Sean goes in for a top of the head kiss as soon as he’s next to her. “Look who I brought with me.”
Her gaze travels over my face, landing on the open buttons at the top of my shirt. “It’s semi-casual Harry.”
I bite back a laugh, but Sean is all in. He chuckles loudly. “Good catch, Ava. It’s rare to see him without a tie.”
She nods as we take our seats. I grab the one right next to her because I’m greedy. Sean sits on the other side of his sister. The table is small, circular, and decked out with enough silverware to accommodate half of Manhattan.
I push a fork to the side to rest my elbow down. “Sean told me this is a belated birthday lunch.”
“Or a Thursday afternoon lunch.” She sighs. “You know my brother. He likes to celebrate every little thing.”
I glance down at her lap to see her hands fisted together as they rest on her red pants.
Knowing that Sean can’t see my hands, I reach for her knee and squeeze it gently. I’m going for a reassuring gesture, but judging by the look she tosses me, it strikes her in a much different way.
It does the same for me because my gaze just traveled up her body and past the black lace bra that is barely visible beneath the blouse.
I’d dump half my fortune in her lap if she’d steal ten minutes away with me right fucking now.
Sean motions toward a male server standing a few feet away. “Every little thing is worthy of a celebration, Ava. I’ll grab us some champagne, so we can toast to you.”
She steals a glance at me when my hand slips from her knee. “How have you been, Harry?”
Aching. Craving. Needing.
Those are the words I want to use to describe how I’ve been feeling since the last time I saw her, but I take a deep breath to curb all of that. “Fine, Ava. You?”
“I’ve been great.” She turns her attention to the waiter as he approaches our table. Sean orders a bottle of champagne and some appetizers for all of us.
I use the opportunity to lean closer to Ava to inhale the scent of her perfume. It’s both comforting and intoxicating.
My cock swells in my pants, so I rest my back on my chair, close my eyes, and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I invited myself to have lunch with a woman I can’t keep my hands off of and her brother, my best friend.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Ava
Harry and I watch Sean take off in a sprint down the sidewalk outside of Nova. Declan ordered him back to the office. After telling our brother to go to hell twice on one call, Sean paid for lunch, thanked me for making time for him, and told us he had to take off.
Since the champagne bottle was empty and our plates were cleared, Harry and I walked him out.
“He’s in a rush,” I point out the obvious when Sean disappears around the corner.
“Are you?”
My gaze wanders up Harry’s chest to his neck and then beyond to his striking face. “No. Why?”
A smile ghosts his lips. “I thought we could hang out.”
“Hang out?” I parrot. “Is that what you call it?”
Amusement plays in his eyes as he keeps them pinned on me. “Call what, Ava?”
I inch closer to him. “Fucking.”
His gaze drops to my lips. “You’re trying to make me hard.”
“You are hard.” I sigh. “You were hard right through lunch. It’s impossible to hide when you’re that well-endowed.”
“Thank you, I think.” He smiles.
His phone rings again. It’s the third time in the past five minutes. Each time, he’s let it ring straight through to voicemail.
“Someone wants your attention.” I point at his suit jacket. “Wherever you’re hiding your phone, it’s not going to stop ringing until you answer it.”
“They can wait.” He closes the little distance left between us with measured steps. “I want to take you from behind, Ava. Pull your hair. Make you scream.”
“I can’t think of a better dessert than that.”
A chuckle falls from his lips. “So we’re heading to your apartment?”
His phone starts ringing again.
“Answer that,” I say. “It won’t stop until you do.”
He lets out a frustrated noise. “Fuck. Fine. Give me two minutes to tell them to go to hell.”
“What?” he barks into the phone as soon as it’s at his ear. His tone and expression change almost instantly when he hears the voice on the other end of the call. “Hey, Jos.”
I move to take a step away to give him privacy, but he reaches forward to stall me in my tracks by tugging on one of the belt loops on my pants.
“Shit, alright.” He tosses me a defeated look. “I’ll head over there now.”
The call ends without another word.
“I take it that you can’t indulge in dessert today?” I ask, trying to keep my voice airy even though I’m beyond disappointed.