Hunk for the Holidays (25 page)

When she didn’t continue, her father looked out the door. “Matthew, get in here. Since you showed up with the man, maybe you can explain what’s going on.”

Mattie strolled into the room, followed by the rest of her brothers. “Sorry, Pops. I don’t know much more than what I told you.”

Her father’s gaze touched on each brother, and when no one spoke up, he looked back at Cassie. “Fine, I’ll drop it. But I expect you to find another boyfriend. Sutton is too cocky for his own good.” A smile played with the corners of his mouth. “Although he does remind me a little of myself when I was his age. It will be a challenge to go up against him.” The smile got even bigger. “But there’s little doubt who will come out on top. In another six months, Sutton will be begging us to buy him out.” He glanced over at Rory. “Rory, I hope you set up a meeting with Steve Mitchell this week. Whatever it takes to keep Slumber Suites, I expect you to do it.”

“Slumber Suites?” Her mother walked into the room with a scowl on her face and a dish towel in her hands. “You’re not talking business, are you, Albert? Because if you are, I’m calling the doctor—”

“Calm down, Mary Katherine.” Her father got up from the chair and came around the desk. He hooked his arm around his wife and gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “But you’re right. Christmas Eve is no time for business. It’s a time for family and celebration. And a big plate of meatballs and spaghetti.”

“Oh, no.” Cassie’s mother shook her head. “You’re getting salmon.”

Her father groaned as they walked out of the room.

Once they were gone, Jake closed the door behind them. Always the lawyer, he immediately started the interrogation. “What’s going on, Cass? What were you thinking, dating James Sutton? Especially when you know how Dad feels about the man. And what did you mean when you said that you didn’t know who he was? Did he lie to you?”

“I’m kicking his ass,” Patrick stated.

“Lay off,” Mattie said. “It’s Cassie’s business who she dates and who she doesn’t. Besides, I like James.”

Patrick snorted. “That’s because you’ve never had a problem lying to women to get them into bed.”

Mattie clenched his fists. “I’ve never lied to a woman in my life! Unlike you, I don’t have to.”

Rory jumped in. “Calm down. Mattie’s right. Unless it affects business, we have no right to meddle in Cassie’s personal life. We’ve got other things to worry about. Like Slumber Suites.” He looked at Cassie. “Please tell me your meeting went well.”

She had spent her entire life trying to prove to her father and brothers that she was tough. That she wasn’t some prissy female that let emotions get in the way of business or life. Yet here she sat, an emotional wreck over their main competitor. And now she had to break the news about Steve Mitchell. Could things get any worse?

She sat up in the chair and took a deep breath. “Steve Mitchell is going with Sutton Construction.”

“And you couldn’t talk him out of it?” Jake asked. “There has to be something we could do to change his mind.”

“Oh, there was something I could’ve done,” Cassie said,
“if I was willing to prostitute myself for the company.” Before she could explain exactly what had happened, Patrick growled and charged out the door. Rory and Jake hurried after him while Mattie took his good, sweet time.

“I gotta hand it to you, sis,” he said as he walked out the door. “You sure know how to liven up a holiday.”

All Cassie could do was stare at the empty doorway.

“He’s got a point, you know?”

The softly spoken words had Cassie looking over her shoulder in time to see a mussed white-haired head peek up over the back of the leather couch.

“Aunt Louise?”

Her aunt’s green eyes twinkled. “I was trying to take my afternoon nap, which wasn’t easy in a room filled with yammering fools.” She yawned and sat up, tossing the colorful afghan over the back of the couch. “You’d think a person could find one empty room in a house this big.”

Funny, but Cassie wasn’t even shocked to see her aunt. In a day filled with surprises, what was one more? She walked over to the sitting area and flopped down in a chair across from her aunt. She put her feet up on the ottoman and tipped her head back on the soft leather.

“So I guess you pretty much heard the entire story.”

“Pretty much.”

Cassie stared up at the ceiling. “And?”

