“There’s the woman of the hour,” Bram says, but to my surprise it’s Lachlan who moves over in the booth to make room for me.
I give Lachlan a grateful smile and sit down next to him. Tonight I’m wearing a black fringe skirt with bare legs and when he glances down at them briefly, his own thighs so close to mine, I hope he likes what he sees.
If he does, though, he doesn’t give any indication. He doesn’t say anything at all, just takes a sip of his water. I watch his throat as he swallows until I can tell that Bram is staring at me.
I tear my eyes away to glare at Bram, but he’s already shaking his head like I’m being ridiculous. I ignore him and pull the article out of my purse, unfolding it and holding it out.
“Did you guys want to read the article?” I ask, and Bram immediately snatches it from my hands.
I glance at Lachlan. “It’s all about you. You really should read it first.”
He gives me a fleeting smile and scratches at his beard. “I’ll read it when it goes to print. Seems more special that way.”
Bram looks over the paper at Lachlan for a second, frowns, then goes back to reading. I drum my fingers anxiously along the edge of the table, waiting for his final verdict.
“Well, well, well,” Bram finally says. He hands it back to me and gives me a charming grin. “I’m impressed.”
“Really?”
“Aye. Reads like the real thing. Thank you,” he adds emphatically. “I think that this could really help.”
“I fucking hope so,” I tell him. “I wrote the shit out of this thing.”
“That you did. And you made Mr. Rugby here sound like an angel.” Bram picks up his drink and raises it to Lachlan in a mock toast.
Lachlan grunts in return before excusing himself. I quickly hop out of the booth, and as he gets out, his arm brushes against mine. I nearly burst from the sensation, that quick whisper of hot skin that sends my whole body ablaze.
He saunters off toward the bathroom and I watch that ass in those jeans for as long as I can. It’s becoming a bit of a habit. The best habit.
“Look at you,” Bram says teasingly.
I whirl around and glare at him. “Look at me what?”
“You,” he says, then nods toward the washroom. “Him. You are such the smitten kitten.”
“Smitten kitten?” I repeat, sitting back down. “You’ve been hanging around Nicola too long.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so hung up on someone before,” he adds.
“What?” I exclaim. “That’s ridiculous! I’m always hung up on someone.”
He presses his lips together, shaking his head. “Nope. Not like this. I know your looks. You’re practically drooling.”
“Bullshit,” I say, leaning across the table and looking him in the eye. “You may think you know me, Bram, but you don’t. So I think your cousin is hot, so what?”
“Just hot?” he says. He swirls his scotch around his glass and grins down at it. “All right. Too bad the smitten kitten is climbing up the wrong tree.”
My face twists in confusion. “Huh? Why are we still talking about cats?”
He shrugs. “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. As if you couldn’t figure it out already. He’s not so easily…swayed.”
I roll my eyes. “Believe me, I’ve figured that out.”
And yet when Lachlan returns and asks if I want something to drink, my heart starts dancing to a hopeful beat.
“Hmmm,” Bram muses, watching him go.
“Let me guess, he never normally buys girls drinks,” I say.
“Not that I’ve seen,” he says. “Then again, he doesn’t drink much anyway.”
I want to press Bram more about that, find out why. With his bruiser personality, Lachlan doesn’t seem like the straight-edge type. But if it’s something personal, I know Bram will shut me down.
Soon Lachlan comes back with another glass of water for himself and a Bellini for me. He slides it along the table to me and says, “This is thanks. For the article.”
Oh. So he wasn’t buying me a drink because he finally realized I was hot stuff. Damn.