Cassidy Lane (15 page)

It wasn’t until
after she’d landed in San Francisco and said good-bye to Molly that Cassidy realized she hadn’t mentioned anything about her date with Brandon to her parents.

“Can we take
you out to dinner tonight?” her mother asked as her dad unloaded her suitcase from the back of his SUV. Her dad always insisted on carrying her suitcase for her, just as he always insisted on parking the car and meeting her outside security instead of just picking her up at the curb. “Your father and I were thinking we could go to Sundance. We know how much you love the salmon there.”

Cassidy shut the
back door. “Actually, I sort of have plans. Is Tyler here?” She pointed to a silver Lexus sedan parked across the street.

Her dad nodded.
“He mentioned he might stop by to borrow a power drill. Jessica’s got him building her another closet.”

“Another one? Doesn’t
she have enough clothes?” Cassidy headed toward the front steps of the two-story brick house. The white trim looked recently painted, and a bed of yellow and white chrysanthemums lined the walkway.

“I don’t ask
questions like that,” her dad said with a chuckle.

“Do you have
plans with Patti tonight?” her mom asked as she unlocked the door, the disappointment of not being able to spend the evening with her daughter written all over her face. Cassidy realized how similar she was to her mom in that regard. The Lane women would make terrible poker players.

Cassidy hesitated, suddenly
feeling sixteen years old again. She stepped into the foyer and glanced around for her brother, hoping for a temporary reprieve before having to explain the Brandon situation. “Tyler? Are you here?”

“It depends who’s
asking,” called a deep voice from the kitchen.

“It’s your favorite
sister,” Cassidy called back.

Tyler appeared, a
toolbox in one hand. “You’re my
only
sister.”

Cassidy put her
hands on her hips and frowned. “Mean brother. Mean, mean brother.”

He set down
the toolbox and embraced her in a bear hug that lifted her off the ground. “Welcome home, little sis. The girls can’t stop talking about going trick-or-treating with Auntie Cassie tomorrow. I hope you’re ready for them.”

“I’m excited too,
even have my costume all ready. Are you dressing up?”

He patted his
expensive tie. “Of course. I’m going as a businessman. My getup is very similar to what I have on now.”

“Ah, just like
last year.”

“And next year.
You catch on fast.”

“Are you sure
you and Jessica won’t come trick-or-treating with us?”

Tyler shrugged. “You
know I’d love to, but unfortunately I’m not in charge.” He reached down and picked up the toolbox. “I’m sorry to run, but I’ve got a meeting with a new client in twenty minutes. Welcome home, and see you tomorrow, OK?” he called over his shoulder as he walked toward his car.

“Sounds good,” Cassidy
said.

“Bye, son.” Their
father waved after him.

Cassidy looked at
her mom and lowered her voice. “How can Jessica want to skip Halloween with her kids? Isn’t that why people
have
kids?”

Her mom closed
the door and sighed. “I like Jessica, but I don’t understand why she feels the need to walk all over him sometimes, or why he lets her do it.”

Cassidy shrugged. “Everyone
knows pretty women, especially blondes, have special powers over men, especially pretty blondes who are…um…
strong willed
.”

Her mom smiled
and gave her a knowing look. “Very diplomatic word choice. So you were saying you have plans tonight? With Patti?”

Cassidy hesitated. “Um,
not with Patti.”

“Oh?”

Cassidy swallowed.

“Honey?”

Out of stalling
options, Cassidy finally replied. “Actually, um, I have a date.”

Her mother’s eyes
flickered with curiosity. “A date?”

“I’ll put this
in your room, kiddo.” Her dad pointed down the hall to the guest room, then promptly disappeared, obviously uncomfortable with the topic. Cassidy smiled as she watched him go.
Ah, Dad.
Some things never changed. His daughter was approaching forty, but he still got flustered at the thought of her out with a member of the opposite sex. Cassidy and her mom shared the lack of a poker face, but she’d clearly inherited the easily-rattled-by-the-simple-idea-of-going-on-a-date gene from her dad.

After he was
gone, her mom crossed her arms in front of her and smiled. “You have a date?”

Cassidy took off
her coat and tried to act nonchalant. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to know how anxious she was about tonight. It would only make her more nervous.

“It’s no big
deal. I ran into a guy from high school at the reunion, and we’ve sort of been…in touch since then.” Talk about an understatement. She could only imagine what her mom would think if she knew how many text messages she and Brandon had exchanged since that night, the extent to which her thoughts had been consumed by their date tonight.

“Do I know
him?”

Cassidy shook her
head. “I doubt it. He and I didn’t really know each other in high school. His name is Brandon Forrester.”

“Where are you
going?”

“I’m not sure.
He’s taking me to dinner.”

“Is he picking
you up?”

“Yes, at seven.”

Her mom clasped
her hands together, clearly delighted. “Well, I look forward to meeting him.”

