7 Minutes in Heaven (Are You Game?)

by Cahill, Rhian

  Jewellery. Shit. He hoped she wouldn’t think the bracelet was over the top. It was only a kids’ party trinket not a diamond ring. He looked towards the stairs again. She hadn’t come back down and thrown it at him. And surely she’d found and opened it by now. Then again, maybe she’d tossed it in the bin. Luc hoped not, but he didn’t really have a say now he’d given it to her. She’d do with it whatever she wanted. He’d just have to accept any choice she made.

  West’s hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck, man.”

  Luc turned back to him. “Thanks.” He smiled but he wasn’t really feeling it. For the first time since Cassie had walked out his door this morning, he had real concern about the outcome of their relationship.

  Cassie looked up from her paperwork at Dan. “Thanks, but I don’t recall you asking me if I wanted anything for lunch.”

  “I didn’t.” He put the paper bag on her desk. “And I didn’t order it.”

  Before she could get a word out, he’d turned to leave. “What do you mean you didn’t order it?”

  “The deli down the street delivered it,” he said over his shoulder.

  Cassie stared at the bag. He hadn’t. Not again. It was the same yesterday. And the day before. And both nights. Lunch and dinner, Monday, Tuesday and now Wednesday. She didn’t see him during the day, but he was always either waiting in his car or on her doorstep within seconds of her getting home with food. He’d not stayed. Instead, he’d delivered her meals and left. That confused her more than anything. Why would he not want to stick around and eat with her?

  Confused and frustrated, she reached for the bag and ripped it open. A BLT. Her mouth watered. Damn, he’d ordered her favourite sandwich. It was even toasted. She sighed. How was she supposed to keep her distance when he kept doing nice things for her? The man was making it hard to stand by her decision not to continue their all-consuming relationship. Plus, he was making her arguments about distractions useless when he wasn’t around during the day to interrupt her work and barely said ten words to her at night.

  She peeled back the wrapper and sank her teeth into the sandwich, closing her eyes as salty bacon flavour flooded her mouth. She polished off half before putting it down. Cassie grabbed her phone and she flicked through her address book until she came to Luc’s number. She’d programmed it in after asking Jody for it. It’d felt strange to have to ask her new employee for a number she should already have, but Jody hadn’t seemed fazed by it and rattled it off without a second thought.

  Thumb hovering over the screen, she debated calling him or texting. She wasn’t sure how she’d react to hearing his voice, so she pulled up a new message and fired off a quick thank you. Within seconds her phone beeped with a reply.

  You’re welcome.

  Cassie tapped out a reply. You can’t keep doing this.

  Again his reply fired back. Why not?

  Yes, why not? It was a good question and Cassie couldn’t think of a good answer. It took her a few minutes to think of a reason, but even then she knew it wasn’t a strong argument. Because you can’t keep paying for my food.

  You can pay next week.

  Cassie laughed. The man was insane. And not going away. But she had to be honest. As much as she didn’t want to see him again, she did. If she found him on her doorstep tonight she’d invite him in before he could run off. She’d been too shocked to think the last two nights so he’d gotten away with little more than a nod hello from her. That changed today. She fingered the beads around her wrist. He hadn’t said anything to her about the bracelet. Not yet, but she knew he’d seen her wearing it Monday night.

  She wasn’t sure why she’d put it on. With everything she’d told herself about not getting attached to him, even she couldn’t understand why she wanted to wear it. Okay, that was a lie. If she was going to start lying to herself she was in trouble. She’d put it on and kept it on because Luc had made it. For her. It was a way to keep him close without keeping him close, and wasn’t that just fucked-up reasoning. Cassie let out a deep breath and slouched back in her chair. Her phone beeped, bouncing on the desk as it vibrated with an incoming message.

  Is it yummy? Mine is.

  A smile curved her mouth. They were having lunch together. Yes.

  How does pizza for dinner sound?

  Will you join me?

