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He shrugged as a waiter appeared with another glass of wine for me and whatever he was drinking. “Remember, Ben and I were twenty when we first came up with the concept.”
“Do you still game?” I sipped the wine, worried about drinking too much, and but appreciating the distraction.
He shook his head. “I won’t say I grew out of it, but I don’t have a lot of time.”
Ben was the same. I’m sure he’d play them now if he was sober enough.
Ash’s hand was on my lower back as he showed me a variety of games. His touch was frazzling my brain, making it hard to think of anything but wanting to be in his arms again.
I felt like I saw interest in his eyes beyond the business deal, which should have sent me running from the club. And yet here I was, curious about whether or not he was feeling the attraction we shared all those years ago.
“Do you have a favorite game?” I asked as we got to the last machine. I turned to look at him, not realizing how close he was. His lips were a whisper away from mine.
His eyes flashed with heat and then his gaze drifted down my face to my lips, hovering there for a moment, before rising back up to my eyes.
His hand reached out, brushing my cheek lightly. The feel of his fingers, the tenderness of it, sent an overwhelming yearning for what we once had through me.
“I’ve never forgotten you, Beth,” he said low, but loud enough to be heard over the gaming machines and din of music from the club. I knew what he was doing as he leaned closer. I should have stopped it, but I didn’t as his lips pressed against mine. Like a flash fire, sizzling heat burst through my body at his touch and taste.
The kiss lingered and I wanted to get lost in it. But then, somehow, I pulled away, trying not to look like I was gasping for breath, when in fact I was. How was it he could still have that same effect on me? Why couldn’t I hold onto my anger at him?
“How about another dance?” he asked.
I nodded because it was the only coherent thing I could do. At least on the dance floor, the crowd and loud music offered a barrier, and I could try to get my mind back in the game.
This was supposed to be easy, but who had I been kidding? Being with Ash like this brought back the memories of six years ago when life seemed perfect. Oh, how I wished we could be like that again.
But no. I was here in the club he owned with my brother to complete a mission. I needed Ash to buy my brother’s half of the business to save us financially. It was a shame, I thought as I looked around Jet and saw how popular it was. Knowing my brother had checked out of the business a few years back, I had to credit Ash for the club’s success. I hoped he wouldn’t lowball an offer to offset how little my brother contributed over the last few years. I couldn’t blame Ash if he did, since my brother wasn’t involved in the club’s current success, but I hoped he’d be generous considering their friendship. Or I should say, their past friendship.
I was there to look over my brother’s holding and to negotiate the sale, so I wasn’t sure why I agreed to dance with Ash, except that it was loud and crowded on the dance floor which made it hard to talk. Despite needing to strike a deal, the last thing I wanted was to talk to Ash about anything but business because I knew my resolve around him was weak. He was everything and more than I remembered. He’d lost the boyish softness in his face that he had at twenty-one and was now a full-fledged man, with a chiseled jaw and day-old stubble. His hazel eyes watched me as I danced with him. Like a Svengali, his eyes captured me and I slowly got lost in them until we were the only two people in the room.
That’s how it had been that summer in the Hamptons six years ago after I graduated from high school. Ash had just graduated from college, and he and Ben were planning to open a club in Manhattan. Our families had been friends for a long time, and so I’d known Ash, but it wasn’t until that summer that I saw him as anything but my brother’s friend.
All of the Raven boys were ridiculously handsome, and so they were always very popular at the beach, including Ash. But there was something different that summer about him. Or maybe it was me. I remembered seeing him walk out of the surf by our beach house and thinking “yum” as water dripped from him. I’d been sunbathing on the beach and he came to sit with me as my brother continued to boogie board. We laughed at my brother as he crashed into the waves. Then we discussed our plans for the summer and beyond; his involved opening a club with my brother, and mine was attending college. He was funny and smart and sweet and within minutes, my friendly feelings started to turn.
