Page 5 of Finding English

Henry was frozen in time as he watched the woman turn and look up, a brilliant familiar smile on her beautiful face. His heart beat faster as Henry watched, damn, but she was something else. Even as the shock wore off and his feet began to move, he recognized that fact. He was nearly at the table when she noticed him.

“You!” Her surprise turned to suspicion, and he almost laughed except deep down he was pleased she was wary of him. “Did you follow me?” Her hand went to her hip and Calder, Dax, and TJ watched in confusion at her sudden change in demeanor.

“No, I didn’t follow you.” He found her snark as endearing as her chatter.

“Please don’t tell me Cassie is the woman who blew you off at the airport?” Calder asked.

“I didn’t do any such thing. I just said I couldn’t go on a date with him.”

“Yeah, she blew me off.”

“Ouch.” Dax winced.

Cassie waved between them all. “So how do you guys know each other?”

“You remember I said I had a friend from college visiting who worked as an Analytic Chemist for a bit? Well, that’s Henry.”

“But you called him Sax? And he said he was a detective with the police.”

“We call him Sax because he’s British, you know Saxon, and he is a detective now, but before that he was an Analytic Chemist in the forensic department for Scotland Yard.”

Cassie looked down as embarrassment hit her eyes. “Oh.”

“Listen, it’s fine. No harm, no foul. I asked you out, you said no. You thought I was a crazy stalker, and I’m not. We’re equal.”

He saw her lips twitch as she looked up at him from beneath long black lashes, her eyes holding a sparkle of humor in them. “Seems fair.”

Henry liked her smile and knowing a little about her story wanted to know more, so much more. “How about we start over?” He thrust out his hand. “Hi, Cassie, nice to meet you. I’m Henry English, a friend of these guys visiting from the UK.”

She slipped her smaller one into his, and the firm grip had him thinking of what it would feel like to feel that grip elsewhere on his body. “Cassie. Nice to meet you.” Cassie hooked her thumb behind her. “I need to get going.” She smiled at Henry and then nodded at the guys. “See you Monday, Calder.”

“Bright and early,” Calder said, but his focus was on Henry.

Henry watched Cassie walk away and had the desire to follow her. He had the craziest feeling when he was with her, that he knew her, as in really knew her. That somehow, she was necessary in a way he didn’t yet realize. He grabbed a wing and bit into it, looking up as he did. His friends were staring at him with a mixture of humor and knowledge on their faces.

Calder’s grin was huge. “You are so done.”

Henry didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. “I feel like I know her. Like I have all my life, which is crazy.”

“Not at all. I knew the moment I met Hope that she was it for me.”

“Me too, with Mackenzie.”

“What you gonna do about it?” TJ snagged a fry and dipped it in ketchup.

“Convince her to go out with me.”

“You up for a ready-made family?”

“I’m not proposing, Cal.”

“Maybe, but there’s no way you should even consider asking her out if this isn’t what you want. Cassie isn’t a hookup kind of woman.”

Henry found himself getting angry at the way his friend was implying he might hurt Cassie. “Listen, Calder, we’re friends and you’re important to me, but you need to back the fuck up. Whatever Cassie means to me is none of your business, but just to reassure you, because you are one hell of a friend and I respect you, Cassie is not a hook up to me.”

As he said it, he realized he meant every word. In less than twenty-four hours and with under one hundred words, Cassie had managed to make an imprint on his heart and soul that shocked him. Looking up, he saw Calder smile.

“I know what I’m telling Hope.”

“Oh, man, Mackenzie is gonna be all over this.”

TJ laughed. “Bet Milena has an impromptu party planned before the weekend is out.”

Henry shook his head and laughed.

Calder’s face lost the smile. “Seriously, though, I do have a favor to ask that might play into this little love match.”

“What can I do?”

“Cassie could do with some support on analyzing this new drug. It doesn’t fit any of the known markers, and I’m tied up with the autopsies.”

Henry had planned to relax and spend some time on the Ranch, but perhaps he could do both and spending a little time with Cassie working might lower her guard enough so she didn’t think he was a complete asshole.

“Consider it done.”

“Thank you.”

Henry nodded, his shoulders relaxing as he began to enjoy his vacation.