Splendor(103)
Julia nodded. “I think so, too. She seemed really nervous to see me there today, like she expected I was still in New York.”
“Well, if she’s still working for Ian it goes without saying they want to keep this quiet. And you, my little devil, are not to breathe one word about this to anyone. Got it?” he told her sternly.
She reached up and gave him a smacking kiss. “Yes, I’ve got it. And I won’t say a word to anyone.” She took Nathan’s arm and placed it around her shoulders as she leaned against him. “God, they make a really gorgeous couple, don’t you think?”
Nathan smiled wickedly. “I’m guessing she’s keeping him, uh, busy. There’s a pretty big age difference between them, after all. He’s probably keeping his fingers crossed that he’ll be able to keep up with her.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” replied Julia airily. “Ian looks like he keeps himself in very, very good shape. Though Tessa did look a little, um - ”
“Well fucked?” he whispered in her ear. “Kind of like you do this morning?”
Her cheeks flushed. “You are so bad,” she whispered back as they entered the crowded café. “But, yeah, now that you mention it, she might have looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed. And she did say she was running late.”
“Told you.” He was grinning as they got in line to place their orders. “Hmm, Ian and I will have to compare notes sometime, see which one of us is getting more action.”
Julia gasped in outrage. “Oh, my God, don’t you dare! You wouldn’t seriously do that, would you?”
“Relax, baby.” He rubbed her low back soothingly. “What goes on in our bed stays there, okay? No matter how many times my buddies try to pry details out of me. I would never in a million years tell anyone how much you like it when I - ”
She clapped a hand over his mouth. “Quit while you’re ahead, Nathan. And you’d better take that last photo of me off your Facebook page. You know exactly which one – your disgusting friends have already given it a bunch of likes.”
“Okay, I’ll take it off,” he acquiesced reluctantly. “It’s just so cool that all of my buddies are really eating their hearts out now. The consensus is unanimous that I’ve got the hottest girl by far among the whole group.”
Julia just glared at him, pulling his phone from the side pocket of his track pants. “I’ll order for us while you delete that photo. Now.”
Over breakfast, they chatted about their upcoming work weeks – due to be busier than ever with all the projects they had going on; about the wedding plans that were quickly starting to take over their lives; and about Julia’s very recent trip to New York. She’d spent almost a week there, accompanied by her mother, sister and girlhood friend Angela. They had all met up with Julia’s Aunt Madelyn as well as Nathan’s mother Alexis, who’d been overjoyed to be invited to the girl-getaway. Madelyn, the head buyer at Bergdorf Goodman, had arranged for Julia and her two bridesmaids – Lauren and Angela – to select their gowns for the June wedding.
“So your sister was even more of a pain in the ass than you feared?” asked Nathan.
Julia nodded. “Way worse than I expected. In fact, she was in a really bad mood for almost the entire trip.”
He smirked. “When exactly is Lauren in a good mood? Anything in particular that got her pissed off this time?”
“Now that you mention it, things seem to get noticeably worse after we ran into her boss the first morning out at breakfast. She was actually okay at dinner the night before, but as soon as Ben stopped by our table she just seemed – I don’t even know how to explain it.”
Nathan took a sip of his coffee. “Bitchier? More terrifying? And you didn’t tell me you’d finally met Ben the Bastard.”
Julia frowned. “He’s actually a really nice guy. Not to mention totally Lauren’s type. Not the tattooed, pierced rocker type but the other kind she goes for – the chiseled, outdoorsy hunk with three-day stubble.”
“You think there’s something going on there? Though I’d truly feel sorry for the dude, especially given the way your sister flies into these rages whenever she mentions him.”
She shook her head. “Lauren made a point of telling me that Ben has a live-in girlfriend. And there is no way my sister would ever hit on a guy who’s already taken. She’d figure it was his loss if he preferred someone else over her.”
Nathan grinned. “Wouldn’t that be something, though? Your twin having a thing for a guy and not being able to do anything about it? There may be some justice in this world after all.”