not hiding anything. It’s my mother. She’s not feeling well,” she said, grasping at straws. “The last thing she needs is to have the two of us fussing right under her nose.”
“Then meet me. You pick the place.”
“Didn’t you hear a word I said? My mother’s not feeling well.”
“Of course. You need to stay there for now.”
He had given up too easily. That only made Cassie more suspicious.
“I’ll see you at the party tomorrow night, then,” he said. “We’ll find some time to talk there.”
“You’re coming to the party?” she asked, not even trying to hide her dismay. “You weren’t in our class.”
He chuckled at that. “It’s a small town. The reunion’s a big deal. Everyone will be there, if only to get a glimpse of our big movie star.”
“But...” Why had she never considered that possibility? What had ever made her think she could go to a reunion in Winding River and not bump into Cole everywhere she turned?
“My being there won’t bother you, will it? Ten years is a long time. Whatever was between us is surely dead and buried, right?”
She heard the unmistakable taunt in his voice. “Absolutely,” she responded. “It is definitely dead and buried. Just one question, though.”
“What’s that?”
“If it’s dead and buried, then what could you and I possibly have to talk about?”
“Just putting one last nail in the coffin to make sure it stays that way,” he said dryly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Now there was something to look forward to, she thought dully as she hung up the phone. The prospect should have terrified her, and on one level it did. His taunts should have filled her with outrage, and to a degree they did.
So why was her pulse scampering wildly out of control? Why was she suddenly wondering if there was one sexy outfit packed in her luggage? Why did she feel as if not one of the outrageous, dangerous things she’d done in high school could hold a candle to what might happen tomorrow night back in that same high school gym?
Something told her she didn’t dare spend a whole lot of time considering the answers to those questions. If she did, and if she was smart, she might pack up everything and head for Cheyenne tonight.
* * *
Cole couldn’t imagine what had possessed him to call Cassie, much less announce his intention of going to the reunion party. It was the last place he wanted to be. In fact, he’d ignored the invitation, though he doubted anyone would turn him away at the door as long as he showed up with the price of admission.
He blamed his last-minute change of heart on that encounter with Cassie in the street. It wasn’t just the fact that her skin still looked as soft as silk. Nor did it have anything to do with the way her body had added a few lush curves over the years. And it wasn’t because her hair was shot through with fire when the sunlight caught it. No, it was none of that.
It was that damnable lie she’d told him with a perfectly straight face. If he hadn’t known the truth, he would have believed her—she’d been that convincing. Which meant, he concluded, that she’d believed every word she’d spoken.
Somewhere along the way something had gotten all twisted around, and he wanted to know how. Once he knew that, he could put the past to rest, put that last nail in the coffin of their love affair, just as he’d told her. Maybe she didn’t care about what had happened back then, but he did. God help him.
In fact, he was so anxious to get the difficult conversation over with that he got to the gym the next night before seven, while the reunion committee was still setting up its tables outside the doors. Mimi Frances Lawson took one look at him and latched on to his arm with a death grip.
“I need you inside, Cole,” she announced, dragging him along behind her. “The streamers are falling down around us, and I don’t have time to deal with it. The ladder’s over there.” She pointed it out. “Here’s a roll of tape. I don’t know what Hallie used when she put them up, but it’s not holding.”
She leveled a look straight into his eyes, the somber look of a general sending troops into battle. “I’m counting on you to fix it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, amused and somewhat relieved to have a task that was actually within his capabilities and not fraught with the emotional repercussions of his anticipated confrontation with Cassie.
“I mean it,” Mimi Frances said with an authority that came from being class president for three years running, or maybe from being the mother of five rambunctious boys. “I’m counting on you, Cole.”
“These streamers won’t budge before next Christmas, Mimi Frances,” he assured her. “Now go on with whatever you need to be doing and leave this to me.”
She nodded. “I’ll send someone in to help as soon as I can spare them.”
The fact that she thought he needed help rankled a bit, but Cole ignored it and went to work. He was at the top of a ladder, balanced precariously, when he realized he was no longer alone. He looked straight down into Cassie’s familiar green eyes. She stared back unhappily.
“So, Mimi Frances recruited you, too,” he said mildly, all too aware that she wasn’t one bit happy about being stuck with him, even in this very public setting.
“That woman could run the entire U.S. government without breaking a sweat,” Cassie muttered. “I’m fairly certain I told her I was not climbing any ladders.”
“Then it’s fortunate she paired you up with me. I’m not scared of heights,” Cole said, trying not to stare too hard at the sexy little black dress that revealed way too much cleavage, at least from this angle.
“I’m not scared of heights, either,” Cassie retorted, indignant patches of color promptly flaring in her cheeks. “I beat you to the top of the town water tower, if I remember correctly.”
“So you did,” he agreed, grinning. “Then what’s the problem?”
“I’d like to see you climb anything in this dress.”
“Honey, if I were in that dress, we’d have bigger problems at this reunion than the falling streamers.”
A chuckle erupted, just as he’d intended, but she was quick to choke it back. Clearly, she wasn’t quite ready for a thaw in the icy distance between them.
He gazed down at her. “Don’t stop. I always liked hearing you laugh.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Don’t go there, Cole.”
“Go where?”
“You know.”
“To the past? Isn’t that what this reunion is all about? Can you think of a better time to think about what used to be?”
“I suspect you and I have very different memories about what used to be.”
He nodded. “Based on our conversation yesterday, I’d say you’re right about that.”
He was about to use the opening to pursue the topic, when Mimi Frances bustled up.
“Stop chatting,” she ordered briskly. “We only have a few more minutes.”
“Everything is going to go beautifully,” Cassie reassured her. “The gym looks sensational. And Cole only has one or two more streamers to secure. Go outside, Mimi Frances, and take a deep breath, then sit back and enjoy yourself. You’ve outdone yourself. It looks prettier in here than it did on prom night—and that’s saying a lot.”
“I don’t have time to enjoy myself,” Mimi Frances snapped, refusing to bask in the praise or take the advice. “Somebody