Rule of Three (2 page)

He tipped his head to one side. “Don’t tell me you want beef too?”

She gave him a slow smile that sent heat sliding right through him. “I believe I will have a steak tonight,” she said softly.

“Attagirl,” he replied, holding her gaze. Another flash of heat jolted him.

Huh. Something flowed between them, something warm and magnetic, something that felt a lot like…attraction. He could not be feeling that for his best buddy’s girlfriend, for Chrissake. He tossed back the rest of his Scotch.

And yet, better he flirt with her than…
Hell
. Luckily Chris knew what he was like. Chris would know it didn’t mean anything. Dag flirted with every female he met—that was just him.

Her smile went a little crooked, her eyes grew wary and she broke the connection to look down at her wine.

“Well, if we’re all having beef, let’s order a nice bottle of red wine,” Dag said. They looked over the wine list, and when the waitress returned, he ordered a bottle of Shiraz he knew was excellent.

He saw Kassidy and Chris exchange a glance.

“What?”

“That wine…” Kassidy began.

Chris just shook his head and laughed. “Quit showing off, asshole. We know you’re loaded.”

Ah. Hell. The money he’d made still blew his fucking mind. Him, a kid who’d grown up with nothing, less than nothing in fact. But he must be getting used to the good life because he hadn’t even thought twice about ordering an expensive wine. He just ordered it because it he liked it. He forced an answering grin. “Didn’t need to do that, huh?”

Kassidy’s pretty lips pressed tightly together. Had he pissed her off? He leaned toward her, close enough that he caught a whiff of her scent—vanilla and amber, warm and sexy, sweet and provocative.

“Sorry,” he said, laying his hand on her bare forearm. He curled his fingers around her and gave a gentle squeeze. “I didn’t even think. I’m buying dinner and I like that wine. So let’s just enjoy it.”

Her big eyes met his, mouth still pinched. He held her gaze, ignoring the sparks ricocheting inside his body, trying to disregard the softness of her skin, the hitch of her breath. Then her lips softened.

“Thank you,” she said politely. “That’s very nice of you.”

He
had
pissed her off. What?
What?

Suddenly his entire focus became trying to get back to that place where they’d been locked in an eye clinch, warm and sensual. Because this was his friend’s girlfriend. It was important they get along.

And it was important Chris not know how he was really feeling.

Chapter Two

Chris watched the exchange between Dag and Kassidy. Damn, he wanted Dag to like Kassidy. Because she was so important to him. They hadn’t talked marriage, but that’s probably where they were headed. It was…right.

But he also wanted Kassidy to like Dag. First, he wanted her to
know
Dag. The guy had showed him what hard work was. Motivated him. Kicked his ass when he tried to slack off. He knew he’d been lucky in life and Dag had definitely not, and he’d learned from Dag that rewards were so much sweeter when you’d worked for them. When you’d earned them. Chris had always wished Kassidy could meet him, could know how big a part Dag had played in shaping who he was. And finally he was here.

Typical Dag, even though he’d come across as mocking and sardonic, he was looking at Kassidy as if she were dessert and he’d missed his last three meals. But he always did that. The guy was a chick magnet, no question, yet he’d never been serious about anyone, basically a man-whore who’d slept his way around campus and continued it in the business world when they’d graduated. Was Chris jealous? Nah. There might be a tiny element of jealousy there, but Chris had to admit to a tinge of admiration for the ease with which the guy attracted girls, and truthfully, he’d reaped the benefits of that magnetism himself, with some of the things they’d done.

But Kassidy…didn’t seem impressed. Chris’s stomach tightened as he sipped his wine, watching them eye each other, Dag with heated interest, Kassidy with wariness.

“This wine is very nice,” Kassidy said. She set the glass of ruby Shiraz down. She was being all polite and he could tell Dag had pissed her off when he’d ordered the wine. She hated pretention and she hated people who showed off their money.

“Thanks,” Dag replied, sitting back so the waitress could place his dinner in front of him. Chris smiled at the girl as she served him his, and picked up his knife and fork. The charbroiled smell of the meat rose to his nose. Damn, it smelled good and he was starved.

“How’s your steak, sweetheart?” he asked Kassidy.

“Delicious.” She smiled at him.

