Kiss Me, Dancer (19 page)

She stepped onto the porch, smiling and holding the tray of Natalie’s canapes out to party guests. When she covered everyone on the porch she looked out at the sprawling yard to gage her next move. Her breath caught at the sight of a man with a beautiful V-shaped back like Drew’s standing with his arm around a pretty strawberry blonde.

Boy, you are in trouble, Casey. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since you last saw him, and you’re already imagining him everywhere you look
.

She purposely turned away. But then she heard someone near her on the porch say his name. And not just Drew, but Drew and Amber.”

No. It couldn’t be. Drew had business that came up. Important business that couldn’t wait
.

A strange combination of butterflies and numbness crept over her. Casey forced herself to look again at the guy with the beautiful back. She couldn’t see his face because he was bent over putting an intense kiss on the girl he was with. And the girl’s hands were all over his body. A body just like Drew’s.

He looked up.

Drew
.

She dropped the tray. It crashed on the porch, and Casey squatted quickly, ducking her head, hoping the noise wouldn’t catch his attention. But when she peeked in his direction she saw that Drew’s attention was fully occupied with the girl in his arms.

That lying bastard
. Her hands shaking, tears pricking behind her eyes, Casey gathered the fallen food.

Right now she’d like to charge into the yard and make him wear this damn tray. But she wasn’t about to give the two lovebirds the satisfaction of witnessing her breakdown.

She hurried back to the kitchen. Luckily Natalie was alone. “OMG, Casey. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No, I’ve seen what a fool I am.” She ran for the bathroom off the kitchen and burst into tears.

Natalie followed her in. “What happened?”

“Drew’s here. With another woman.” Her whole body trembled, as if she were shattering from the inside out.

“That little—”

“No. It’s my fault. I knew what kind of guy he was from the start. But I plunged right ahead and fell in love with him.” She bit her fist trying to muffle her sobs. All she needed was for other servers to hear her. “Please don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Of course not.” Natalie put her arms around Casey. “But I’d sure like to give Mr. Byrne a piece of my mind.”

“I’m the one who needs a talking to. It’s only been about a month, and I doubt any of his hook-ups last longer than that. Drew’s just being who he really is. A lying, manipulating, womanizing prick. And I stupidly let myself believe he might be more than that.” She rested her cheek on her friend’s shoulder and let herself cry, pouring out a flood of anger and heartache.

“I’m partly to blame, Casey. I encouraged you.”

“Nobody’s fault but my own.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t hate his guts now.”

“Oh, I do. You bet I do.”

Chapter Twenty

At three a.m. Casey sat cross-legged on her sofa staring glassy eyed at the TV. Sugar Boy on one side, Buster on the other and Miss Daisy on the rocker. She’d wept enough to fill a bathtub. Had at least twenty highly creative conversations in her head with Drew, telling him just what she thought of him. Polished off a pint of butter pecan, a pint of vanilla fudge and a whole frozen pizza. But she couldn’t get rid of that awful hurt inside.

Parker had warned her this would happen, but she hadn’t listened. She remembered her misgivings when Drew had suggested helping her get a new studio going. Why did she drop her guard? The first time she met Drew she could tell he was a heartbreaker. And she went and handed him hers.

And what would she do now about her dance academy? That dream was gone, too. She remembered that night when she agreed to his plan, Drew saying that it would be pure business and nothing that happened between them would influence it. And she wouldn’t be surprised if Drew could just go right along with their plan as if nothing had happened between them.

Because for him nothing had.

“Well, I’m not going through with it.” She told Sugar Boy. She stomped to the bedroom and threw herself facedown on the bed. Big mistake. She pictured Drew lying there next to her. Worse yet, she hadn’t changed last night’s sheets, and they still had his scent on them.

She stood and violently tore the sheets off the bed. “I hate sandalwood! I don’t ever want to smell it again! And I don’t ever, ever, ever want to see your face, Drew Byrne!”

But even with fresh sheets Casey lay there haunted by the face she’d had pressed so close to hers every night for nearly a month now. She curled under the covers and began to cry again. But she knew she needed to stop crying and start thinking. In less than a month this apartment and studio would be gone. What was she going to do? Should she pretend she didn’t care about Drew and go through with their business plans?

