“Wow, I am genuinely impressed Rory. You father and mother sound amazing by the way. What interesting stories they must have of the sixties in San Francisco.”
“They are a pretty unique couple all right.”
“So, tell me what you are looking for in terms of art?’
“How about we play a little game first. I answer five questions and you answer five questions. A kind of quick fire gets to know each other.”
“And why would I do that?” Cassidy grinned at him from behind her glass.
“Because Cassidy,” he said leaning forward and returning her grin.
“I’m interested in you, in getting to know you better. I like you, humour me.”
Cassidy tugged her teeth against her bottom lip and rubbed her index finger around the top of her wine glass.
“Okay, shoot.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. Are you a billionaire?”
“Not yet. I’m a multi-millionaire, billionaire in training,” he laughed, a rich warm sound. Do you find me attractive?”
“Yes. But, I try not to mix business and pleasure. Do you always get what you want?”
“Yes, I do. Do you think I find you attractive?”
“I don’t know, it hasn’t crossed my mind. Liar, liar. Shut up! Why do you play with your hair when you talk about your family?”
“Perceptive. Probably guilt related. I don’t go home as often as I promise I will. Sometimes they crowd me. And I do, Cassidy. Find you attractive, that is. You are very beautiful.”
“Thank you. That’s not a question.”
“I changed the game. I get bored easily, it’s a thing.”
“Oh a thing, really? Well I shall try my hardest not to bore the multi-millionaire, billionaire in training!”
“Impossible Cassidy, you are far too intriguing. Funny and sweet too.”
Cassidy liked the way he said her name, the soft Irish lit in his voice was so attractive.
“You don’t look very Irish,” Cass said.
“Not every Irish person has red hair and freckles or looks like Darragh. Plus, most of us don’t actually have a donkey-load of turf in the back garden. I don’t own an Aran sweater either, my dad does though. But, you’re right. My mother being Italian and my Dad being Irish created a strange mixture of hybrid kids. We grew up in both Ireland and Italy. My family home is in the south west of Ireland, in county Clare. A small village called Kilvarna. It’s beautiful really, not too far from the sea and just down the road from Bunratty castle. It’s pretty picturesque.”
“Wow. That sounds like a fantastic place to grow up in. I’ve never been to Ireland but the scenery is not unlike Devon, from photographs I’ve seen. So, you’re a combination of Irish and Italian? That sounds like a feisty pairing. Although, that’s probably another stereotype.”
“No. That one is pretty accurate Cassidy. We are pretty full on, our house is always loud. There’s always plenty of laughter and arguments and food. We’re all pretty obsessed with our grub. With five kids in the family, it’s non-stop chatter and banter.”
“Yeah, I’d say so with four brothers and sisters!
Wow, that sounds wonderful, there is just the two of us my brother Harry and I. We-” Cassidy paused, a deep frown darkening her face. She shook her head. Rory knew what was coming and his heart clenched in his chest for her. He didn’t want to hear it now; he didn’t want to feel it.
“Sorry, there were two of us growing up. I’m a twin too. Or, at least I was a twin. I lost my brother Harry, three years ago. In a car accident. It’s just me now and my mum and dad. Brian and Alice.”
Rory stretched his large hand across the table and covered her small one squeezing it.
“I’m so sorry, twins? You must have been close. Katie and Junie my nieces are like two peas in a pod. I can’t imagine what you went through.”
She raised her head up and smiled softly.
“That’s really brilliant that they are close. Yes, yes we were very close. Harry was my best friend and my other half. My better half in many ways.”
Her pain was evident and it tore at Rory’s heart. Losing someone you loved that deeply must be torturous. He had been there for Annie as much as he could and had witnessed her pain. He remembered the night she had disappeared not long after James’ death. How terrified they all had been, as they scoured the countryside looking for her. They had found her hours later, in the graveyard lying face down on James’ grave. His brother Rian had carried her in his arms back to their Jeep, cradling her gently. It had nearly killed them to watch her fall apart. It was something he never imagined he would see his little sister go through. Annie was usually so strong, so bull headed. Love can be lost in the blink of an eye and he knew he had to keep it at a distance. Love was for other people. Not for Rory O’Malley. He was lucky to still have all his family, just a phone call away. He looked at Cass and wanted to take away her pain. It surprised him how deeply she affected him. He didn’t even know her and yet something deep inside of him seemed to listen to her hearts rhythm.
