Page 73 of The Perfect Melody

“Why would you want me up there with you? You really don’t need me.”

“No, but Iwantyou.” She plays with one of the buttons on my open flannel overshirt. “It’ll be something fun we can do together.”

“You’re not going to budge on this, are you?”

With a saccharine smile, she replies, “You know me so well already. Do we have a deal?”

“I have missed playing…” I think about how good it felt to pick up my guitar again the other day. “Alright, but only if we can rehearse beforehand.” No matter how eager I am to see Cassie play again, I refuse to make a fool of myself in front of the whole town to make that happen.

Her expression softens. “Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you feel ready.”

“Thank you,” I reply, holding her blue gaze steadily. Something intangible crackles in the air between us.

Sliding off the desk, Cassie presses the length of her body against mine and reaches up to loop her arms around my neck. “You’re welcome.”

I lower my head to give her what I intend to be a gentle thank-you kiss, but the moment our mouths connect, a simple brush of lips no longer feels like enough. Cassie’s hands tangle in the hair at the nape of my neck, urging me on as I slip my tongue inside her mouth. Needing her closer still, I bend my knees and band one arm around the top of her thighs to lift her so we’re level.

Cassie giggles between kisses. “Damn, you’re strong.”

“No—” I nip at her lower lip. “You’re just tiny.” I smother her squawk of outrage with another kiss, needing another taste of her before I go out and deal with people all evening. Don’t get mewrong, I love my job and my regulars, but neither of those facts magically makes drunk people as funny as they think they are. I’d much rather stay here with Cassie all night if I could, or better yet back at my house where I could lay her out beneath me and?—

“Oh my God!”

I almost drop Cassie in surprise. Tightening my grip on my girl, I turn to glare at whoever’s barged into my office. Molly.

“What do you want?” I ask, unable to keep the impatient growl out of my voice. There’s no reason for her to have come in here.

“I was—it—” She flounders, mouth opening and closing like a fish while she searches for a full sentence. “Cassie was supposed to start at five.” She crosses her arms with a huff.

Really? That’s what she’s going with? “And?”

Cassie taps at my chest for me to set her down, and I oblige but wrap an arm around her shoulders, wanting to keep her close.

“What?” Molly asks dumbly.

“What part of that made you think barging into my office without knocking was a good idea?” I ask, unimpressed. Fine, maybe Cassie and I shouldn’t have been getting quite so close at work, but that doesn’t make Molly’s behaviour any less rude. Between this and how often she stops me to ask questions she really should know the answers to after weeks of working here, I’m regretting hiring her.

“I didn’t think?—”

“Just go. Cassie will be out in a minute.”

Red-faced, she storms off without another word.

Cassie’s head falls back on a groan. “Ugh, just what I needed.”

“What?” I ask, confused.

“You know she has anenormouscrush on you, right?”

My jaw drops. “What? No. You’re joking, right?” Dear God, please tell me she’s kidding. Molly’s even younger than Cassie. Hell, I evenbabysather a couple of times.

Cassie’s incredulous expression makes my stomach churn. “How did you not know this? She really hasn’t been subtle. At all.”

“This is—is this somethingeveryoneknows?”

“Everyone but you, apparently.” Cassie snorts.

“This isn’t funny.”