Page 43 of The Friend

“They are pretty hot, aren’t they?”

“Not half as hot as the woman in them,” he murmured, brushing a soft kiss on the skin behind her ear, a kiss filled with promise.

“Did you hear there’s a storm coming tonight? Apparently the rain’s going to bucket down in torrents.”

The gold flecks in his eyes glowed amber in the bar’s soft candlelight and her breath caught as his thumb trailed across her bottom lip.

“In that case, you better spend the night in my room. After all, I am on a higher floor and we wouldn’t want to be flooded out. Besides, I feel a rain-check coming on.”

“Sounds good,” she said, slipping her hand into his, already counting the minutes until they could slip away. “For now, shallwe see how our employees are getting on and spring our surprise on them before making our escape?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Tom and Tara were making small talk at the table when Abby accepted the seat Judd pulled out for her.

“Hey, Abby. You look great,” Tom said, not taking his eyes off Tara for a second, and Abby smiled, knowing her instincts about these two were spot on. With a little luck, Judd and her wouldn’t be the only couple walking around with dazed expressions.

“Thanks,” Abby said. “Nothing like Tara though.”

Judd rolled his eyes and she gave a tiny shrug. Okay, so she was laying it on a bit thick. She couldn’t help if she was looking at the world through romantic glasses at the moment.

“She’s beautiful,” Tom said, simple sincerity in his tone as Tara straightened her shoulders, her smile pleased before picking up the punch cocktail a waiter had deposited in front of her.

“Do you think these two are up to something?” Tara asked.

Tom shrugged. “Beats me, though looks like they’ve gone to a lot of trouble so we should probably humour them. Besides, I agree with the boss. We’ve worked damn hard this week, why not celebrate a little. We deserve it.”

He raised his schooner in Tara’s direction and she clinked glasses with him, resident flirtatious twinkle in her eyes while Abby smiled and took a sip of her own punch cocktail.

“How about a toast?” Judd’s hearty announcement startled the other couple, who hadn’t taken their eyes off each other since they’d tapped glasses.

“Go ahead,” Abby said, eager to drink up and leave the other couple to their own devices—screw the delectable feast they’d organised for them all to share, she’d rather feast on a sexy photographer.

Judd raised his glass. “Here’s to the end of a successful shoot and the beginning of a new future, for all of us.”

Her heart turned over at the serious expression behind Judd’s joviality. His gaze hadn’t shifted from her, the intensity behind his stare trying to convey a message she didn’t understand—or was too scared to contemplate.

New future?

She wished. But she’d given up wishing a long time ago, around the time her parents never came back from one of their do-gooder treks. As for sharing a future with Judd as anything other than friends, she’d be better off wishing for the moon.

“To all of us.” Tom echoed Judd’s toast, and as they raised their glasses, Abby tried not to squirm under Judd’s penetrating stare.

His eyes tried to convey some mystical message she had no hope of deciphering unless he spelt it out for her.

Thankfully, Tom soon had Tara involved in a discussion about global warming, giving Abby ample opportunity to try and decipher Judd’s speech.

“Nice toast,” she said, inhaling as he leaned towards her, loving the faint musk combined with pure Judd that evoked memories of days gone by.

“Thanks.” He shrugged as if uncomfortable under her praise, drawing her attention to the width of his shoulders beneath the open-necked white shirt accentuating his tan, while he nodded towards the other two who were flirting like mad. “Looks like you were right about these two.”

“Woman’s intuition,” she said, warmth radiating off him, and when he reached for his glass and his forearm brushed her bare skin, she gritted her teeth in an effort not to groan out loud.

“You almost finished that drink?”

The urgency in his voice made Abby look up. Glimpsing the blatant desire in his eyes, she had no hesitation in gulping theremainder of her cocktail and forgetting her intentions to grill him over his toast.

“I have now.” She placed her glass on the table, her gaze never leaving his. The icy punch did little to quell the fire burning deep inside with Judd staring at her like he wanted her right here, right now.

---