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She’d known him and his mother for years, since he and Victor were kids in playschool. He was young enough to be her son. He was her friend’s son, and her own son’s best friend. And she was too old for him, much too old.
I’m old enough to be his mother.
“Tea’s up!”
Her heart leapt at the husky voice.
Aimlessly scrubbing her hair, she swung around to find Hugh standing in the doorway, holding two steaming mugs. The vision was as breath-taking as it had been when he had been standing in the doorway. The image of him, in those casual distressed jeans and tight shirt, radiating such raw masculinity, an alpha male at ease in his territory, made her long to be twenty years younger.
He placed them on the coffee table.
“Still lots of milk and three sugars, right?”
Placing the towel over the headrest of one of the two matching armchairs that encircled one side of the table, she sat in one corner of the sofa that sat opposite. Able to practically feel the heat of his eyes on her skin through her clothes, she picked up the mug and sipped. Sweet and just that little bit shy of hot. Perfect.
“Cheers.”
Elizabeth sipped and sipped until she knew she couldn’t avoid talking to Hugh any longer without seeming rude. Then she mentally kicked herself. She was being ridiculous.
This was Hugh, just Hugh. It didn’t matter that he had grown into a smouldering and sexy-as-hell Adonis. It was still Hugh. She focused on that, trying to think of the little boy she’d used to watch play in the park.
“So, Jen and Mike took off to the sun and gave you run of the house, huh? Where’d they go?”
“Gran Canaria,” he answered, sitting beside her. As it was a two-seater, there was just enough room on the sofa for them both, just. “Dad scored a big commission, so they rented a condo out there for the month to celebrate.”
“Lucky for some…” Elizabeth could feel herself shaking from his closeness. His tone was offhand and casual, but the way the smokiness of his voice curled around the words, he might as well have been whispering dirty fuck-me-talk right in her ear. “So, does this mean you’ve finished your pupillage?”
He picked his own mug up off the glass tabletop. “Yep, I’m now a fully certified and experienced lawyer.”
“That’s great.” Her breath caught as he drank, her eyes immediately fixing on the subtle movements of his throat as he swallowed. Then she noticed his eyes, those intense, baleful blue eyes, burning bright against the inky dark of his pupils, watching her over the rim. She quickly looked away. “What are you going to do now? Take a break here while your parents are away, then head off back to the city? Get snapped up by some big firm and become a hotshot city lawyer? I could just see you in the Old Bailey, parading around in your robe and wig. Then hitting the streets with your expensive tailored suits and flash super car to turn all the girls heads. You were always a flash git, even when you and Victor were kids.”
“Ouch,” he mocked a hurt look. Then, putting the mug down, he rounded on her, the force of his presence enough to have her edging back into the sofa. “No, actually I’m here to stay. I took a job with a small firm down in Taunton. And I’m not involved in criminal law. I handle insurance.”
“Insurance?”
“Yeah, insurance, and a bit of property law. It’s less glamorous but steadier.” As he spoke, Elizabeth couldn’t help noticing he was edging closer. “And my clients aren’t likely to throw acid in my face if I can’t get them off.”
Their growing proximity had awareness tingling through her arms, and heat gathering in the pit of her belly. “Fair point. So, you’ve just moved back into your old room? Aren’t you a bit… err, big for that now?”
“A little.” He teased and actually winked at her. “That’s why I’m kipping in the spare room while I look for a place of my own.”
“To rent?”
“Afraid so.”
He was getting closer, too close.
“Well, it shouldn’t take long to find somewhere, if you know where to look. You know, there are some delightful places over my way.” Fuck, why had she said that?
“I remember.” His voice lowered, growing hotter like the space between them. “You’ll have to show me around. Give me the grand tour.”
In spite of herself, Elizabeth’s heart leapt at the idea.
“Sure, pop round anytime you’re free and I’d be happy to show you the neighbourhood.” God, what was she saying? She really needed to stop talking now. But she couldn’t stop herself. It had just come out as her mind swam with the thought of him and her, alone, that body pushing up against her, all hard and male, his wicked mouth doing unspeakable things.
No, this wasn’t good. She needed to get things onto a safer ground. “I know Victor would love it. You haven’t seen him in ages. And it’s such a great place to start a family. I’m sure your girlfriend will love it.”
He smirked, as if he could see how close she was to snapping. And revelled in it. “Well, that sounds great. All I need to do now is to find a wife.”
