All the Right Moves(36)
“Got it.”
Inevitably they were stopped twice on their way to the group by the house. The few who hadn’t already gaped at John’s companion made no effort to hide their stares. True, he rarely brought a woman to a party, but these idiots should know better than to be obvious. Cassie had to be aware of what was going on, but she was the picture of grace. She smiled a lot and sipped her tequila sunrise.
“I wondered why you asked me to come,” she whispered once they had a clear shot to Mike and company. “Now I know.”
“How’s that?”
“To save you from all these women.”
“Half of them are married.”
“Trust me,” she said, with a soft laugh. “You have enough to worry about with the other half.”
“Wrong, Freud, there are lots of single guys here.” He grinned at her warning squint, then leaned in until his lips brushed her earlobe. “I brought you because you’re hot.”
“Stop it.” She shook her head, color blossoming in her cheeks. “I’ll give you ten minutes, and that’s it, you have to stop or face the consequences.”
Chuckling, he let go of her hand and slid his arm around her shoulders. She didn’t seem to mind, if her snuggle was anything to go by. His own reaction could turn into a problem if he wasn’t careful. He’d give the party a half hour, and that was it. “Let’s not stay long, huh?”
“That’s fine,” she said. “I can think of a few things we could do instead.”
A few steps from the foursome, he looked down into her oh-so-innocent gaze. “You telling me you don’t have one more test to study for?”
“That’s what I meant. Studying.”
“Like hell.”
“Fine, so I might have been referring to something a little more...naked,” she said under her breath, then turned a bright smile to the others as she approached with an extended hand. “Hi, I’m Cassie.”
It was that easy. Everyone introduced themselves, and John remembered Gwen’s name the second he heard it. He also remembered that he didn’t care for her. In fact, he’d been shocked when Mike married her last year after they’d met in a casino bar five months earlier. She was pretty, but an obvious social climber, and everything from her bottle-blond hair to her red nails was fake. So were her breasts. She wore blouses cut low enough for anyone to notice. That would have been fine, if she hadn’t made it perfectly clear that she’d married Mike only because he was a pilot.
“Is everything all right with Kevin?” Gwen asked, and Jesus, even her concern was fake.
“Yes, I think so.” Cassie smiled and sipped.
Gwen eyed her with a glint of suspicion. “I saw Nancy walking him into the house.”
Cassie refused to take the bait. Clearly she knew the woman was looking for dirt, and Cassie didn’t want to play in her sandbox. Good for her.
“So what are you doing with your time off?” Mike asked him. “Golfing?”
“Not a golfer. I used to play tennis once a week, but I haven’t for a while.”
“I knew it,” Cassie said, and everyone looked at her. She gave a sheepish shrug. “Your forearms,” she muttered, and gestured vaguely. “They’re muscular. Like a tennis player’s.”
Mike laughed and leaned forward to make a comment, but his voice died as his wife reached over and rubbed a hand up and down John’s right arm. “Oooh, you’re right. Very nice. Keep that up.”
The sudden silence that fell seemed louder than a sonic boom. Mike frowned at Gwen, then at John. He’d already stepped back, but the moment was no less awkward.
“I know you guys are stationed at Nellis,” Cassie said, moving closer to John, her expression neutral, her voice pleasant and even. She smoothed over the gaffe like a pro. “But where are you all from?”
“Scott and I grew up outside of Dallas,” Ashley said. “We went to the same high school, but we didn’t actually meet until after college.”
“Totally by accident,” Scott added, smiling at his wife. “I was home on leave and went to a buddy’s wedding.”
“I was one of the bridesmaids.” Ashley leaned into him. “We didn’t even know we’d gone to the same school until we talked that evening.”
“More like the whole night.” Scott slipped an arm around her waist. “Two years later everyone came to our wedding.”