Chapter 10
“Again! From the top.” Janay’s voice echoed through the gymnasium.
Cassie wiped the sweat from her forehead and clapped to cheer the girls on. “You got this!” she yelled. With all of the wedding planning, it had been weeks since she had seen her best friend and she missed showing up for the girls as well, so she had decided to stop by for the Wednesday practice.
The girls wiped the sweat from their faces and took their positions.
The music started to blast from the speakers.
Angel, one of the oldest girls on the team, yelled out the count, “Three, two, one.” The gym came alive with the stomps and claps of thirty girls.
Cassie nodded with the beat. Five lines of six girls formed, and as the front one moved forward, hitting their moves, and knelt, the next took over until the last line hit the floor.
Carly and Moira, the best gymnasts on the team, ran to opposite ends of the floor while the rest of the team formed an X, radiating out from the center of the gym.
As the stomps led to a crescendo, Carly and Moira each did three flips from either side of the gym, landing in splits in the center of the floor in front of the team.
Cassie jumped up and cheered, awed by how well they had performed. Janay clapped loudly as she approached the team. “That is it! That’s what I want. Bring it in.” The girls, Janay, and Cassie gathered around with their hands in a pile and Angel led them in their team chant.
They raised their hands upward in unison. “Together!”
“Get some water. Nice job, ladies.” Janay and Cassie slapped hands with the girls as they grabbed water bottles and gym bags and headed home.
“Oh my god, Janay,” Cassie said as she and Janay walked to the bleachers to grab their water bottles and sit down. “They look incredible.” She hadn’t seen the whole routine before and she was impressed. “That was epic.”
Janay took a seat and a long gulp of water. “Thank you. They’ve been working hard. That’s the first time they nailed it.” She beamed at Cassie. “I’m glad you got to see it.”
“Is that what they’ll perform at the Thanksgiving Day Parade?”
Janay nodded. “Speaking of Thanksgiving, you and Molly are coming, right? Mama J said she’s about to come hunt you down it’s been so long.”
Cassie laughed. “Of course we’re coming.” The thought of Janay’s mom, who everyone affectionately called Mama J, warmed Cassie, but then her smile faltered. “Eva won’t be joining.”
Janay nodded again. “I figured as much. How’s Molly doing?”
“She’s . . .” Cassie thought through the past month, trying to be hopeful. “She’s better than she was, but I think it’s going to take a while.”
Janay drank some water. “And how are you?”
Cassie passed her a weak smile. “I think it’s going to take a while.”
Janay bumped her shoulder into Cassie’s. “Well, y’all always have us. Don’t forget that.”
Cassie leaned her head on Janay’s shoulder, thankful for the steadying force Janay had always been in her life. Janay returned the gesture.
“How’s the wedding planning going?”
Cassie lifted her head. “It’s actually been pretty cool. Almost makes me believe in love.”
Janay arched a brow.
“Almost.” Cassie sipped her water. “Drea’s been helping me.
” Cassie’s words were hesitant and she waited, curious for Janay’s reaction.
They both knew Drea’s reputation, and Cassie didn’t want Janay to read more into it than what was obviously just a friend helping a friend.
She had replayed their dance in her mind more than a few times over the past few days, stuck on the sparks she felt in such intimate proximity to Drea.
And how dumb she felt for giggling nervously at the end, wondering what might have happened in that moment if she hadn’t acted like a kindergartener.
But it was futile. They were coworkers and it was Drea.
Despite what she might have felt in her body, she couldn’t imagine Drea feeling the same.
Drea didn’t do relationships so, sparks or not, they were friends and that’s where it would stay.
“Miss Drea, huh? Well, excuse me.”
“I told her she didn’t have to help with this last one, but she insisted.” Cassie shrugged.
“Interesting.” A slow smile spread across Janay’s face. “I guess she wouldn’t have anything to do with you almost believing in love, hmm?”
Cassie scoffed. “Absolutely not.” She shook her head and hoped the blush she felt creeping up her neck didn’t betray her.
Janay arched another brow, supremely confident. “Mmmhmmm.”
The next morning, Cassie sat at the conference table along with Drea and Erin as Sam presented the new logo and cake menu to Jody for her bakery, Daily Bread.
There had been a lot of back and forth over the past few weeks between Drea and Jody as Jody kept changing details on the menu design.
Today was the unveiling, and Cassie hoped Jody would be happy with the result.
