Page 97 of A Lucky Shot

Cass swatted her butt as she walked by. “I’m not anybody’s woman,” she muttered under her breath, but didn’t miss the side look Stephen shot at a disgruntled-looking Josh.

Maybe Stephen knew something she didn’t. Maybe a little jealousy of seeing her go on other dates had awoken something in him. After spending months together on set, working together, getting to know each other, maybe he wanted more.

There was the minor inconvenience of them living in different provinces, but Cass could ignore that for the time being. She was good at ignoring those types of things.

Like that after the short Christmas break, filming would wrap in a matter of weeks, and they would go back to living in different cities. She could ignore the fact that despite him pressing his dick against her stomach an hour ago, he’d never said he wanted anything more from her than a furtive romp.

A lot of things were going ignored and unsaid.

Libby wedged Cass between her and her father at the dinner table, across from Josh, presumably where no hands could go rogue under the table.

The sneak. Like putting them on opposite sides of the table would stop her from inching her foot up the inside of his leg.

Knowing her luck, she’d end up playing footsie with Stephen by accident. That, and unless she nearly slid out of her chair, her short little legs wouldn’t reach far enough under the table to snuggle her instep any closer than his knee.

As much as it was helpful, she didn’t need physical contact to make him squirm.

She passed on the wine but had a second helping of stuffing and sweet potatoes, and still found room for a piece of Libby’s father’s legendary pumpkin pie. Josh’s eyes were fixed on her mouth the entire meal.

She took another bit of the pie, licking the edge of the fork, and a muscle ticked in Josh’s jaw.

Maybe he wasn’t as detached as he looked.

Libby cracked the back door a quarter inch to release some of the tiny kitchen’s heat, and a slice of crisp air snapped across Cass’s body. Libby’s father had wrangled Stephen and Josh to put away the dining room chairs as her mother bustled back and forth with the leftovers.

“What are you doing?” Libby hissed between the moments they were alone in the kitchen.

“Not having sex in your bedroom,” Cass said with a flush up her cheeks. “Even if I really, really wanted to.”

“I don’t care about that, although you should know I did go down on Stephen in there before you came over. Don’t trust those sheets.”

“Ew, and thanks for the heads up.” Cass stacked the plates in the dishwasher. “You’d think he’d be more relaxed if he just got a beej.” Lord knew she felt fantastic.

“He’s tense because he’s worried about you. I’m worried about you.”

Cass blew a lock of hair out of her eye and filled the sink, trying to prevent any water from wetting her silky top. She pushed her sleeves up her arms and out of the way of the water before dunking the bowl that had held mashed potatoes. “Well, don’t be. I’m fine.”

“Don’t give me that shit. You’re doing the thing.”

“What thing?”

“The thing where you fall pussy up for the hot, emotionally unavailable guy.”

Cass tried to find fault with any part of what Libby said, but found none. She checked her texts when she heard her phone chime, hoping it would be him. She hung back after shoots to talk about the day, getting lost for hours in their recaps. She’d thrown herself at him after he’d picked her up from her final disastrous date.

He’d shut her down at every turn. And no, he hadn’t revealed much about himself. The only personal details she knew, besides what he looked like naked, she’d learned because Stephen had forced it out of him.

Her stomach constricted around the thought, and she shut her mouth while Libby’s mother dropped off another load of dishes. “Weren’t you the one who cheered me on when I hooked up with him back in Van?” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

“Whole-heartedly, but that was when it was a one-night stand to help you get over Nick. Remember the other hot, emotionally unavailable guy who benched you?”

Cass gripped the edge of the sink with soapy hands. Things changed. It was different for Libby and Stephen. What if it was different for her this time?

The kitchen had cooled several degrees with the back door still open. Stephen and Josh filtered into the room, and Cass shivered.

“If you want, I can drive you home,” Cass said quietly, and Josh grinned.

After two failed attempts to decline leftovers and goodbyes that lasted ten minutes, Cass and Josh penguin-walked down the sidewalk to her truck.

---