“Josh! Come eat with us, man!”
Josh groaned, seeing no other way out, and made his way over to his friends. Shit.
Shelly watched in horror as Josh Daniels stepped through the makeshift door where Lena and Mason were now standing. He was dressed as he had been earlier, but now, he had a tool belt—oh god—wrapped around those amazing hips.
Lena must have noticed it, too.
Let’s face it. Who wouldn’t look at his crotch when that damn belt was designed to display it?
“You were leaving with your tool belt on?” Lena pointed out with a small laugh.
Shelly noticed Josh’s eyes glance over to her quickly, and then they moved directly to Roger where they zeroed in with an assessing gaze before returning back to Lena.
“Ah, yeah. I was on my way out and was going to put it in the back of my truck.”
Mason clapped him on the shoulder. “What’d you do? Trip over in the dark?”
Josh glared at his friend, and then nodded slightly. “Shut the hell up.”
Laughing, Mason moved to go back into the kitchen. Shelly kept her eyes on Josh as he moved around Lena. He then started to unbuckle his tool belt as he and Lena both walked over to a table across the room.
Shelly felt Roger nudge her arm. Moving her eyes to his, he asked, “Who’s Bob the Builder?”
Shelly almost winced at Roger’s condescending question. Then, she thought to herself, Am I just like that?
Dismayed at herself and feeling almost protective of Josh for some inexplicable reason, she answered softly but firmly, “That’s Josh Daniels. He’s one of Mason’s longest friends and his Best Man. He’s renovating next door.”
“Ahh, I see,” Roger answered, nodding. “I’ve never really understood the need to build things. Don’t really have the patience for it.”
Or the muscle, popped into Shelly’s head.
She smiled and answered, “Yes, it seems like hard work.”
Turning in the direction Josh had gone, Shelly looked across to where Lena stood chatting with him. She found herself making excuses, moving away from Roger, and headed toward her friend and DD.
Did this woman ever look anything but perfectly put together? Josh thought as he saw Shelly walking toward them.
The minute he’d come through the door he’d felt her eyes land on him. He’d made a conscious effort not to look in her direction until it was absolutely necessary, and even then, he’d made sure he’d kept his cool and not given anything away.
However, right at this moment, while Lena was facing her friend, Josh let his eyes roam all over her as she made her way toward them. She must’ve changed at work because she was now wearing a navy dress with white polka dots all over it. The sleeves hit her arm just above the elbow, and the pencil skirt of the dress landed an inch or so under her knee. The modest dress hid her body in the most sophisticated way, but to Josh, the fact that he couldn’t see anything just made it that much sexier. Damn, damn, damn!
Finally, she stopped in front of them and her eyes boldly latched onto his as she asked, “Playing with your tool so late at night, Josh?”
Feeling his mouth curve into a wicked grin, he was about to reply, but then Lena snapped at her.
“Shelly!”
Lena turned to face him quickly with apologetic eyes, and he saw Shelly behind her, giving him a thorough once over.
The woman is insane.How am I supposed to just stand here, letting her drive me crazy, and keep everything a secret? Hell, who knew, maybe she gets off on the thrill of being caught.
“Don’t worry, Lena. It’s okay,” Josh told her.
Looking back at Shelly, he returned her smug smile and replied, “I was cleaning up for the evening actually. I played with my tool a little earlier today.”
Lena shook her head and muttered, “You two are both idiots. Can we go and eat? Or are we going to start talking about secret gardens next like we don’t know that we’re alluding to a...” she trailed off, not brave enough to say it.
Shelly looked at her friend and asked sweetly, “Alluding to what, Lena? I don’t have a garden. Mine’s just a nice bare patch. What about you? Does Mason prune your garden?”
Josh choked on a strangled groan as Shelly looked at him with an evil smile full of pure mischief. That was when Lena threw her hands up and groaned, turning to stomp away. Josh looked at the sassy woman in front of him as she glanced quickly behind her to see that Mason had come out and was now talking to her Dr. Date.
“Did you do that on purpose?” he asked.
Josh watched Shelly’s eyes stray down to his mouth, and then come back up to meet his own.
“Do what? Embarrass Lena? She’ll be fine,” Shelly reassured.
“No. Run her away?”
She bit her bottom lip, and it immediately brought to mind other activities her mouth had been involved in earlier.
“Now, why would I do that?” she asked a little too innocently.
Leaning over a little closer so he could smell her—hmm, apples again—he said in a low voice, “So, you could be alone with me.”
Turning her head just an inch, he watched the corners of her mouth tilt up.
“And why would I want to do that?”
Josh stood back slowly and said in a soft whisper, “Because I owe you.”
He watched with complete satisfaction as her eyes clouded over.
She reached out to grab the back of a chair. “Do you?”
He moved around the table and was about to brush past her when she stepped in front of him. Looking down, he noticed her head tilted back, her eyes locking on his.
What kind of game is she playing with me?
She had a date here, and now, she was looking at him like she wanted to take him out the back and show him what was underneath her skirt.
Suddenly, Josh realized he didn’t like this deal anymore.
Leaning down slightly, he whispered, “New rule to our deal. You’ll get what I owe you, but first, you have to tell me something about yourself.”
He watched as her mouth fell open a little, and then she responded with a soft whisper, “That causes strings, Josh. I said no strings.”
He shrugged. “Then, I say I don’t owe you a thing.”
And, for the second time today, he walked away from her.
Shelly had just taken her seat next to Roger when Mason came in, carrying a huge bowl of pasta and a basket of garlic bread. He handed it to Lena who dished out her own, and then he sat down at the head of the table and started to pass the food around. The meal smelled absolutely amazing. The only problem, as far as Shelly could tell, was the immediate company.
To her left sat Roger, who was now chatting with Wendy and her husband, who’d arrived around fifteen minutes ago. Directly across from her was Lena, who was seated beside Josh, who was currently watching every single move Shelly made.
Oh, he’s being subtle, but she could feel his eyes tracking her like a predator tracking his prey. He needs to back off, or he’s going to get a punch in the gut—by me.
“Hey, everyone! Sorry I got held up,” Rachel said as she moved in behind Lena and Josh, taking the vacant seat beside him.
Shelly smiled over at her and asked, “Hot date?”
Rachel pulled her chair in laughing. “Ah, no. Not unless you call a flat tire a hot date?”
Shelly pretended to think about it, picking up her glass of wine. “Depends on who fixed it for you. Was it some hot, sexy mechanic in overalls?”
Lena snorted and asked, “Is this another one of your warped sexual fantasies?”