“You must be Cozy!” Tatianna pulls Cassandra in for a hug. “Dakota has told me so much about you. I feel like I know you already with how much she talks about you. I scored one of your charcuterie boards like a month ago from her. I’m obsessed!”
“You did?” Cassandra seems star-struck. It’s adorable.
Tatianna turns toward me with a smile. “Tell me about the event. I know it’s an LGBTQ+ charity, so I’ve pulled some pieces, but it’ll help my girls and me if we know the theme.”
“Actually…can you give us a moment, Tatianna?” I request, feeling anxiety prickle this sexy bubble I’ve been living in for the past hour with Cassandra. “I just need to have a quick chat with Cassandra, and we’ll be right with you.”
“No problem! Now that I’ve seen her body in person, I have some more things I want her to try,” she exclaims and then turns to tell her two staff members who slip into stride with her as they head toward the back of the shop, out of sight.
Cassandra’s green eyes are saucers as she yanks me to her. “Max, what the hell is going on?”
I rub her arm reassuringly because she looks like she’s going to faint. “I stopped at Dakota’s shop earlier today to ask her for some ideas about a date for you and me.”
“Yeah…”
“And I told her about the charity gala.”
Cassandra’s eyes furrow instantly. We haven’t revisited that awkward topic since it popped up this past weekend and I can tell by the light dimming in Cassandra’s eyes, she’s not enjoying the reminder.
“Listen, I talked to Henley, the woman who was going to accompany me to the event, and I told her that I was seeing someone seriously and I didn’t think it was appropriate for her to go with me anymore.”
“You did?”
“Yes. She completely understood.” I inhale deeply and step forward, ready to bring out the big guns to close this deal.
“Cassandra, I want you to come with me to the charity gala next week. It’s an important event for me. The Rainbow Project is a college scholarship program for LGBTQ+ kids. I’m on the board, not because I have to be, but because I want to be. Everly is the daughter of a lesbian mother and stepdaughter of a pansexual mother. This community will always be a part of her life and, therefore, my life. It’s important to me to use the success and influence I’ve found in business to help kids in that community find their place in this world. I would love to show you that part of my life.”
Cassandra’s chest rises and falls as she stares back at me completely gobsmacked. I knew she wouldn’t say yes to coming next weekend if I didn’t ask her in a big way. She has to understand she’s not second choice. That’s why I stopped at her best friend’s shop downtown for advice. I thought if I took her shopping for a dress, she’d have no reason to say no. When Dakota said Cassandra loved this designer in Aspen, my home away from home, dinner and a movie suddenly got an upgrade.
Hopefully only making it harder for her to say no to me.
“Will you please let me buy you a dress tonight and come with me next Saturday?” I ask, feeling strangely vulnerable for the first time all night.
Suddenly, the private jet and the grand gesture of taking her to a designer for a dress seems like total fucking overkill for a first date. What if she says no, and this was all for nothing? What if we have to ride back on that plane together in awkward silence because Cassandra has made it clear to me in the past that she doesn’t care about material things? Fuck…I might have just blown it.
My mind is thwarted when Cassandra throws herself into my arms and seals her lips over mine. Her hands band tightly around my neck as I hug her to me, and our lips tangle together. The kiss is so feverish, I wonder briefly if the noises I hear are coming from her or from me.
Finally, she pulls back and laughs. “You really are a decent human, aren’t you?”
I laugh and shake my head. “Does that mean you’ll come?”
“God, yes. What do I have to wear?”
I shrug and stare at her lips. “A dress with nothing underneath if it’s up to me.”
She pats her hands on my chest. “Spoken like a man who’s never come across Spanx before.”
“Like spankings? Another kink unlocked, Cozy?” I waggle my eyebrows sexily at her, and she laughs. I don’t get it.
It’s impossible to wipe the smile off my face at the fancy restaurant Max takes me to after we finish shopping. One would think I’d be stressing over the fact that I am completely underdressed for the vibe here, but after the incredible shopping experience I just had, nothing will bring me down.