Page 39 of Decidedly Off Limits

Rubbing the back of his neck, Trent glanced at the saucepan. “Josh is a player and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I’m a big girl, Trent. I know how to take care of myself.” Most of the time.

He opened his mouth to say more. I didn’t give him a chance. I joined our friends at the table. He sat next to me a moment later, and the unspoken tension between us incessantly poked me in the shoulder, like an annoying mosquito.

If I could have, I would have removed my stiletto and splatted it.

Or maybe I could hit Trent instead.

The way he was acting, he deserved it.

Holly took a sip of her soup. “Mmm. This is one of the best French onion soups I’ve ever tasted.” The others agreed with her, which was the first time anyone had complimented me on my cooking. Unfortunately, because cooking still wasn’t my thing, it would probably never happen again.

“Do you know Cavalia?” I asked everyone as we began eating the second course—the ravioli—to another round of “Wow, this tastes great,” and “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“Don’t they do acrobatics on horseback?” Holly picked up her wine. “Like Cirque du Soleil but with horses?”

“That’s the one. They’re in town next week. I’ve heard they’re really good.”

“I would love to see it,” she said, eyes glowing with excitement. “I used to ride horses as a girl. I even did a bit of show jumping.”

Wow, what couldn’t she do? The closest I’d ever come to riding horses was the carousel ride at Disneyland when I was a kid.

“If you want to go,” Trent said, “I could probably score us tickets.”

Thinking he meant Holly, I didn’t respond and did my best to ignore the disappointment that had come back for an encore.He’s a workaholic and my brother’s best friend, I reminded myself.He’s perfect for Holly.

And Erin didn’t seem to mind that Holly was interested in Trent that way. Apparently she was exempt from the friends-aren’t-allowed-to-date-my-brother rule.

Trent said something else but I was too busy staring at my ravioli to catch what he’d said. It probably had to do with the date he and Holly were going on. Together.

Possibly even him confessing his undying love to her, right here at the table.

“Kelsey?”

I jerked my head up. “Huh? Sorry, what did you say?”

“Do you want to come too?”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Josh’s hand rested on my lower back, startling me. I jerked slightly, but not enough for him to notice. “Can you make that four tickets?” he asked.

With his gaze on Josh, a brief look of annoyance crossed Trent’s face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Trent then glanced at me, the annoyance shifting to hope.

I nodded and finished my wine. Without asking if I wanted more, Josh re-filled the glass and unleashed his brilliant smile. It was the same smile that no doubt left women panty-less at the mere sight of it. But when my parents had me immunized against the usual childhood illnesses, it had worked better than expected.

My panties stayed firmly in place.

Holly leaned in and whispered in Trent’s ear, then ran her finger along his arm. He chuckled at whatever she’d said and my heart squeezed hard. I sucked down some wine, hoping it would help loosen the tightening in my chest.

It didn’t.

“So how come Trent hasn’t introduced me to you sooner?” Josh’s warm breath brushed against my cheek.

“Maybe he was worried you would steal me away from him.” The corner of my mouth curled up to one side to let him know that I was kidding. “And just so you know, I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

He moved his hand to my upper thigh, hidden under the table. And because that wasn’t enough, he started caressing my leg. “That’s good. ’Cause I’m not looking for one either.”

It’s not Trent’s hand. It’s not Trent’s hand.It’s not…