Page 2 of The Baby Behind Their Marriage Merger

‘You were at my presentation this afternoon,’ Jude said, coming to stand next to her on the balcony.

He’d noticed her—really? She’d sat in the second-to-back row behind a large man and a woman with big hair. Addi swallowed and nodded. ‘I was,’ she replied, cursing her croaky voice. ‘It was interesting.’

He winced, humour flashing in his eyes. ‘“Interesting” good, or “interesting” boring?’

She raised one eyebrow at his comment. ‘I wouldn’t have taken you as someone who indulges in false modesty, Mr Fisher.’

He grinned at her sharp comment. ‘I guess that’ll teach me to go looking for compliments.’

‘The room was packed, the attendees hung off your every word and you were mobbed afterwards,’ Addi pointed out, trying to keep her smile from blooming.

‘I noticed you slipped out as soon as I was done talking,’ Jude said.

‘Unlike the others, I didn’t need anything clarified or any concepts explained.’ Green energy was a passion, but she wasn’t brave enough to tell him that she’d introduced measures to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and recycle at all the accommodation establishments under her control.

She wasn’t brave at all.

Jude gestured to her dress. ‘You look lovely,’ he said.

He didn’t need to add that she’d looked very different that afternoon. She’d been wearing her corporate Thorpe Industries uniform of a white shirt, black skirt, pale-green jacket and low heels. Her uniform wasn’t sexy or stylish, but it was free, and saved her from having to spend any money on work clothes. For that she was grateful.

‘Thank you,’ Addi said, catching the heat in his eyes. She’d been out of the man-woman ‘I think you’re hot’ game for so long and she couldn’t tell if he was interested or whether her imagination was running away with her. She gestured to his suit and lifted her eyebrows. ‘That’s a nice suit. Designer?’

Jude spread his arms and shrugged. ‘I have no damn idea,’ he admitted. He narrowed his eyes. ‘Does it matter?’

‘Not to me. Though it’s a bold move, not wearing a bow-tie, or even a tie, when everyone else is wearing a tuxedo,’ she commented, gesturing to his open-neck shirt under his black jacket.

‘I forgot to pack a tie.’ He shrugged, unconcerned. ‘What are they going to do—toss me out?’

No, of course, they wouldn’t. Frankly, the organisers would be grateful he’d chosen to attend the dinner and awards ceremony, because having him attend their conference had been a coup.

‘Do you always do whatever you want to?’ she asked, curious and not a little envious.

He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. ‘Is there any point in doing anything else?’

Spoken like a man who’d never had to please anyone but himself. He had no idea what it felt like to be confined, to be forced into a situation over which you had no control.

‘Don’t you?’

‘Don’t I what?’ she asked,

‘Always do what you like, when you want to?’

She almost laughed but managed to swallow it, knowing that her chuckle would hold no mirth. No, she didn’t. She worked, counted pennies, worked some more, drank wine with her sister and worked. Had she mentioned that? Before she could answer, he ran his thumb down her arm, his touch sending lightning bolting through her body.

She caught his hot gaze, saw desire flash within it and this time she had no doubt he was attracted to her. Heat flooded her system and goose bumps erupted on her skin. This was so strange, and she was miles out of her comfort zone. In some ways, she was standing outside of herself watching a movie, and she was in the starring role.

But tonight she didn’t want to be normal Addi, the Addi who was super-responsible, who worked too hard and played too little. She wanted to be the woman who belonged in this dress, confident and cool, sophisticated and stylish.

Just for tonight, she wanted to be the type of woman Jude dated.

‘As much as I can,’ she finally answered. Her statement wasn’t a lie. If she could have lived for herself, and been a little selfish, she would have. But at this point in her life she didn’t have the bandwidth, emotionally or financially, to be self-centred.

Addi glanced down at his hand resting on the balcony, wondering how it would feel to have those big hands skim her body and explore her bare skin. She felt her nipples tighten and her heart rate picked up as heat bloomed between her legs. This was sexual attraction, hot and hard. It had been so long that she barely recognised it.

His eyes moved from her mouth and back up to her face. ‘What is your name?’ he demanded, his voice lower than it was before. It now reminded her of smoky whisky, of late nights and out-of-control sex.

‘Addi,’ she whispered.

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