He looks the same, a few more grays peppered around his ears and lines etched around his eyes. In an instant, I’m transported back to 2006 when we would all stumble in here after work, ties loosened after busting our arses all day in our junior roles.
I love New York, but damn, I’ve missed this.
“Mate,” Noah says, shaking my hand and pulling me in for a hug.
“Good to see you, mate,” I say.
“It’s been too long,” he says.
“It has. How’s Elena? How are the kids?” Noah married Elena shortly after Casey and I tied the knot. His wife was best friends with Casey, but when she started partying, they grew apart. Three kids later, I’m so thankful Noah and Elena and I have remained close friends.
Noah fills me in on life and how the lads are. I laugh as we reminisce about old times, the nights we’d get rip-roaring drunk and stumble home at dawn and somehow make it into the office a few hours later. I tell him all about New York, my new role and why I’m currently in London, about Gray Hotel and, I suspect due to the three pints I drink, I tell him about Gemma.
His eyes light up with that old glint. “It’s been a while since you’ve fancied anyone, innit?” he says, nudging me with his elbow.
I shake my head and smile. “I don’t fancy her. She’s Anna’s best friend. A pain in my arse, more like it.”
He guffaws. “Oh, bollocks.” He points at me with his index finger, the way he always did when calling out my bullshit. “I know that look. It’s the same look you had when you first told me about Casey. You like her.”
My smile drops at the mention of my ex, but I quickly recover, taking a swig of my beer.
He notices and quickly adds, “All I’m saying is that it wouldn’t be the worst thing to explore your attraction to Gemma. Just have a shag and move on with it, yeah? You’ve been wound tighter than a pair of testicles in skinny jeans since the divorce.”
That earns him a laugh. He has no idea how many women I’ve bedded since moving to New York.
“Anna’s going through some shit with her husband,” I say, staring into my lager. “I don’t think it’s the right time to get in her best friend’s knickers.”
He frowns, turning to fully face me. “You’re telling me your sister, who’s nearly thirty-five years old, has a problem with two of her favorite people enjoying each other’s company?” He shakes his head. “That’s just an excuse, mate. You’re all adults. You’re entitled to make your own decisions. She’ll get over it.”
“I work with the woman,” I say, as if it’s obvious that I shouldn’t be entertaining the idea of sleeping with her. Because itisobvious.
I take another sip and his eyes narrow. “Yeah, but only for this campaign. Once the hotel’s opened, you’ll fly back to New York and you won’t have to worry about seeing her again.”
He chuckles before taking a sip of his drink. “You’re making this a bigger deal than it is, you realize? It’s only sex.”
And that’s just it. She’s the kind of woman who could absolutely ruin me. She’s witty, ambitious, and sexy as sin. She’s everything I’d ever want in a woman, which is why I can’t have her. Because the second I sink into her, I’ll be done for.
Getting through six more weeks of working together will be hell when all I can think about is touching her. And once I get a taste? There’s no chance it’ll be the last.
And, at that moment, as if I manifested the woman herself, I hear a laugh.
Herlaugh.
Of all the thousands of bars in London, of course she’d be at this one.
I close my eyes and release a long exhale before turning around. I immediately locate the source of the unmistakable sound.
She’s there with her fingers elegantly curled around a glass of white wine, her head thrown back as she giggles at something I can’t hear. One leg elegantly crossed over the other, revealing toned calf muscles. The hem of her skirt rides up enough to expose a glimpse of her shapely thigh.
Henry sits opposite her wearing a wide smile I immediately want to punch off his face. He leans in, speaks again, and she guffaws again.
I hate that he makes her laugh like that. It should be mine to draw out, not his.
The intrusive questions invade my thoughts.Has he fucked her? Is this what they do every week? Meet after work for a drink before he takes her back to his place and bends her over every flat surface? Has he tasted her? Licked that smooth skin? Heard his name while she cried it out?
My body tenses.
“Jesus, mate. What’s gotten into you?” Noah asks, following my gaze until he stops on Gemma. He lifts his eyebrows with understanding. “Ah. Let me guess—”
