“Oh and Cassie,” he said, thankfully filling the silence. “I have the results of our poll.”
She tried to focus. “Poll?”
His eyes were suddenly even more watchful than normal. “About whether you should go out to dinner with me.”
Dinner? He was still going on about that? She winced inwardly. Yeah, he probably thought after their kiss she’d be more than willing to go out with him.
He was wrong.
Now, more than ever, she didn’t want to get involved, and especially not with someone who would leave her and go back to another country. Yeah, like she was going to leave herself open to that.
She forced herself to appear nonchalant. “Let me guess? The results were fifty-fifty.”
“Nope. Ninety-five percent said you should go to dinner with me.” He looked somewhat pleased with himself now.
“And the other five percent?”
“Were busy and didn’t hear the question.”
She laughed along with him, but she noted his blue eyes had narrowed slightly. She wasn’t sure why, but it made her uneasy. She didn’t want anyone - and certainly not this man – to be able to know what made her tick. She wouldn’t give him that power over her.
He held up some scraps of paper. “But if you need help making up your mind, Cassie, I have some messages to read out that Leon, your producer, thought might be a good idea.”
Her lips twisted as she glanced at a grinning Leon behind the glass window separating them. “Dear Leon. What would I do without that man to look after me? Any man actually,” she tagged on without thinking.
“Now that’s a question I can’t answer for you,” Zac murmured, his voice drawing her back to him, his gaze holding hers a second too long.
Then he lowered his eyes to the papers and skimmed the first comment. He laughed out loud. “Okay, Cassie, this one’s for you. It’s from Tammy who phoned in to say - and I’m going to attempt an American accent here - ‘Don’t you know a good thing when you see it, honey?’”
Cassie laughingly winced. “Zac, I think you should stick with your own accent.”
He pretended to make a long face. “My American’s no good?”
“Um… how do I say this politely? No.”
“That hurt.” He quickly recovered. “Then perhaps you could give me lessons? Hey, and I can return the favor. Perhaps I could teach you a few dirty words from Down Under,” he sniggered with a roguish grin.
Her smile stayed in place but somewhere at the back of her mind she decided he was getting too smart for his own good. “I doubt you’ll be here long enough to learn much,” she pointed out, then turned the subject back on topic. “Now what’s the next message say, Zac?”
He held her gaze, and Cassie swallowed, feeling again like he could read all that was going on in her mind.
With a gleam in his eyes, he glanced down at the next message. “Okay, sweetheart,” he said, his light tone belying that look. “Here’s another one for you. It’s from Cathy. Hey, that’s my mum’s name. Nice name, Cathy,” he said into the microphone, then he glanced at Cassie. “Cathy says you need to get naked.” He leaned into the microphone again. “Cathy, I love your suggestion.”
Cassie suppressed the image of being naked before him. “Perhaps her message was meant for you?”
“I’d be happy to get naked any time you like, my sweet. Just say the word.”
The thought of him naked dropped her right back into the pool of sensuality that swirled around them like a second skin. Somehow she laughed. It was either that or shock the staff by jumping out of her chair and ripping Zac’s clothes off.
Obviously unaware of the danger he was in, he looked down to the next piece of paper in his hand. “Here’s another for you. This one’s from Stephanie. She says, ‘Hey girlfriend, are you crazy or something? Go out and get laid’.” He moved his mouth closer to the microphone again. “You rock, Stef!”
Cassie was beginning to feel everyone was ganging up on her. “I’m glad all my friends out there are so interested in my private life,” she said dryly.
“Hey, here’s a doozey,” Zac continued. “‘Ask Kangaroo Man to show you his pouch’.” He burst into laughter. Warm, rich, manly laughter that couldn’t quite drown out the thudding of her heart. “Kangaroo man, eh?” he repeated into the mike. “That opens up all sorts of possibilities, doesn’t it, ladies?” He paused then looked at Cassie. “Hmm, I wonder.”
