Page 33 of Gin & Jewels
“You won’t be,” I assured her.
“They’re getting ready for a wedding. I don’t think they want some random girl hanging around.”
I opened my mouth to argue but heard footsteps on the stairs. Turning, I saw that it was Paul. “Hey,” I greeted him.
He stopped when he saw Cassie. “I know you from somewhere.”
“She worked at the casino we took Vinny to for his bachelor party.”
“That’s right.” Paul snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “You were the cocktail waitress.”
Cassie smiled. “Yep, that was me.”
Paul looked at me and grinned.
“What?” I questioned.
He chuckled and started to walk away. “Nothin’.”
Mark walked out of the kitchen. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I greeted back. “Mark, this is my date, Cassie. Cassie, this is my boss, Mark.”
They shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you,” Cassie said.
“You too, sweetness.” He turned to me. “The guys are upstairs in my room.”
“Right.” I looked at Cassie. “Are you sure you don’t want me to introduce you to the women?”
“I’ll just go outside and sit by the pool, if that’s okay.”
“You’re free to do whatever you like,” Mark stated. “The caterers are setting everything up outside, but I’m sure they will get you a drink or anything you’d like.”
“Thank you.”
“I was just going upstairs myself,” Mark said to me.
“Right. Cassie, I’ll see you in a bit.”
“No problem,” she replied and started for the doors that led to the backyard.
Mark and I made our way up the stairs. “Do I need to be worried about this?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You brought a girl as your date. Are you next?”
“No, I’m not next,” I grunted. “She’s just a friend. She actually works at the jewelry store where I got shot.”
He stopped walking up the stairs, and it caused me to stop as well. “What?” he questioned.
I shrugged. “I went back to check on her because she was shaken up by the robbery. We went to lunch and struck up a friendship. It’s nothing more than that.”
Mark grinned and started walking again. I followed, and when he entered the bedroom where the guys were, he announced, “Brad has a girlfriend!”
“She’s a friend,” I corrected.
The guys who weren’tsingle grinned at each other. “That’s how it starts, man,” Vinny said. “I should know.”