He shook his head. Where the hell did that come from? Jesus, if his brothers could hear him now they would look at him in silence before bursting with laughter. Hell, if it had been one of them drooling over a woman they had just met and talking about heart rhythms he would have been pissing himself laughing too. Is this what it feels like to want someone so badly it hurts physically? He felt like a prick keeping his knowledge of her brother’s death from her.
“How are your parents coping with losing Harry?”
“They’re managing. Three years has lessened the sting of the grief and the shock of it all. But a piece of them has gone forever. Sometimes I feel guilty for growing older.
You know, they watch me changing and Harry well-”
She turned her face away as her eyes filled with unshed tears. Damn, how unprofessional is this!! It had been so long since she had spoken of Harry to a stranger. For some reason I need to open up to him. How the heck did that happened? Why? Cassidy coughed and put her hands on her lap. “Well, I think that’s enough Q&A for the night Rory. Why don’t you tell me what you are looking for in terms of art and where you would like to start?”
Rory looked at her and smiled at her nodding his head.
“Okay, art talk in a little while, food first. I’m starving. And, as I said before, I love to eat.” Cassidy blushed. She didn’t even know why, but looking at his lips move and talk about eating made her feel a slow throb in her knickers. She fanned herself with her hand.
“Whoa it’s warm in here.”
Rory nodded in agreement. “Getting hotter by the minute.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Rory raised his hand and beckoned over the matire’d’. He stood to hug the man.
“Carlo, lovely to see you again. Come, meet my new friend Cassidy Evans. Cassidy this is my good friend, Carlo Ferrelli. Carlo manages the bistro when Darragh is away. He’d be lost without him.”
Carlo beamed under the praise. He took Cassidy’s hand and raised it to his lips. “Mademoiselle Evans, it is my very great pleasure to meet you. You must be a very good friend indeed. Rory does not usually bring friends to the bistro.” He looked at Rory and raised an eyebrow. Rory laughed and clapped Carlo on the back.
“Ah Carlo, you know me too well. Cassidy is also a businesswoman. I am plying her with expensive wine and good food in the hopes that she will agree to work with me.”
Cassidy liked the way he said with me and not for me. As the men talked and bantered with each other, she drank in Rory’s essence. He wore a crisp white shirt under a black suit. With his jacket slung on the back of the chair she could see his tanned body gleaming at her from beneath his shirt. His arms filled the sleeves and she could make out his biceps beneath. His huge frame was all she could think about and she picked a spot on his neck to focus on. Otherwise, her eyes were constantly being drawn to his brown nipples that she could make out
beneath the material. She watched as he rubbed his chin and heard the rasp of his black stubble. He pulled back his lips to smile at Carlo and his white straight teeth made her bite her lip. Damn his mouth was soooooofrickinamazing! She was wet and felt herself clench beneath the table. It would take nothing to come on the spot; she was so hot for him! She wondered what his hair would feel like between her fingers as she pictured herself fisting it. In her mind she pulled his head back to lick his Adams apple and nipped at the base of his neck where his stubble ended. Oh sweet Jesus, this is ridiculous. She was twenty-four years old for heaven’s sake, not seventeen. He was hairy she noted, she liked that. Where his watch sat on his wrist, black hair swirled around and disappeared up his sleeve. Cass wondered if he had a lot of hair “down there” too. Jonathan had favoured a back, sack and crack wax. She hadn’t been a fan. He was quite vocal about how much he would have liked her to be completely hairless too. She had never agreed to it and was glad she hadn’t given in to every demand he had made of her. Especially considering what a knuckle dragging fucker he had turned out to be. She just knew Rory’s balls were hairy. He had that look about him. Why am I imagining Rory O’Malley’s balls? Seriously, I need to get laid! She took a huge gulp of wine and smiled at Rory as Carlo prepared to take their order.