“What?”
“If there’s a possibility of us having dinner together.”
She should have known! “Sorry, no,” she said crisply, angry for leaving herself open to the question.
“So there’s no possibility of me getting to know you better then?” he asked, her comment not even making a dent in his ego.
“Nope. None whatsoever.”
Suddenly a tender look slid into his eyes, startling her without warning. “Are you sure?” he murmured, those same eyes telling her he wasn’t just talking about knowing her physically. He was saying he wanted to know more about her as a person.
She held her breath, taken unawares by his charm when she wasn’t sure she wanted to be charmed. More to the point, she couldn’t afford to let herself be charmed.
“What do you say, Cassie?” His voice caressed her. “How about dinner together tomorrow night? It’s your night off then, I believe.”
She shook her head. “No, Zac.”
His gaze continued to search hers, even as a rueful smile curved his mouth. “Gee, can’t you take pity on a poor visitor to your town?”
That got a snort out of her. “You don’t look like a man who needs pity.”
“Oh, but I do.” He leaned back in his chair, a defiant light in his eyes that was very, very masculine. “And I’ve decided I’m not leaving here until you say yes.”
Was that her heart almost hitting the floor? “Really.”
“Yep.” He crossed his arms. “Kangaroo men can be very stubborn when they want something. And, Cassie King, I want you… to share dinner with me.”
She swallowed. “Zac, look --”
“Say yes, Cassie.”
“Zac --”
“Is that a yes?”
“No,” she said in exasperation.
He paid no attention. “Did I tell you that in Australia we do the opposite of what we say? It comes from living upside down all the time.”
A slow smirk coated her lips. “Oh, so you don’t really want to go to dinner with me then?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and all at once his expression intensified. He went utterly still. All joking disappeared. “Say yes, Cassie,” he urged gruffly.
“No,” she murmured, feeling herself sinking.
“Say yes, Cassie.”
She was unable to fight him any longer, unable to fight herself. “Yes,” she whispered.
The world tilted. And then his eyes… those gorgeous blue eyes that could seem as deep as an ocean and as light as the sky… warmed her with a smile.
He winked at her. “You can now return to your regular schedule.”
She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until she let it out. “I hope all my listeners are happy now,” she said, sounding breathless anyway.
“This listener is.”
“I’m so pleased,” she said, adding a touch of sarcasm, wanting to throttle him, but somewhere underneath she knew she was as much to blame as him. She was feeling the push and pull of attraction as much as he did. She couldn’t deny it.
He gave a crooked smile. “Do you think you can try for some enthusiasm?”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Enthusiasm? Oh, you mean like ‘ooh baby ooh. Let me light your fire’?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “That’s better. Makes me feel wanted now.”
At the thought of wanting him, she could feel a blush on the way. She spoke to cut it off at the pass. “You’re wanted all right, probably by the police.”
He laughed. “Dinner with you will
certainly be interesting.”
Dinner. Oh heavens. What had she done? “Our listeners will have to wait to hear all about it, I’m afraid. That’s right, folks. Tune back in after the weekend and see if Zac lives to tell the tale.”
“If I don’t, I’m going to die with a smile on my face.”
“Then I guess you’ll die happy. Now let’s hear a word from our sponsor.” As soon as the off-air sign flashed, she pulled off her earphones and fell back in her chair, closing her eyes briefly. Goodness. Had she really agreed to go out to dinner with Zac? Such a simple thing for most people, yet for her it meant she was leaving herself open to heartache.
“Cassie?”
Her eyes flew open. She’d been so wrapped up in herself, she’d forgotten him for just those few moments.
“Are you okay?”
No, she wasn’t okay. She had a million doubts zinging through her head. For one thing, her life was a private matter and not for public consumption. Nor were her relationships.
She glared at him. “Do you realize half of Chicago will be waiting to hear all about our date now?”
