Free How Cassie Got Her Grind Back by Heather Rainier Page A

bumps flickered over her skin.
    Back years ago, he’d never held her like this when they’d shared a dance, and she had to catch her breath at the way her body responded to him. She was an adult, after all, and he was all man. It was a normal physiological reaction. He’d probably be shocked if he knew she was getting wet.
    She looked around wondering if anyone else was watching or noticing her rather tight nipples through the silky knit of her dress, but everyone was wrapped up in their own conversations. She caught a glimpse of Samson at the table with their friends, talking and laughing, and then he snared her gaze and smiled at her. At them.
    “You okay?” Ivan asked softly, his lips so kissable and full, and only inches from hers. She nodded and looked over at their table again.
    Grace was there with Jack, who was also a member of their graduating class. Ethan and Adam were likely at home or at work but no doubt looking forward to her return. Lydia was there, sitting between Chance and Clayton, laughing with Veronica Stinson, who was there with her men, Hank and Travis. These weren’t strangers to her. They were friends with histories and commitments to their ménages.
    Oh boy.
    If she’d met Samson and Ivan in a different time or under other circumstances that could’ve been them. She was hit again by regret that she’d ever let them go from her life, which was quickly replaced by guilt. For Joseph’s and Tamara’s sake, she couldn’t wish things were different.
    “Cassie?” Ivan murmured with concern evident in his voice. “Want me to take you back to the table?”
    Turning her attention back to him, she shook her head. “No. Just got distracted. I’m having a good time. I was wondering how my kids are doing.”
    “Miss them?”
    She nodded and then shrugged. “I’m still adjusting to them being on their own.”
    “Think they might come back to Divine when they’re done with school?”
    “Joseph loves Divine, so he might,” she said with a smile, “but I want him to follow his heart. Tamara is still undecided. For a while she wanted to be a massage therapist, but then she decided to enroll at Texas State. I want her to have options. There will always be a place for her here. Tell me about your work.”
    He told her about the restaurant and its eccentric owner, and she loved listening to him go on about his kitchen and his staff.
    “It sounds wonderful. I can just see you in your chef’s uniform with your hat and a big wooden spoon in your hand, everyone scurrying around you yelling, “Yes, Chef!” while you rule the roost from your enormous Viking stove.”
    He shrugged self-effacingly and said, “It’s probably pretty mundane to most people.”
    Not to someone who’s envisioning you in your underwear in front of that stove, handsome. She inhaled sharply and choked on her own spit, and he patted her back. Where had that come from? Violet and her lumberjack fantasies must be influencing her—that or it was a rush of hormones. Totally blaming the hormones. And the image of him in his briefs and chef’s hat, making me crepes!
    A wave of heat washed over her, made even more intense by the crowd of people on the dance floor. Now was an awesome time for a hot flash. Simply awesome. “Maybe I’d better go get something cool to drink,” she said as she fanned herself.
    “You’re a little flushed, honey. Is it a hot flash?”
    She blinked and then nodded. “You know about those?”
    He chuckled as he handed her his folded handkerchief and guided her back toward the table. “I’m a man of the new millennium, sweetheart. Can I get you a bottle of water or a Sprite?”
    She fanned her cheeks and considered asking for a fire extinguisher. “Anything cold and non-alcoholic would be fantastic, if you don’t mind. The alcohol makes the flushing worse. They come out of nowhere just to remind me I’m past my prime.”
    Why did I say that? How pathetic I must sound.
    Ivan halted halfway back to