The weird thing was, Dag wasn’t the type to show off his money. Chris had made the joke about it, but really, it
had
been a joke. Because he knew Dag, and that wasn’t him. Or at least it never had been before. Because Dag had never had money. Had making it big changed him?

“So, you’re out of a job,” Chris said, trying to get things back on track.

Dag laughed. “Yeah. It feels weird.”

“I heard you made a killing when you sold to Momentum Media.”

“I did okay.” Dag made a face.

Now that was more like it—more like Dag to downplay his success. The seven-figure deal had been in the news a month or so ago.

“What are you going to do with all that money?” Chris asked.

“That money is my freedom to do whatever I want.” Dag grinned. “You know I don’t like being tied down to stuff.” He shrugged and cut a piece of meat. “Like I said, I have a few meetings lined up. I need something new to sink my teeth into.”

“You always need something new.” They shared a smile. “What kinds of ideas do you have?”

They talked business for the next while as they ate, and Chris watched Kassidy listen to them. She was relaxing, he could tell, thank god.

The conversation fell to reminiscing about college days, which also left Kassidy out, but she laughed at their stories and asked questions, and seemed to warm up to Dag a bit.

“How did you two end up friends?” she asked.

Chris grinned and shot Dag a glance. “Mostly because we were in all the same classes. And we were the two best-looking dudes on campus.”

Kassidy laughed. “Well, yeah, I can see that.”

One corner of Dag’s mouth lifted. “We had other things in common too.” He slanted a glance at Chris. Oh yeah. Chris didn’t exactly want to go there, not with Kassidy, not now. But yeah, he and Dag had shared some good times.

“I should set something up for all the old gang,” Chris said. “You remember Jeff and Sarah? And Cole.” He named a few others. “How about next Friday we all go out somewhere? You should see everyone while you’re here.”

“Sounds good.” Dag leaned back in his chair, his dinner finished. “More wine, Kassidy?” He lifted the bottle.

“Sure. Thanks.”

He filled her glass then Chris’s, and drained the small amount left in the bottle into his own glass. “Should we order another? Or do you want to go somewhere for a drink?”

“Let’s just go in the bar here,” Chris suggested.

“We’d invite you back to our place, but it’s a bit of a mess,” Kassidy said. “We just finished moving in today and there’s still unpacking to do.”

“That’s okay. Although I don’t mind a mess, believe me.”

“Um…maybe tomorrow…” Kassidy flashed a look at Chris.

“Yeah. Come for dinner tomorrow.” The place wasn’t that bad.

“Actually…I have tickets for the Cubs game. I was going to see if you wanted to come.”

Chris leaned forward. “Cubs game! Yeah, that’d be great.” And he’d get to see more of Dag while he was here.

“I just have two tickets,” Dag said apologetically to Kassidy. “I don’t know if you like baseball…”

“I don’t mind it,” she said with a smile. “But that’s okay. You two should go. Catch up. I’ll get things straightened up at home and you can come back for dinner after.”

“Great.”

There. Perfect. Things were looking up. Kassidy didn’t mind him going out with Dag and they’d all have dinner together after. It was all gonna be good.

“You guys have two of everything.” Hailey held up the toaster. “What are you going to do with this?”

“I don’t know.” Kassidy sighed. “There are so many things we don’t need. Keep that toaster, it’s better than mine.”

Her sister had come over to help with some of the unpacking while Chris and Dag were at the baseball game, although she hadn’t actually been that much help.

Hailey set the toaster on the counter in the kitchen and began unpacking dishes. “So what’s Chris’s friend like?”

Kassidy’s stomach clenched. “He’s um…interesting.”

Hailey paused and looked at her. “Interesting? What the hell does that mean? Was he a jerk?”

“Not exactly. He’s…” How could she describe Dag to Hailey without her sister getting all the wrong ideas? Dag was…unexpected. She, too, had expected Chris’s best friend to be someone more like him. But Dag was clearly different. A rebel, where Chris always followed the rules. A bad boy compared to Chris’s golden goodness. Intense dark eyes that looked right inside you. Shaggy dark hair falling over his eyes in a sexy swoop, dark sideburns that dipped into stubble shadowing a square jaw, and the wickedest smile she’d ever seen. A smile that made her think bad thoughts. About her boyfriend’s best friend.

She gave herself a mental slap on the back of the hand.

“Kass? Hello? Anybody home?”