“And what?”

She looked over at her aunt. “What do you think about the entire fiasco I’ve gotten myself into?”

Her aunt stared back at her. “If you’re talking about Steve Mitchell, I’m with Patrick. It sounds like the man needs a good ass-kicking—never did like the son as much
as I liked the father. If you’re talking about being in love with Jimmy Sutton, then I guess I’d say it’s about damned time.”

Cassie lifted her head. “Are you serious? Obviously, you missed some of the conversation. I couldn’t possibly be in love with him.”

“Of course you can. And you are. You just won’t let yourself admit it. It’s all that McPherson pride, you know. Damned nuisance, if you ask me.” Her aunt shook her head. “It took your father a good six months to cut through all that crap and get to proposing to your mother. Unfortunately, after what happened today, I don’t think you’ve got six months. Or even six hours, for that matter.”

Now Cassie knew for a fact that her entire family had gone off the deep end. “Six hours for what, Wheezie?”

“Six hours to get back the love of your life.”

“James is not the love of my life. He’s the man who’s trying to put us out of business.”

“Pssht.” Aunt Wheezie flapped a hand. “It sounds to me like the man had no desire to put anyone out of business until your father opened his big trap. James was doing what any good businessman would do; he was being successful. You’re just hurt that he lied to you.”

Wheezie’s words were like a hard slap of reality. And it took only a second for the truth to sink in. Cassie
was
hurt that James had lied to her. So hurt that she’d been blinded to the facts. James hadn’t been trying to put them out of business. He’d been trying to succeed. And he hadn’t shown up at M & M’s offices with the intent of collecting damaging information on his competitors. He’d shown up at the request of her father.

“So why did he lie to me, Wheezie?” Cassie said. “Why didn’t he tell me who he was from the beginning?”

Her aunt got up and came over to sit down on the arm of Cassie’s chair. “All men will lie to get a beautiful woman in bed. But you can’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Besides being a great kisser, Jimmy was resourceful enough to pose as an escort so he could get to be with you. You aren’t gonna get any better than that, young lady.”

A good kisser? Obviously her aunt hadn’t slept a wink.

“You watched?” Cassie gasped.

“At my age, I get my thrills where I can. So you never answered Amy’s question. Is he as good in bed as he looks?”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake.”

“Don’t for God’s sake me, young lady. I was having hot sex long before you were even a twinkle in your daddy’s eye.” Her eyes narrowed. “I used to own this red negligee that drove your Uncle Neill wild. When words don’t work, naked flesh always does.” She looked away in thought. “Where did I put that?”

Wheezie got up and slipped on her black velvet flats with the huge poinsettias stitched on the toes. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. We don’t have time to get it. You need to leave now if you want to catch Jimmy before he does something stupid like get back with his tart of an assistant. I can’t tell you how many men I watched sob in their beer and then end up leaving the bar with some slut.”

The thought of James with any slut made Cassie see red. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to chase after him. “I’m not going to go running after him. Not when he never once apologized for lying to me.”

“You didn’t really give him a chance. First you insulted
his feelings by calling him a one-night stand and then you insulted his intelligence by wanting to buy his company. If someone treated you like that, you wouldn’t apologize, Cassie McPherson. You’d punch them in the face.”

She had a point. Cassie hadn’t given James much of a chance to do anything other than get angry. And kiss her. She couldn’t forget the kiss. Her lips still tingled.

“So what do you want me to do?” she asked. “Besides go to his house in a red nightie?”

“You have a red nightie?” When Cassie shot her an annoyed look, she held up her hand. “Never mind the nightie. All you need to do is show up at his house.”

Cassie got to her feet. “And say what?”

“I’m sure it will come to you.” Wheezie’s eyes lit up. “And if it doesn’t, get naked. Men will forgive a naked woman much faster than a clothed one.” She took Cassie’s arm and walked her to the door, but Cassie stopped a few feet away.

