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She cast what she hoped came over as a flirtatious glance from under her lashes, saw him draw in a breath and knew she’d hit the mark.“Are you sure about that?”she asked, and wow, did her voice come out low and sultry.
Carts gave a little cough and adjusted his tie.Her gaze sprang to his throat and his Adam’s apple bobbed.“I think on that note we should probably go and grab our table,” he said huskily.
As he stood back to let her go first, his height made her feel safe, and… petite.Mark was several centimetres shorter than her and it had always been a bone of contention.He’d insisted on her wearing flats, otherwise he said he felt like a kid out with his mum.
The memory brought on the familiar droop to her spine.She straightened, but try as she might, she couldn’t quite get that sultry vibe back.Luckily a waiter swooped and showed them to their table.
Judith sat down, put her bag on the floor, flicked her hair around her shoulders and found herself playing with a strand.Oh god, why couldn’t she just be calm and sophisticated?She tethered her hands tightly in her lap.
By now Carts had removed his jacket and placed it carefully on the chair back and sat down opposite her.An awkward silence ensued while the waiter shook out their napkins, placed them on their laps, and then left them with the drinks menu.
Carts frowned as his eye travelled up and down the page.
“Do you prefer red or white?”He shot her a slightly panicked look.“Or we could go for a rosé… or even a sparkling?”
“How about we get a bottle of the house white?”she suggested, and his face immediately relaxed.
“Easy-peasy,” he agreed, and placed an arm on the table.His elbow knocked his water glass and he grabbed it quickly to stop it upending.Judith’s heart went out to him; long arms and small tables, she knew from personal experience, were a bad combination.
When the waiter had taken their order and left, she drew in a deep breath.
Carts did the same.
“How was your day?”they both said in unison.
After the firstcourse Carts could feel his nervous system dialling down from flame-grilled to nicely marinated.Nothing at all to do with his twice-cooked lamb shank, excellent though it was, and everything to do with basking in Judith’s attention.
After those awkward first moments, they’d talked with relative ease.If there was a brief moment of silence, Judith would say something, and he’d look at her and shake his head and say, “Oh my god, I was just about to askyouthat.”
He’d even managed to remove his tie, flip open the top two buttons of his shirt and bask in the glorious feeling of Judith’s gaze roaming to his neck.When he’d glanced at her she’d flicked her eyes away quickly.But he’d seen it, and it felt like a warm hug around his heart.
By dessert they’d worked through why they’d chosen their careers—briefly, on his part, because he knew he was prone to yabbering on about himself.Besides, what was remotely interesting about choosing to be an accountant?Instead, he’d let Judith talk about how her love of people and the arts had combined in her dream job as an occupational therapist.And now they were onto siblings.
“So, I’m the oldest, Luke’s the middle child and then Pippa’s the youngest.She was a kind of afterthought.And she’s really different from the rest of us.”
“In what way?”
“Rambunctious, I’d describe her as.”
“Good word.What’s it mean exactly?”English never had been his strong suit at school.
“I guess like it sounds.Energetic.Boisterous.”
“Not at all like you then.”He softened his tone, gazed deeply into her eyes.Until a sliver of hair fell across his vision, and he had to flick it out of the way.
“Should I take that as a compliment?”Judith asked, toying with a piece of chicken.
“Absolutely.”
She looked down, her cheeks pink.He hoped he wasn’t being too forward with the compliments; it would be awful to come over as a sleaze.Frankly, this whole dating business was a minefield of possible wrong moves.
“Avery is a lot younger than you, isn’t she?”Judith said, smiling in a way that was definitely encouraging.Nevertheless, he was relieved at the subject change.He’d told Judith proudly about Avery’s music talent at one of their after-yoga chats a couple of weeks ago.Of course, he’d wanted to impress someone as artistic as Judith, but also, he was seriously proud of his little sis.
“Yes, there’s fourteen years between us.Mum had some fertility problems, hence the big age gap.She’s sixteen.”He thought about the party problem and sighed.
“Is something the matter?”Judith asked.Perceptive or what?
“Oh just… things aren’t the best with her right now.”
