Secret Designs (3 page)

"No, I'm not," Kris retorted.

"No, she's not," Jasmine confirmed. "Sam's just way too humble to admit her excellent culinary skills."

"Well, then, I'm glad I only had light lunch today and nothing else since. I'm starving," Dylan said, as he walked over to the stove and peered at Sam's simmering casserole dish.
 
"It smells mouthwatering. Can I have a taste?"

"Sure," Sam said, picking up a clean spoon and scooping a portion for Dylan to try. Dylan gripped Sam's hand as he guided the spoon she was holding to his mouth.

Something needled Ari's chest—an unpleasant feeling that made her scowl. Her frown deepened as she identified it.

Jealousy.

Oh darn! Now she had to work to hide that too.

"Hello, guys!"

All heads turned to Kane who had arrived home.

"Honey!" Jasmine practically flew to her fiancé's arms.

They kissed sweetly before Kane turned his attention to everyone else. "Great to have you here, girls. You, too, bro. Oh, and whatever that is you're cooking, Sam? It smells divine. Is it ready? I can eat a horse."

"Well, it's not a horse, but yes, it's ready. We can eat," Sam answered.

Ari put on a delighted face as everyone settled around the dining table.

*******

Ari was able to relax while they feasted on the delicious food. She had to admit, though, that she was less tense because Dylan was too busy chatting with Kane to continue flirting with the other girls.

She couldn't really blame her friends for responding in kind. Dylan was fun, friendly, and oh-so-attractive. Besides, he flirted with all of them, including Jasmine—seeming to enjoy pushing Kane's buttons in a brotherly sort of way. He was just a big flirt, and it was hard not to get caught up in his light-hearted, teasing mood.

Hmm. Maybe that was how he stayed friends with women he'd slept with—no hang-ups, no issues, just keeping it fun and light.

Okay, she could do that, too, couldn't she? In fact, the flirting and the teasing would help cover her strong attraction to him, should she unconsciously show it. She could pass it off as playfulness—a mirroring of his actions.

Loud laughter from Kris and Sam pulled her from her thoughts.
What are they laughing about?

"...but we were planning on staying up all night watching Blu-ray movies on that massive TV screen while we sit next to the crackling fire and sip wine," Kris was saying in a teasing tone to Jasmine.

"You could stay up for as long as you want," Jasmine said. "Then tomorrow we could go anywhere you girls want to go to or we could stay here and have a dip in the pool. It's supposed to be sunny this weekend, and the pool's heated, so the water's really nice even during winter."

"But you won't be staying up with us tonight?"

"No-o," Jasmine said, embarrassed.

"You heard her, girls," Kane said in a smug tone. "She'll be hanging out with you until around midnight. Then she'll go to bed, and you won't see her again until after ten tomorrow morning."

"I thought this was our girls' weekend?" Sam asked, her eyes shining with mirth.

"Yes, but you really won't need me while you watch movies," Jasmine answered, blushing.

"That's right," Kane said. "I, on the other hand, will need her tonight."

Jasmine's face reddened further.

"If I were Jazzie's man, I'd need her every night, too," Dylan quipped.

Kane threw his brother a deadly glare. "Don't even think about it."

Dylan laughed heartily. "You're so easy to stir up, Kane."

Kane shook his head exasperatedly, a reluctant smile forming on his lips.

Ari sighed, enjoying the banter while feeling envious. Why couldn't Dylan feel that way about her—like Kane did for Jasmine?

Whoa! Where did that come from?

She gave herself an imperceptible shake.
Dangerous thoughts, Arielle. Don't go there.

She sat up straighter and joined in the conversation to distract herself from her unwanted feelings. "Well, girls," she said to Sam and Kris, "we'll just have to enjoy the movies without Jaz tonight."

"Hey, maybe I'll join you," Dylan said.

Ari's head whipped toward Dylan and found him looking straight at her. Her heartbeat spiked up instantly.
Oh no.

"It's a girls' night in, Dylan," she teased. "Last time I checked, you're not a girl."

A knowing smile tugged Dylan's lips, his eyes pinning her with their heat. "That may be so. But I won't mind if you check again."