He looked puzzled. “Yeah, so?” Then his eyes narrowed. “What’s the real problem here, Cassie?”
Her gaze darted away. Damn. He was a step ahead of her. “Nothing.” Nothing she wanted to talk about anyway.
“Cassie?”
She felt panicky, so she put on a busy look as she grabbed her papers and began shuffling them. “Let’s talk about this another time, okay? Right now I have a job to do.”
“And I’m in your way,” he suddenly snapped, pushing his chair back and standing up, an angry glint in his eyes. “Fine. Don’t let me keep you from your work.” He strode to the door.
Seeing him angry shook her up. All at once she felt bad. This wasn’t about him. It was about her - and her inadequacies. He deserved a better explanation. “Zac, I --”
He stopped and glowered at her over his shoulder. Static crackled in the air and it didn’t come from the radio station. “Tell it to your fans, sweetheart. They obviously like listening to bleedin’ hearts.”
CHAPTER FOUR
From the leather couch, Margo Thorpe-Ashton’s elegantly made-up face winced at the chatter emitting from the radio. “Alicia, darling, do hurry up and find the opera station. I’ve so been looking forward to this special performance of La Traviata.”
Alicia frowned as she concentrated on turning the dial. “I’m trying to find the right channel for you, Mother. Just give me a minute.”
Margo tutted. “It should already be on the right channel.” She looked at her husband sitting in the leather recliner opposite. “Robert, it’s that new maid. I’m sure she’s slipping in here and listening to our radio whenever we go out at night. You must do something about her.”
Robert shrugged. “I’ll talk with her tomorrow.”
“That’s not enough,” she said in a stern voice.
“Then I’ll fire her.” He glanced at his future son-in-law and arched a brow, a watchful gleam at the back of his eyes. “If you can’t trust the staff, who can you trust, eh Steven?”
Steve forced himself not to shift in his chair. The older man quite often threw comments like that at him, making him wonder if it was deliberate. He was a wily old dog, was Alicia’s father.
Steve inclined his head. “You’re right, Robert. One must be able to trust staff.”
“And family,” Robert added, still watching him. “It’s so important to be able trust family, don’t you think?” He gave a slight smile. “And soon-to-be family, of course.”
“Absolutely,” Steve said, looking him squarely in the eyes. He had no doubt his future father-in-law had checked him out the minute he learned his daughter was dating one of his employees, but to what degree, he’d never been certain. Robert played his cards close to his chest. It was the reason he’d done so well in life. Firstly by making his millions himself - and there were many rumors how he’d managed that - then by marrying into money. Steve aspired to be just like him.
Just then, a woman’s voice came over the static. “Ladies, believe me, Zac really doesn’t look like he needs a book to tell him what to do in bed. Actually, I think he could write the book on it.”
Steve almost choked on his drink.
Cassie!
Dear God, of all the times he didn’t want to hear his ex-wife’s voice it was now.
“Oh my Lord,” Margo said in shocked horror. “Robert, did you hear that?”
He frowned. “Yes, I heard.”
Alicia looked at Steve in concern. “Darling, are you all right? You’re not choking, are you?”
Before he could answer, Robert spoke. “He’s obviously had a shock listening to that woman.” He paused. “Anyone would.”
Steve swallowed hard, certain the older man was playing games with him again. “Er… I’m fine. It was just the sherry. I drank it too quickly.”
“No wonder,” Margo murmured. Then she schooled her features. “Remember this, Steven. Sherry is to be sipped, not guzzled,” she said in that high-class tone of hers that constantly made him remember how fragile his connection to this family was.
Until he married Alicia, that is.
Recovering quickly, he gave his future mother-in-law a respectful smile. “Of course, Margo.”
