I nodded, but when I turned to Brody to say something to him, his eyes were set on Ray's hands, still sitting on my shoulders. I now knew the look plastered on Brody's face was jealousy. I was just about to say something, but Brody beat me to it.
“I thought you didn't know her, Ray?” he said through clenched teeth.
I glanced from Ray to Brody, both men now glaring at one another. I stepped out from under Ray's hands and walked over to Brody who stood there, tense, avoiding my eyes, taking in slow, steady, controlled breaths. I placed my hand on his bicep.
“Brody, how about I call you later? When we can talk,” I said, giving him an unsure smile. I had to get him out of here. If I didn't, there was no doubt in my mind, there was going to be a fight. I knew Ray, he didn't back down from much of anything, and neither did Brody.
“No, Cass, I want to know why Ray here didn't tell me the truth. I asked him if he knew you,” he said, taking a step closer to Ray, pushing himself against me. I felt a surge of excitement run through me as his hard chest pushed into my small frame.
“Buddy, look, the lady wants you to leave. I suggest you take a hike before I remove you,” Ray bit out, squaring up to Brody.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. Jackson had always told me Brody could have a temper when he wanted. I had never seen it before, but I knew he had been right. At this point, I knew he certainly didn't need to be provoked. Ray may have been bigger, but I knew Brody could take him. Jackson had told me too many stories, and Brody was almost twenty years younger after all.
“Ray, could you leave us for a moment,” I asked harshly.
I didn't look at Ray, just kept my focus on Brody, listening for Ray to leave. I knew when we were alone—Brody had visibly started to calm down. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Ray had indeed left the room.
“Cass, please, for the love of God, tell me you’re not dating this guy? He's got to be twenty years older than you. I mean is he even able to get it up?”
“Brody, please, can I call you later? We can talk then, get reacquainted.”
He studied my face. “Sure, answer my question first.”
I didn't say anything, just stood and looked into his blue eyes. They were darker than I remembered, maybe it was because he was angry, but they were still the same blue eyes I had loved to get lost in. Brody came closer and brushed a loose strand of hair from my eyes, his warm, strong hand cupping my cheek as he looked down into my eyes. I could feel the heat from his breath on my cheek.
“Cass, just answer me, I need to know,” he whispered.
Placing my hands on his chest, I could feel his strong tense muscles underneath his shirt. “We've been seeing one another for about a year,” I whispered. “Now, please, I'll call you later.”
Brody's looked back to the curtain that separated the front of the store from the back. “Am I too late, Cass?”
I frowned, I didn't know what he was talking about, and I wasn't sure if I should ask, but my curiosity got the best of me.
“Too late for what?” My voice was low, the last thing I wanted was for Ray to come out here.
“Fuck it.” He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to mine, pulling me into his embrace. I closed my eyes, kissing him back—I had been dreaming for the last three years about this kiss. He took hold of both my hands and wrapped my arms around his neck, running his hands down the side of my body, his thumbs grazing the sides of my breasts, finally resting his hands on my hips as he deepened the kiss, forcing my lips open, sweeping his tongue through my mouth. It was exactly how I'd remembered, maybe better, and as his teeth grazed my bottom lip and his tongue swept across mine again, I felt my knees go weak. My body was on fire—he had awakened parts of me with his kiss that had been dead since he left. When his lips had been on mine, I felt completely whole, but as he pulled away from me, I felt completely empty and lost. He looked over my shoulder, toward the back of the building, smirked, then looked down into my eyes.
“Call me tonight. I plan to fight for you Cass, but judging from your reaction to that kiss, I'm not going to have to fight too hard even if you've been with him for a while, and remember, I have a sexual appetite you can't quench, I can go for hours, in case you’ve forgotten,” he whispered into my mouth, kissing me one more time.
I remembered all too well as I watched him walk across the street toward his truck, the little bell over the door bringing me back to reality.
“So, he’s finally gone, are you ready to go?” I didn't answer him I just locked the door quickly. “Cass, is everything okay?” I felt his hands on my shoulders as I watched Brody pull away from the curb.
I nodded, I didn't trust my voice, so I swallowed hard before answering.
“Yep. Let me grab my purse and coat.” I shrugged, pulling away from him. I reached up to wipe the tears away before turning around. I had no idea I was even crying. I grabbed my purse, and we left from the back door. The last thing I wanted to do was go and watch a movie, I really wanted to take my car and head home. But since Ray had already bought the tickets, how could I say no? The phone call I wanted to make tonight would have to wait.
Chapter Eight
Cass
Ipulled into the drivewayand sat in the car, waiting for the garage door to open. When I had been married, not a Christmas went by without the house being decorated in outdoor lights. There was a time, I would have already been driving Jackson crazy about getting a tree. I parked the car in the garage and walked into the house, throwing my purse on the counter and looked around. There was nothing that would say Christmas was just around the corner. I should have had this whole place decorated by now. Regardless, I was happy to finally be home. It had been a long and emotional day, and I was exhausted. Even though the movie was good, and it had been a nice break, it seemed to go on and on. I was ready to head home, but Ray wanted to take me out for a bite to eat. At first, I refused, but my stomach gave me away, letting out a large groan at the mention of pizza.
While we ate, he kept asking me questions about Brody. I really wasn't ready to talk about him, and I was pissed Ray would have lied to anyone who came around looking for me. I really wanted to ask him why he would do that, but I just didn't have the energy to get into any sort of argument or discussion about any of it tonight.
The conversation between us died after we left the restaurant. I sat quietly, looking out the window as Ray drove back to the store so I could get my car. Just as I was about to get out of the car, Ray cleared his throat.
“Why don't you come back to my place tonight, spend the night with me?” he asked, placing his hand on my knee before I got out of the car.