How did I know? I’d seen him being hit on a few times; I swear the guy was a magnet for horny women. Did it ever bother me? Not at all. It was always fun giving him a hard time about it afterward. And yes—he did occasionally leave with a few ofthem.
WasIthe settling down type? Well, I wasn’t looking to get married and I wasn’t looking to start a family. My career? That was mybaby.
Maybe this was why Josh and I had become friends over the past few months. We were perfect for each other—strictly asfriends.
And hopefully my body would eventually be fully onboard withthat.
Kelsey, Trent, and I chatted until Josh eventually showed up, looking like he had just finished playing triple overtime. Not once did I mention Nanna. Not once did I let on that something was wrong. I just happily worshiped mydrink.
And once I’d finished worshiping it, I started on roundtwo.
“Enjoy life, Holly,” Nanna’s laughing voice said in the back of my head. “You need to seize life by the horns and all that clichéd crap, and enjoy it while you can. You don’t want to be like your parents—miserable all thetime.”
I raised my glass as if to say cheers toher.
“Did I miss anything?” Josh asked as he sat in the empty chair next to me—and a happy heat that had nothing to do with the alcohol made a mad dash to my girlieparts.
All right, ten percent had to do with the alcohol. But the rest was unmistakablelust.
Down girls.This was Josh—Trent’s friend—we were talking about. We were totally not goingthere.
Somehow the “down” and “going” part got twisted in my head, and an image flashed across my mind of him actually going down onme.
And that was like tossing gasoline on a fire.Kaboom!
I squirmed in my seat, hoping no one noticed how aroused Iwas.
The waitress picked that moment to check if we needed another round of drinks. I ordered a third daiquiri. “I’m taking a cab home,” I announced at Kelsey’s worriedexpression.
“Are you okay?” sheasked.
“Yes. My mother phoned before I came here to tell me my grandmother died.” Did that sound I-don’t-want-to-ruin-your-fun casual? Somewhat close to thatmaybe?
“Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Holly.” Kelsey looked ready to fling herself across the table and hug me. Did I mention how much I loved her? I could guarantee Mum wouldn’t be hugging me when I showed up for the funeral. More like running around like an emu with its arse feathers on fire while she spoke to the caterer about theevent.
“It’s okay,” I said brightly, thanks to the brilliant invention known as a strawberry daiquiri. “She wouldn’t want you to feel sad or sorry about it. She’s probably watching from Heaven, wondering when I’m going to toast her with tequilashots.”
Josh chuckled. The god of laughter had definitely been more generous with him. It was a sexy, full-bodied laugh that made delicious places I didn’t know existed on my body ache withdesire.
Hmm.Maybe that wasn’t such a good thing. Now I was even hornier than before. As in, I’m-ready-to-jump-him-at-the-tablehorny.
Josh waved the waitress over and ordered a round of shooters for him andme.
“You really don’t want one?” he asked Kelsey. Trent was driving them back to her homeafterward.
“I’m positive,” she said. “Tequila and I had a bad run-in at a party once and I haven’t been able to touch the drinksince.”
“Looks like it’s just you and me then, Hot Stuff,” he said tome.
The corner of my mouth slid up. “Okay, CoolStuff.”
The space between Kelsey’s eyes crinkled in confusion. “Hot Stuff? Cool Stuff? Am I missing somethinghere?”
“He’s referring to my hair color,” I explained, “and I’m referring to hisoccupation.”
She laughed. “Gotit!”
The waitress returned a few minutes later with lemon wedges, salt, and shooter glasses filled with tequila, all of which she set in front of Josh andme.
