Free Cassie's Choice by Donna Gallagher Page B

never entered his head. All his thoughts of rage—his anger—had been directed at Mike and only Mike.
    So many questions, but the biggest and most glaring of all was what should he do now? Riley was starting to feel hope. Maybe he and Cassie did have a chance. He reflected back on the events of the previous night. Her kiss, it seemed genuine.
    Then Riley remembered Cassie’s words, “ You didn’t do anything I wasn’t wanting, Riley. I’ve dreamt of kissing you, touching you again, many times. Did you feel me pull away?”
    His groan was loud—the sound bouncing around his office and back to his own ears. He had been such an idiot. Cassie had admitted to thinking about him, dreaming of him and he had pushed her away.
    “What should I do?” The question was more of a plea for advice, to the man who had helped him again and who had always been there for him.
    If anyone would know the answer, Riley was confident Brodie would.
    “Hmm that is entirely in your court. First you need to have that conversation with Cassie, see if she still feels something for you. Then you take it from there. But you will have to man up and take whatever her decision is regarding the future on your chin, kiddo! My advice? Grovel. A lot!”

Chapter Ten
    It had been a very long day and Cassie was relieved to be home. After making a cup of tea, she sat herself down at her computer and put stage one of her plan for the future into action. She typed the words ‘online dating’ into a search engine and waited for the results.
    They all sound so corny, am I really going to do this? she asked herself as she read the site names—eLove-online, Truelovesearch, DestinyAwaits, True Romance. Yes you are. Just pick one already. So Cassie did.
    Filling in the profile information, her likes and dislikes, what she was looking for in a partner was tough, but the hardest section of all was the part where she had to describe herself. The words ‘hopelessly infatuated with an arsehole’ probably weren’t a good way to begin. So, after reading through some of the other ads already posted, she went with the direct approach.
    Blonde, blue-eyed, professional woman, under thirty. Average height, healthy, no children, living in Sydney.
    Her profile page took a bit more thought. This would be where any prospective ‘date’ would be able to see the picture she uploaded and what sort of man she hoped to find.
    Hi, my name’s CassD,
    Searching for the right man to spend quality time with—in the hope of building something long term. I’m tired of not knowing where I stand and wasting time on losers. Living an active healthy lifestyle, I enjoy watching sport, especially rugby league, going to the movies or just curling up on the sofa with that special person sharing the newspaper.
    Not into anything kinky and weirdoes need not reply. Honest, open men only. No redheads.
    Reading back over what she’d written Cassie was not optimistic at her chances of finding that special person. Her ad didn’t really inspire her, let alone some random guy. At least I tried , she consoled herself as she sat back and waited for her profile to load onto the site’s mainframe. She wasn’t really expecting any responses, her requirements for suitable matches being quite extensive. Probably should have left out the red hair bit and the reference to dating losers. Too late now, it’s gone live . With a final shake of her head, Cassie was about to log out of the website and turn off the computer, just as her phone began to ring.
    “Hello, this is Cassie.”
    “Hey, hon, how are you going?”
    “Hey, Pip, glad to be talking to my BFF if you must know.”
    Pippa chuckled. “BFF, yep you know it, Cass. Just as well too, cause I was hoping you might like some company. Mitch has got some function on tonight, stupid men only affair, wouldn’t want any little ole woman-folk spoiling the proceedings…”
    Cassie could tell, having known Pippa for so long, that she was joking and,