Page 4 of Body Shot

Johan catches my eye and grins. “Hey. I see you’ve met Hana’s friend Claudia.”

“Anders has been keeping me company,” Claudia says, giving me another breathtaking smile.

“I see that.” Johan walks over and tugs Hana forward. “And this is my sister, Hana. Whom I know you’ve been dying to meet.”

Shit.

I had no idea Hana would be here today, and I wish Johan had given me a head’s up.

“Hi. I’m Hana.” The gorgeous brunette approaches me with an impish grin and an outstretched hand. “I understand we’re to be married?”

TWO

Claudia

Anders grinsas Hana reaches him, and ignores her outstretched hand, bringing her in for a hug instead.

Then they immediately start talking and joking as if they’ve known each other for years instead of just meeting.

Figures.

It’s a skill I’ve yet to master.

And anyway, Hana always gets the cute guys.

That’s how it’s been for as long as we’ve known each other, which is six years now.

And I can’t even hate her because she’s the best bestie a girl could ever ask for. We live thousands of miles apart—her in Slovakia and me in Pennsylvania—and yet we talk or text every day. The time difference makes it challenging, but we manage. Our bond since college hasn’t wavered, and though it’s been more than two years since we graduated and more than a year since we last saw each other, I can’t wait to spend the next week with her.

The trade off is having to attend this party today, but she’d promised the rest of the week will be the two of us. We’ve made plans to do a few touristy things, as well as have a few dinners with Johan and Sloane and then a spa day for girls. She’s been in Fort Lauderdale over a month, helping Johan and Sloane settle into their new house and spending time with family. The rest of their family has already gone back to Slovakia, but she stayed behind, waiting for me to get here so we can basically end our summer together.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing Johan again and meeting his pregnant fiancée but hanging out with an entire professional hockey team makes me nervous. Normally, I’m buried so deep in computers and coding, I don’t spend much time thinking about men. I’m socially awkward and too much of a nerd to worry about dating, so I rarely put myself in a position where I have to deal with it. Of course, I don’t usually have an opportunity to talk to a hunk like Anders either.

He’s been sweet too. All six-foot-something, dirty-blond hair and deep-set blue eyes of him. He’s had a shirt on this whole time, but I can guess what his torso looks like beneath, and I’m grateful I haven’t seen it yet. The last thing I need is to visibly drool over him.

Because he’sbeautiful.

I can just imagine the scruff of his beard between my thighs.

His lips on mine.

His much larger body moving over me, touching me…

And of course, because I’m infatuated with him, this is the guy Hana told me has a crush on her.

Johan has shown him pictures of her, and like almost everyone else she meets, he’s into her. Even though they’d never met in person until just now. Even though he spent the last hour or so talking to me in between helping set up.

Until now, I’d been the only unattached female here, so who else would he have talked to? Now that Hana’s here, I’ll probably spend most of the day reading. I’ll never fit in here with a bunch of pro athletes and their gorgeous significant others.

Unless I play with the kids. Kids usually like me, especially once we start talking about video games.

I try not to be too obvious as I watch Hana and Anders flirt without even trying.

I didn’t get that gene.

The one that allows women to be cute and coy and…feminine?

I’m far more comfortable hanging out with men. Well, smart, nerdy guys with glasses and acne.

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