“He’s nice, you’ll
see.” Cassidy turned toward the guest room. “I want to go for a run before he comes, so I’d better get a move on.”

Her mom shooed
her away. “Of course, go, go. I don’t want you to be rushing.”

Cassidy headed toward
the guest room, and as she changed into her running clothes, she realized this would be the first time a date had come to pick her up at her parents’ house.

Throughout all four
years of high school, no one had ever asked her out.

Not once.

Maybe that was
why her dad was so flustered.

At 6:45, Cassidy
stood in front of a full-length mirror in the bedroom, hands on her waist. She tilted her head to one side, grading her appearance.
Not bad
. Her loose hair and light makeup looked pretty good, and she could barely see that pesky scab on her nose. She’d found a sleeveless scoop-neck dress in a deep blue that was figure flattering and comfortable but not too dressy, which she’d paired with the small diamond necklace and matching earrings her parents had given her for her thirtieth birthday. She ran her fingers over the pendant and took a deep breath, trying to relax.

Chill out.

It didn’t work.

By 6:55, she
was a nervous wreck. She glanced at herself in the mirror again. Outwardly she looked normal, but on the inside she felt nauseated. She could only hope Brandon wouldn’t realize how unnerved she was. Happy to see him was one thing. About to vomit up her lunch was another.

She walked to
the window and peered out the white plantation blinds, waiting for him to arrive.

I can’t believe
this is finally happening.

At 7:02 he
pulled up in front of the house in a pristine black Mercedes SUV. A moment later he exited the car, and Cassidy caught her breath. Dressed in dark jeans and a crisp lavender button-down , he was even more attractive than she remembered.

Oh my God.

He’s so handsome.

She quickly closed
the blinds just as he turned to face the front walkway. The last thing she needed right now was to be caught spying on him. She hurried over to the bed and sat on her hands to stop herself from chewing her thumbnail as she waited for the doorbell to ring. Darlene would be so proud.

She heard the
chime a few seconds later, then a door opening, then her mother’s voice, then Brandon’s. She waited a few moments, her eyes closed.

It’s just dinner.

Don’t freak out.

Just have fun.

Finally, she stood
up, smoothed her hands down the front of her dress, and took a deep breath. As calmly as she could manage, she slowly walked down the hall toward the foyer, where Brandon was standing with her parents. Cassidy cringed slightly as she approached them, the inherent awkwardness of the situation impossible to overlook.

I’m thirty-eight years
old, and this beautiful man is picking me up for our first official date at my mom and dad’s house.

“Hi, Brandon,” she
said with a shaky smile.

Brandon turned to
face her, not looking nervous at all, which somehow made her even more anxious. “Hi, stranger. Thanks for not giving me a fake address. That would have been a little awkward.”

She laughed and
gave him a quick hug, then stepped away, not sure how familiar to act with him, especially in front of her parents, who were unaware of the thousands of text messages they’d exchanged. She gestured to her mom and dad. “I see you’ve met my parents?”

“Yes, we were
just chatting about high school.”

Her mom put
her hands on her waist. “Seems silly that you two didn’t know each other, doesn’t it?

Cassidy swallowed. “It
was a big school.”
And I wasn’t popular.

“Cassidy was too
popular to pay me any attention,” Brandon said.

“Yeah, right.” Cassidy
lightly pushed his arm, and as she did so she felt the ice between them crack a little bit. She also felt a little spark of electricity run down her own arm at the contact.

Cassidy’s father put
his arm around her. “Brandon said he’s taking you to Baumé. That’s quite a nice place, kiddo. Have you ever been?” He looked impressed.

She looked up
at her dad. “Baumé? I don’t think so.”

“It’s on California.
It’s my favorite restaurant, actually,” Brandon said, then glanced at his watch. “Speaking of which, we should probably get going so we’re not late for our reservation.”

“Sure, just let
me get my coat.” Cassidy turned and darted back into the guest room. As she opened the closet, she had a flashback to the dread she’d felt as she dressed for the Paly reunion, and how in the end she’d gone only because Patti had guilted her into it.

Now she didn’t
feel any dread at all.

She felt the
opposite of dread, whatever that word was.

Anticipation?

Excitement?

Eagerness?

Right now she
was feeling them all.

Thank God for
Patti.

“Looks like you
decided to go for scruff?” Cassidy glanced over at Brandon as they walked toward his car. She remembered his question about her preference in facial hair, and was pretty sure she’d told him clean-shaven. Or had she? For a moment she was tempted to dig out her phone to relive the text conversation, then realized she was actually
with
him now and didn’t need her phone to feel close to him. Their relationship had finally entered a new dimension, one based in reality, or at least physical reality. The heart palpitations she was currently experiencing told her this had been real in a different way long before tonight.

He ran a
hand over his chin. “I meant to shave but didn’t have time. Plus I’ll have a full beard in two days. It’s ridiculous how fast this thing grows.”