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She rolls her eyes. “I may not be running a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical company, but I am a business owner and I’m overseeing ten active weddings at the moment. Everyone is busy. Your busy is not more important than mine.”
Shit.She’s got me there. And I’m not a big enough asshole to argue that she doesn’t even know what busy is. I acquiesce.
“Look. I’m sorry. I just was very clear with my sister.” I let the reply trail off as our food is dropped off in front of us. I don’t finish what I was saying to give us each the opportunity to regroup and get settled with our meals. A few minutes tick by, my Thai Spicy Basil so hot I risk burning my mouth before having to jump back into our heated exchange.
“I feel like I need more background on why you hate weddings so much.” She stills her fork on her plate, and I open my mouth to remind her it’s not her damn business, but she holds up a hand. “I know it’s not my business, but here’s the thing. You’re not the first difficult check writer I’ve dealt with. But my client seems to be dead set on having her big brother involved in the process. My job is to create the perfect wedding while eliminating as much stress for my bride as possible. But she wants you involved. Therefore, I have the almost obsessive need to understand why you’re so dead set against being there for her.”
She scoops up a forkful of noodle and shoves it, daintily at least, in her mouth. But her words are a blow and I drop my own fork onto my plate and lean back against the high-back chair. I let out a sigh with the decision to tell her my reasons. Maybe if she understands, she will back off. Maybe, if what she says is true and this is more Nora than her, she can at least understand my pushback.
“I was engaged. She called it off the day of the wedding. It left a bad taste in my mouth,” I grumble out the truth.
Her fork pauses mid-way to her agape mouth. She closes her mouth. Opens it again, then closes it. Sets down her fork.
“Left at the altar?” Her words are soft, almost mournful.
“Unfortunately.”
“Oh, Theo. I’m sorry to hear that.”
I nod at her empathy.
“How long ago?”
“Long enough.”
The silence stretches between us.
“I know about your parents.” She catches me off guard. My eyes flash to hers. “Only that they passed several years ago. But if I may be so bold…” She waits for my approval to continue.
With my nod, she does. “The way she offers up asking for your opinion or questioning simple financial decisions makes me feel like she just wants her big brother involved in such an important time of her life. Her parents aren’t here to fill that role, but you are.” Her words are soft, kind, and I feel as if I’ve been punched in the gut.
I wipe my mouth with the red cloth napkin.
Point one, Cassie. Zero to the asshole in this seat.
“I hear you. I will always hate weddings. Marriage in general, but I hear you. And I love my sister very much. You have my attention, Cassie. What do you need from me?” I push my plate slightly away from me. My appetite gone.
She studies me thoughtfully. “I want to ask you to elaborate more on the marriage point you just made, but we can save that for another day. Right now, what I really need from you is to go over the budget in detail so I can do my thing and we can move on.”
I dismiss her need to dive more into my personal life but appreciate her willingness to keep things moving. I look at my watch.
“I’ve got about fifteen minutes before I need to leave.”
“That’s all I need.” She smiles brightly. She pushes her own plate to the side and replaces it with her tablet. She swipes a few things and pulls up a document on the screen. She goes over each section and we set a budget based on decisions Nora and Mateo have already made and suggestions that Cassie offers for pricing.
The server boxes up the rest of Cassie’s meal and I snag the bill before she can. The glare she gives me makes me want to smile, but I’ve got a reputation to uphold.
“I haven’t made your job easy. Let me make it up to you.” I slip my card out of my wallet and hand it to the waiting server.
She mutters a fine and packs up her tablet.
“So that was all you needed?” I ask her, kicking myself for not taking the few moments when she first sent that document over to have it filled out.
“That was it. Harmless, no?” She chuckles as we leave the table.
I step aside to have her walk in front of me and force myself not to drop my eyes to her backside. We step out front and I see Tom parked a few cars down.
“Do you need a ride?” I ask without thinking.
