Page 21 of Second Time Around

“Farr!” For the first time, Will’s expression relaxed into a real smile. “My mother didn’t tell me you were coming.” He shook hands with the other man. “Kyra, stay away from this guy. He’s trouble. Farr, this is Kyra Dixon, an old friend from Brunell.”

Farr leaned in to give her an air kiss, his breath indicating he’d had a few drinks already. “If you get tired of this stuffed corporate shirt, come find me for some fun.” But the twinkle in his hazel eyes undercut the insult.

Will snorted. “Pot, meet kettle. You’re an investment banker.”

“IBs work hard but we play hard, too.” Farr scanned Will up and down. “You look like you haven’t had enough to drink.”

“I’m working on it,” Will said, swirling the scotch in his tumbler.

“Will’s been keeping you a secret, Kyra,” Farr said.

“We just reconnected,” Kyra said, liking Will’s genial pal. “I ran into him at a Ceres in the city.”

“Will’s a very conscientious CEO,” Farr said. “Always checking up on the dining experience. That’s what I told the fellows at work when we bid on the Ceres IPO.”

“I appreciated the endorsement and the bid,” Will said.

“Were you a classics major like Will?” Farr asked Kyra.

“No, English lit. The only foreign language I speak is Pennsylvanian.”

“Ah, she’s funny as well as lovely. I’d lure you away from Will, but he needs all his reinforcements.” Farr’s smile faded. “Just a heads-up: Petra is here.”

Will winced. “I suppose that was inevitable.”

Kyra felt comfortable enough with Farr to say, “Why is Petra bad news?”

Farr looked at Will, who said with forced disinterest, “I was engaged to her a couple of years ago. Our parting was a little ... difficult.”

“Which is to say that Petra would like to still be engaged to him,” Farr elaborated.

The shock of Will’s near marriage made her slosh her Cosmo over the rim of her glass. Although why should she be surprised? Women must throw themselves at him on a regular basis. That didn’t stop her from feeling a sear of ridiculous jealousy, though.

She longed to know why he had broken it off but kept her questions to herself. Will was wound tightly enough as it was. He didn’t need her prying into a past that seemed to disturb him.

“That’s awkward,” she said.

“You’ll force her to keep her distance,” Farr said. “It’s part of the social code. Petra won’t bother Will when he has a beautiful woman on his arm.”

“Ooh, I like the compliment subtly hidden in there,” Kyra said, trying to steer the conversation away from the source of Will’s discomfort.

“Subtle is not a word that I associate with Farr.” Will joined the banter but his shoulders were still rigid.

“You underestimate me, Chase. That’s your fatal mistake,” his friend said. “I see Leighton Davies headed in this direction. Let’s bolt for the food tables.”

“Dear God, yes,” Will agreed, setting his hand against Kyra’s back and pressing her into motion. “He’ll tell us every tack and jibe of the last race he sailed in.”

“I thought you sailed, too,” Kyra said as they navigated through the crowd.

“Because my mother insisted. She’s the sailing fanatic.”

Kyra stumbled in surprise. She’d assumed it had been Will’s father who forced him to sail.

“Yet you still won all the races,” Farr pointed out. “Until Davies came along and gave you some real competition.”

“I was glad he showed up,” Will said. “It gave me an excuse to quit.”

“Your mother never quite got over it,” Farr mused.