“What dirty things have you on your mind?” Rory back smiled at her and winked.
Cassidy swallowed her wine the wrong way and started to cough and splutter.
“Jesus, forgive me. That was totally inappropriate.”
Rory jumped up and began to clean the table and pat her face with a serviette.
“You just had a look on your face like you were hungry for something.”
Yeah, your hairy balls! Cass shook her head and took another drink from her water glass, still coughing.
“No. No you’re fine, really. It just went down the wrong way.” She all but slapped his hand away. He stayed beside her a look of concern on his face.
“Seriously, I’m fine thank you.” God, please let the ground swallow me up. Now!
She looked up at him and nodded. He looked a bit uncertain but smiled at her as he sat back down.
“Perfect. Sooooooooo, how would you like your steak?”
“Medium, please.”
“Two medium steaks please Carlo, all the trimmings too. And a bottle of the house cabernet sauvignon too.” Carlo nodded and headed off towards the kitchen.
“Hope that’s okay? I thought I’d get rid of him as quickly as I could. He tends to hang around for a chat, especially if there is a beautiful woman in the vicinity.”
Cassidy blushed under his gaze.
“All the trimmings, what does that entail? Sounds interesting.”
“Ah, a woman after my own heart”, he stopped then and looked at her. Would she be gentle with a man’s heart?
“Umm… all the trimmings are, home cut fries, onions, mushrooms, garlic and pepper sauce, baby broccoli shoots and French beans and a little secret somethin’, somethin.’ He faked an American southern drawl that had her smiling widely at him.
“And yes, I eat here a lot and have designed the dish to suit my own appetite and general whim. I seriously could eat this meal every day.” He blew out a breath and raised his glass to his lips, not drinking, just holding it at his mouth.
“Well then, I can’t wait to dig in. Please tell me you make them provide a side of tomato sauce. I can’t have steak and chips without it!”
Rory leaned in and crooked his finger at her to draw towards him. He spoke to her seriously.
“Cassidy, it would be a crime for anyone to serve fries without ketchup.”
He was close enough for her to smell the sweet wine on his breath. Her eyes darted to his lips, and she unconsciously licked hers. Rory’s eyes caught the movement and he tilted his head and moved in towards her. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Cassidy pulled back suddenly and stood up muttering ‘bathroom’ before shooting off towards the double doors to her left. She stood with her head against the coolness of the bathroom mirror banging it lightly. NONONONONONO! This was not the way to conduct a business meeting. Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to be the one who lit up her knickers like a Halloween bonfire! She hadn’t been this turned on and this hot for a man, in years. Not even when she was a hormonal fourteen year old in secondary school and in love with Alan Aspen. He had kissed the face off her and told her he would marry her if he could put his hand down her knickers. She hadn’t let him and he had unceremoniously dumped her by passing her a note in history class. When he had ended up getting their history teacher pregnant and landing in jail five years later for stealing a lawnmower, she had felt somewhat vindicated. Cassidy raised her head, and shook it back and forth in the mirror.
“Don’t be an idiot, Cass. This guy is a freaking millionaire for heaven’s sake. You are a slightly chunky artist who has very little cash, boobs that are too big for her body and should stick to masturbating rather than trying to flirt with mister ridiculously hot. Totally out of your league.”
She turned to walk out of the bathroom and stopped herself. Marching back towards the mirror she pointed her finger angrily at her own reflection. She ranted.
“Listen to me you fool. Cassidy Rose Jessica Byron Evans! You are a shit hot ginger ninja and mister hot stuff fuckablefaced O’Malley should be bloody grateful, if you decide to let him put his cock in or anywhere near your fabulous hooha! You are a fantastic and sexy woman who may have a big arse, but can move it like a bloody blender! You are worthwhile and talented and a damn good fuck to boot.” Cassidy nodded at herself in the mirror.
“Right!” Her reflection seemed to agree.
The toilet cubicle behind her opened slowly and a small petite grey haired old dear walked out gingerly, trying not to look Cassidy in the eye.
“Oh,” said Cassidy making a production out of fixing her dress.
