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“To us,” I agreed and he clinked his glass against mine.
“And we didn’t just do it, wekilled it. Your signature cocktails were outstanding. You might have even changed Dallas’ mind about plums.”
I laughed and took a long sip, enjoying the warm track the whiskey made down to my stomach.
“This could be it, you know?” he said, looking around the aftermath in front of us. When I'd walked in this morning and seen the florist at work, I’d been scared that when she finished the place would be unrecognizable. But it wasn’t, it was still Rudi, but more; Rudi, but elevated. Boughs of greenery hung from the beams overhead and explosions of flowers and leaves covered the small tables. It was stunning.
Since we started Rudi Blue, things had always been pretty comfortable. There had been some low periods of concern here and there, but on the whole we’d found a loyal group of locals who kept us in the black. This, though—hosting a celebrity wedding—this could be the thing to take us to the next level. It had the power to change things considerably. It was exciting and terrifying all at once.
“I can hear your wheels turning.” Mack nudged my knee with his elbow.
I bumped him back and had another sip. “We’ll probably need to hire more staff.”
“Extra security, too.”
I nodded and circled the amber liquid around in my tumbler, my mind already putting together a to-do list to start on tomorrow.
“Stop making your list and just enjoy the moment, Chase,” he said, shooting me a knowing smile.
I snorted into my glass. “I am enjoying the moment. I’m capable of enjoying the moment and making a list. It’s called multitasking.”
His chuckle rumbled in his chest as I emptied my glass. So much change just waiting to happen. What if I couldn’t manage it all?
“Nope.” He planted one large hand on my thigh and squeezed.
“Stop! No! Mack! No! No!” I squealed as his fingers dug in just above my knee and I fell sideways wheezing with laughter. “Stop!”
“You are not going to ruin this moment with your overactive brain!” he said, batting off my attempts to dislodge his hand from my leg as his fingers found the precise spot that nearly had me peeing my pants. “We helped to pull off a fucking wedding, Chase.”
“I know!” I said between bouts of giggles. “I know, please stop!”
His hand disappeared and I took a gulping breath, which turned into a squawk as he swept me off the bar and planted me on a stool. I tried to wriggle away, not keen for more tickles, but he caged me in, arms brushing my shoulders and chest in my face.
He hinged forward until we were eye to eye. “No more listening to Maureen, no more second guessing, whatever comes we deal with it, together, like we always do. Because we’re a team,” he said, pinning me to the spot with a fierce look.
“We’re a team,” I agreed, meeting his look with one of my own. “We’re the best team.”
The moment stretched as we continued to stare at one another and then, in a blink, something shifted. The air between us turned hot, charged with some crackling energy that made the hairs on the back of my neck and down my arms stand on end.
My heart rattled against my ribs. What the hell was happening? I’d felt that weird charge in the office earlier, but it had just been me, hadn’t it? It certainly didn’t feel that way now.
Was he going to kiss me? Did I want him to kiss me? I swallowed, my tongue darting out along my lower lip, the answer was yes. I did. I wanted Mack to kiss me.Holy shit. My breathing was quick and shallow as we both stayed exactly where we were. My eyes darted to his mouth. His to mine. I felt that look all the way down to my toes and they curled inside my boots.
Without letting myself think too much about what the hell I was doing, and how I’d feel about it tomorrow, I leaned in, my eyes fixed on his lips. The scratch of his stubble on my palms sent heat rolling down my center. Then the last of the space between our mouths disappeared and I was kissing my best friend. And it was … good. Really. Fucking. Good. My arms locked around his neck, pulling our bodies closer, and the low groan he made sent a fresh wave of want through me.
This should be awkward, shouldn't it? We’d been friends for too long for it to be this hot. To be this,everything. But it had been this way that first time, too, all those years ago.
My thoughts quieted as his tongue sought entry into my mouth. As soon as it touched mine, it was like a live wire ignited. What had started as slow, tender, and exploratory turned needy, messy, and raw as years of friendship crumbled in the face of whatever the fuck this was. My fingers tunneled into his sandy curls as his hands moved down to my hips and squeezed. We weren’t close enough. We would never be close enough. I wanted to crawl inside his skin.
The sound of the front door slamming shook me out of my lust trance and I pulled back—chest heaving, lips warm and swollen. Mack’s hands were still on my hips, gripping me like I was his anchor. We stared at each other, eyes searching for answers that I wasn’t sure either of us had.
Then, I heard it—a hitch of breath. Our attention swung towards the door and Nash sitting on his haunches, his head in his hands. My heart dropped into my stomach and, without a word, I was off the stool and moving.
I approached slowly, feeling Mack a step behind me. “Nash,” I said. He didn’t move, didn’t look like he’d even heard me. “Nash, hey, are you okay? What’s happened?”
“She’s gone,” he said to the floor and I shot a glance at Mack, my own concern mirrored in the swirling depths of his eyes. Neither of us needed to ask to know who he meant. Jemma. Jemma was gone.
The sparks had been flying between the two of them for weeks, ever since they had been thrown together to plan the wedding. Granted, Nadia showing up couldn’t have helped things; but what the fuck could have happened just now to send Nash into such a tailspin?
