“Officially, five months. But we’ve been separated for nearly a year and a half.”
He reaches for her hand. “I’m sorry.”
But he’s not. I know Josh. Under that caring, I’m-your-pal demeanor, he’s smiling. All he’s thinking about is that, after eighteen months apart, she’s probably over the ex and ready to move on. I know because it crossed my mind, too, before I could stop it.
Grunting, I toss back the last of my beer. “What kind of challenge are you looking for?”
The kind where you take two hard-as-fuck men into your gorgeous body at once?The thought whips across my traitorous brain. A mental image of the three of us entwined parks itself behind my eyes. Josh jerks his stare my way. He’s aroused just by being around Kate. I see it in the color on his cheeks and his bright eyes. Thankfully, she seems oblivious.
“I’ve worked on a lot of different projects. Frankly, I fielded multiple offers when Savannah extended me this one, but the opportunity to really step out of my comfort zone and work on high-end commercial projects appealed to me.”
Josh nods like her damn bestie. “Were you specifically looking to leave Phoenix?”
She hesitates. “It made this offer more appealing than others.”
“Does Derrick still live there?” I ask.
“Yes.”
That explains a lot.
Josh’s face softens. “You know, if you need a friend, an ear, a sounding board…”
Kate pulls her hand from his. “I appreciate that, but we work together. My past isn’t important to our professional relationship. What about you two? How long have you been with Force Financial?”
I exchange a glance with Josh. She’s nervous; we do that to her. We both know it. No surprise she’s avoiding the sore spot of her divorce. But there’s more to the story. I’m convinced of that.
“Almost since inception,” I answer. “Chad, Josh, and I all played football together from peewee to high school. We decided to follow Chad to Harvard because he was loving the education and the experience.” Especially the copious amounts of pussy, but I don’t mention that. “After he graduated, he started the firm. We joined a few years after, once we’d finished school. Collectively, we’ve grown the organization together.”
“What he said,” Josh quips with a smile. “Chad isn’t just our boss. He’s like a brother.”
“That’s great. Working with people you like makes a huge difference in your job satisfaction.”
“Sounds like you’ve worked with someone you didn’t like.”
She smiles tightly. “Haven’t we all?”
I have a suspicion she means Derrick. “Not often, thank god.”
“Lucky you.” She takes one more spoonful of her bread pudding, then pushes her dessert away. “I can’t eat another bite.”
“Can I try it?” I ask.
“It’s all yours.”
As I reach for the plate, I accidentally elbow my fork off the table and onto the floor. “Damn it.”
“Let me.”
My clumsiness seemingly puts her at ease, and she smiles as she spoons up some of her bread pudding, along with the melting ice cream, and extends it toward me. Instead of taking the utensil from her hand, I lean in and open my mouth. She’s slightly surprised but doesn’t stop or correct me, merely eases the dessert onto my tongue.
It’s amazing, but having her reach out to me, to feed me from her hand, is distinctly sexual. “Hmm.”
“Can I try some, too?” Josh asks, his voice sounding huskier than normal.
“Sure.”
In seconds, she’s spooning bites of her bread pudding past my buddy’s lips. “Do you like it?”