Under the Boss’s Mistletoe

plan.

It had taken him all day to remember what was important and get himself back under control, and all Cassie had had to do was appear and he’d lost it all over again.

He was being ridiculous, Jake told himself savagely. It was just Cassie. He looked at her as she tucked the cloakroom ticket away in her bag. She was wearing loose trousers and a fine-knit top with a wide belt. She looked really quite stylish for once, although nothing like as elegant as Natasha would have seemed in exactly the same outfit.

She was just a girl. Pretty, yes-in fact, much prettier than she seemed at first glance-but a bit messy, a bit clumsy, a bit disorganised. Nothing special, in fact. Not the kind of girl you got yourself into a state about, that was for sure.

CHAPTER SIX

‘YOU’RE looking very fierce,’ Cassie commented, hoisting her bag back onto her shoulder. ‘You’re supposed to be deliriously happy at the prospect of spending an evening with me planning our special day together!’

She saw his mouth turn down at the corners. ‘Look, this was your idea,’ she reminded him. ‘The editor of Wedding Belles is going to be in there. If you want to promote the Hall, you’re going to have to convince her the way you convinced me the other night.’

Jake raised his brows. ‘What, I have to kiss her?’

‘You’re not taking this seriously,’ said Cassie. ‘All you’ve got to do is look affectionate and not as if you can’t decide whether to fire me or shoot me!’

She was right, Jake thought. He was the one who had insisted on doing this. He bared his teeth in a smile. ‘Better?’

‘A bit,’ she allowed, glancing around for signs to the wedding fair. A notice board pointed them down to the lower floor. ‘Come on, then,’ she said. ‘Let’s go and find the party.’

‘Shouldn’t we hold hands?’ suggested Jake.

‘Er, yes, we probably should. Good idea.’

Cassie tried to sound casual, but she was desperately aware of the dry warmth of his palm and the firm fingers closing around hers. He had lovely hands, big, strong and safe, the kind of hands that could catch you if you were falling, the kind of hands that wouldn’t let you go.

She was being fanciful, Cassie told herself as they made their way downstairs, where they found the party already in full swing. She wasn’t falling anywhere, not even off her heels, and Jake would be only too keen to let her go as soon as possible.

The editor of Wedding Belles was greeting arrivals at the door, but they managed to brush through the introductions without rousing any suspicions, and were disgorged into the party. A passing waiter offered them champagne and Cassie accepted thankfully. Holding Jake’s hand was making her jittery and self- conscious, and it was the perfect excuse to drop it and grab a glass from the tray.

Amazing how a gulp of champagne could make you feel better, she thought, looking around her and trying not to notice how tingly and somehow empty her hand felt now. She switched the glass to give it something to hold.

‘We’d better try and circulate,’ she murmured.

They were standing next to another couple, who introduced themselves after a few banalities as Mark and Michelle; it soon turned out that it was Michelle who did all the talking.

‘We’re getting married in April,’ she told Cassie and Jake. ‘Aren’t we, Mark?’

Mark opened his mouth to agree but she was already sweeping on. ‘We’ve been planning the wedding for two years. We got engaged on a cruise, so our theme is the sea.’

‘Theme?’

‘The theme of the wedding.’ Michelle looked at Jake as if he were stupid. ‘Blue is our main colour, of course, so all our favours will be blue, and we’re having blue sashes on the chair covers. We had waves on the invitations, didn’t we, Mark? And we’re naming all the tables after different seas,’ she finished triumphantly.

‘Who are you putting in the Bermuda Triangle?’ asked Jake, and Cassie nudged him.

‘That sounds lovely,’ she said quickly. ‘Have you decided on a dress yet?’

Michelle had, of course, and described it at length. Then she went on to tell them about their matching stationery, the wedding website, the special, blue fascinators she had sourced for her five bridesmaids, the first dance they were practising already, and the personalised shells that she was trying to track down as place settings.

Her monologue was punctuated with requests for confirmation from Mark, although the poor man never got a chance even to agree. Michelle had a spreadsheet she was using to keep track of her budget, and kept all the paperwork to do with the wedding in a colour-coded filing system.

Weddings were Cassie’s business, and she wouldn’t have minded listening to Michelle drone on if she hadn’t been aware that Jake was glazing over beside her.

‘We’re having a Christmas wedding,’ she interrupted brightly at last.

‘I think you mean a Christmas theme, don’t you?’ muttered Jake.

‘We’re getting married this Christmas, actually,’ Cassie hurried on, trying not to giggle.

‘Really? So, not long to go!’ Michelle looked from one to the other. ‘You must be excited!’

‘I’m beside myself,’ Jake agreed, deadpan.

‘Don’t mind him,’ said Cassie, taking his arm and leaning into him. ‘He’s thrilled, really-especially since we found him a Regency-buck outfit.’ She smiled winsomely up at him. ‘You’re going to look soooo gorgeous in those breeches!’

She turned back to Michelle. ‘We’re going for the Mr Darcy look, you know? But he’s worried he won’t be able to tie his cravat properly.’

‘I’m sure you can get instructions on the Internet,’ said Michelle, completely missing Jake’s expression at the very thought of a cravat. ‘So, are you going for a Regency dress as well?’ she asked Cassie.

‘I haven’t got it yet,’ Cassie admitted.

‘You’re getting married at Christmas and you haven’t got your dress?’ Michelle fell back in horror. ‘You’re leaving it very late!’

‘Maybe I’ll find something here tonight. Perhaps you’re right; I could go for a period look and wear a bonnet.’ She pretended to muse.

‘A muff’s very nice at a Christmas wedding,’ offered Michelle.

That was when Cassie made the mistake of catching Jake’s eye. ‘Now, there’s a thought,’ he said, and waggled his eyebrows at her. It would have been fine if she hadn’t just lifted her glass to her lips to hide her smile, and at that she spluttered champagne all down the front of her top and started choking.

Jake patted her none too gently on the back. ‘Here, let’s go and find you a glass of water,’ he said, taking her by the arm and bearing her off with barely time for a goodbye to Michelle and the silent Mark.

‘Look, my top is all stained,’ Cassie complained, brushing champagne from her cleavage. ‘And it’s all your fault for making me laugh!’

‘My fault? I wasn’t the one who started on the Regency bucks!’ said Jake. He had his hand on her back and was steering her firmly to the other side of the room. ‘I couldn’t stand it any longer. Poor Mark looked like he had lost the will to live, and I don’t blame him. And what the hell is a “favour”, anyway?’

‘It’s a little thank-you gift for your guests. It usually goes on the table as a memento of the day that they can take away.’

Jake snorted. ‘Well, the only favour I want is for you to get me out of here!’

‘We can’t go yet,’ said Cassie. ‘We’ve only just arrived. Besides, they haven’t opened the show. I think there are going to be some speeches first.’

Putting her empty glass down on a passing tray, she took another one and turned to see who else they could talk to. Fortunately, the next couple they met was less obsessed with weddings than Michelle. ‘We’re only here for the champagne,’ Kevin said.