she was caught in the depths of hell. Even with all her social skills and years of navigating events, Cassie still hadn’t managed to extricate herself from “Mr. Stinky” as she was mentally referring to Dennis.
God, who didn’t understand basic oral hygiene this day and age?
When she caught Brody Miller watching her, Cassie threw her pride under the proverbial bus and put as much of a plea as she could into her eyes that she prayed said “Please, come save me.” How could she not know a single other person at this event was beyond her, but it was Chase’s party. Cassie almost got down on her knees in thanks when Brody walked toward her, his tall manly form easily cutting through the crowd. He was cleaned up in a tailored jacket, black pants, and midnight blue button-down shirt with his hair combed in place for a change. He might as well have been wearing a shining suit of armor, he looked so wonderful to Cassie.
Like the class-A actor he was, Brody never batted an eyelash; he just walked right up. “Hey, darling, so sorry I’m late.” Slipping an arm around her, Brody dropped a kiss on Cassie’s cheek and whispered in her ear, “Need a rescue, gorgeous?”
“I’m so glad you made it. I was starting to worry something might have happened with traffic.” Knowing her eyes were swimming with gratitude, Cassie laid a hand on his chest as though they were the best of friends and a whole lot more.
Her heels brought her to a little above his shoulder. Brody held her snugly against him so that Cassie felt the party drift away for a few seconds as eyes green as the holiday decor smiled down at her.
“It’s all right now. I’m here, baby.” Shifting, Brody extended a hand to Dennis, dropped his voice a few octaves, and added a threatening edge. “Nice to meet you. Hope you don’t mind. Cassie’s with me.”
Dennis took one look up at Brody, stuttered, and disappeared into the crowd so fast, Cassie thought he might have teleported.
Dropping her head on Brody’s chest, Cassie gave a heartfelt sigh and breathed in just about the manliest scent in the universe. Maybe it was because Dennis had had such bad breath, but Brody smelled incredible — like fresh mountain air and deep earth combined.
Raising her head to look at him, she said, “Thank you so much. You’ll never know how awful that was.”
“Didn’t look too fun from where I was standing. More like you were trying to wrestle an octopus,” Brody said, grinning down at her. “I was hoping someday I’d get to run into you again, Cassidy, or you might give me a call. I meant it by the way. You do look gorgeous.” Angling his head down for another appreciative look at her.
He still hadn’t let go of her and Cassie tried to shift away, but his arm stayed firm around her. “Thanks. I lost a bet with Anna. This outfit is my punishment. You can let go of me now.”
“Now why would I want to do that when I’ve been wondering if I’d ever get you in my arms again? Must have been some bet. I look forward to hearing about it. How’ve you been?”
He did let go of her though, only to take her hand instead, and he guided Cassie through the crowd toward the bar, where he got them a couple more drinks. She had to give Brody credit — he owned confident self-assurance. No ego or arrogance, just a male completely sure of himself and who he was.
“I’ve been good. Insanely busy, but thankfully it should be slowing down soon. What about you? Season wrap up yet? I liked your last picture from San Francisco.” Why on earth was she walking with him, holding hands no less? Because she didn’t have to be rude, Cassie thought, chiding herself. The guy had just helped her out, after all.
“It’s good, almost done. A couple more weeks. Some reshoots here and there of extra stuff, but we’re almost wrapped until after the holidays. Anna tells me you work nonstop, but business launched well.”
Cassie listened while he talked. His zest and love of life was still very much apparent. When a partygoer, a bit drunk, tried to pull her in for an embrace, Brody stepped in, blocking the guy easily. Wrapping an arm again around Cassie, Brody steered her toward where the buffet was spread out with enough food to feed a small army. The offerings included tastes and samples of every famous dish the South was known for cooking around the holidays.
“You eat yet?” Brody asked, holding up a plate.
“No, actually. Ran out of time and didn’t get to. Thanks,” Cassie replied, trying to take the plate from him.
Brody merely handed her his scotch and grabbed an extra plate to balance in his broad hand. “Tell me what you want. I’ll load us up, and we can find a place to eat.”
Thinking they would be eating with the crowd where they were, Cassie directed him with the foods she wanted and watched while Brody filled both their plates and loaded a third with some dessert options. He balanced the load easily enough to make her think at one point Brody had to have been a waiter.
“Follow me.” He grinned at her before walking back to the bar.
There, he had a brief conversation with the bartender and gestured for Cassie to follow him. Curious, she went along and soon realized that they weren’t going to eat anywhere close to the main party crowd. Winding through the house, Brody led them into an enclosed sunroom filled with lush tropical plants, patio furniture, lounge chairs, and a fire pit. Potted poinsettias had been added in to the space in honor of the holidays.
Cassie.
It was a lucky thing that he’d decided to come tonight, since for a majority of the day, he’d thought about blowing off the party. The past couple of months, he had kept track of Cassie in a casual sort of way through Anna. Brody hadn’t met anyone as remotely interesting as the delectable Cassidy since she had turned him down, and now here she was, wrapped up like an early Christmas present in some sexy dress that left miles of leg exposed.
And she’d needed a rescue, which he’d been only too happy to provide after Anna had come over and mentioned Cassie had an overeager admirer. Better yet, Cassie hadn’t turned him down after Brody played the hero. The evening was looking up, all of a sudden. Less time in a crowd of people — most of whom he didn’t know or care for, since many of them were kissing his ass and hoping for favors — and now he had a chance to get to know Cassie a little better.
“How’s this?” Brody said, putting their plates on the table before laying out the napkins and utensils he’d grabbed.
Walking over to the fire pit, he flipped it on to cast a cheery glow, then he went to the opposite wall panel and dimmed the lights. Brody turned back to look at Cassie over his shoulder, admiring, once again, the toned figure and noted her wary expression, probably over being alone with him. Sending her a smile and a wink, Brody pressed another button.
White Christmas lights came on, scattered across the ceiling, and Cassie gasped in surprise. He pressed a few more buttons on the wall and music started to flow, low and sweet. The effect was instantly intimate and romantic. After all, it was all about setting the scene when a beautiful woman was involved.
“Um… Brody, I don’t know what exactly you’re going for here…” Cassie said clearly uneasy with the changes.
Thinking how fun it was to keep her off guard, Brody held out his hand and gave a smile he’d been told was infectious. “Come on. Fate threw us together tonight. Date number two?”