She smiled into his gorgeous blue eyes, and then she felt it, a little tingle of chemical connection. Good. It was coming back. For a while she’d worried.
“Nice story.” Derek looked as if he’d eaten something that made him sick. The tingle died, and she felt slightly sullied and shamed.
What the heck for? What weird power was this guy starting to have over her? She didn’t know, but this had to be the beginning and the end of it.
“Hey, Addie, you ready for a refill on that punch?”
She nodded emphatically. “Definitely. Thanks, Kevin.”
“No problem. Hey, Sarah.” He shoved Addie’s glass toward her. “Addie wants more punch. Could you go get her some?”
Small beat of silence at the table.
“I’m kidding.” Kevin laughed; that loud warm laugh that could still make her fizzy, though this time mostly in relief. The rest of the table joined in. Probably not Derek, but Addie couldn’t bring herself to check. “I’m getting Addie some punch, do you want some? Carrie? Joe?”
Kevin collected cups and walked off. Addie stared after him, noting the breadth of his shoulders, the elegant tapered line down to slender hips and wiry runner’s thighs. She’d have that body next to hers tonight.
Fear and adrenaline hit her hard. She needed more punch. Now. Hurry, Kevin.
“Addie.”
Derek. She turned reluctantly, dreading what those brown eyes were going to do to her.
Yup. They did.
“What?” She sounded irritable. Because she was.
“You don’t have to do this.”
She froze, eyes open wide. How did he know about the seduction? Sarah didn’t...no, she couldn’t have. He couldn’t have any idea what he’d just said. She needed to calm down.
“Don’t have to do what?”
“Be with this guy if it doesn’t feel right.”
“I know. I know that.” She sounded like a petulant child. “I do.”
He pressed his lips together. That grim look again. She wanted to slap it off him. Or kiss—
No.
“Okay.” He picked up his plate and his beer. “But I think you’re making a big mistake.”
“Who’s making a mistake?” Sarah turned rather sloppily to stare at Derek. “Addie? What’s she doing wrong?”
Addie jerked her head toward where Kevin had gone.
Sarah gasped. “You told him?”
“Told her what, what’s this?” Carrie was perkily fascinated, “What’s goin’ on?”
“Addie told me she wants to start a round of female naked cliff diving after dinner.” Derek shook his head somberly. “I told her she was making a mistake. We should wait until midnight. And it should be co-ed.”
The table erupted into shouts of laughter, then into a cacophony of increasingly bad suggestions.
Addie sent Derek a grateful look. He gave a curt nod and strode over to join Paul’s table, where he was immediately pounced on by a blonde big-boobed woman Paul worked with who was probably incredibly nice—any friend of Paul’s had to be—but at that moment Addie hated her. And then herself for caring at all when she had The One That Got Away waiting on her, hand and foot.
“Here we go.” Kevin handed drinks around, then sat close to Addie, clinked his beer bottle with her glass and leaned forward to speak privately. “Here’s to finding you again, Addie. I think you’re a remarkable woman and I look forward to getting to know you again this weekend. I feel like I made a big mistake letting you out of my life.”
Ooh. Serious melt. “Thank you, Kevin. That was really sweet. I’ve thought of you a lot over the years, too.”
His grin would be able to charm a cobra. “Cheers.”
She clinked with him and raised the glass to her lips, holding his eyes. Definite tingles that time. Big ones. She was transported right back to his car, eleven years earlier, and the way he kissed her, with such sweet reverence, again and again, until passion took them over and turned the kisses hot and breathless.
Sorry, Derek. She’d made up her mind.
Tonight she was climbing those stairs and finishing off eleven years of foreplay.
5
“BEDTIME, JOE.” Sarah pointed toward the stairs leading to the Bossons’ second floor. She, Joe and Addie were sitting in the living room in front of a fire crackling in the brick hearth, warding off the evening’s chill. Other guests were already in bed or on the beach stargazing. Kevin had just gone upstairs, kissing Addie’s cheek and smiling meaningfully—maybe?—as he left. Which meant he was probably now in bed. Which meant seduction was imminent.