Page 19 of Finding Cory

"I shall return!"

"You comfortable?" Suzannah asked as soon as Cory was gone. "Need more aloe?"

"Has it soaked in already?" Olivia groaned when Suzannah confirmed it had. "Yes, please. But just to clarify, I had no problem with Cory being here and rubbing it in for me."

Suzannah laughed throatily as she picked up the aloe bottle Cory had left behind. "Trust me, sugar, I wouldn't have a problem with that hunk of delicious man rubbing his hands all over my naked body either!"

Olivia couldn't help but giggle at Suzannah's remark, delivered in her thick French accent that could have made reciting the telephone directory sound unbearably sensual. Suzannah had brought in her laptop, and the two girls lay side by side on the bed, swapping favorite websites, when Cory returned bearing a covered tray.

"It's amazing what results I get when casually mentioning that this was for you, Suzannah," he said, hooking an ankle around a chair and pulling it up to the end of the bed. "Why do I have the feeling all your kitchen staff are terrified of you?"

"Because they are," she replied, perfectly unruffled. "If a chef's staff are not calling her a tyrant when her back is turned, she is not doing her job properly."

Olivia and Cory just looked at each other.

"You'll never understand, so don't try," Olivia warned. "I did some marketing campaigns for restaurants in New York. The chefs are a law unto themselves, and it's pretty much expected. I don't think they live in the same world as the rest of us."

"We live in the world of good food," Suzannah said regally, claiming the bags Cory had brought with him and opening them, sniffing inside each and wrinkling her nose. "Let us see what offerings my followers believe are fit for consumption tonight."

Cory tactfully headed into the lounge while Olivia sat up and pulled on a loose shirt. He returned with plates and cutlery, dragging the table over to the end of the bed so Suzannah could lay the food out on it. She sent him back to collect soda from the fridge, and he grinned at her.

"I can do better than that. I've got beer at my place."

"Fetch." Suzannah flipped her hand at him.

Olivia giggled as Cory trotted off to do Suzannah's bidding. "You are so bossy. Does everyone just ask how high when you say jump?"

"Why would they not?" Suzannah arched her brows curiously.

"Wow, I admire your confidence. Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Non. I intimidate a lot of men." Suzannah gave a very Gallic shrug. "But if a man is intimidated by me, then he is not man enough for me anyway. I'd prefer no man at all than a weak one." She slid a plate over to Olivia. "Here. Tell me what you think of these."

Cory returned with a six-pack of cold beers, setting one down in front of each of the two girls and twisting the tops off. "Would you like a glass?" he checked with Olivia, suddenly wondering if she would think they were uncultured for drinking directly from the bottle.

"No, it's fine." She smiled up at him, picked up the bottle, and took a long sip.

Olivia couldn't remember the last time she’d such an enjoyable evening. The food Suzannah's staff had sent her was absolutely amazing, the beer ice-cold, and the company excellent. They must have been making enough noise to sound like quite a party, because Rosie soon tapped on the screen door and came in to join them. Bryce, the dive instructor, followed not long after, though Cory promptly sent him back out for more beers.

"I think she's asleep."

Olivia roused enough to mutter, "No 'm not," and heard Cory's quiet laugh.

"Yes, you are, angel. Shh. I've kicked everyone out. Let's get that shirt off and I'll put some more aloe on your back before you sleep."

"I can do that," Suzannah's accented voice said, but Olivia waved her off, sitting up to fumble at her shirt buttons.

"No offense, but I like Cory's hands on me better."

Suzannah laughed, nudging Cory. "All right, but you, keep those hands on the burned parts only, hmm?"

"Scout's honor," he promised.

"Do you even have Boy Scouts here in Australia?" She was maybe a little bit drunk, Olivia realized, as her words slightly slurred. She'd only had three beers but that was a lot more than she usually drank these days. In her time at the center of the social whirl of New York, she'd probably had a much higher alcohol tolerance.

"Yes, we do. Need the bathroom? Come on, those teeth want scrubbing." Cory helped her up and into the bathroom, going back out to give her privacy but not quite closing the door, insisting she keep talking to him. When she came back out and gave him a grumpy look, he even managed to keep his eyes on her face and not her exposed breasts as he led her back to bed and helped her get comfortable on her stomach.

"You're such a sweet guy," Olivia mumbled as he poured more aloe on her back and smoothed it in gently.

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