Page 37 of Decidedly Off Limits

Kelsey stared at Josh as if she couldn’t believe he was in her kitchen. I hadn’t realized she was a hockey fan.

Or maybe she wasn’t.

It wasn’t as if she could’ve missed seeing his picture. His good looks made him popular with the local media, even if he wasn’t one of the team’s star players.

The doorbell rang again and since Kelsey was pre-occupied with Josh (translation: she was still gaping at him), I answered it and let Holly in.

She was also dressed up and looked ready to hit a gala, if the long, floor-skimming dress was any indication. Her forest-green gown hugged her body. The front formed a deep triangle that traveled past her breasts, and flashed more of her skin than I’d ever seen on her before. The side slit in the skirt continued to mid-thigh, making her legs look never ending. Her auburn hair cascaded down her back in smooth waves.

Smiling, she handed me her jacket. “Thanks for inviting me. I can’t wait to see what you made for dinner. It smells delicious.”

“Thanks,” I said, hanging her coat in the hallway closet. “You…you look great.” Like she always did.

I followed her into the kitchen where everyone was still hanging out. Kelsey took a step back, and Josh placed his hand on her lower back.

And I saw red.

Fucking fiery-pits-of-hell red.

16

Kelsey

Holly steppedinto the kitchen with Trent right behind her. Regular Holly was sexy and gorgeous. This version put that one to shame.

I’m not sure why I took an uncertain step back at the sight of her, but I did…and because I still wasn’t used to stilettos, I wobbled and almost lost my balance.

Josh placed his hand on my lower back to steady me.

The smile I gave him was more on the grateful side than the Ohmigod-Joshua-Hoffer-is-touching-me side of things. He was good-looking, but he didn’t have the same effect on me that Trent did.

Would I have almost sliced my finger off in Josh’s presence? I doubted it.

My smile widened. “I bet you’re used to women falling over you all the time.”

“Sure, but usually they’re drunk when it happens. You’d be the first sober woman to do that.” He winked, and my face heated.

Note to self: practice walking in reverse while in stilettos.

I turned to Trent and Holly, and waited for Trent to introduce her to his friend. Instead, Trent watched Josh, a scowl on his face. Weird.

But then everything lately when it came to Trent had been weird. Off-kilter.

Or possibly just my imagination.

My wishful, lust-filled imagination.

“Holly,” I said, “have you met Josh?”

She shook her head, but it was clear that she also wasn’t lusting over him. A wave of disappointment surged through me. If she had been, I could have switched to hooking her up with Josh instead of with Trent.

Josh did the standard nod guys did to acknowledge someone without having to say actual words, and rubbed his thumb against my back as I asked her what she would like to drink.

I expected Trent to pour Holly a glass of wine, but he just glared at Josh’s arm. God, hopefully he wasn’t planning to be an ass tonight on my brother’s behalf, especially since Josh and I weren’t on a date.

Shaking my head to myself, I removed the bottle of Chardonnay from the fridge and poured Holly a glass. “I love your dress,” I told her. “Don’t you love her dress, Trent?”

Was that a little obvious?