He still made Cassie’s heart skip.
She remembered how much he’d intrigued her. How was it possible for a person to not care about anything? At all? He’d been cavalier, audacious, rebellious and willing to do anything. He should have been in jail by now.
Twice.
But there had been football. Cassie remembered watching him play. On the field, he’d been a brilliant, almost psychic, quarterback. It was the one place he shone. She remembered how he’d been picked by a Big Ten college team and how everyone in town had been so proud of him—conveniently forgetting all their convictions of his doomed future.
She also remembered the news reports when Reid had ruined not one but both knees and had to retire from football before even finishing college. She’d felt badly for him at the time, as any chance of a pro contract evaporated.
Maybe that was why he’d come back to Montrose River.
Maybe he had nowhere else to go.
Reid had been dangerously attractive back in the day but now he was hot. He had broad shoulders and Cassie could feel the steel of his muscles in the arm wrapped around her waist. She told herself that her interest was professional, seeing as she was part owner in a fitness club.
He must work out. A lot.
She reminded herself that he must have fathered a dozen kids in town by now, but stared into his eyes and tingled instead.
That cocky confidence he’d possessed in high school seemed to have multiplied tenfold and Cassie’s heart was racing as a result. He held her against his side as if he had no intention of letting her go, and smiled down at her, as if she was on his menu for lunch. The look in his eyes made Cassie yearn to be gobbled up by this big bad wolf.
Soon.
Maybe she should gobble him up. She wasn’t the girl she’d been once upon a time—and she didn’t have to follow anybody’s rules anymore.
She was only in Montrose River for the weekend, after all.
“I wouldn’t have expected you to recognize me, Cassie Wilson,” he said and his voice was a lot deeper than she remembered. She actually felt it rumble in his chest, right against hers, and her nipples tightened.
How was it that she hadn’t even known that his eyes were such an amazing shade of green?
“Why not?” she said lightly. “You haven’t changed that much.”
He seemed to find that amusing. “While you have.” His admiration of that was more than clear and Cassie felt flustered in an unfamiliar way.
“Well, it’s been fifteen years.” She tried to step away but Reid held her a little tighter.
Cassie liked it a lot more than she knew she should.
“You’ll slip here,” he said, his voice low and silky, then practically carried her down the aisle to a place where the floor was dry. He was rock solid. That took dedication and many, many hours in the gym. Cassie respected that and the result. “Better?”
“Perfect. Thanks.” Cassie reminded herself to lift her hands away from his shoulders. The way Reid’s eyes twinkled told her that he’d noticed the delay and that only increased her agitation. “Why don’t you think I’d remember you? You were so notorious, badder than bad, and then you were famous.”
He grinned, a dazzling sight at close proximity. “Still am bad by all accounts. Ask your mom.”
Cassie smiled, sensing that he didn’t want to talk about his career that had stopped before it really started. “Did you fulfill expectations and go to prison yet?”
“Not for long,” he said easily, and she didn’t know if it was a joke or not. She cleared her throat and he released her, his hand moving to her elbow. She liked that he made sure she was steady on her feet before dropping his hand. There was something delicious about a man who was protective.
She liked men who were thorough, too.
She also liked the way his fingertips slid over her hip before he lifted his hand away. It was a quick gesture, one that no one else would have noticed, but Cassie nearly shivered from that stroke. It was easy to imagine those hands on her bare skin. There was something even more delicious about a man wicked enough to make his desires clear.
“Looking for something in particular?” he asked, his tone just as light as hers.
Cassie refused to see any innuendo in his question, although there was a gleam in Reid’s eyes. She realized then that he’d been holding a mop.
“Wait. You work here?” she asked, horrified that he’d never moved beyond that job in her uncle’s store. “Still? Again?” Maybe he managed the store or something. She didn’t remember who had taken over the store when Uncle Marty retired. She assumed it had been sold when he died. Cassie reminded herself that there wasn’t a lot of opportunity in a small town but she was still disappointed.
Knowing what she did of Reid, this job was probably just a cover. Maybe he fenced electronics or fleeced little old ladies these days.
Maybe he had a rich girlfriend.
Who?
He seemed to bite back a smile, which Cassie didn’t understand. “You could say that.”
Cassie heard a baby howl, recognized it as Emily, and knew Tori would be waiting for her. She was supposed to be part of the solution to Tori hosting a baby christening despite a desperate lack of sleep. “I’m looking for salsa verde,” she said to Reid. “Do you have any?”
“Two brands. Right here.” He gave the teenager a hard look. “Pickles to Mrs. Lang, Lionel, then come back and clean up this mess.”
“Yes, sir!”
So, he did manage the store. Cassie tried to respect that and failed.
In fact, she felt a bit sorry for Reid. He’d almost escaped Montrose River with that college deal, but had ended up back here just the same.
As if opportunity had never come knocking.
“This one’s a little more expensive, but it’s organic,” Reid said to her, indicating the one jar.
“But a higher level of heat. I’ll take both, just to be sure.” She watched his hands as he lifted the jar and admired their lean strength. No rings. Did she dare make her weekend a little more exciting? It was tempting but she should know better than to tangle with a guy like Reid Jackson.
He gave her the jars, feeding that tingle when their hands brushed. “Didn’t you move to Chicago?”
“New York.”
“It looks like life is treating you well.” The appreciation in his gaze was undisguised. He had a good look at her boots and Cassie smiled. Apparently, they shared an affection for tall black boots.
“I’m a part-owner of a fitness club,” she said. “I like it.”
“Good for you.” His gaze drifted down to the boots again.
“Like them?” she asked, posing a little.
“Very much.” His gaze met hers again and a devilish smile curved his lips. “I can’t see quite how high they go, though.”
“That’s for me to know.”
“And maybe me to find out.” He grinned when Cassie flushed a little. “Not a tomboy anymore,” he murmured, his opinion more than clear.
“No. I’m all girl now.”
“Woman,” Reid corrected and shook his head. “All woman, Cassie, and it’s a very good thing.” His gaze rose to hers again even as she blushed. “And you’re back for...?”