Page 45 of The Plus One
“Does ‘my delicate pony’ work better?”
Jude closed his eyes and sighed. “You’re insufferable.”
“Back atcha, boo,” she said with a wink, straightening. Indira glanced around the room like a seat might magically appear for her to squeeze in next to Jude.
“Problem?” Collin asked.
“I need somewhere to sit.”
“Uh…” Collin looked around. “Can I offer you some floor space?” he asked, gesturing at the corner.
“Can I offer you a kick to the shin?”
“There’s no need to be so combative,” Collin said, trying to keep his angry tone quieter than the general chatter. “Just get over it and—”
Suddenly, Jude grabbed Indira’s elbow, giving it a gentle tug. His touch sent a bolt of electricity through her arm and down to her knees, making them wobble. She collapsed like a house of cards.
Directly onto Jude’s lap.
Indira blinked rapidly, accidently whipping Jude with her hair as she swiveled her head to look at him.
“We’ll share,” he said gruffly.
Indira was pressed so close she felt the words vibrating in his chest.
“Right,” Indira said, meeting his eyes, her voice breathy and soft.
Her heart hammered and head swam as sensations flooded her. The scent of flowers and Jude and his coffee-black eyes and the press of his thighs under hers and how she felt every twitch of his muscles echoed in her own. She couldn’t resist leaning into him a bit more.
Jude cleared his throat, and Indira, once again, tried to pull herself together. Which was a relatively impossible endeavor seeing as a sweet ache was gathering between her thighs, every movement making it more intense as a growing heat surged through her.
Indira felt Chris’s eyes on her, and she managed to tear her gaze away from Jude’s profile to look at him. Chris was staring, lips parted and brow furrowed.
“Need something, Chris?” Indira asked innocently, picking up a flower and spinning it between her fingers.
He shook his head and blinked away. Jude gave Indira’s arm a quick and friendly squeeze, and they smiled conspiratorially at each other.
Collin inserted himself in her line of sight, giving her a borderline angry look, one brow raised and lips pressed into a firm line as his eyes scanned his little sister perched on the lap of his best friend.
Fake, Indira mouthed to him, then she flicked her eyes in the direction of Chris, whose focus was bouncing between Indira and Lauren. Collin’s jaw relaxed a touch and he gave an almost-imperceptible nod.
“Doing okay, my… gorgeous goblin?” Indira whispered to Jude, getting to work on her flower waxing. She felt his nod against her shoulder.
“Yeah. Better,” he whispered back as he leaned forward to use the wax. His words tickled across her neck, creating goose bumps. “You’re like a human shield from sensory overload.”
“I’ll make sure to add that to my résumé.”
Jude chuckled softly, and they fell into a quiet flow, focusing on their pile of flowers while the other noises in the room faded to the background.
Good. This was all good. Their little ruse was working. Jude was feeling at least a bit more comfortable. Chris was getting a taste of his bitter medicine.
And Indira…
Well, Indira was once again trying to remind herself how very fake all of this was.
But Jude’s warmth was real and his touch was there and his heartbeat was a steady thump against her back.
Indira’s own heart was swelling with all the very real things she felt in this very fake moment.