Cassie had communicated with Jody a number of times before Drea took over on the design details.
From what she could tell, Jody seemed like an upbeat, positive person.
The kind who had endless energy and probably didn’t sit still for long.
But other than caring a lot that the product came out right, she also seemed kind.
In the years at her previous firm and in the handful of client meetings at her current position, Cassie had developed a knack for sensing what the client was feeling.
She had learned it from Sam, who had saved a number of campaigns at their previous firm by understanding the clients and their needs.
As she watched Jody now, she noticed a hesitation in her, but she wasn’t sure if it was about the presentation or something else.
The new logo was a slam dunk, but when Sam presented the new cake menu, a war of emotions crossed Jody’s features. They waited in silence as Jody took in all of the details before Sam finally spoke up. “So, what do you think?”
Jody seemed to awaken at Sam’s words. “Sorry, I’m just taking it all in. It looks fantastic.” She turned to Drea. “Drea, you really are an incredible artist.”
Drea smiled at the compliment.
“But . . .” Sam said the words everyone was thinking.
“Sorry, I think I’m overthinking it. I’m just wondering—if you were customers, would you find it helpful? I’m worried I missed the mark in my requests.”
“Well, I am your customer, so I don’t have to pretend.
” Sam smiled. “And absolutely. You have great illustrations of the kinds of cakes you can make, and the different sections make it easy to find cakes for smaller events and birthdays versus the wedding cake section. And your prices are clear.” As Sam spoke, Jody’s face relaxed.
Sam to the rescue yet again. Cassie realized that she had been holding her breath with the tension in the room and took a much-needed deep breath.
Jody’s entire demeanor relaxed with the reassurance that the menu hit all the right points. Once Jody decided she was ready to move forward with the design, Sam covered the details for rolling out the logo and menu, then offered to walk Jody out.
Cassie caught up to Drea, who was chatting with Erin about what to get as a celebratory lunch. The campaign presentation was the last official assignment of Erin’s rotation with Drea. Next, she’d work with Tom to learn how to write effective ad copy. “Hey, you got a second?” Cassie asked.
Erin excused herself to pick up some po’ boys and Drea sat on the edge of her desk.
“Sure, what’s up?” No matter how much time they spent together, Cassie could not get over those striking blue eyes.
They hadn’t talked one-on-one since their dance, only a few nods in acknowledgment and polite hellos around the office, which had helped Cassie dismiss any lingering thoughts that the dance had changed anything for Drea.
Clearly, it was just another Saturday night for her.
And Cassie was trying hard to feel the same.
“Planning for the last wedding is upon us. I’m headed to the venue after work to check it out and meet the couple. Would you like to join me?”
The look that Cassie had coined Drea’s sexy listening expression gave way to an even sexier smile. “Ye-e-es.”
She hoped Drea didn’t notice the heat traveling up her neck or any sign of the butterflies that drawl inspired. Okay, maybe she needed to try a little harder to mirror Drea’s indifference about the other night.
“Where is it?” Drea asked.
“In the French Quarter.”
Drea nodded. “Okay, I’ll follow you since I don’t live too far from there.”
The tinge of disappointment that Drea wouldn’t be riding with her caught Cassie by surprise and she quickly tamped it down, replacing it with the most upbeat tone she could muster. “Sounds good.”
Drea parked behind Cassie’s sedan outside the two-story creole cottage in the French Quarter.
Drea appreciated speed, but Cassie had lit out of the office so fast, she had barely kept up with her.
The sun had just set, casting a romantic glow on the people walking through Jackson Square.
A horse-drawn carriage sat on the edge of the street as the sounds of jazz music floated through the air along with the sweet smell of beignets from nearby Café Du Monde.
Drea could see the appeal of the venue as the most romantic parts of NOLA all seemed to be right here.
She met Cassie on the sidewalk, the light making her look even more beautiful than usual. Damn it. She shook the thought from her mind and smiled. “Hey, Mario Andretti. Ready to go in?”
Cassie laughed and the softness of it echoed through the sky.
They walked up the cobblestone path to the main door.
White lights wrapped around the palm trees and the live oak in the front yard.
The lights on the front of the white cottage cast an inviting glow, and Drea could feel the warmth of the place.
A brown-haired woman in her twenties stood in the entryway as Cassie and Drea walked inside. “Cassie?” she asked.
“Yes, are you Nellie?”
“Yes.”