  Can’t.

  Cassie frowned and sent a text with a frowny face in reply.

  Have to work but I’ll order the pizza for 7. Sound good?

  She didn’t want to eat alone again and really she should just organise her own dinner. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself tonight.

  Too late. Ordered already.

  Damn him. Fine. But I’m cooking tomorrow night.

  Aren’t you working tomorrow night?

  Shit. She was. Wait. How did he know that? How do you know?

  Jody mentioned it.

  Plausible. He’d obviously been speaking to his sister, and Cassie knew he was worried about Jody, so she fired off a quick message to alleviate some of his concern. She’s doing great. She’ll be running her own events in no time. Thanks for sending her my way.

  You’re both welcome. Gotta go. Meeting. See you later.

  Cassie read his last message over and over. Did he mean he’d see her tonight? He’d said he’d ordered her a pizza but he wouldn’t be there, so was he planning on stopping by after he finished work? A pang of disappointment and a bubble of hope vied for space in her chest. She’d see-sawed back and forth about what she wanted so often over the last few days that she was beginning to get motion sickness.

  She leaned forward and thunked her head on the desk. There was no getting around it. Lucas Wilhelm wasn’t just a distraction. He was a roadblock.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Cassie stared at the man on her doorstep. It was Thursday evening and the fourth day in a row she’d seen or heard from him. Monday morning, when she’d left his house determined not to think about him and all he’d made her feel in one weekend, she’d thought that was the end of it. She’d been wrong. Lucas had been in her face but not. He’d found an excuse every day since then to see her. She wanted to be pissed off about it, only the thrill of excitement that swept through her with each sighting wouldn’t let her get a good mad up. Besides, he never stayed for long and that was beginning to piss her off. He was teasing her with his presence only to disappear before she could give in to her body’s desire for his.

  She sighed. Damn the man. She got out of her car and then took her time shutting the door to gather her thoughts before she walked towards him. He pushed off the wall and picked up the plastic bags at his feet. The closer she got the more obvious it became that he’d brought dinner. Again. He’d fed her lunch and dinner every day this week. Cassie suspected he was getting her work schedule from his sister, Jody, because he seemed to know exactly where she’d be at all times. It was Jody who’d insisted she head home now. Insisted she and Dan had tonight’s cocktail party under control. And Luc had even mentioned she was working tonight, so he had to have known she was heading home early somehow.

  The tantalising aroma of curry wafted towards her and all turbulent thought stopped. “Oh my God, is that Indian?” She stepped onto her small porch.

  “Yep. Complete with naan bread.” Lucas raised the bags and shook them slightly.

  Shit. She couldn’t turn him away now even if she wanted to. Not when he’d brought her favourite food and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. Slipping her key in the lock, she twisted and glanced over at him. “Is that for one or two?”

  “Two?” He arched one thick brow.

  Well, this was a first. He was planning to eat with her this time. Cassie shoved the door open. “Come in. If you want to put all that in the kitchen I’m just going to get out of these work clothes first then I’ll dish it up.” She headed down the hall to her room, the sound of Lucas shutting the door and moving towards the kitchen behind her.

  A smile curled her lips and Cas
sie had to admit, if only to herself, that she was pleased he was here. With each quick visit she’d missed him more. She couldn’t count the number of times her mind had wandered to thoughts of Lucas over the last few days. He’d found his way deeper than just under her skin, and as much as she’d told herself she didn’t have time for a relationship, she couldn’t fight the needs rising inside her. And it wasn’t only about the sex either. As good as it was between them physically, there was an emotional connection too.

  It was time she faced facts and accepted the feelings he provoked and dealt with them. And him. She stripped out of her work clothes and grabbed a T-shirt and shorts. Stepping into the pants, she thought about how the next few hours might go. If his constant appearance in her life was a clue, then she could only conclude that he wanted to move past their weekend together into a possible future. The very idea of spending more time with Luc heated her blood and sent a shiver down her spine.

