Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

" W here are we going?"

"Patience, Tara." Abby pressed her lips together, before slicking a topcoat of gloss over them and standing back from the mirror. In a siren-red strapless dress, matching strappy sandals, and her hair mussed with enough mousse to ensure a ‘just out of bed' look, she hoped Judd didn't stand a chance.

After tonight's thank you celebration for Tom and Tara, she had every intention of following up on the rain-check he mentioned earlier that afternoon.

"I already told you, we're going for a drink to wind down after a hard day's work," Abby said. "We deserve it."

Tara looked her up and down and Abby had the distinct impression she was being sized up. "You're up to something."

"Like what?"

Abby struggled to keep the grin off her face, knowing she had to get the supermodel to the intimate Lagoon Bar where Judd had organised the impromptu celebratory drinks before she blurted the truth; having a casual drink was a tad different to what they'd organised.

She'd always been lousy at keeping secrets; unless she counted the one where she'd hidden her feelings from Judd for the last eight years.

Tara folded her arms and grimaced. "You're looking way too smug, and I have a feeling it has nothing to do with you being hooked on our resident dream-boat photographer."

"Humour me, okay? Judd and I want to say thanks for making the wedding shoot so easy."

Abby turned back to the mirror for one final check, hoping Tara bought her trite story. The sooner they all shared a drink, the sooner she could abscond with the dream-boat and have her wicked way with him.

They only had two nights left on the island and she intended to make the most of them. Having Judd walk out on her to take his precious business call this afternoon had given her some valuable thinking time and she'd come to the conclusion that no matter how she felt about him she had to focus on the here and now.

Judd wasn't a keeper.

As a friend, yes. Anything more? Hell no.

It was the only reason she'd agreed to this fling in the first place, knowing it couldn't go anywhere, knowing no matter how she felt once he left for Timbuktu again, she'd have plenty of time to get over him and resume a normal life, as his friend.

"Okay, so now I'm really curious. Whatever you two have concocted, how bad can it be?" Tara's eyes twinkled as she picked up a silver evening clutch. "On second thoughts, don't answer that. Let's go."

Abby hid a triumphant smile. "Great. I'm ready."

As they strolled through the lush gardens, following a path lit by flickering torch-lights, Abby inhaled, knowing the heavy scent of frangipanis perfuming the air would forever act as a reminder of the incredible time she'd had with Judd on this island.

Who would've thought they'd have an island fling, when for years the only thing flinging between them had been the constant teasing barbs they fired at each other?

Now, thinking about the night ahead made her pulse race and her heart respond in typical staccato fashion.

"The Lagoon Bar? This is a couple's hang out. Tom will probably pick up some poor unsuspecting woman and I'll be a third wheel." Tara pulled up short as they reached the entrance to the dimly lit bar, digging her stilettos into the sand.

"This'll be fun," Abby said, propelling Tara towards the thatched door before she could flee.

Thankfully, the door swung open at that moment and Judd held it, a naughty glint in his eyes as he locked gazes with her for an endless, loaded moment, before nodding to Tara.

"Good evening, ladies. We've been expecting you."

"We?" Tara eyes narrowed as she followed them into the bar.

"All set?" Abby whispered to Judd as they fell in behind Tara.

"Yeah. They're going to love this."

Judd's subtle jerk of his head pointed towards a small table situated on the lagoon's edge, screened from the rest of the bar by lush palm fronds and trailing fuchsia bougainvillea, where the staff had laid out a tapas style feast, along with an ice bucket containing the most expensive champagne on the drinks menu.

Tom sat at a nearby table, nursing a beer, a pensive expression on his face.

"Here we go," Judd murmured, placing a hand in the small of Abby's back and setting her pulse skyrocketing with the barest of touches.

Tom looked up at the precise moment Tara caught site of the table, and his face lit up. Tara stopped and whirled towards her, a shrewd glint in her narrowed eyes. "Is this a set up? Because if it is, forget it. I can get my own dates."

