Countermeasure by Cecilia Aubrey, Chris Almeida Page A

too? Bob seems to like him. Maybe I should give him one more chance. Maybe things could be different between us after all this time.
    “Okay, okay, fine. Where and when?”
    “How about seven o’clock at my hotel? The restaurant is supposed to be very good,” Nathan responded with a touch of triumph in his voice.
    “Fine, see you then.” Cassandra hung up, pushed away from her desk, walked down the hall to Jessica’s office, and stuck her head in the door.
    Jessica noticed her right away. “What’s the qué pasa chica?”
    Cassandra stepped fully into her office. “The ‘ qué pasa ’ is that you gave Nate the 411 on me going home and now I am stuck going out to dinner with him.”
    Cassandra frowned when a wide grin spread across Jessica’s mouth as she looked back at her computer screen avoiding Cassandra’s eyes. “Cassie, he obviously has a huge crush on you. He’s your friend. Toss him a bone. Have dinner, have fun. Who knows? Maybe you were meant for each other.”
    Cassandra plopped down in the chair next to the desk and rested her chin on her steepled fingers. “Don’t you think if there was something it would have showed up by now? You said it yourself: when it happens, I’ll fall hard. Well, I didn’t fall for him before and I haven’t fallen now.”
    Jessica looked up again and shook her head. “Just go out and enjoy yourself, will you? Everything’s going smoothly on the Bristol watch. We’ve covered all bases and you have a good friend in town. Relax for once, Cassie.”
    ****
    When Cassandra arrived at the restaurant later that evening, Jessica’s words still rang in her ears. As the waiter led her to the table, she nervously smoothed the black leather skirt she’d matched with a form-fitting top. Nathan’s face lit up when he saw her and a gleam filled his eyes. Standing as she drew closer, he waved the waiter off and pulled the chair out for her before taking his own seat.
    A cold frothy Guinness was already set on the table waiting for her. Smiling, she took a long sip. “Thanks, I needed that!”
    Nathan flashed a grin. “Your wish is my command.”
    Cassandra set her glass down and noticed Nathan signaling the waiter. To her surprise, a green house salad with blue cheese dressing on the side was set promptly in front of her. Cassandra, after a moment’s hesitation, shrugged it off, deciding to go with the flow, and took a bite.
    With a smug grin, Nathan dug in to his own salad and initiated conversation with a homey, “How was your day? Anything interesting happening?”
    Over the next hour, Cassandra and Nathan enjoyed a quiet evening of good food and conversation. They reminisced about their CIA days and how their mutual friends were doing. After a bit of dessert, both she and Nathan relaxed over a cup of coffee in comfortable silence.
     “Cass. Come up to my room for a nightcap,” Nathan proposed, breaking the silence.
    Cassandra watched the gleam return to his eyes and hesitated. Jessica’s words— meant for each other and relax for once, Cassie —swirled in her head. Finally, she came to a decision. “Sure. I can stay a bit longer.”
    Nathan grinned as he pushed back his chair and help her with hers. With a hand resting possessively on her lower back, he led her through the restaurant to the elevator. As they waited, his thumb rubbed back and forth in a caress across her back. The message in his touch concerned her, a sign that he was looking for more than a nightcap.
    When the elevator doors opened, Cassandra walked to the back of the car and leaned against the rail to avoid any further contact while she gathered her thoughts. Nathan followed her in, pushed the button for his floor, and stepped back to stand next to her.
    During the short ride, Cassandra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Why didn’t her heart race when she looked at him or when he touched her? Isn’t that how it was supposed to work? When the elevator stopped and the doors opened,