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Any accent he may have had no longer remained.
He said that was because he’d lived in the states for his first five years.
Stefan had disputed that claim and said Nick did have more than a hint of an English accent until he’d been back in the U.S. for a few years.
Then he’d lost it.
Still, I always could tell there was something more formal about Nick’s speech pattern. So, hearing that he’d grown up in the UK made sense.
I’d only wished he would have told me about it, and that it didn’t take his friend coming back into town for me to find out.
They did try to include me in their conversation as much as possible.
I knew how it was when you hadn’t seen a good friend in a long time.
You could gab and gab and gab forever and the time seemed to slip away.
Which is what happened as lunch turned into midafternoon.
I’d excused myself a couple of times to take a break in the ladies room.
And trust me, the ladies room was more like a spa in this place.
Nick had chosen one of the fanciest restaurants in Chicago. They didn’t spare any expense on the bathrooms, either.
I’d sat on the plush couches in the powder room area, texting with Giselle and surfing my social media. After a while, I started to get bored.
When I strolled back to the table, I said to Nick, “I can get Lancaster to drop me back off at work. You guys stay and enjoy your time together.”
Nick grabbed my hand and tipped his head to the side. A sudden look of shock showed on his face like he had no idea why I’d want to leave. “We can go,” he said, looking up into my eyes and smiling with a worried look.
“No, no, nonsense. Let’s go back to your place, Nick. I forbid Eve’s escape. Nothing would make me happier than to really get to know my best friend’s woman better.” His words again made me feel hot.
I gazed down at Nick. “It’s fine, really. You guys have catching up to do. I’m just in the way.”
Stefan stood up quickly and dropped his napkin on the table. “I love having you between us, Eve,” he said with a deadly smirk. “We’ll go. Let me pay the tab first.”
Then he hurried off toward the front of the restaurant.
“Honestly, I’ll go to work,” I said as Nick stood up and pushed in his chair.
“We got lost in the good old days, I’m sorry. Stefan is one of my best friends. I would really love it if you stayed with us,” he said, dropping his head down and giving me a kiss.
The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him.
What was a few more hours of boredom if it made Nick happy?
“As long as it’s okay with work,” I said, giving him a hug, loving the feel of his warm body.
“Angel, you’re sleeping with the boss,” I heard Stefan say from behind me. “If there aren’t any perks from that, I don’t know what to say.” Then both he and Nick laughed again.
Back at Nick’s,Stefan opened up a bottle of wine and insisted I sit with them in Nick’s study.
Three glasses in, I started to feel a little tipsy—and a whole lot bored again.
I excused myself and said I was going for a swim.
Reluctantly, they both allowed it.
