After Hours.... Christy McKellen
can’t be a very good friend if you’re ignoring each other.’
She sighed and tapped at the floor with the toe of her shoe. ‘It’s complicated.’
He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to go on.
After pausing for a moment, she decided there was no point in trying to gloss over it. ‘The thing is—his fiancée has a problem with me.’
‘Really? Why?’
‘Because I’m female.’
He folded his arms. ‘She’s the jealous type, huh?’
‘Yeah. And no matter how much Jack’s tried to convince her that our friendship is purely platonic, she won’t believe him. So I’ve been confined to the rubbish heap of Friends Lost and Passed Over.’ She huffed out a sigh. ‘I can’t really blame him for making that choice, though. He loves her and I want him to be happy, and if that means we can’t be friends any more then so be it.’
The look of bewildered outrage in Max’s expression made the breath catch in her throat and she practically stopped breathing altogether as he reached out and stroked his hand down her arm in a show of solidarity, his touch sending tingles of pure pleasure through every nerve in her body.
Staring up into his handsome face, she wondered again what it would feel like to have someone like Max for a partner. To know that he was on her side and that he had her back, no matter what happened.
But she was kidding herself. He was never going to offer her the chance to find out. She was his employee and she’d do well to remember that.
Tearing her gaze away from him, she glanced back across the room to where the fiancée in question had now appeared by Jack’s side. From a distance they appeared to be having a heated discussion about something, their heads close together as they gesticulated at each other. As she watched, they suddenly sprang apart and Jack turned to catch her eye again, already moving towards where she and Max were standing.
He was coming over.
Her body tensed with apprehension and she jumped in surprise as Max put his hand on her arm again, then increased his grip, as if readying himself to spirit her away from a painful confrontation.
‘Cara! It’s been ages,’ Jack said as he came to a stop in front of her, looking just as boyishly handsome as ever, with his lopsided grin and great mop of wavy blond hair.
‘It has, Jack.’
‘How are you?’ he asked, looking a little shame-faced now, as well he should. They’d become good friends after meeting at their first jobs after university and had been close once, spending weekends at each other’s houses and standing in as ‘plus ones’ at weddings and parties if either of them were single and in need of support.
There had been a time when she’d wondered whether they’d end up together, but as time had passed it became obvious that wasn’t meant to be. He was a great guy, but the chemistry just wasn’t there for her—or for him, it seemed. But seeing him here now reminded her just how much she missed his friendship. She could have really done with his support after Ewan sauntered away from their relationship in search of someone with less emotional baggage, but it had been at that point that his fiancée had issued her ultimatum, and Cara had well and truly been the loser in that contest.
Not that she blamed him for choosing Amber. She had to respect his loyalty to the woman he loved.
‘I’m great, Jack, thanks. How are you—’ she paused and flicked her gaze to his fiancée, who had now appeared at his side ‘—both?’ Somehow she managed to dredge up a smile for the woman. ‘Hi, Amber.’
‘Hi, Cara, we’re great, thanks,’ Amber said, acerbity dripping from every word as she pointedly wrapped a possessive arm around Jack’s waist. Turning to look at Max, she gave him a subtle, but telling, once-over.
‘And who’s this?’
‘This is Max...’ Cara took a breath, about to say my boss, when Max cut her off to lean in and shake hands with Amber.
‘It’s lovely to meet you, Amber,’ he said in the same smooth tone she’d heard him use to appease clients.
It worked just as well on Amber because her cheeks flooded with colour and she actually fluttered her lashes at him. Turning back to Cara, she gave her a cool smile, her expression puzzled, as if she was trying to work out how she’d got her hands on someone as impressive as Max.
‘Did Jack tell you—our wedding’s on Sunday so this evening is our last hurrah before married life?’ Amber’s eyes twinkled with malice. ‘Jack’s firm is very well reputed in the City and people practically throw invitations at him every day,’ she said, her tone breezy but her eyes hard, as though she was challenging Cara to beat her with something better than that.
Which, of course, she had no hope of doing.
Pushing away the thump of humiliation, Cara forced her mouth into the shape of a smile.
‘That’s wonderful—congratulations! I had no idea the wedding was so soon.’
Amber leaned in and gave her a pitying smile. ‘We’ve kept it a small affair, which is why we couldn’t send you an invitation, Cara.’
Max shifted next to her, pulling her a bit tighter against him in the process and surprising her again by rubbing her arm in support. She wondered whether he could feel how fast her pulse was racing through her body with him holding her so close.
‘But we had two spaces open up this week,’ Jack said suddenly and a little too loudly, as if he’d finally decided to step out of his fiancée’s shadow and take control. ‘My cousin and her husband have had to drop out to visit sick family abroad. If you’re not busy you could come in their place.’
Judging by the look on Amber’s face, she obviously hadn’t had this in mind when she’d agreed to be dragged over here.
‘It would be great if you could make it,’ Jack pressed, his expression open, almost pleading now. It seemed that he genuinely wanted her to be there. Perhaps this was his way of making things up to her after cutting her out of his life so brutally. At least that was something.
But she couldn’t say yes when the invitation was for both her and Max and she hated the idea of turning up and spending the day on her own amongst all those happy couples.
Before she could open her mouth to make up an excuse and turn them down, Max leaned in and said, ‘Thank you—we’d love to come.’
She swivelled her head to gape at him, almost giving herself whiplash in the process, stunned to find a look of cool certainty on his face.
‘Are you sure we’re not busy?’ she said pointedly, raising both eyebrows at him.
‘I’m sure,’ he replied with a firm nod.
Turning back to Jack, she gave him what must have been the weirdest-looking smile. ‘Okay—er—’ she swallowed ‘—then we’d love to come. Thanks.’
‘That’s great,’ Jack said, giving her a look that both said I’m sorry for everything and thank you.
‘We’d better go and get a drink before the performance starts again,’ Amber said with steel in her voice, her patience clearly used up now.
‘I’ll text you with the details, Cara,’ Jack said as Amber drew him away.
‘Okay, see you on Sunday,’ Cara said weakly to their disappearing figures.
As soon as they were out of earshot she turned to stare at Max, no doubt doing her impression of a goldfish again.
‘He’s a brave man,’ was all Max said in reply.
‘You realise they think we’re a couple?’
He nodded, a fierce intensity in his eyes causing a delicious shiver to rush down her spine. ‘I