him to get it.”
How she felt? “Everyone is wrong.” Dead wrong. Colossally wrong. “Burke is my friend—”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not in love with him, Alice.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure.”
“Stop agreeing with me, already!” Cass brought her hands to her fiery cheeks while Alice giggled into another bite of chocolate.
“Okay.”
Cass sighed, trying not to smile, but Alice’s eyes were dancing, making it hard to even feign anger. “Seriously! I’m not. He’s my friend . It’s all he’s ever been. Even if I was—” she thought of her brother’s offhand comment, which sobered her right up, “—Burke wouldn’t touch me with a ten foot sewer pipe.”
Alice slipped her a sideways glance of disbelief. . “Burke is a man, honey. You have a great figure and you know him better than he knows himself. Trust me, if you gave him a push in the right direction, he’d be begging to touch you.”
Cass snickered. “Yeah, right.” Burke didn’t beg. Period. She could be the image of his wettest dream and it wouldn’t happen.
“Really. He would. If what Ben Friedly told me last night is true, you won’t need to push real hard either.”
Cass’s ears perked. “Why? What did Ben tell you?”
“That Burke looked ready to eat you alive in the bar in front of half the town. In a good way,” Alice added, probably because Burke eating people alive usually involved yelling, insults and occasionally violence.
Cass tried to remember something out of the ordinary happening at the bar. All she could think of was the moment he washed her face. She was the one who’d gotten all soft and gooey, for once understanding why every girl in town had a crush on her best friend. You couldn’t be close to someone with eyes that intense, features that strong and a touch that gentle, without losing yourself for a moment. Or two. Okay, three, but that was it.
“I say you get yourself all dolled up and give it a shot.”
Cass blinked out of her reverie. “Give what a shot?”
“Seducing Burke. Give it a try.”
Who would have guessed speechlessness physically hurt? Cass tried to make a sound. Nothing came out. She tried to breathe, but the two mental directives blocked each other and she ended up choking to the point of tears. Alice whacked her on the back until Cass finally got a grip on her disbelief.
“I can’t seduce Burke!”
A few people stopped to stare at her. Cass glared until they went away.
Alice just looked amused. “Sure you can. You stroll up to him, kiss him as if your life depended on it and see what happens.”
“He’d kill me is what would happen.” Painfully.
Alice wrinkled her nose. “If you want to pull off this transformation of yours, Cass, you’re going to have to do more than dive-bomb your credit card.”
“Hey!” This was beyond dive-bombing. Her card looked like a pack of wolves gnawed it.
“Hey what? Do you want to know the true secret of feeling feminine or not?”
Cass gave up arguing.
“Femininity is about more than clothes or hair or make-up. It’s not high heels or cooking or lingerie. It’s about people seeing you’re a girl. Not you changing how you dress and telling them to. That won’t work. You’ll still be CB Bishop, dressed different.
“The reason you don’t feel like a girl isn’t because you aren’t one. It’s not because everyone sees you a certain way. It’s because you don’t see yourself a certain way. You don’t know your own sensuality and until you do, nothing we bought today is going to create it for you.”
“I have to seduce Burke if I’m going to be feminine?” Her head throbbed. Yet another definition to remember.
“No, sex won’t do it either.”
“But you just said—”
“Femininity is a spark, Cass.” Alice’s brow creased, her voice authoritative. “It’s the… thing that makes you realize you’re soft where he’s not. The thing about you that makes him realize it, too. Sometimes being
How she felt? “Everyone is wrong.” Dead wrong. Colossally wrong. “Burke is my friend—”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not in love with him, Alice.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure.”
“Stop agreeing with me, already!” Cass brought her hands to her fiery cheeks while Alice giggled into another bite of chocolate.
“Okay.”
Cass sighed, trying not to smile, but Alice’s eyes were dancing, making it hard to even feign anger. “Seriously! I’m not. He’s my friend . It’s all he’s ever been. Even if I was—” she thought of her brother’s offhand comment, which sobered her right up, “—Burke wouldn’t touch me with a ten foot sewer pipe.”
Alice slipped her a sideways glance of disbelief. . “Burke is a man, honey. You have a great figure and you know him better than he knows himself. Trust me, if you gave him a push in the right direction, he’d be begging to touch you.”
Cass snickered. “Yeah, right.” Burke didn’t beg. Period. She could be the image of his wettest dream and it wouldn’t happen.
“Really. He would. If what Ben Friedly told me last night is true, you won’t need to push real hard either.”
Cass’s ears perked. “Why? What did Ben tell you?”
“That Burke looked ready to eat you alive in the bar in front of half the town. In a good way,” Alice added, probably because Burke eating people alive usually involved yelling, insults and occasionally violence.
Cass tried to remember something out of the ordinary happening at the bar. All she could think of was the moment he washed her face. She was the one who’d gotten all soft and gooey, for once understanding why every girl in town had a crush on her best friend. You couldn’t be close to someone with eyes that intense, features that strong and a touch that gentle, without losing yourself for a moment. Or two. Okay, three, but that was it.
“I say you get yourself all dolled up and give it a shot.”
Cass blinked out of her reverie. “Give what a shot?”
“Seducing Burke. Give it a try.”
Who would have guessed speechlessness physically hurt? Cass tried to make a sound. Nothing came out. She tried to breathe, but the two mental directives blocked each other and she ended up choking to the point of tears. Alice whacked her on the back until Cass finally got a grip on her disbelief.
“I can’t seduce Burke!”
A few people stopped to stare at her. Cass glared until they went away.
Alice just looked amused. “Sure you can. You stroll up to him, kiss him as if your life depended on it and see what happens.”
“He’d kill me is what would happen.” Painfully.
Alice wrinkled her nose. “If you want to pull off this transformation of yours, Cass, you’re going to have to do more than dive-bomb your credit card.”
“Hey!” This was beyond dive-bombing. Her card looked like a pack of wolves gnawed it.
“Hey what? Do you want to know the true secret of feeling feminine or not?”
Cass gave up arguing.
“Femininity is about more than clothes or hair or make-up. It’s not high heels or cooking or lingerie. It’s about people seeing you’re a girl. Not you changing how you dress and telling them to. That won’t work. You’ll still be CB Bishop, dressed different.
“The reason you don’t feel like a girl isn’t because you aren’t one. It’s not because everyone sees you a certain way. It’s because you don’t see yourself a certain way. You don’t know your own sensuality and until you do, nothing we bought today is going to create it for you.”
“I have to seduce Burke if I’m going to be feminine?” Her head throbbed. Yet another definition to remember.
“No, sex won’t do it either.”
“But you just said—”
“Femininity is a spark, Cass.” Alice’s brow creased, her voice authoritative. “It’s the… thing that makes you realize you’re soft where he’s not. The thing about you that makes him realize it, too. Sometimes being
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