She swallowed visibly. She hadn't meant to bring his attention to that hot, steamy night they had together. Dylan's intense gaze was unraveling her as desire flowed in her veins.

Geez, Ari. He's just flirting! Get a grip!

"No need," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Besides, we plan to watch chick flicks. You'll be seriously bored, I think."

"Not if I watch you, instead," Dylan countered, his tone husky.

Ari felt the heat rise up to her face. She must be as red as Jasmine was a couple of minutes ago.

"Stop it, Dylan," Kane rebuked mildly.

"So that's a no to me joining you, girls?" Dylan's tone was back to light teasing as he switched his attention to Sam and Kris.

Ari looked at the cousins, her eyes silently pleading with them to say no.

"Nah," Sam said.

"Yeah, that's a no, Dylan," Kris confirmed. "You'll never pass the sisterhood test."

Ari let go of the breath she was holding and glanced at Dylan. He winked at her, his expression playful.

See, Ari? He's just playing. Watch your step now. You might fall and hurt yourself.

Dylan carried his laptop to his balcony with the objective of knuckling down and doing some work. The sun was shining and he was tempted to simply sit there and enjoy the mesmerising view of Sydney city and its sparkling harbour from the high vantage point of his Potts Point apartment. He placed the computer on the patio table and closed his eyes to feel the welcome warmth of the mid-morning end-of-winter sun, only to open them quickly. The alluring, chestnut-haired, brown-eyed woman was there again, a haunting behind his closed eyelids. Fuck! If he didn't stop wanting Ari, he wouldn't get any work done.

He didn't expect to see her at Kane and Jasmine's place last night. He'd been surprised by how much he had wanted to attach himself to her side, but he was keen to steer their friendship to the right direction. He made sure he paid equal attention to all four women so that Ari wouldn't think he meant anything special when he flirted with her.

Okay, sure, she was special in a way. She was the only girl there he lusted after. But he didn't want her to misread his intentions.

Well, what were his intentions, really?

He raked his fingers through his hair. The fact of the matter was that he was dying to have her again. That was the pure and simple truth. He couldn't get their passionate night—and morning—out of his mind, and it was driving him to distraction.

Would she be open to another night with him? She had been friendly and flirty last night—a sign that their one-night stand didn't adversely affect the easy-going friendship they wanted to develop for each other. Would sleeping with her again jeopardise that?

Ah, Dylan. Stop it.

He gave himself gentle slaps on the face. He had work to do. His company had been commissioned by one of Australia's leading retail chains to write their latest smartphone app project. He had been slacking during the last week, though, and now he was behind schedule. His best friends Trey and Adam—also his business partners—were already getting cranky with him. The longer it took him to finish his part of the project, the less time they had to spend on their preferred and more lucrative enterprise: another game app for mobile devices.

The company that had paid close to half a million dollars each for their last three game apps was already making loud noises about buying this next one, too—but it would have to fight for it. They had already captured the attention of two other firms interested in their work in progress. Whichever of those three companies wanted their new app would need to pay a hell of a lot more for it, considering their track record of producing lucrative and highly popular games.

His phone rang, and he made a face when he saw the caller ID. "Hi Sandy, what's up?"

Sandy irritated him. She seemed to think that just because she was Adam's new girlfriend she was automatically one of Dylan's best friends, too.

"Hi, Dylan. How are you?" Sandy said in a too-exuberant voice.

"Fine, thanks. Busy. You?"

"Oh, I'm good. Listen, Dylan, do you want to join me and Adam to dinner at his place tonight?"

"I'm afraid I'm busy, Sandy. I have to get some work done. Thanks, but maybe some other time," he responded.

"But Adam's already looking forward to it! He really wants you to come."

Dylan narrowed his eyes. Did Sandy know about the argument he'd had with Adam last week? He had already apologised, but he knew his buddy was still hurting a little bit from what he'd said.

He supposed he should go. He wouldn't want Adam to think he wasn't keen on patching things up with him. If he went he could also let him know Kane was happy to personally work on his house renovation. Adam would be ecstatic. Kane's firm wouldn't normally have taken a relatively small job, but Kane was doing it as a favour to Dylan.
 

"Okay, I'll be there," he said resignedly.