“What am I going to tell Mom and Dad? They aren’t going to just let me walk out the door on Christmas Eve without an explanation.”

Aunt Wheezie released her arm and gave her a shove. “You let me handle your mother and father. You just worry about Jimmy.”

Wheezie waited until Cassie was safely out the front door before she walked back to the study and sat down in Alby’s big leather chair. Things were working out better than she’d expected. Rory and Amy were engaged. And it looked as if Cassie and Jimmy wouldn’t be too far behind. To celebrate, she leaned over and opened the lid of the
humidor. But before she could pull out a cigar, Gabby came skipping into the room.

“Grandma Mary told me to tell you and Aunt Cassie that it’s time for dinner.” She glanced around the room. “Where is Aunt Cassie?”

“I sent her on an errand.” Wheezie grinned at the young girl. “So I hear our plan worked.”

Gabby glanced behind her before she moved closer to the desk. “Like a charm. You were right. All I had to do was get Uncle Rory some alone time with my mom. Which wasn’t easy since I had to spend a good twenty minutes with Dodo Derek, looking at stupid dollhouses.” She flashed a grin. “Did you get Uncle Rory to buy the dirt bike?”

“I might’ve mentioned it. But it didn’t take much convincing.”

“Thanks, Aunt Wheezie. You’re the best.” She held out her fist.

Wheezie bumped knuckles with her. “And don’t you ever forget it, sister. Now, run along and tell Mary Katherine that I’ll be there in a minute.”

Once Gabby had left the room, Wheezie selected a cigar and lit it. As the smoke curled around her head, she eased back in the chair and sighed.

Soul-mating was fun, but exhausting, work.

Chapter Twenty-two

James drove home with anger boiling in his gut, and he couldn’t even take his frustrations out on the road. The storm hadn’t been as bad as expected, but the streets still had slick spots and traffic moved at a snail’s pace. Looking for some kind of distraction, he turned on the radio. But the only things on were traffic reports and Christmas music. Annoyingly cheery Christmas music sung by every singer who ever lived. After trying several stations, he clicked on the CD player. The Black Eyed Peas blasted from the Bose speakers, conjuring up a memory of him sitting in his Land Rover in the cold-assed weather, waiting for Cassandra. He thumped the steering wheel with his fist, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. He should have punched Big Al. The man needed to be brought down a peg or two.

He turned the corner and barely missed the bumper
of a Cadillac that had stopped for no apparent reason. He swerved and fishtailed before he gained control. As he drove around the car, he yelled out a few choice cusswords. An elderly man glanced over at him, his aged face tense and fearful. James snapped his mouth shut.

Get a grip, James. It’s not his fault you fell head over heels for an arrogant, stubborn woman
.

His cell phone rang. Thankful for any distraction, he quickly answered.

“Hey, buddy.” Steve Mitchell’s voice came through the receiver. “I’m running a little late, but I should be there in a few.”

James had forgotten all about meeting Steve. He started to make an excuse—he wasn’t fit company for anyone, let alone a wealthy prospective client—but then Al McPherson’s laughter echoed through his head and he changed his mind.

Buy my business?

When hell freezes over.

“Yeah, I’ll see you in a few,” he said.

It took him only fifteen minutes to get to the sports bar Steve had chosen. But instead of hurrying inside, he stood out in the cold for a few moments in a last-ditch effort to cool off his temper. Unfortunately, it succeeded only in making him more pissed off at the McPhersons for having his jacket.

“We close in an hour,” the bartender yelled as he stepped in the door. The bar was warm and dark and, fortunately, had no Christmas music playing. There was just the noise from the multiple football games on the flat-screen televisions.

“That’s fine.” James stomped his feet and brushed the snow off the shoulders of his sweater, then took a seat at the bar. “Can I get a beer?” He actually needed something a lot stronger, but that would have to wait until after he met with Steve.

“What kind?” the bartender asked.

“Anything but Coors,” he said. Cassandra drank Coors.