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Cheeks flushing, she opened and closed her mouth without sound. “I. . . I didn’t say that. I just . . .”
“Come over here,” he waved his hand for her to come forward.
She swallowed, then swiped her tongue across her bottom lip. Finally, she trudged forward, holding the plate in front of her like a shield, or more accurately, like a sword. Cassie didn’t just protect, she defended, especially concerning her body and her heart. She stopped when she reached him. With his gaze locked on hers, he took a cookie from the plate and bit into it.Perfection.Warm and moist, melting over his tongue.
He licked the chocolate from his lips and leaned forward. “Your cookie is the only one I want,” he whispered, before closing the distance between their mouths and pressing his lips to hers.
She gasped. Taking advantage of her surprise, he slipped his tongue just past her lips to flick over her tongue. She tasted like chocolate and sugar. He wanted to feast on her.
Finding a sliver of control, he pulled away, while he still could, and met her wide-eyed stare. Pointing to the sprig of greenery above their heads, he whispered, “Mistletoe.”
Cassie’s wide eyes turned to slits and her jaw slammed shut. “I hate you Ryan McLeod,” she swore before she turned away.
“Where are you going with my cookies?” he called as she stomped back to the kitchen.
“This cookie’s gourmet, McLeod, you’ll have to work harder than that.”
A grin pulled at his lips. Had Cassie just flirted back for the first time in five years?
Chapter Four
Ryan scrubbed a towel over his damp hair, then pulled his bag from his gym locker. He needed to pick up Ellie from preschool in half an hour. Since he didn’t usually pick her up on Friday afternoons, he kept worrying he’d forget or be late or find some other way to mess up and let Cassie and Ellie down.
“Why do you keep looking at your watch?” Ravi approached, heading to his own locker.
“I’m picking up Ellie, and I keep thinking I’m missing something.” He stuffed his gym clothes and towel into his bag.
“Oh that’s right.” Ravi’s muffled voice came from inside his locker. “Cassie has that date with Levi tonight.”
Ryan froze. No, Cassie didn’t have a date with Levi or anyone else tonight. She needed him to stay with Ellie because . . .Damn it. She hadn’t explained why she needed him to stay with Ellie. She’d just asked if he would babysit, something that always pissed him off a little. As Ellie’s father, he didn’tbabysither. He loved spending time with his daughter. Still, Cassie hadn’t gone into details about how she planned to spend her night.
“What are you talking about?” he asked his friend.
“Levi’s back in town. Sophie hooked them up. I think they’re going out tonight.”
Ryan shook his head. “LeviLangston? The guy who cheated on her?”
As Ravi nodded, Ryan’s stomach rolled and he sank to the bench in front of the lockers.
“Why would Sophie do that? You did explain that the asshole broke her heart, right?” Cassie and Sophie were best-friends now, but they’d barely known each other until Cassie moved back home to raise Ellie. Surely though, Ravi had explained to his wife that Levi wasn’t a good choice for Cassie.
The other man shrugged. “They’re like second cousins or something. She thinks what she wants about him.”
Ryan shook his head. “I can’t believe she’d set Cassie up with him.”
“Why?” Ravi slammed his locker and took a seat in front of Ryan. “Theyweregood together. Levi screwed up, and he knows it. Some people do grow and change in five years.” Ravi raised a brow, as if to imply Ryan hadn’t.
Before Ryan could respond, his friend continued, “And Cassie’s a great catch, even if you don’t see it.”
Ryan’s head snapped up, and he narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘even if I don’t see it’? I know how great Cassie is.”
“Okay, maybe those weren’t the right words. I just mean, we all see how hot Cassie is, even if you don’t think so.” Ravi shoved his dirty clothes into his bag, oblivious to the gut-punch he’d just delivered.
Ryan pushed up from the bench, looming over his friend. “What do you mean I don’t see how hot she is? I know how sexy Cassie is.”
Ravi stared back at him, his face a mixture of confusion and surprise. “My bad,” he finally whispered. “It’s just, well, you treat Cassie like some glass Madonna, meant to be admired from afar but never touched . . . What?”
“Glass Madonna?” Ryan shook his head. “No, I don’t. I know firsthand she’s no virgin. And I’ve touched her. I even had sex with her, really amazing sex. In fact, I have to pick up the proof of that from preschool in fifteen minutes.” He snatched his bag from the bench and slung it over his shoulder.
