Page 30 of Because of Them

By the time the cockatoos are screeching their early evening song from the large gumtree in the backyard, Audrey has retreated indoors to rest her feet and I’m starting to feel like it’s probably time to go.

“So, you and … Amy?” I ask Noah in one last effort to make adult friends.

“Amira?”

Heat flares through my temples, even though she wasn’t around to hear me get her name wrong. “Shit. Yeah, sorry. I’m shit at names.”

“It’s all cool. But nah. Maybe? I don’t think so.”

“Sounds confusing.”

He takes a long pull of his beer, emptying the bottle. Bringing it down, he spins the glass between his hands. “Itisconfusing. I wish I knew. But she needed a date for a wedding and so I went. Honestly, I thought maybe it could have meant something, but I don’t think it did.”

His eyes turn down, shoulders rolling as he loses the confidence he held all day.

“At least not to her, right?” I nudge.

“Yeah.”

When he chooses not to elaborate, I opt not to pry. This guy is pretty cool. I might be a bit of an outsider between rich guy Callum, his lawyer brother-in-law, and distinguished Oliver, but with Noah, it’s different. Sure, he owns a very successful winery, but he doesn’t act like it. He acts like any other mate. And although I’ve only just met him, I feel like that’s exactly what he is.

Audrey pokes her head outside, asking if I’m ready to leave. And I am if she is.

After we’ve said our goodbyes and made our way back to the car, the temperature in the air between us begins to spike.

When she pulls the car onto the road, her hand reaches across to rest on my knee. Fire burns from her touch, but I lean into it, placing my hand on hers to give it a tight squeeze.

“I told Maisie today,” she says without taking her gaze from the road ahead.

“How did she take it?”

“She was more interested in sleepovers.”

Audrey pulls her hand back, pressing her palm into her own lap before bringing it up to the steering wheel.

“I don’t blame her, sleepovers are fun.” They were fun as kids, and they are damn fun now. Just for very different reasons. And I don’t want to ‘sleepover’ with anyone other than Audrey now.

A knowing smirk peaks through her tough exterior as Audrey shifts in the seat. Her grip on the steering wheel grows tight. “Yeah, they are.”

“Do you want—?”

She chokes on a cough, cutting me off with a firm, “No.”

“Itwouldbe fun, Audrey.”

Because damn my heart straight to hell, I’d give anything to feel her body against mine again.

Pulling to a stop at a red light, she glares at me for a beat before she answers. Her eyes are dark and a crimson blush has forced its way up her neck.

“Fun is messy.”

“Messy is fun, too.”

Taking a gamble, I reach for her. My fingertips trail over her collarbone, inching lower. Her chest swells as she sucks in a breath. Behind us, a car beeps. Audrey draws her attention back to the road with a quick whip of her head.

As she takes off, I settle my hand against her stomach. I lower my voice, pulling the seat belt tight around me so I can lean closer to her. “And Audrey, I think we already made this as messy as it’s going to get. We might as well have fun too.”

Her exhale is shaky. But the “okay” that follows curls its way into my body, leaving a searing electricity in its wake before it settles in my lap. My cock twitches in excitement, and by the time she skips the turnoff to my apartment my erection strains against the zipper of my shorts.

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