  She’d been fooling herself. She couldn’t deny their connection, and her arguments against seeing him held no real substance when he’d not once interfered with her work schedule. Her last venture into relationship territory had blown up in her face when her ex had turned up to a job she was overseeing one Saturday afternoon. He’d caused a huge scene, and she’d been forced to refund the client their money. Not to mention word had gotten around and she’d lost three more bookings because of his angry outburst.

  Cassie had to admit that she’d been gun shy with men since, and she’d been unfair to Lucas by assuming he’d behave the same as her ex and using it as an excuse to keep her distance. Shame washed through her. She owed Luc an apology and an explanation. He deserved both whether he wanted to continue seeing her or not. She’d take his frequent visits as a good sign and hope her fear of getting involved hadn’t ruined any possible future for them.

  With what had to be a goofy smile on her face, Cassie tugged her top on and headed out of her room to find Lucas. She found him in her dining room, table set with two places and the food spread out in front of them. Watching him as he poured them both a glass of water, she felt warm and soft. It would be easy to get used to seeing him there. Too easy perhaps, but she wasn’t going to dwell on that. Instead, she’d make the most of enjoying a meal with a great guy and see where things went.

  Luc leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. Dan had been right. The little Indian place in Balgowlah made the best Indian food outside of India. It also happened to be Cassie’s favourite take-away dinner. He’d eaten more than he should, but the flavours had been too mouthwatering to give up. Cassie was still going. She’d probably eaten as much as if not more than him already, but that didn’t stop her from scooping up another spoonful of Baltic curry.

  “Good?” he asked even though he knew the answer already.

  “Mmm…” She swallowed. “Delicious.”

  She slipped her tongue out and licked across her bottom lip. Luc’s groin tightened. Dinner had been a study in restraint and he was beginning to think he might not be able to stick to his plan of hands off for much longer. Dragging in a deep breath, he reined in his libido and tried to distract himself with mundane chatter.

  “So Jody’s working out?” Discussing his sister was bound to dampen his arousal.

  “Yes.” Cassie wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Like I said yesterday, she’s great. Although she and Dan have had a few hiccups, but I think that’s because he’s still against bringing in another supervisor.”

  “Really?” Luc had been speaking with Dan all week. The guy didn’t seem the type to hold a grudge against someone who wasn’t at fault, and Jody definitely had nothing to do with Cassie expanding her management base.

  Cassie’s forehead wrinkled. “Actually, I’m not sure if it is that. There’s some crazy sparks flying off those two.”

  Sparks? As in sexual sparks? Shit. Luc needed to call his sister. The last thing she needed was another man fucking up her life.

  “Whatever it is they don’t let it interfere with the job and that’s all that matters.” She waved her hand in the air. “But enough about work. I’m home early for the first time in months. I want to enjoy it while I can.”

  “Okay, how about we watch some TV?”

  She glanced at her watch. “You know I wouldn’t have a clue what’s on at this time anymore. I can’t remember the last time I sat in front of a TV and vegged out.”

  Luc laughed. “That would be last weekend when we watched An American President.”

  Cassie’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. “Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly watch it.”

  “No, but you certainly vegged out.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll clear this away, you go see if there’s anything on.”

  “Don’t be silly, you made dinner, I’ll clean up.”

  “I didn’t make it.”

  “Still, you organised it, so I’m on clean-up duty.” She stacked the empty containers on top of their plates and carried them to the kitchen. “Do you want a coffee or something?” she called out.

  “No. I’m good.” Luc wandered into her living room and picked up the remote from the side table. He flicked through channels before he found an episode of The Big Bang Theory. “You okay with a comedy?”

  “Sure.” She came into the room carrying a tray with a plate of Tim Tams and two glasses of water. “Snacks.” She grinned.

  “Snacks? We just finished dinner. I couldn’t possibly eat another thing.” Luc dropped to the couch behind him.

