Page 7 of Always Heated

“No.” I shake my head.

A small smirk tugs at Cay’s lips. “She’s not married yet.”

“Why are you encouraging this?” When neither of them answer, I take a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “Zack is a good man. She’ll be happy.” The admission sours on my tongue. It should be my ring on her finger, not his.

“Fuck that.” Caleb stands and marches into the house, leaving Pop and I behind, frowning. When he returns, he has a brown grocery bag and dumps it at my feet. As I peer inside, he explains, “Ingrid was going to donate these, since we have streaming services.”

I pull a few of the DVDs out. “You want me to donate a bunch of romantic comedy movies from the nineties and early two-thousands?”

“No, asshole. I want you to watch them.”

“He’s joking, right?” I ask Pop. He laughs, shaking his head.

“My sister deserves the grand gesture of grand gestures, before it’s too late.”

Sifting through the bag, I find most are romantic movies mymom watched when I was younger. How the hell is an old movie supposed to help me? “I’m not following.”

“Grand gesture,” he repeats. “That part of the movie or a book where one person shows the other how much they love them.”

Pop grins behind his coffee and adds, “You’re going to need it to win my Cass.”

I check the time on my phone. If Cassidy is working tonight, she’ll be home resting before her shift. Hovering my thumb over the message icon, I finally press it and find my thread with Cass. It’s mostly coordinating dog park dates, or occasional questions about what to buy someone for a birthday or Christmas.

Fuck it.

We need to talk, wifey.

cassidy

. . .

Like clockwork, Travis is knocking on my door fifteen minutes after his message. After my talk with Ingrid, I’m in my own head. I glance at my ring and take three deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth, reminding myself that Travis and I are friends. Nothing more.

I open the door and my stomach does that stupid whoosh thing it likes to do whenever I see him. His eyes fall to my left hand and I swiftly cross my arms over my chest to hide my ring. “You have exactly three minutes. I have to take a nap before work.”

His lips tilt up. “Can I come in?”

Opening the door wider, I gesture inside. As he passes me, there’s the faint smell of citrus and cinnamon, making my heart ache. It isn’t only physical attraction; I have to actively keep myself from reaching for him. It’s part of the reason I’ve avoided Travis since I started dating Zack. I’ve been cheated on before; I’d never do that to my boyfriend—fiancé.

The moment the door clicks shut, Travis sighs, “I’m sorry, Cass.” I keep my back turned, hand on the handle. Not onlydoes he remember the stupid pact, he never intended to collect on it. It twists my heart and tears threaten the corner of my eyes. Tears I don’t deserve to shed. I’m a happily engaged woman, there’s nothing to be upset about. “Cass?”

I open the door an inch. “You should go.”

Travis comes up behind me, reaches above me, and closes the door. “Not until we talk.” I remain rooted in place. If I turn, I’ll do something incredibly stupid. “You’re not going to marry Zack.”

“Why not?” It comes out more breathless than I’d like.

“Because you’re supposed to marry me.”

“Marry you?” I huff a humorless laugh. “You were there last night. And even if you weren’t, word travels fast here. You know I’m engaged.”

He leans in, his warm breath fanning my neck as he whispers, “I was going to propose, but he beat me to it.” The sensation makes my nipples peak and I’ve never been so thankful for a padded bra. Gripping my hip, he slowly turns me. I can’t meet his eyes, instead focusing on the small scar that splits his eyebrow for a moment before looking away. “Am I too late?”

“Too late? Only by a decade. Even if I wasn’t engaged, I have a boyfriend, Travis,” I seethe.

“Dump him.”

“What? You’re not serious.” I huff a small laugh and his nostrils flair. “Oh, fuck. Youareserious. For what? So you can collect on a stupid pact we made when we were younger? Fuck. That. You made your choice over and over again, and it was never me.”

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