Kassidy’s gaze flew to Hailey’s face. “Oh…um…he’s okay. He’s kind of annoying, actually.”

“Really. How so?”

Kassidy set some kitchen towels into a drawer. “Apparently he’s filthy rich.”

“Oh. One of those. Talking about money all the time, huh?”

“Well…no.”

Hailey heaved a sigh. “Jeez, Kass, did you like him or not?”

“I guess I did. You know.” She shrugged. “I hardly know him. He’s coming for dinner later.” She looked around the kitchen. “What was I thinking when I invited him? This place is a disaster.”

“Order pizza.”

“Yeah, that’ll impress him.”

Hailey lifted a brow. “You want to impress him?”

“No!” Kassidy sighed. She felt as confused as she knew she sounded. The evening had been a strange combination of comfortable friendship and sexual sparks that had made her pussy clench. Dag just oozed sex. Everything about him said lickable, kissable, fuckable. She’d been squirming in her seat all evening.

Maybe she’d just been all worked up from the quickie in the shower with Chris just before they’d left. And they’d certainly burned up the sheets when they’d gotten home last night.

When Dag looked at her, she’d sensed a sort of predatory attraction, which was ridiculous, layered over animosity. As if he liked her, but he didn’t want to like her. Maybe he thought she wasn’t good enough for his friend. But then, she got the feeling he
did
think she was good enough for
him
.

That was just so wrong.

“Okay,” she said, closing up the cardboard box she’d just emptied. “Pretty much done in here, which is good. I can cook dinner, anyway. Now I just have to finish putting some clothes away.”

Hailey glanced at her watch. “I should get going.”

“Oh. I was going to see if you wanted to stay for dinner too. You could meet Dag.”

“Much as I’d love to meet a boring friend of Chris’s, I have other plans.” Hailey’s contempt for Chris and Kassidy’s corporate careers and conventional life annoyed Kassidy, but she let it slide off her like she always did. “Got a hot date.”

“Oh. Really.”

Two years younger than Kassidy, Hailey’d always been the wild child of the family, causing their parents no end of anxiety. When Hailey had started smoking at age fourteen, Kassidy had been horrified. When Hailey’d started doing drugs, she’d been shocked. The drinking and partying had in truth made her a little envious…and the boys…well, Kassidy couldn’t even imagine that. She’d had three steady boyfriends in her entire life, including Chris. She much preferred that to a string of meaningless sexual encounters with guys she didn’t even know.

And Hailey showed no signs of settling down. She’d dropped out of college to work as a bartender, and still did. Kassidy had no idea how Hailey lived the lifestyle she did off the kind of money she made bartending—maybe she didn’t want to know. Hailey’s licentious lifestyle had always made her a little uncomfortable.

“Well, have fun,” she told her sister. “Thanks for helping.”

“No prob.”

“Hey, Mom and Dad’s thirtieth anniversary is coming up. I was thinking we should plan something for them.”

Hailey frowned. “We just did something for their twenty-fifth.”

“That was five years ago!”

“But twenty-five is the big one. We don’t need to do something for their thirtieth.”

Kassidy blew out a breath. “Sure. Never mind. Chris and I will do something.”

Jesus, Hailey could be annoying, especially when it came to their parents.

Hailey took off with a wave and Kassidy wandered into the bedroom, her irritation with her sister scraping away some of the pleasure she felt from living with Chris. She opened a drawer and saw Chris’s socks and underwear shoved inside in a jumble. Shaking her head, she removed everything and carefully replaced it, neat and organized. He’d be so happy when he saw that.

She sat on the bed and looked around the room, now nice and neat, the mix of their belongings a happy symbol of their two lives now linked together in cohabitation. She let the happiness swell inside her again. She loved Chris so much, and seeing her moisturizer sitting beside his aftershave sent a wave of contentment through her.

She glanced at her watch. Better get dinner started. In her new kitchen, she laid the cookbook open on the shiny granite counter and looked back and forth from it as she prepared the Greek chicken casserole, adding chicken to tomatoes and black olives. She crumbled feta cheese on top and popped it into the oven to bake. The guys would be back any minute.

She set out salad ingredients, and then, because they weren’t home yet, used the extra time to fix herself up, changing from rolled-up sweatpants and a T-shirt into a pair of knee-length shorts and a loose camisole top.