The Maverick - By Jan Hudson Page 0,9
said. “Nope. Grab your fork. It’s every man for himself.”
They tasted everything, then chose their favorites. The wine was an ideal complement.
“Tell me about your long-lost cousins,” Griff said as he helped himself to another scallop.
“Well, they weren’t exactly lost. Sunny and I knew about them, but they didn’t know about us. We were, as they used to say, born on the wrong side of the blanket.” When Griff looked puzzled, she said, “We were illegitimate. Our father was married to someone else when we were conceived, and he died before we were born. To give him credit, he loved my mother deeply, but his wife wouldn’t consent to a divorce. Someone shot him on the steps of the capitol before he could convince her to let him go.”
“Shot him? Who?”
Cass shrugged. “Nobody knows. His murder was never solved. Anyhow, my mother thought the Outlaw family would consider us an embarrassment, so we never met any of them, and none of the Outlaws knew about us until Sam Bass Outlaw, one of my cousins who’s a Texas Ranger, came into Chili Witches a few months ago. Since then, we’ve become great friends. Seems that none of them cared much for Iris, the Senator’s wife, and she remarried and moved to Ohio or Iowa or somewhere years ago.”
“Fascinating.”
“Isn’t it? Sounds like a soap opera or something. There was never any secret about who our father was, but Mom conveniently neglected to mention that they weren’t married. We stumbled on that bit of information ourselves. Mom is going to be mortified to know we’ve met all our Outlaw relatives and love them.”
“She doesn’t know you’ve met them?”
“Nope. And she and Aunt Min will be arriving from France in a few weeks, and the you-know-what’s going to hit the fan. Are you going to eat that last crawfish cake?”
“Want to flip for it?”
She laughed. “See, I told you crawfish was good.”
“I bow to your good judgment.”
They ordered more crawfish cakes and another bottle of wine, and talked about everything in the world. When the waiter began to hover and Cass noticed that the bar was almost empty, she glanced at her watch.
“Dear Lord! Look at the time! It’s two in the morning, and I have to work tomorrow.”
“Two? I can’t believe it.” Griff motioned for the check and handed the waiter his credit card. “Sorry I’ve been so thoughtless. Let’s get you home and into bed.”
Cass lifted her brows at him, and he gave her an innocent look. “No double entendre intended.” Then he spoiled his comment with a wolfish grin.
She laughed and gathered her purse. Griff was the most fascinating man she’d met in ages, and she could go swimming in those eyes of his. Was the giddiness she felt from the wine or his charm? Remember he’s a New York lawyer, she reminded herself, and he studied Charm 101 at Harvard.
Still, despite her own admonitions, a shiver went up her spine when he touched his hand to her back as they left. The man was another heartbreaker, but her hormones didn’t seem to care. If she was smart, she’d drop him like a hot rock. Now.
But instead of thinking of ways to discourage him, all her mind could conjure up were visions of silk sheets and a hot mouth.
ON THE DRIVE BACK to her apartment, Griff had to clutch his thighs to keep from taking Cass in his arms and kissing her. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman so badly. He hesitated, not wanting to rush her, nor embarrass her with the driver present. Griff wanted to do more than kiss her, but he blocked those thoughts as best he could.
Should he accept her invitation to the picnic Sunday? Yes, he decided. Ingratiating himself with her family couldn’t hurt.
“Were you serious about my going with you to the picnic on Sunday?” he asked as they walked upstairs to her apartment.
She hesitated for a millisecond, and his heart lost a beat. He prayed she wasn’t having second thoughts about him.
“Of course. I can pick you up at your hotel about ten-thirty, and we’ll drive to Wimberley.”
“Wimberley?”
“My cousin Belle and her husband live there. It’s a small village southwest of here, very picturesque. It’s casual. Jeans or shorts.”
When they reached her door, she turned and lifted her face. Kissing her was the most natural thing in the world.
And the most mind-blowing. He had the strangest urge to throw her over his shoulder, beat his chest and carry her into his cave. She