Before Abby could respond, Judd stepped in quickly. "Tom's done a great job this week too, so when Abby told me about having a celebratory drink with you for your hard work I only thought it fair I invite Tom along. There isn't a problem, is there?"

Abby stifled a laugh at Judd's faux innocence, especially when Tara melted beneath his lop-sided smile.

"No problem," Tara said, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a determined flick before striding towards the table.

"Nice save, Romeo."

"Anything for you, Juliet," Judd said, sliding his hand up her back to caress the bare skin between her shoulder blades, sending a shiver of anticipation down her spine as she silently praised her choice of strapless dress for this evening.

"You look beautiful, by the way," he said, as if reading her mind. "And those red shoes are beyond sexy."

"They are pretty hot, aren't they?"

"Not half as hot as the woman in them," he murmured, brushing a soft kiss on the skin behind her ear, a kiss filled with promise.

"Did you hear there's a storm coming tonight? Apparently the rain's going to bucket down in torrents."

The gold flecks in his eyes glowed amber in the bar's soft candlelight and her breath caught as his thumb trailed across her bottom lip.

"In that case, you better spend the night in my room. After all, I am on a higher floor and we wouldn't want to be flooded out. Besides, I feel a rain-check coming on."

"Sounds good," she said, slipping her hand into his, already counting the minutes until they could slip away. "For now, shall we see how our employees are getting on and spring our surprise on them before making our escape?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Tom and Tara were making small talk at the table when Abby accepted the seat Judd pulled out for her.

"Hey, Abby. You look great," Tom said, not taking his eyes off Tara for a second, and Abby smiled, knowing her instincts about these two were spot on. With a little luck, Judd and her wouldn't be the only couple walking around with dazed expressions.

"Thanks," Abby said. "Nothing like Tara though."

Judd rolled his eyes and she gave a tiny shrug. Okay, so she was laying it on a bit thick. She couldn't help if she was looking at the world through romantic glasses at the moment.

"She's beautiful," Tom said, simple sincerity in his tone as Tara straightened her shoulders, her smile pleased before picking up the punch cocktail a waiter had deposited in front of her.

"Do you think these two are up to something?" Tara asked.

Tom shrugged. "Beats me, though looks like they've gone to a lot of trouble so we should probably humour them. Besides, I agree with the boss. We've worked damn hard this week, why not celebrate a little. We deserve it."

He raised his schooner in Tara's direction and she clinked glasses with him, resident flirtatious twinkle in her eyes while Abby smiled and took a sip of her own punch cocktail.

"How about a toast?" Judd's hearty announcement startled the other couple, who hadn't taken their eyes off each other since they'd tapped glasses.

"Go ahead," Abby said, eager to drink up and leave the other couple to their own devices—screw the delectable feast they'd organised for them all to share, she'd rather feast on a sexy photographer.

Judd raised his glass. "Here's to the end of a successful shoot and the beginning of a new future, for all of us."

Her heart turned over at the serious expression behind Judd's joviality. His gaze hadn't shifted from her, the intensity behind his stare trying to convey a message she didn't understand—or was too scared to contemplate.

New future ?

She wished. But she'd given up wishing a long time ago, around the time her parents never came back from one of their do-gooder treks. As for sharing a future with Judd as anything other than friends, she'd be better off wishing for the moon.

"To all of us." Tom echoed Judd's toast, and as they raised their glasses, Abby tried not to squirm under Judd's penetrating stare.

His eyes tried to convey some mystical message she had no hope of deciphering unless he spelt it out for her.

Thankfully, Tom soon had Tara involved in a discussion about global warming, giving Abby ample opportunity to try and decipher Judd's speech.

"Nice toast," she said, inhaling as he leaned towards her, loving the faint musk combined with pure Judd that evoked memories of days gone by.

"Thanks." He shrugged as if uncomfortable under her praise, drawing her attention to the width of his shoulders beneath the open-necked white shirt accentuating his tan, while he nodded towards the other two who were flirting like mad. "Looks like you were right about these two."

