Page 116 of Slumming It
But Reese Murdock was something else entirely, and I still couldn't figure him out. "So why do people think youwereengaged. Do you know?"
"The rumors are new so I can only guess."
"And your guess is…?"
"Odds are decent, they were started by Cassandra."
"But why?"
"Because that's what she wanted." His tone grew ironic. "And what Cassandra wants, Cassandra gets."
I almost laughed.What Cassandra wants, Cassandra gets.It was literally her mantra – and the tagline of her social mediaaccounts. Inhercase, it actually fit. She was a real go-getter and rarely failed when she set her mind to something. Or at least, that was her reputation. "So, she wantedyou, huh?"
Reese nodded. "And when I balked, she called my bluff."
"How so?"
His mouth tightened. "I'm sure you saw the stories."
Ihad, in fact. But of course, everyone sawthosestories. "So did you really abandon her on the highway?"
"No." He reached for his wine glass. "And yes."
As he took a leisurely sip of his wine, I waited for the rest of the story. But when he returned his glass to the table, he said nothing more.
The silence held until I asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." There was no hostility, just a statement of cold, hard fact. But then the lines of his mouth softened. "What I want to talk about isyou."
My breath caught. "Me?"
"There was a second question, remember?"
I tried to think but came up empty. "Actually I don't."
"You wanted to know if you and I were a real couple."
Once again, my face grew warm.Oh, that.
I hadn't asked the question outright, but Ihadgiven him a clear opening to tell me that our relationship wasn't all just a sham. Not only had he ignored this opening, he'd insulted me along the way.
In my head, I could still hear him telling me that he wasn't in the market for a mistress – as if I were bucking for such a position in the first place. And then, there was the other thing he'd said – and not for the first time either.Don't flatter yourself.
If I never heard that phrase again, it would be far too soon. At the recollection, I felt my anger rise to the surface. "And youmade the answer tothatperfectly clear – even for the mistress job, which I never even wanted."
"First off, I wasn't clear – my fault, not yours. And what Ididwas make an ass of myself."
"By what?" I forced a laugh. "Attacking that photographer?"
His gaze hardened. "That was no kind of attack."
"It wasn't?"
"Hell no. The guy walked off without a scratch." Reese said this like it was abadthing. "If you ask me, he got off light."
"Oh, I dunno…you ruined his camera."
"I should've ruined his face. But do you wanna know what really pisses me off?"
