Her honey eyes fill with frustration. She blinks and it’s gone. “Great, actually. I just got a promotion.”
“Oh? What do you do?” Leighton asks.
“Ryan never mentioned it?” Penny asks.
“No.” Leighton pulls me closer. “We don’t really talk about the past. Well, most of the time, we aren’t exactly talking.”
My laugh dissolves the tension in my shoulders.
She’s too good at this.
I rest my hand on Leighton’s hip. Right over the strap of her tiny bikini. “Baby, you’re insatiable today.”
“Look at what you’re wearing.” Her fingers skim my bare stomach. She draws circles on my skin.
My eyelids press together.
That feels too fucking good.
Too fucking real.
I pull every soft inch of her body against mine.
Lean down to press my lips to hers.
Her hand knots in my hair. She holds my head against hers, sucking on my bottom lip.
Groaning as I scrape my teeth against her lip.
My body wakes up.
Desire races through my veins.
Blood flows south.
Finally, I feel the warmth of the sun.
No, it’s her. Every soft inch of her.
Then she pulls back, and Penny is there, and clouds are everywhere again.
Fuck, this is confusing.
I shake it off. Step into my role.
Acting isn’t my strong suit. But I know Penny well enough to do this.
She’s standing there, her wide-brimmed straw hat casting a shadow over her pretty face. She’s as beautiful as she was the day we met. Still a head shorter than I am. Still model thin. Still polished.
“I work in marketing.” She digs a French manicured nail into the tip of her thumb. “My father works with Ryan’s.”
“Oh.” Leighton’s blue-green eyes bore into mine. “At the ‘anonymous’ MBA job.”
“They introduced us when we were kids,” Penny says. “Mom used to tease me about how I was going to marry Ryan one day.”
“Her parents lost interest in that idea after I got my first tattoo.” My fingers go to the Latin quote on Leighton’s ribs. Trace the letters.
Her lips part with a sigh. Her knees press together. Her head turns to one side.