Page 125 of Beauty
Jay is gorgeous, with dirty blond hair that always looks as if he or Cat has recently run a hand through it. He’s tall and broad, his icy blue eyes extra bright against his crisp blue shirt. The chiseled jawline covered in a light scruff is in complete juxtaposition to the puffy lips that any woman would kill to have, yet they work together perfectly.
He bites her lip, then sucks it into his mouth without an ounce of concern about who’s watching.
I flush with heat, torn between gawking and looking away. They’re always like this, so I should be used to it by now. Still, when two of the most gorgeous people I know make out in front of me, it’s nearly impossible not to get hot and bothered.
“Hi, Sienna.” He stands at his full height, though he doesn’t take his eyes off his wife. “Did my kitten fill you in on her wonderful idea?”
Oh, and he calls her kitten. It’s nauseatingly adorable, considering they’ve been married for years.
“Yes,” Cat says. “And she’s taking it under consideration, right?” She eyes me, swiping at her mouth, fixing the lipstick Jay smudged.
He watches her, his teeth sunken into his own lip, like he likes that she marked him.
“Right.” With a sigh, I pick up my glass and tip it back.
“Then we’re all done here.” Cat stands and takes Jay’s outstretched hand. She leans in and kisses my cheek, this time hovering for a moment to whisper in my ear. “Stay awhile. Maybe use the card.”
She pulls back, and as I turn to tell her I’m all set, my attention snags on a man standing behind Jay, a man I hadn’t noticed until now, and my heart thuds heavily.
Garreth Hanson.
FORTY
SIENNA
I glare at Cat,but she merely waggles those damn fingers again and sashays away.
Alone with my ex-boyfriend, unease rolls through me. It’s been a long time since I saw him, and I don’t have any idea what to say.
Thankfully he takes the lead.
“You look stunning, as always,” he says in that sexy British lilt. He’s wearing his requisite suit. The man is never not dressed for business. This one is herringbone gray. One I helped him pick out, if I’m not mistaken.
He looks exactly like he did when we ended things almost two years ago. His well-groomed beard still hasn’t started turning gray, and those silverfish blue eyes are as unreadable as ever. Though there’s a hint of kindness there, it’s reserved only for the people he’s closest to.
They’re only a few shades off from the eyes I’ve been dreaming about for years, but Noah’s are filled with kindness for everyone he meets.
A pang of guilt hits me as I picture what they’d look like if he saw me now. I can’t imagine there’d be much warmth in them. And I couldn’t blame him for it.
What am I doing here?
Garreth steps forward and motions to the chair Cat just deserted. “May I?”
“Can we, uh, go to a booth?” I peer over my shoulder, feeling a little too exposed out here.
While there’s nothing wrong with being seen with a man like this, considering I’m single, being in Garreth’s presence stirs up the need to find a place a little more hidden. A leftover habit after hiding our relationship for so long, I suppose.
He nods, then asks the server to send over a whiskey and a fresh martini.
“Mine is fine,” I argue. I reach for it to prove that fact, though I overshoot a little and send the liquid sloshing. On second thought, it probably isn’t safe for me to carry it across the room. “Right.” I huff. “You know me.”
He smiles. “I do.”
We’re quiet as he leads me to one of the tables off to the side. He’s familiar with the place; that’s obvious. Not that it’s any of my business. And it’s my genuine hope that he’s moved on. He deserves to have a wonderful partner. It was just never going to be me.
“I can practically hear the thoughts racing through your head, so spill them,” he says as we settle at the table.
I glance over my shoulder, apprehension flaring again. “This just isn’t my scene.”
