Page 21 of The Friend

Got it in one, sport.

She rubbed her nose before screwing it up. “I’m merely using my professional observation skills. I study bodies on a daily basis, in case you’ve forgotten.”

She let her gaze drift down his body, from his broad shoulders to his sculpted chest, along his long legs to his feet and everything in between, enjoying the opportunity for such a blatant appraisal.

She’d seen Judd’s body many times before, but never had her pulse raced or her heart pounded and this time, she wanted to do more than she look. She wanted to touch, caress, and taste every inch of his tanned skin, to trace the contours, to learn every angle of his lean body.

“Yep, everything’s in the right place. Not bad.” She patted his collar in a motherly gesture when she would’ve preferred to grab it and drag him towards her so their lips could meet.

“You’re confusing the hell out of me, Weiss.”

Judd reached for Abby’s hand before thinking better of it. He had no idea why she was acting so weird. As for the scorching look after checking him out, it had shot straight to his groin, an area he had no right acknowledging when it came to his best friend.

He thought they’d move past that kiss last night. Looked like he was wrong.

No matter how much they’d joked around all day or how hard he tried to concentrate on business, she was in his face, smiling at him, laughing at his jokes, her stunning blue eyes radiating more warmth than the tropical sun blazing down on them.

Realistically, there was only so much a guy could take, and with his libido waking up and realising his best friend was the sexiest woman he’d seen in a long while, and Abby doing her best to confuse him with mixed messages, he had no idea whether to make an utter fool of himself and kiss her again or trash his plan to work here and head back to the desert.

“You’re confused?” she muttered, pushing a strand of silky hair behind one ear, the gesture heartrendingly familiar.

He’d seen her do it during exams. He’d seen her do it when she’d been dumped by her first boyfriend. Everything about her was so familiar yet something had shifted between them and blood pounded through his body at the absurd rush of it.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? You know I’m a good listener.” He kept his voice light, trying to reassure her with his tone if he couldn’t reach out and touch her.

Damn, he wanted to touch her.

“You may not want to hear this,” she said, dropping her hand to her side where she drew lazy circles in the sand.

For one crazy moment he hoped she felt the same spark he did, the sudden attraction that had flared to life between them. However, her grim expression was miles away from her usual happy-go-lucky one and no matter how he felt, how tempted he was to push the boundaries between them, he couldn’t do it.

He would never hurt her. She meant too much to him, their friendship priceless. He’d always known it, from the first moment she’d taken pity on the embarrassed, sniffling seven year old he’d been when he bowled her over while trying to escape his father’s loud curses after another drunken binge.

She’d always been there for him so he couldn’t mess with the most important person in his life.

“Try me.”

“It’s not important,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as he leaned towards her to catch the words.

“You always were a lousy liar.” He stared at her, willing her to look at him, but she kept her gaze firmly fixed on her fingers tracing idle patterns in the sand.

“And you could always read me like a book.” She sighed, a small sound that shot straight to his heart.

Tread carefully, his conscience warned.She’s worth it.

“That’s what you think. Besides, you’ve changed from action adventure to mystery genre and I’ve always been lousy at solving mysteries.”

She finally looked up, a glimmer of a smile playing about her mouth. The same mouth he’d been having illicit fantasies about all night since they’d kissed.

“That’s got to be a first, you not being able to read my thoughts and finish my sentences, all that annoying stuff that makes you the great guy you are.”

“Maybe I’m not as great as you think.”

He reached for her hand, shaken by the doubts her faith in him raised. A great guy? How could he be when he couldn’t stop thinking about moving their platonic friendship into another stratosphere? One where there were no regrets, no time to think, but plenty of one on one action with the two of them naked, sweaty, and so turned on they couldn’t stand it.

“You are a great guy.” She squeezed his hand, twining her fingers through his. “This may sound nuts, but do you ever feel like things are moving beyond your control? Shifting without understanding why?”

He nodded, buoyed by a surge of hope that maybe, just maybe, they were on the same wavelength after all. “Honestly? I’m caught up in some weird helpless thing lately, like I have no control over my life anymore.”

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