Page 9 of The Friend

He’d missed this: the constant sparring, the teasing, the matching of wills. No one understood him like Abby.

She was the family he’d never had, the one bright spark in his life during the miserable years growing up after his mum had died and he’d been shackled to Pier Point courtesy of his dad, the town laughing stock.

Abby had always been there for him.

So what would she make of his latest plan?

It was too soon to tell her everything, because he had no idea how she’d react.

Would she be happy?

Would she think he was nuts?

Only time would tell. He planned to wait until the job neared completion before divulging the truth.

Who needed a week of nagging, which is exactly what dear Abby would do, when he could spend that time teasing her, laughing with her, flirting with her instead?

Yeah, he’d tell her everything at the end of the week.

In the meantime, they had some serious catching up to do.

Chapter Four

Abby lay back in the bath and closed her eyes, the jasmine-scented steam surrounding her in a fragrant cloud.

What a day.

Working with Judd had been a pleasure, his professionalism and skill far surpassing that of other photographers she’d worked with. And having him in such close proximity, smiling at her, taunting her, had been fun, like old times.

Notexactlylike old times.

Back then, they’d been two kids against the world, teenage rebels who couldn’t wait to escape the confines of Pier Point and the memories the place held.

Then again, if they hadn’t had such lousy parents—their common bond—maybe their friendship wouldn’t have lasted the test of time?

Perhaps I’m more into fashion stylists these days?

She smiled at the memory of his teasing jibe. Their easy-going relationship had never been any different, with each ready to use a cutting comeback for every teasing comment fired at the other. Though Judd could turn her winning retorts into losers in the blink of an eye, she could handle it. She thrived on their banter and could hardly wait to match wits with him on this trip.

As for the unexpected heat that had flared between them, first when he’d laid his hand on her leg in the bar and later with that loaded moment at the beach, she wouldn’t read anything into it. A perfectly natural reaction of two adults, who were best friends and hadn’t seen each other since their teens, getting reacquainted. She refused to consider she still harboured her pathetic teenage crush no matter how many times she’d told herself over the years that she’d grown up.

The phone jangled and she glared at it. Beautiful black marble bathrooms with exquisite bubble bath gels and spa baths this size were meant for relaxation and the brainiac who had installed a gold phone on the wall should be shot.

Sighing, she reached for the phone. Unless there was a problem with the location for tomorrow’s shoot or one of the models had binged on chocolate and couldn’t fit into any of the outfits, she didn’t want to know about it.

“Hello?”

“Where are you, Weiss? Hiding in the closet?”

Abby grinned, and stuck her big toe in the bath spout. “Hey, I’m not the one who has a host of skeletons in there.”

Judd chuckled. “Remind me to stop telling you all my dirty little secrets.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Abby stretched an arm and blew on the bubbles clinging to her skin. When was the last time she’d taken a bath, relaxing at the end of a busy day, let alone have more than a rushed five minute phone call with her best friend calling from the remotest regions of the earth on a crackling line punctuated with static?

“What are you up to?”

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