  “There’s always room for Tim Tams.” Cassie set the tray down on the coffee table and sat beside him. “But I’ll happily eat your share.”

  He smiled. “I just bet you will.”

  Relaxing back, Luc pretended to focus on the TV when every cell in his body was tuned to the woman next to him. He didn’t want to push her, but damn, he really, really wanted to get his hands on her again. The no-pressure, take-their-time course was wearing thin, and he couldn’t tell if his slow wooing of Cassie had gotten him any closer to the goal. He’d give anything to be able to read her mind, and while he’d wanted to pump his sister and Dan for information he hadn’t. Now he wished he’d given in and asked either of them if she’d at least mentioned him.

  “You’re thinking too hard.” Her words jolted him out of his thoughts.

  “What?”

  “You accused me of overthinking last weekend.” She turned on the seat next to him, her knee pressing into his thigh. “And you were right. I was worrying this thing between us to death. Now you’re doing it.”

  One side of his mouth kicked up. “Yeah, I am.”

  “I need to explain something.”

  Luc sat up straighter, her tone sending a shaft of dread through him. “Go ahead.”

  “I had a bad experience with my last boyfriend. We dated for a few months and when all my time was taken up by establishing Are You Game?, he made it clear he wasn’t happy. He wanted me to spend more time with him, and when I wouldn’t cut back my hours, he turned up at a child’s birthday party and made such a scene that I not only had to refund the client’s money, I lost bookings too.”

  “Arsehole.” Luc wanted to find the guy and punch him.

  Cassie laughed. “Yeah, turned out he was.”

  A thought occurred to him. “How long ago was this?”

  “Two years.”

  “And you haven’t dated since then?” Luc wasn’t sure if he was pleased by her lack of dating or upset that some jerk had hurt her so badly that she’d erected walls around herself.

  “No, you’re the first guy I’ve even looked at, never mind spent time with.”

  He grinned, pleased to have been the one to break through her shell. “Do you think I’m going to do what that arsehole did? Demand more time than you have?”

  “No. Yes.” She sighed. “It was a knee-jerk reaction. I’d have been the same with anyone.”

  “But I’m not just anyone, Cass.”

  Luc watched her throat work as she swallo
wed. Watched her tongue slip out to slide across her lip before she spoke. “No. You’re not.”

  “Who am I?” He waited to see if she remembered what he’d said nearly a week ago.

  “You’re the guy who’s going to bring me to my knees.”

  He smiled. “Yeah, but want to know something?”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to be right there beside you. On my knees, holding your hand.”

  Her eyes widened, her lips parting a fraction as she sucked in a breath. “Y-you are?”

  “I’m already there, Cass, just waiting for you to join me.”

  “Oh.”

  Luc waited for her to say more, but she didn’t. His stomach dropped like a lead ball. He couldn’t take back what he’d said or the depth of his feelings the words revealed, but he could make it easier for her. “Wanna catch a movie with me sometime this weekend?”

  She smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “Good. Let me know what time suits you. I’m free all weekend.” He didn’t want to push her and send her running for the hills, so he’d take whatever he could get when he could get it. That might make him desperate, but he didn’t care. When it came to Cassie he felt desperate.

  Cassie reached over and smoothed the skin between his eyebrows. “You’re doing it again.”

  “What?”

  “Overthinking.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Want to know what I think?” She didn’t give him time to answer. “I think we should just go with it. See each other when we can. Let’s not label it or stress about where it’s going. We’ll enjoy it while it lasts. No strings.”

  “I’ve got one string.” He leaned towards her.

  “Oh yeah, what?” Her breath fanned over his face.

  “We’re exclusive.”

  Cassie reared back. “Of course. Jeez, I barely have time to see you. How the hell would I fit in anyone else?”

  He stuck out his hand. “So we have a deal?”

  She looked at his hand then brought her gaze back to his. “Oh, I think we can seal the deal better than that.”