He was going to kill Cassie! She always did this to him. Every time he felt like he was climbing the ladder of success, she found a way to pull him back down to ground level. She’d done the same during their marriage. He’d come home from a successful deal and all he’d get from Cassie was a look of disgust that she hadn’t liked his methods of getting what he wanted. Didn’t she know he’d done it for her? For their marriage. For their life together, so she’d never have to go out and work all the hours under the sun like his mother had.
Never have to die young like his mother had.
Dammit, poor wasn’t pretty.
Suddenly, Cassie’s voice rent the air again. “Why does a man have to feel adequate in that department anyway, Zac?”
Margo shuddered. “Ooh, turn that off, darling. I can’t stand listening to this. It’s so… tasteless.”
Steve just barely stopped from looking at Robert, but he wasn’t about to let the older man know how much all this unsettled him. He could play the game too.
Alicia turned it off and picked up her sherry glass from the bar. “Mother, that show is called “Night Talk” and it’s really quite good. I like listening to it.”
Steve was having to hold back his panic. Alicia listened to the show? Shit. He’d had no idea he was sitting there most nights in his office listening to the same thing Alicia was listening to at home. Double shit. If Alicia ever found out his ex-wife was the hostess on “Night Talk”, she might try to see Cassie and talk to her, then she’d discover he hadn’t been entirely truthful with her. There was the little matter about being separated from his wife when he’d started his secret affair with Alicia.
Not!
And about Cassie being the one who was unfaithful.
No way!
And that those “irreconcilable differences” were actually about adultery.
His!
There were some other things but nothing as damning as those. And if Alicia learned the truth, then wouldn’t she start to wonder if he’d do the same thing to her?
“Mother,” Alicia said, interrupting his thoughts. “You and Daddy are just too old-fashioned.” She winked at Steve. “You’ve got to get with the times.”
“Trash is trash, no matter what the times, darling.”
“But all my friends are talking about this show too. This Australian guy on it is such fun. He pretended he was a sex therapist and --”
“A sex therapist! Robert, did you hear what your daughter is listening to?”
“Mother, it’s not like I don’t know what sex is,” Alicia said dryly. “Steven and I have been living together for a year now.”
“Yes, well, you know our thoughts on that.” Margo
sniffed. “But it couldn’t be helped.” Then she looked at Steve. “At least your divorce is through now, Steven, and the wedding only a month away. I wish we could have booked the church for the day after the divorce, but I refuse to have my daughter’s wedding eclipsed by an election.”
Steve couldn’t fault their devotion to their daughter. It was a devotion that wouldn’t extend to him if Alicia ever found out he hadn’t exactly been honest with her. He knew her well by now. After a couple of bad experiences with “friends” as a teenager, she hated lies and the people who told them. He had no doubt she’d call off the wedding and nothing he’d say would change her mind.
Oddly enough, the thought of not having her in his life brought a lump to his throat - and not just for what she could give him materially.
Of course, it was the material things that mattered most, he reminded himself, as he looked around the lavish room with its burgundy Aubusson rug, Baccarat crystal, and smell of money in the air. No, he couldn’t give all this up.
He just wouldn’t.
* * *
As soon as Zac reached the car park, he cursed himself for flaring up like that. Cassie was right. She had a job to do and now hadn’t been the time to discuss anything, let alone talk about what was really troubling her. When it came to their emotions, women were complex enough on a day-to-day basis. He’d probably need a month to even scratch the surface with this one.
Yet did he really want to talk? Or did he just want her? Damn, there was something else going on with him besides getting her into bed. Something familiar behind their kiss this morning. A sense of knowing this person. It was the oddest thing. He’d never felt like that with Erin. Or any other woman.
Suddenly he wanted Cassie to want him because she wanted to spend time with him, not because of her ratings. And for that very reason he should be walking in the other direction – running in other direction - instead of twisting on his heels and heading back inside the radio station like he was doing now.
Leon was talking to her just outside the booth. “You and Zac have done it again, hon. The switchboard’s burning up like a --” He spied Zac approaching. “Hey, Zac. I was just telling Cassie --”
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