“So many lines to learn for this play. This play I am practicing for…yup. Wow strong stuff, artistic. Hhhmmmm.”
The lady ignored her and quickly washed and dried her hands, took her lipstick out of her purse, then obviously thought better of it and put it back into her bag. Cassidy winced as the woman opened the door and looked back at Cass with a look that stunk of pity, or maybe fear for her own safety. Cassidy held her head high and followed the lady back towards her seat. She glanced back at the woman’s companion, who was now listening intently to the old biddy and eyeing Cassidy up and down in a not too subtle manner.
Rory looked up to see Cassidy coming from the bathroom. Jesus, but she is beautiful, he thought. Way out of his league for sure. You look like you are thinking of something dirty. What kind of an idiot says that to a woman like her? She had probably gone into the bathroom to phone one of her friends to get her the hell away from him. She probably thought he was a total prick. Millionaire? No billionaire in training. Ah God. Who even said shit like that? Her green eyes had lit up talking about her brother and he had to admit to himself that he had felt an uncharacteristic twinge of jealousy. Wow, O’Malley. Jealous of a dead guy. Not one of your finer moments. You feckin' eejit. He felt an adolescent need to impress her and wasn’t exactly sure where it had come from. Your dick probably! It seemed to be the only organ functioning properly when he was in close proximity to Cassidy. His brain was obviously taking a well-deserved break and his cock had taken over as supreme leader. And just like that on cue, he felt the tug and rise in his trousers. He shifted in his seat; she was coming over to the table. Goddammit!!! He really should stand and push in her chair. How the hell could he do that with a bloody great hard on under the table? She would think he was a complete fiend and sexual deviant. He stayed put and plastered what he hoped was a non-sexual deviant looking smile on his face. He aimed for normal and figured it came out somewhere between crazy and constipated.
“Hey, just in time” he said, gesturing wildly. “Here’s Carlo with the food.”
Carlo approached the table with a huge silv
er platter heaped with food, trays of sides and two cokes. Cassidy smiled at him as he put the plates in front of them in silence, nodded at them and left.
“Okay, that looks amazing! Seriously, this is fantastic. Exactly what I needed, Rory.”
“I know, right? Who needs haute cuisine when you can eat good old-fashioned fare, here’s to you and me,” he said. He picked up his wine glass and raised it to her beaming. Damn his teeth are clean, and straight. Clean straight teeth. He was ticking every box she had. And completely ticking her box too.
Cass winked at him and raised her glass in salute.
“To you and me, to good art, good business and good food.”
They ate in companionable silence, one of them making grunting and hmmm noises every few minutes. Rory decided then and there that he loved to watch her eat. He was used to watch his mama cooking up huge dinners for the family, or his dad having a pot of Guinness stew bubbling softly on the stove at home. They were a family of foodies who spent more time around the huge kitchen table eating and talking, than anywhere else in the house. Their two hundred acre farmland home was impressive, but it still felt cosy. He suddenly longed for his mothers’ embrace and his fathers’ warm strong hand on his shoulder. He should go home soon. Show them that he was still there for them. They had done so much for him, for all of them. Always a constant force of support and understanding in their lives.
Cass mused that any chance of convincing Rory O’Malley that she was a refined lady, was firmly out the window. Dipping her last home fry into ketchup, she washed it down with a mouthful of soft red cabernet sauvignon and stretched her head back.
“That was a feast. I won’t be able to move for a week after it. Thank you so much for bringing me here, I absolutely loved it.”
Rory smiled at her and grazed his top teeth off his bottom lip. He couldn’t stop smiling. Having fine dined his ex-girlfriend Abigail all over the world, he couldn’t ever remember her thanking him for a meal. Never mind finishing one! Abigail had been more of a starter salad as a main course, kind of girl. Forever worrying about her tiny figure and what carbs would do to it. It was a refreshing change to be in the company of a woman who loved her food and wasn’t afraid to eat it in front of him. Pleasure is such a gift, he thought. Whether food or sex, it should be enjoyed with abandon.
Juice: The O'Malleys Book 1, contemporary Adult Romance Page 8
