Page 38 of Decidedly Off Limits

“Yes, it’s very nice,” Trent responded halfheartedly, and it took everything inside of me not to roll my eyes.

“Your dress looks great,” Josh said to Holly. Then to me, he said, “I love your dress. It’s sexy.” Enough seduction oozed from his words to fill a giant birdbath.

Trent continued scowling at him.

Having no idea what Trent’s problem was, I smiled at Josh. “Thanks.”

While Holly asked Josh about the current hockey season, I finished making the French onion soup. She then said something to Trent and leaned into him. My heart slumped against my ribs with an echoing thud, knowing that by the end of the night he would finally find out how she felt about him.

The fear that had plagued me while I was engaged to Owen re-ignited. Even engaged, I’d been alone. Sadly, from the looks of things, nothing was going to change.

I would always be alone.

Cue the violin music.

More than anything, I wanted what Erin had. She was loved, admired, appreciated. Not once did Darren ever make her feel like she was a forgotten toy, temporarily played with only when the child remembered she existed.

“I’m currently taking a drawing class,” I said as I slid the cooking sheet with the soup bowls into the oven. I glanced at Josh to see his reaction and got the confirmation I was expecting. Guys didn’t find that sexy or exciting. “…but I don’t think it’s the right hobby for me. I was thinking that maybe I could find a class on how to…to rebuild classic cars.”

Okay, that was kind of random.

Both Josh and Trent looked at me as if I’d announced I was joining Cirque du Soleil. Although in Josh’s case, he looked more turned on than surprised.

“Since when were you interested in doing that?” Trent asked.

I shrugged. “I love classic cars and I thought it might be fun.” Or not.

“That would be cool,” Josh said. “The closest I’ve come to rebuilding a classic car are the model cars I build in my free time.”

Oh sure. Even Josh had a life outside of his career.

Trent gave me a funny look but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he checked on the soup. The cheese was bubbling and had turned light brown. Perfect.

“God,” Erin moaned. “That smells so good.”

I directed everyone to the table, where I had set up place cards, purposefully making sure Trent and Holly sat together. By default, that meant I was sandwiched between Trent and Josh.

I filled a saucepan with water and placed it on medium heat for the ravioli.

“I thought you weren’t interested in dating anyone for now,” Trent said, his voice low so no one else could overhear him. His body pressed lightly against my back—his clean scent a warm caress—and I sucked in a soft breath.

If this had been Josh, I would’ve said he was coming on to me.

But it wasn’t Josh—it was Trent.

“And that’s still true,” I told him, unconsciously leaning back against him.

Oops. My bad.

Kinda.

But it wasn’t like you could blame me. You’d have to be made of stone not to react the same way.

“Then why were you flirting with Josh?”

I blinked, trying to figure out why Trent would believe that. I came up blank.

I turned around to face him. “I wasn’t flirting with him. I was being friendly. Big difference. Besides, what’s the big deal if I flirt with him?”