"Great! No need to bring anything," Sandy said with obvious glee.

"Thanks. Who else is going, by the way?"

"Oh, uh, Trey, of course. Plus I've invited a couple of my friends to even things up."

Suspicion stirred his gut. He knew her game.

"See you later, Dylan!" Sandy said hurriedly, and hung up.

He sighed. No doubt Noeleen, one of Sandy's girlfriends, would be there, too. Noeleen was very pretty, but he wasn't interested in gold diggers. They spelt trouble.

During his birthday party a few weeks ago, he had overheard Noeleen tell Sandy that she was desperate to be his girlfriend, so that she could watch Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks from his balcony where they would have the perfect view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

He scowled as he remembered Sandy's response:
"Yes, I'd love for you to have a rich boyfriend, too. They're quite handy when it's time to pay off the credit cards."

"And it doesn't hurt when they're such hunks,"
Noeleen had replied, and the two women had giggled like teenagers.

Last week, after much soul-searching, he'd finally said something to Adam. But Adam was too infatuated with Sandy to listen to his warning that Sandy's feelings for him might not be real. Adam had demanded that he and Sandy be left alone.

It took three days before Adam talked to him again. He had to tread carefully, so as not to antagonise his friend further.

He shook his head in displeasure. A guy in love could be so easily fooled by a woman, if he weren't careful. For his part, he was grateful he'd learned his lesson.

*******

"Dylan! It's great to see you again, handsome!"

Dylan hid his bemusement as Noeleen reached up to kiss him square on the lips. He bet she'd be rubbing herself against him like a cat soon. She was in one of the too-tight, too-short dresses she loved to wear. She was great to look at, but she left him cold.

Oh, what the hell, Dylan. Why don't you play your own game?

The idea perked him up. He certainly wouldn't enjoy the night if he let himself get irritated. Why not turn the tables and annoy the shit out of Noeleen? With any luck, she'd finally give up on him.

He gave Noeleen his brightest smile. "Hey, beautiful! It's wonderful to see your pretty face again."

Noeleen's face lit up and her lips formed a sultry smile. "I haven't seen you in weeks, Dylan. I'm glad you're here." She clung to his arm as they made their way to the kitchen.

He gave his two best friends, Adam and Trey, a man-hug and gave Sandy a peck on cheek. When he turned to Lenore, Trey's 'date' for the night, he placed his hands on her arms and gushed, "Lenore, you're looking good!" He then enveloped her in a tight hug, caressing her back for a couple of seconds before kissing her soundly on the cheek.

Lenore blushed and simpered.

"Dylan, here's your beer," Noeleen said sourly, casting a cold glare at Lenore and grabbing his arm.

"Uh, thanks, but is there any wine?" He preferred the beer but he was warming to his game.

"Oh, sure, sure. White?" Noeleen asked, eager to please.

"No. Red, please."

He glanced at his two buddies and caught them suppressing their grins. They knew what he was trying to do. Yes, it was caddish and juvenile to play two girls against each other. He hadn't acted like that since his early twenties. But knowing what Sandy's friends were truly like, he had no problems pushing the guilt aside.

He was glad to see that Adam didn't seem to mind. There was hope for his friend yet.

He turned his attention back to Lenore. "So, how've you been, gorgeous?"

The flattered woman was now staring at him with hope in her eyes. "Oh, I've been good, thank you, Dylan," she purred. "And you? You certainly look well." She openly checked him out. Her eyes lingered on his crotch then returned to his face with an inviting smile.

He stopped the snort before it escaped him. Here was a woman ready to 'steal' him right in front of her friend, Noeleen. Where was the value of friendship?

"Thank you. I've been good," he said, and turned his attention back to Noeleen, who had a ferocious look on her face.

"Thanks, Noeleen. You're a real sweetie." He winked at her as he took the glass of red wine from her hand, making sure he brushed his fingers with hers.

Noeleen blinked and her face lost the frown. "Anytime, stud," she said, running a finger on his arm.

"Well, we can start to eat. Everyone, carry something to the living room," Adam said.

They each dutifully carried a platter of food to where the big TV was. This was Adam's version of dinner with friends. Finger foods—lots of them—while they all watched something, usually sports.