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leather
portfolios that contained the documentation she personally kept on all of her
clients.
    Annual renewals were coming up for some of her insureds, and
she wanted to spend the weekend reviewing their current policies, assessing
needs they’d expressed over the past policy term and evaluating whether there
were additional benefits MII could provide to keep them happy and committed to
the company. Cassidy excelled at customer service, the reason she had the zero-percent
turnover rate McClellan had mentioned, and why she landed the vast majority of
her clients by word-of-mouth referrals, rather than having to farm for
business.
    She settled in with her work and a plush faux-fur throw
she’d brought from home.
    After a few assessments of portfolios, she checked her
iPhone, since it continued to buzz, indicating incoming text messages.
    All from Meg.
    She scrolled through the first few.
    Where are you?
    Everything okay?
    Chase looks bewildered. You’re nowhere in sight. ????
    Hello? Anyone there?
    Cassidy grimaced. She typed a quick reply.
    Bailed so I could work.
    She tossed the phone onto the cushion next to her and opened
another file. But she suddenly couldn’t concentrate on it.
    Chase looked bewildered?
    Her phone vibrated again. She barely spared a glance at the
screen. Meg just didn’t give up.
    Want company?
    Cassidy sighed. She did, actually. Her heart wasn’t in her
work this evening. Particularly following her humiliating admission to Chase.
    While her laptop powered down, she absently sent a text. Sure. And gave the address.
    She set the computer and folders on the coffee table, then
went into the spacious kitchen and retrieved one of the bottles of chardonnay
she’d stocked in the fridge. She popped the cork and poured two glasses.
    Maybe she’d tell Meg all about her depressing love life and
the reason she didn’t bother dating.
    Wasn’t that what friends did? Meg worried about how many
hours she logged each week, but Cassidy had never really shared her personal
woes. Or the reasons why she was perfectly content with late nights at the
office, versus trolling the bars or searching the Internet for her soul mate.
    Perfectly content.
    The words skipped through her head. Mocking her.
    Really? She was perfectly content with her solitude?
    “No,” she whispered. But she was probably too far gone in
the romance department for it to even matter.
    The doorbell rang and Cassidy set the two wineglasses on the
wooden dining table that accommodated eight in the great room. She crossed to
the foyer and pulled open one of the double doors. Only to let out a sharp gasp
at the vision before her.
    “What are you doing here?” she demanded, stunned.
    Chase stood on the welcome mat. The Town Car drove off. Snow
fell on the trees in the front yard. Cassidy’s heart picked up a few too many
extra beats.
    He gave her a perplexed look. “I asked if you wanted
company. You said sure. Having a memory lapse?”
    “N-no,” she stammered. He was too good-looking by far and
here he was, standing on the threshold of her vacay rental, making every inch
of her burn despite the chilly air that filtered in. She let out a
self-deprecating laugh. “I didn’t pay close attention to the text. Meg sent me
a flurry of messages and I thought yours was from her. I didn’t look at the
contact name.”
    “Oh.” He frowned. “Well… This is awkward.” He glanced over
his shoulder. Yeah, the Town Car was long gone.
    She said, “It’s not awkward. Come in. I just poured wine.”
Cassidy stepped aside to let him in.
    Chase removed his overcoat, shook off the snow and hung it
on a rung along the sidewall. He took in the interior of the house and said,
“Nice pad.”
    “Two bedrooms upstairs, two down. Fantastic kitchen. I
wouldn’t mind getting snowed-in here. The great room is spectacular.” The split
floor plan meant the enormous windows overlooking the deck and the golf course
were two-stories tall. “If I owned this place,