Lena frowned. "No."
She was lying, but Blue didn't call her on it. Lena was clearly working her way through some mixed-up stuff, something Blue could relate to far too easily.
"When did you do it?" Blue asked instead.
"A couple of weeks ago."
"You mean it was even shorter than this?"
Lena's smile was slightly wobbly. "Yep."
"Isn't it almost winter over there?"
"Yep."
"You must be freaking freezing."
"Let's just say my timing could have been better, seasonally speaking," Lena conceded.
"You idiot," Blue said gently.
Lena blinked rapidly, then lifted a hand to her face and brushed away the few tears trembling on the ends of her eyelashes.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time, okay?" Lena said.
Blue thought over her own recent history. "I know that feeling."
Lena sniffed inelegantly, then passed a hand over her head. "What's up, anyway? How are things at your end?"
Blue stared at her friend, trying to work out what to do. Lena had always been impulsive and big-hearted. Blue hated the idea that she was struggling through something difficult thousands of miles away from friends and family.
"Is there anything I can do?" she asked. "Should I get on a plane and come rescue you?"
Lena smiled, then took a swipe at yet more tears with the back of her hand. "I'm okay. But thanks for the offer. It's appreciated."
"I really wish I could hug you right now."
"Me, too. But seriously, I know I look like I've been attacked by a leaf mulcher and I'm sitting here crying like a big baby, but I'm really doing all right. Holding my own, anyway."
"What did your boss say when you turned up at work like this?" Blue asked.
Lena had told her enough about her boss, a flamboyant, high profile hair stylist and salon owner, to know that that he would definitely have had some kind of reaction.
"He's making me wear a wig to work until it grows out a bit," Lena admitted.
"Jesus. What a wanker."
"Yeah. But it's not like that's news, right?" Lena squared her shoulders and smiled into the camera. "Seriously now, tell me about you. How's the leg? How's everything else?"
Lena was so determined to soldier on, Blue didn't have the heart to keep pushing her. Instead, she did her best to be entertaining and amusing, then Lena caught sight of the time and reluctantly decided she should at least try to get a few hours' sleep before work the next day.
"You are such a freaking night owl. I swear you were a vampire in a former life," Blue said in admiration.
Lena had always been able to operate on only a few hours' sleep, which meant she was consistently the last one to quit a party or a good time.
"Anything is possible. Speak soon?" Lena asked.
"Yeah, let's try to connect before the weekend." Blue blew a kiss to her friend, then frowned as a thought hit her. "Tell me something - did your experiment work?"
Lena's smile faded. "No. Not really."
She looked so haunted for a second that Blue's chest ached in sympathy. She knew exactly how horrible it felt to feel trapped between a rock and a hard place. Or, more accurately, a rock and a hard man.
"Keep that fuzzy melon warm," Blue said. "And stay away from the clippers, okay?"
"That's a promise I won't have trouble keeping," Lena said. "Love you."
"Love you, too."
The screen went blank as Lena ended the call. Blue sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about the conversation. Worrying. If Lena and Raf hadn't broken up, Lena would be safe here in Australia, surrounded by friends. She and Raf might even be married by now.
But then Raf would never have met Maggie, which meant Blue wouldn't have met Maggie, which was not something Blue was prepared to sacrifice, even if it was in her power to do so …
Life was complicated. People were complicated. Relationships shifted and changed, evolving, dissolving. A few years ago, she would have sworn that Lena and Raf would be together forever. Now … well, now she understood that everything in life was up for grabs.
She shivered, chilled by her own thoughts. She didn't need a lot to be happy. She'd trained herself well in that regard. Physical possessions were nice, but not necessary. She didn't require opulence in her dwelling or her car - and she didn't require much from the people she loved except that they be there, and for them to continue to want to be a part of her life. Particularly Eddie.
She'd woven so much of her adult life around him. The studio, their friendship, his family … When she thought about all the years, all the memories, all the moments she'd risked when she'd slept with him on Friday night, it made her feel dizzy.
Such a reckless, reckless act. Madness, really. She had so much to lose.
Sick of herself and her own circling thoughts, she stood and went to rescue her frozen dinner.
Chapter Fifteen
The knowledge that he owed it to Blue - to their long-standing friendship - to back off kept Eddie's mouth shut through most of the following day, even though he wanted to say something every time Blue was in the same room.
He'd brooded over their argument all night, gritty-eyed and sleepless, but he hadn't found an answer. Probably because there wasn't one. He'd been on Blue's side of this equation often enough to know the deal. It took two to tango, and Blue didn't want to dance.
So. He was going to have to suck it up and accept that he'd only ever have one night with her. As for the fact that that one night had become the gold standard for sex and intimacy for him into the future … well, he was going to have to suck that up, too.
He was still feeling grimly resigned to his fate when he walked into reception at the end of the day and caught sight of the hulking piece of humanity sitting in the waiting area.
Reid Thompson.
The guy hadn't been to the studio for months, something Eddie had been more than happy about. Seeing him sitting there now, his big legs spread confidently, sunglasses covering his eyes, made the back of Eddie's neck tight.
As a general rule, Eddie made it a habit to run a quick eye over the day's appointments first thing in the morning, and he couldn't recall seeing Thompson's name on today's schedule. That didn't necessarily mean anything - maybe he'd missed it. Then again, it might.
Fighting to appear casual, he approached the other man.
"Reid. Long time no see," he said, injecting a welcome he didn't feel into his tone. As a businessman, he'd learned long ago to separate his professional and private selves. He might not like the man in front of him, but Thompson had never been anything but a courteous and prompt-paying customer.
"Hey. Eddie, right? I always have trouble telling you and Raf apart," Thompson said, his gaze going to where Raf stood talking to Steffi at the desk.
"Got it in one," Eddie said, fake smiling. "We looking after you all right? Anything I can do for you?"
"Nah, just waiting for Blue. Heard she was back on deck."
Eddie was willing to bet the other man hadn't so much as bothered to phone or drop Blue a get-well card while she was recuperating. And yet here he was, casually dropping by to see her as though nothing had happened.
What a piece of shit.
"Hey, hello stranger. How are you?" Blue said from behind him.
Both he and Thompson turned to face her.
"Haven't been going one-on-one with a motorcycle, that's for sure," Thompson said, and Eddie had to stand and watch as the other man pulled her close and laid a kiss on her.
Blue looked impossibly small in Thompson's arms, dwarfed by his heavily muscled physique.
"Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it," Blue said, laughing. "I definitely came off second best."
"You look pretty good to me." Thompson gave her an approving head-to-toe and Eddie felt a growl forming in the back of his throat.
"Hey, you want to help me with something?" Raf asked, suddenly at Eddie's shoulder.
"Later," Eddie said, but his brother had already gripped him by the elbow and was steering him inexorably across the room.
"What are you doing?" Eddie said, glancing over his shoulder to keep tabs on what was happening with Thompson and Blue.
"Get a grip, okay?" Raf said, his voice low enough that only Eddie could hear him.
"That asshole is going to ask her out. I can feel it," Eddie said, not taking his gaze from the conversation taking place across the room. Blue's back was to him, but he could see where Thompson was looking - and it wasn't at her face.
"You don't know that. And even if he is, there's nothing you can do about it," Raf said.
That got Eddie's attention, his head snapping around so he could look his brother in the eye.
"What?"
"You heard me. If Blue wants to go out with him, you can't stop her."
Eddie opened his mouth to refute the suggestion, but Raf shook his head.