I can’t do it. I’m in love with him
.

Casey wiped tears from her cheeks and tried to tell herself she couldn’t possibly be in love with someone she hardly knew. Except she felt she
did
know Drew. She knew a part of him that had nothing to do with time. There were moments when they were so connected, so in tune with each other’s thoughts and feelings that they seemed as close as couples who’d been together forever.

That’s what she’d always wanted with the man she’d hoped to marry. A connection that ran so deep it had nothing to do with anything on the outside. It belonged to a special kind of magical time and place that was only theirs.

She could’ve sworn Drew felt it, too.
But I guess that was just me chasing rainbows again.

Casey finally fell asleep and woke up to the sound of her cell’s ringtone. “Hi, Natalie.”

“You okay, sweetie?”

“No, but I’ll get through it eventually. And falling for Drew isn’t the only thing I’ve got to deal with. Without his backing I can’t possibly continue my dance academy. I’ve got to find somewhere to live and a job. Fast.”

“What about Parker’s offer?”

“I’d clean out every penny of his savings just for initial rental, renovations and start up costs. I won’t do that to him. Enough about me. How’d things go last night? Think you got a repeat client?”

“Yep. Which is why I’m taking a much needed and deserved day off. Why don’t we have lunch or something?”

Casey told herself not to ask, but she had to. “Any more on Drew?”

“You really want to hear this?”

“I already faced the worst.”

Natalie sighed. “Here’s the deal. The Von Alston’s daughter Amber — Drew’s her boyfriend.”

Casey’s chest tightened. An unbidden image surfaced of Drew kissing that beautiful, foxy girl. “How’d you get the intel?”

“I listened in when he and his father stayed after most everybody left.”

Drew’s father was there?
She found herself wishing she’d seen him, forgetting he wasn’t supposed to mean anything to her anymore. “Know anything about Amber?”

“Only that she just returned from Europe. Her family is mega rich. Breed racehorses at their farm estate near Saratoga Springs, live in Bermuda part of the year. You get the picture.”

“Maybe they’d like to invest in a dance academy.” Casey meant it as a joke, but Natalie took off on it.

“That’s what you need to do. Find another investor.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know anybody rich except perverted rock stars and—”

“What’s wrong with that? Ask Taz Ravage to fund your school.”

Casey was about to blow off the idea, but she recalled Drew’s obnoxiously competitive response to Taz paying attention to her. She grinned at the possibility of revenge. “Maybe it’s worth a try. Tonight. Let’s go to his party.”

“Woohoo! I’m gonna party like a rock star.”

***

Monday afternoon Casey looked out the window of Natalie’s Coffee Cove at the torrential burst of rain that sent people scurrying to their cars or taking cover in storefronts. A roll of thunder came tumbling in from the darkened sky, creating a shudder in the windowpane.

“We made it just in time.” Taz Ravage sat across from her at the table, his elbow bent, chin resting in his palm, his eyes bloodshot and sleepy. Last night at his party he’d agreed to meet Casey for a late lunch, but she could see even getting here by two o’clock was a major hardship for Taz.

Casey wanted to keep their meeting in a public place to avoid Taz’s mauling tendencies, and she figured this hour at the Coffee Cove would be a safe bet for avoiding the squealing groupie factor. On weekdays the diner usually had a lull in the early afternoon. A few people watched them, some clearly recognizing the rock star, but no one approached their table except Natalie.

“Nice place you got here, Natalie.” His voice sounded groggy, but Casey gave Taz points for remembering her friend’s name, considering all the women he’d had hanging on him at his party. Actually he’d been so high on who knew what that she was amazed he remembered to show up at all today.

“Well, I had an awesome time last night at your place. Lunch is on me.” Natalie held up a pitcher. “Coffee?”

“At least six cups just to get my eyes open,” he mumbled.

Natalie poured. “I’ve got that chicken avocado salad you like, Casey.”

“Ooh. That would be great.”

Taz ordered a burger and fries. Natalie left, and Casey started right in.

