Page 12 of Free to Dream
Nothing I read about her yesterday, no picture I saw, could have prepared me for the impact of her on my senses. She’s an enigma.
“Mr. Lockwood, I’m Cassidy Freeman. Again, I would like to offer my apologies for the circus you walked in on when you first came in. As I’m sure you likely overheard, my brother failed to provide me with the details of your appointment in enough time for me to fully prepare for our meeting. It’s our preferred approach to be prepared well in advance in order to anticipate your needs.”
“I don’t think there’s any way you could have anticipated what your brother had planned on telling you, Cassidy. It’s fine. The most important thing is making sure Ryan has the wedding he’s always dreamt of with no flaws.”
The professional she is, she squares her shoulders, gesturing to the chair Phil had vacated earlier. “May I take your coat?” I gesture to her I’m fine. “Please take a seat then. Can I offer you that coffee Phillip mentioned earlier? Tea?” I shudder in revulsion. “I’ll take it that is a no. For both?” A light laugh trickles out. “A Coke?”
“Please.”
She reaches into a refrigerator nestled in the cabinetry in front of her. When she turns, she’s holding a familiar red and white can and makes her way back to me on those fantasy-inspiring boots. Handing me the can and a coaster, she sits elegantly behind her desk.
It appears my girl’s a bit obsessive about neatness. My girl? Whoa, boy. You just met her. Just because you know everything about her, doesn’t mean she would be interested.
In fact, if I read her file correctly, she would never be interested.
Damn, if that isn’t a deflating thought.
“So, tell me more about the groom,” she inquires, picking up a cup from The Coffee Shop. Taking a sip, she scrunches her nose and puts it aside. Pulling her wireless keyboard closer to her, I glance around for the screen and realize she has it submerged beneath the profile of the desk. Efficient. Cassidy can take notes and not lose line of sight with her clients. I may need that setup for my office.
“Ry’s fantastic.” I can’t help but laugh. “He’s probably the most romantic bastard there is in the world. When he proposed, I know for a fact he bought out three nurseries of primroses to make the rooftop deck of our house a virtual Garden of Eden. You know the meaning of primroses is, ‘I can’t live without you,’ right?” Waiting for her nod, I continue. “He took the day off work, got everyone we know involved in arranging them just right. We have a condo in the Powell Building with an outdoor roof deck in the city. Ry spends all day stringing lights all over the place, moves the speakers outside, and what happens? It starts raining! Not like it mattered, of course. Everything ended up just perfect for Ry.”
Cassidy says nothing, but offers a polite smile I don’t quite get. She looks down and begins typing. Did I miss something? Didn’t she ask about Ry?
“Have you discussed what kind of wedding you two are thinking of? Something large, or small and intimate?”
Wait. What the fuck did she say? Ry and I? Married?
From the moment I walked in the door of Amaryllis Events and heard the husband of my brother’s ex being ripped a new asshole by his five sisters, and having my dick turn semi-hard from my first glance at Cassidy Freeman, to now being asked what I would like at the wedding she thinks I’m having by marrying my brother, this morning has been nothing but a comedy of errors.
I toss my head back and laugh from the depths of my soul. I can’t wait to replay this entire morning later in bed, while thinking of blue-green eyes and dark hair. I lean back in my chair and cross my legs at the ankles, putting my arms behind my head. I notice Cassidy’s eyes do a quick bit of wandering themselves. So, the pixie at least likes what she sees. That’s a good start.
“No, Cassidy. Ry and I have not talked about the wedding at all. However, I know he and Jared discussed it in detail the other night without me before I got home from a business trip. Since they have since shared their decisions with me, I have a fair idea of what’s needed.”
I think Cassidy gets whiplash, her head comes up so fast. Her left arm flings out, knocking her coffee cup off her desk and right onto the floor. As she jumps up, her office chair flies back and slams into the wall.
“Shit!” she yells, before her face turns to me in horror. Racing over to the cabinet where she got my Coke, she grabs paper towels from another one of those hidden cabinets, muttering under her breath, “Phil…Won’t live to his first anniversary… Scissors…Hair” as she cleans up the coffee spill from the hardwood floor and her desk.
I make no move to assist her, because frankly, I’m enjoying the tight pull of her dress over her ass too damn much.
She stands, throws out the mess of towels and washes her hands at the wet bar. She appears to be doing some sort of deep breathing exercise that shows off her magnificent breasts.
Jesus. A woman like her needs to come with a warning label.
After the eighth or so breath, she has herself back under control and is apparently ready to deal with what she thinks will be my marriage to two men, one of whom is my brother.
I sit back with a shit-eating grin, ready to enjoy the hell out of this appointment with the fantasy-inspiring Cassidy Freeman.
“Again, I apologize, Mr. Lockwood—”
“Please, call me Caleb, Cassidy,” I say with a huge smile. “After all, we’re going to be working very closely together for the next few months. By the end of this, I imagine we’ll know each other so well, we’ll be exchanging holiday cards every year, at the very least.” I toss in the last part for good measure.
Her eyes widen slightly. “Well, Mr. Lock—I mean, Caleb. In all my years in the business, I have never met a family member with as much…enthusiasm as you have. I’m sure we’ll enjoy our relationship quite a bit.”
Oh, Pixie, if you only knew.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I train my expression to be as deadpan as possible. “As much as I want to talk about Ry and Jared, and could do for hours, I do have a limited amount of time today, Cassidy. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. What do you need to know so we can get this under contract?”
Straightening, Cassidy gives me her professional smile and begins firing questions at me. Do I want to use all services offered in-house? Of course. Amaryllis Events has an enormous reputation for being the best at everything. Even if they didn’t, I want it to be Cassidy’s job to corral my mother’s ass. I don’t mention that point to Cassidy just yet. Do I have a preferred location? Our family home in Greenwich. I can’t get Ry to budge on that. What is the date of the wedding? I ask if Thanksgiving weekend is too soon since the location is a private residence.
