International Player(30)

“Hey,” I said. “I’ve brought wine and treats for the pregnant lady.”

“Tell me the treats are macarons,” Abi said.

“Of course.” I caught Noah grinning at me out of the corner of my eye.

Abi reached out her arms for the sugar like a toddler.

“Hang on.” Noah jumped up and took the wine and the glasses.

“Thanks,” I said, catching his eye and giving him a small smile.

I pulled the box of macarons from under my arm and held them up. “These are the ones, right?”

Abigail glanced between Noah and me without looking at the box.

“Abi?” I said.

She frowned and held out her hand. “Sure. They’re great. So, tell me, Noah, how’s Truly doing? Did last night go well? Truly didn’t send me a single photograph or even message me to let me know.”

“Sorry, I totally forgot,” I replied while Noah smirked, knowing why I’d forgotten.

“Did something dreadful happen?” Abi sat straight up, horror unfolding across her face. “Oh my God.” She flopped back down dramatically. “Were you drunk on stage? Is there video?”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Noah replied. “Truly was completely sober when she did her speech. You didn’t even have a sip of wine, did you?” He turned to me and I shook my head. “And she was . . . remarkable. They laughed at her jokes, applauded in all the right places. They loved her.”

Abi glanced from Noah to me and back again. “Oh,” she said. “Good. Great. So, everything went smoothly?”

I nodded. “It wasn’t as good as it would have been if you’d handled it, but it was fine.”

“It was a lot better than fine,” Noah said. “You were really warm and natural—completely yourself.”

My cheeks heated at his words. He sounded so genuine. Not at all as if he were saying it just to make Abi feel better or to boost my confidence.

“Anyway, luckily it’s over with now. So, nothing until the lunch with Global Tronics and then the new corporate donor lunch in a couple of weeks. Oh, I have the presentation to Artemis Group.” I stopped talking. There was so much happening and if I let myself think about all the things I had to do, it was easy to get overwhelmed. I’d save that for when I wasn’t with Abigail. She didn’t need to see how much anxiety her absence caused.

“So why did Noah smirk when I asked why I’d not seen any pictures?” Abigail asked. “It’s like you two are keeping something from me.”

If only she knew. But she couldn’t know. She’d think I was an idiot to succumb to advances from such a practiced player.

I shook my head, ready to skirt over it, when Noah said, “We went out for a drink afterward.”

Shit.

“You didn’t want to get home?” Abi asked. She knew I hated being out late. That for me, the best part of any social function was getting home and back to a good book.

“Just a quick drink,” I said, hoping I wasn’t blushing. Abigail couldn’t know about the way Noah had held my hand, pressed his thigh against mine, kissed me. How he touched me like he couldn’t get enough, unzipped my dress this afternoon, and held me until we’d been interrupted.

“Your sister’s a lightweight,” Noah said.

“Hey,” I replied, feigning offence. “I did nearly two shots.”

“Two shots of tequila?” Abigail asked.

Noah chuckled. “She drank one and passed out halfway through the second. If I hadn’t taken you home, you would have woken up on the curb.”

My sister narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to figure out if I’d had highlights or a nose job or something else that made me look different. “Boys, can you go check on dinner? I’m starving.”

“Err, okay,” Rob said, putting down the wine he was just about to sip. Poor Rob. Abigail wore the trousers in their relationship at the best of times, but now that she was bedbound, Rob couldn’t complain about any request Abigail made.

“Take your wine,” she said. I got the distinct feeling that hunger was not driving Abigail. She wanted to know something she didn’t want to ask about in front of Rob or Noah.

“So,” I said, turning to her as they filed out. “You can rest easy, knowing I’m not drinking on the job. I’ve prepared the slides for the meeting with Artemis next week and I’ve—”

“Truly,” she said, fixing me with her older-sister glare. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I told you everything’s under control and you—”

“Shut up about the foundation. You know that’s not what I mean. What’s going on with you and Noah?”

Heat crept up my neck, and I willed myself not to blush. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s helping me fill in for you, which was your husband’s suggestion, by the way.” She didn’t have to know everything about me, right?

“And you’re going for drinks with each other, and he’s taking you home. And just then? You were so . . . aware of each other. So . . . like you’re both only thinking about each other.”

There were serious disadvantages in having a twin sister. Why couldn’t I have had an oblivious older brother? I took a long glug of wine to avoid answering.