“So. I’m not sure if you remember our conversation.”

“You need money to open a dancing school.”

A little blunt, but at least he remembered. “I already have a dance academy, but out of the blue my landlord tells me the building I’m renting has been sold. So I need to find a new place. Soon. And I need either a loan or a backer.”

Taz gulped some coffee and gave her a flirtatious grin. “What’s in it for me?”

“Okay. Forget it.” It was worth a try. But the truth was she expected he might make a power game of it. Back in the days when she worked for him he’d conducted business as if it were all one big seduction.

“You’re a master at playing hard to get, aren’t you?” he said.

“I’m not playing, Taz. I
am
hard to get.” Too bad she’d tossed her usual boundaries out the window when Drew Byrne walked into her life. But that was over.

Drew had actually called her yesterday. Three times. Casey didn’t answer. His messages asked her to ring him back, told her again he was sorry about cancelling their trip to the Plaza, and said he wouldn’t be able to pick up if she happened to call in the middle of one of his business meetings.

Business meetings. Right
.

A waitress delivered their food, gushed over Taz and asked for his autograph. Casey listened to the rain beating on the window and sidewalk as they ate. She didn’t know Taz all that well and wasn’t sure how to make conversation with him. She was about to ask what his next music video would be when he looked up at her.

“You got non-profit status? So the investment is tax-deductible?”

Did that mean the subject wasn’t dead yet? “The school itself isn’t, but I have a non-profit group within it that gives performances and lecture-demos in senior facilities, community centers and hospitals.”

“I’d have to check with my lawyer on that.” Taz asked her a few more questions about the business aspects of running the school. Just as she decided he was more intelligent than she’d given him credit for, Taz started teasing her about the favors he’d want in return. Casey joked along with him, but in her head she questioned how much was a joke and how much was not.

“What kind of building are you aiming for?” Taz asked.

“About a thousand square feet for the main studio. Plus a smaller second one if possible. A small office. Dressing rooms. I can show you my current set up after lunch.” Oh no. Why did she go and invite him back to her place? She was already walking a fine line with Taz. Casey took a nervous swill of coffee.

“My barn,” he said.

“What?”

“The perfect spot.”

“Really?”

“Hell, yeah. You’ve seen it yourself. It’s not far from the wine tasting house. Students could park. Go right to the door.”

Casey didn’t recall seeing the barn at the time of her outing with Drew. She brushed away a pang of sadness at the memory. It was that night they first made love. “Are you sure about this? You don’t use the space?”

“All my wines are stored in the cellars. Vineyard equipment is kept in the other barn at the far end of the property. I’ve been wondering for months what I was going to do with an extra barn. Besides,” he added in a deep, sultry tone, “you know how much I go for dancers.”

She sour-lemoned her lips. “Taz. My students are mostly children.”

He mugged dire disappointment. “No sweet fems old enough for me to…ravage?”

“Only jail bait, sweetie. And I would never risk putting them in harm’s way.”

“Hey, relax. I’m no perv. I just like to push your buttons.” He reached out and took her hand. “You look so cute when you get all uppity.”

Casey blushed. “I’m no puritan, I just—”

“Don’t trust me.”

“You do have a reputation.” Hadn’t she just said that to someone else recently? By the name of Drew Byrne? Was she walking right into another mess? Except Taz didn’t make her all tingly the way Drew did. So maybe this time she could keep it just business. Casey tried to withdraw her hand, but he squeezed tighter.

“Come back with me now and have a look at the barn. It’s in pretty good condition as is. Wouldn’t take a whole lot to fix her up.”

Now he seemed really on the level. She checked the diner’s wall clock. “Too tight. Got a rehearsal and then classes. How about tomorrow around noon?”

“Can’t. How about tonight? See the barn. Discuss it over dinner at my place. I’ve got a European chef, and my vineyard makes the best cabernet sauvignon in the North Fork.”

Would she be a fool to go? “Can I ask you something? Why would a famous rock star like you want to have dinner with a simple, ordinary girl like me?”

Taz threw his head back and laughed. Then he raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it.