"Woman's intuition," she said, warmth radiating off him, and when he reached for his glass and his forearm brushed her bare skin, she gritted her teeth in an effort not to groan out loud.

"You almost finished that drink?"

The urgency in his voice made Abby look up. Glimpsing the blatant desire in his eyes, she had no hesitation in gulping the remainder of her cocktail and forgetting her intentions to grill him over his toast.

"I have now." She placed her glass on the table, her gaze never leaving his. The icy punch did little to quell the fire burning deep inside with Judd staring at her like he wanted her right here, right now.

Heat sizzled between them, potent and fierce, obliterating everything but the need to lose themselves in each other until they were sated.

"What about Tom and Tara's surprise?" He asked, with a subtle jerk at the couple.

She leaned towards him, using any excuse to place her lips an inch from his ear, enjoying seeing him stiffen when she blew gently. "I know we thought we'd stick around and share it with them, but it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind."

He smiled and trailed a finger across the back of her hand, raising goose bumps. "You're a genius." He continued his trail up to her wrist before dipping under it, caressing her pulse point in slow, torturous circles. "You're also the sexiest woman on the planet."

With a wink in her direction, he turned towards Tom and Tara. "Hey, will you two be okay if we leave? I've got some photos Abby has to approve before tomorrow."

Tara smirked. "Photos, huh? Well, don't let us keep you two from work ."

Tom didn't join in the wordplay. By his star-struck expression as he glanced at Tara he was only too pleased to see the back of them. "No worries. We'll be fine."

"Great." Judd stood and held out his hand to Abby. She gratefully took it considering her knees wobbled. It could've been the cocktail but she knew better. Her skin prickled with awareness, reacting to his proximity and leaving a rippling sensation in its wake.

"Though I think you two should swap tables. The one over here seems much better," Judd said, pointing to a nearby screen.

"We're okay right here…" Tara trailed off as Judd pushed the screen aside, revealing a table covered in a staggering array of mouth-watering tapas. "Wow. That's some feast."

Abby smiled. "It's a small way to show our gratitude for all the hard work you two have done. So, thanks guys, it's been a blast working with you. Go ahead, enjoy. There's champagne in the bucket and we've left strict instructions with the bar staff to keep it coming for as long as you want it. Though we do have to work tomorrow…" She waggled her finger at them and they laughed.

"Great, I'm starving," Tom said, holding Tara's chair out for her, his hungry gaze wavering between her and the food as if unsure which was the tastier delicacy.

Tara stood, lithe and elegant, and leaned over to give her and Judd a hug. "Thanks for this. The crew on most of the shoots I've done don't give a flying fig about anyone but themselves. This is really thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome," Judd said, his smile genuine while his gaze strayed to the door.

An anticipatory tingle raced through Abby as she inched towards him, giving him a gentle nudge with her hip.

"We better get to work. See you guys in the morning." She managed a casual wave at the other couple while trying not to trip in her haste to follow Judd.

They barely made it outside when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close.

"Take a look at the sky. Do those look like storm clouds to you?"

Abby cast a quick glance skyward, noting a billion stars scattered against a midnight sky without a cloud in sight. "Oh yeah, definitely. Looks like it's going to rain all night."

His lips curved into a deliciously wicked smile. "All night, huh?"

She nodded, mesmerised by the glimpse of tanned skin in the V of his shirt. It looked good enough to taste and all she needed to do was lean forward a fraction and…

"Then it's definitely time for that rain-check."

His husky murmur made her look up and she shivered, hypnotised by the intent behind his stare. Green flecks mixed with gold, sparkling in the muted light from several flame-lit torches along the pathway, drawing her deeper into the mesmerising hazel depths.

"Let's hurry," she said, planting a quick, teasing kiss on his lips, the contact all too brief, a prelude to losing herself in his hot, steamy kisses all night long.