Page 27 of Dr. Stone
Avery’s smile turned sly before she glanced back toward the glittering ocean. “Oh, then you’re going to love this.”
I took a slow sip of iced coffee. “Sounds like some shit went down, eh? Whose anniversary party was it while I was at home enjoying the company of my one-year-old—who, for the record, wore more spaghetti than he ate?”
“Jace Stone’s parents,” Ash said, using her hand as a visor and glancing at me while a beaming smile spread across Avery’s face. “You remember him, right?”
The second his name left her mouth, my mind and body betrayed me. Heat curled low in my stomach, the memory slamming into me with the force of an ocean wave.
I was suddenly back on the yacht’s balcony, the cool night air brushing my flushed skin, my hands white-knuckled on the railing as Jace’s body moved against mine from behind—deep, unyielding, like he had no intention of letting me go until I forgot my own name.
The wind tangled my hair, but all I could feel was the strength of his hands—one gripping my hip, the other sliding up to the back of my neck, his thumb at the base of my skull in a way that made my breath stutter. He’d leaned in, voice low and rough in my ear, telling me exactly what I did to him…words I shouldn’t still be hearing, but they’d branded me.
That was the fourth time that night and he’d still made it feel new…like he was discovering me all over again—and God help me, I’d wanted him to.
I forced a light laugh to keep my friends from noticing the flush creeping up my neck. “Why wouldn’t I remember him?”
“Well, I don’t know,” Ash chuckled. “Perhaps your amazing dinner with Titus made you forget about him?”
I laughed with the girls, pushing the memory down where it belonged. “Quit prying,” I said. “I’m not revealing how my night went with one of the doctors who works with your husband.” I arched an eyebrow and reclined deeper into my lounge chair. “And no, I haven’t forgotten who Jace is. Are his parents super rich or something?”
That was news to me. I knew Jace was a cardiologist at Saint John’s, but I had no idea the man ran in those circles.
“Oh, you have no idea, honey,” Avery said with a laugh, “but that’s not what matters here.”
“So, let’s hear it. What’s the dramatic gossip that never ceases to amaze and never fails to entertain?”
“Your name came up,” Ash said.
I looked over at her. “Huh? Me? Why?”
Avery chuckled. “Well, it seems you’ve caught the attention of both the sexy doctor and the Spanish Adonis. What was it they kept saying?” She paused to glance at Ash. “Ah, yes. Intrigued. That was the word they kept using about your sexy ass.”
“It was indeed the word of the night. Two of the most highly desirable bachelors were throwing it around pretty liberally concerning you,” Ash confirmed.
Butterflies of excitement, flattery, and disbelief swarmed in my stomach.
“What the hell did I do to instigate all the intrigue?” I asked. “You can’t be serious.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Avery said. “You’re a goddamn fantasy in the flesh—legs for days, lips that ruin concentration, and that‘don’t even try me’energy drives men insane.”
“And that’s why my husband, who despises functions like these in all their various shapes and sizes, left that party more excited than a mosquito in a nudist colony.”
I sat up. “Okay, spill it,” I took off my sunglasses and eyed Ashley, “because ifyour husbandis excited about something after one of those events, something unexpected must’ve really happened.”
“I’ll keep it simple,” Ash said, Avery and her sitting up to join me in excited disbelief. “Jace and Titus are lifelong friends. And while Jace has been pretending to act like he’s not interested in you, Jake’s noticed a change in him.”
“Because Jake can never let shit go,” I said with a laugh.
“Everyone who knows Jake knows that he would never let it rest if his doctor buddy hooked up with his wife’s friend,” Avery said. “And quit trying to act like you two went back to his room that night on the yacht and played checkers instead of fucking until sunrise,” she grinned. “You were glowing the next morning and have been a transformed goddess ever since. So, let’s just admit what you and Jace keep denying to everyone.”
“Well, shit.”
Ash chuckled. “I wish we could all look the other way, but I don’t think I’ve seen you more confident or happier since that night. Jake notices that in Jace, too, but Jace almost seems troubled. And you’re out here dating Titus fucking Hawk.”
“What do you mean, troubled?” I questioned, curious about what was going on with Jace. I wondered if I haunted his waking thoughts the way he haunted mine whenever I allowed it.
“Well, he’s not dating, for starters,” Ash said. “That’s the most noticeable thing. And then, when they went out for drinksat Seraphina, they saw you and Titus having dinner, and that confirmed what they already knew.”
“Yeah, Jace’s reaction to seeing you with someone else gave him away,” Avery cut in. “I’m pretty sure they set him up just to catch him off guard—but even if it wasn’t intentional, it worked.”
