“You look a little sweaty. Did Sasha kick your cute little ass again?”

Julia nodded. “Always. I swear I don’t know where she comes up with some of her moves. If you think I’m flexible, you ought to see her in action. She’s like ElasticGirl, or whoever that character is from The Incredibles.”

Nathan squeezed her ass cheek under cover of the thigh length cardigan she wore. “You’re already plenty flexible for me, baby. Especially last night. I, uh, didn’t know you could actually get into that sort of position.”

She raised a brow. “Complaining?”

“Oh, hell, no. You can get, ah, all bendy and twisty like that anytime. Hey, was that Tessa I saw leaving the studio? I was just getting out of the car when I saw her turning the corner.”

Julia nodded. “That was her all right. Sounds like she has a new boyfriend. I just hope he’s a good guy and treats her right.”

Nathan stopped in his tracks, a frown on his handsome features. “Wait a second. Now that you mention it, I did notice her getting into a car. And - holy shit.”

She shook his arm. “What? What is it? And why are you grinning like an idiot?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “That sneaky son of a bitch. Let’s just say I’ve got a very good idea of who Tessa’s new boyfriend is.”

Her eyes widened in surprise “Who? Did you see him? What kind of a car is he driving? God, don’t tell me it was a pickup truck. Or a Prius. I’m not sure which one would be worse.”

Nathan was full out laughing now. “Oh, not even close, baby. No, your friend was getting into a vintage Jaguar E-type. It’s a very expensive and very rare car. In fact, there’s only one person I know of who owns a car exactly like that one. I even rode in it once - en route to the new hotel site in Napa.”

It took Julia a moment or two for his words to register, and then she gasped, clutching his arm so tightly that he winced. “You mean - Tessa’s new boyfriend is - is Ian?”

He was grinning from ear to ear. “Yup. He denied being attracted to her when I brought the subject up once, but when you’re right, you’re right, baby.”

“I knew it!” she squealed. “Didn’t I tell you, Nathan? I knew he had his eye on her the first time I saw them together.” Then a sudden thought instantly sobered her up. “You don’t think - I mean, Tessa never told me why she and her husband broke up. You don’t imagine she and Ian were…”

“No.” Nathan’s denial was emphatic. “I know Ian pretty well after all. He would never mess around with a married woman. Trust me, he and Tessa were not having a sordid affair. That is not why she and her husband are divorcing. I think this relationship with Ian is very new.”

Julia nodded. “I think so, too. She seemed really nervous to see me there today, like she expected I was still in New York.”

“Well, if she’s still working for Ian it goes without saying they want to keep this quiet. And you, my little devil, are not to breathe one word about this to anyone. Got it?” he told her sternly.

She reached up and gave him a smacking kiss. “Yes, I’ve got it. And I won’t say a word to anyone.” She took Nathan’s arm and placed it around her shoulders as she leaned against him. “God, they make a really gorgeous couple, don’t you think?”

Nathan smiled wickedly. “I’m guessing she’s keeping him, uh, busy. There’s a pretty big age difference between them, after all. He’s probably keeping his fingers crossed that he’ll be able to keep up with her.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” replied Julia airily. “Ian looks like he keeps himself in very, very good shape. Though Tessa did look a little, um -”

“Well fucked?” he whispered in her ear. “Kind of like you do this morning?”

Her cheeks flushed. “You are so bad,” she whispered back as they entered the crowded café. “But, yeah, now that you mention it, she might have looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed. And she did say she was running late.”

“Told you.” He was grinning as they got in line to place their orders. “Hmm, Ian and I will have to compare notes sometime, see which one of us is getting more action.”

Julia gasped in outrage. “Oh, my God, don’t you dare! You wouldn’t seriously do that, would you?”

“Relax, baby.” He rubbed her low back soothingly. “What goes on in our bed stays there, okay? No matter how many times my buddies try to pry details out of me. I would never in a million years tell anyone how much you like it when I…”

She clapped a hand over his mouth. “Quit while you’re ahead, Nathan. Otherwise, I’m going to up the ante on that bet we made a couple of weeks ago. The bet that I’m just about guaranteed to win now after you saw Tessa getting into Ian’s car.”

“Crap. I forgot all about that stupid bet,” grumbled Nathan. “I have so got to remember not to make any bets with you when a) I’ve had a little too much to drink, and b) you’ve just fucked me so hard I can’t walk straight. And it’s a little soon to be declaring yourself the winner, baby. I’m going to require more than circumstantial evidence before I shell out eight hundred bucks. And why the hell do you need more shoes anyway?”

Julia batted her lashes at him flirtatiously. “Because this really hot architect I know is building me this awesome waterfront house in Tiburon, complete with the biggest walk-in closet I’ve ever seen. I don’t have nearly enough stuff to fill it up.”

“You haven’t won yet, baby,” he replied darkly. “I need more proof before I whip my credit card out.”

She gave him a dangerous smile. “Leave it to me. I’ll get you all the proof you need.”

***

Ian had far too much work to get through today, did not have even ten minutes to spare for anything not already on his packed schedule, and yet he still found himself walking in the direction of the conference room where he knew Tessa would be setting up for this morning’s meeting with the architects. He’d mumbled some harebrained excuse to Andrew about where he was going, and received a disapproving frown from his by-the-book PA. But it had seemed like an eternity since he’d been alone with Tessa, even though in reality it had only been three days ago.