Page 68 of Gin & Jewels

“Tell me the details.”

I did, leaving out the part about the bullet possibly damaging Cassie’s future of having a family.

“Shit, dude.”

“I know.”

“I’m glad you and Cassie are okay.”

“Me too. She’ll probably be here for a week or so, and I know Paul is gone—”

“Don’t worry about the class. Autumn and I can handle it, and Seth too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. Take care of your girl.”

“My girl?” I chuckled. “She’s not my—”

“Keep telling yourself that, B, but you’re wrong.”

I thought about what he was saying, and while I knew I cared about her a lot, I didn’t know if that meant we should have a relationship. “What do I do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never done this before.”

“Well, do you think she’ll be okay with you still working at S&R?”

I blew out a breath. In the last few days, I hadn’t thought about Saddles & Racks other than needing to tell Mark I wasn’t coming back for a few more weeks. I didn’t actually think about how things would be once Cassie and I returned to Vegas because I wasn’t leaving without her. “Was Autumn?”

“I think you know that answer.”

“So, you’re saying that it’s my job or my girl?” When I uttered the last two words of the sentence, I realized that it came naturally to call Cassie mine. Was she my girl? Did I want her to bemygirl?

“Probably.”

It wasn’t so much as my job. I didn’t need the money, and if Gabe, Paul, and Vinny could survive without S&R, I knew I could too. I already had the self-defense stuff lined up with Gabe, and I’d always wanted to go into private security, but what if Cassie and I didn’t work out? She was twenty-two and just now finding herself. Plus, I’d never had an actual girlfriend before. What if I fucked it all up?

“But,” he continued, “the thing about escorting is you can always go back to it if things don’t work out.”

“Was that your plan originally?”

“I think we've all had that plan.”

I hung up with Gabe a few moments later, not wanting Cassie to be alone any longer. To my surprise, Mom had stopped by, and she and Cassie were both crying and hugging. I stared at the two most important women in my life and made the decision that if Cassie wanted to try dating, I would. Since the day we had lunch at Freshly Baked, not a day had gone by that I hadn’t thought about her, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

“Should I come back?” I asked when Cassie’s eyes opened, and she met my gaze.

Both she and Mom rubbed their tears away, and Cassie said, “No. Everything okay?”

“Yep. Mark and Gabe send their condolences and hope for a fast recovery.”

“That was nice of them,” Mom stated, and Cassie nodded her head in agreement.

I stepped farther into the room. “And in case you’re wondering, I told Mom everything.”

Cassie looked at my Mom. “Everything?”