Serendipity (Inevitable) (37 page)

Julia merely nodded as they stepped inside the elevator, pushing the button for the lobby. Nathan frowned as he in turn pushed the button for the garage level.

“Didn’t you park in the garage?” he inquired.

“I don’t own a car. I took a cab here.”

He regarded her with surprise. “I didn’t realize you don’t have a car.”

She shrugged. “Hardly anyone owns a car in Manhattan so when I moved out here I didn’t have one. I’ve been procrastinating about buying one.”

The elevator began its descent. “So how do you get around?”

“Bus. Taxi. Walking. Sometimes Angela gives me a lift or I borrow her car. When I go see my parents I rent a car for the weekend.”

“So let me give you a ride back to the office then,” he offered.

Julia shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s a nice day out, I might walk back.”

“It’s just a ride, Julia,” he told her quietly. “And it’s a long walk for you in those shoes. Let me give you a lift back.”

“No, thank you. We shouldn’t be alone together, even in a car.”

He chuckled. “What’s the matter? Afraid you can’t keep your hands off of me?”

In the next instant he was startled when Julia grabbed his tie and yanked him towards her. Her green eyes were dark and intense as she stared up at him.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” she hissed. “You’re wearing my favorite suit today.
And
my favorite cologne. All I could think about during that meeting was crawling under the table to where you were sitting, unzipping your pants, and giving you the best blowjob of your life. So you can see why being closed up in a car with me might not be a good idea.”

He gulped, feeling his cock twitch with arousal at her deliberately provocative words. “Well, I’d say that was a matter of opinion. And I would have an extremely favorable opinion.”

She let him go and stepped away. “Me, not so much. I told you what it would take, Nathan, and that hasn’t changed.”

The elevator stopped at the lobby level and she walked out without another word, leaving Nathan cursing softly as the doors closed after her, his balls aching.

Lauren McKinnon was very aware of all the admiring – and curious – looks that she and her sister were receiving from passers-by as they lunched at an outdoor table. Unlike her far more reserved twin, however, she didn’t always ignore or look away from her admirers but returned their stares boldly. If the man happened to be attractive, she might even grace him with a smile. And if he was super smokin’ hot, she’d make it quite obvious that she was interested.

So far today there had been precious few who fell into the first category, and absolutely no one in the latter. It had been awhile – quite awhile – since she’d gotten horizontal with someone, and with her impending trip to Nepal it was likely going to be awhile longer. When she was on a job, she was usually all business and was extremely careful to protect herself in every way. She rarely travelled alone, especially to a more remote locale like Nepal, but there was no question of boinking one of her fellow crew members. She’d learned the hard way that business and pleasure didn’t mix. Besides, she normally worked with the same crew on her assignments and they were all rather like family at this point. Fucking one of them now would just be weird.

But there were still a couple of nights left before she flew out on Saturday morning to the job site. Maybe she could talk her baby sister into going clubbing with her where she could find a willing and worthy partner for a night.

Lauren sighed as she took a sip of her wine. Knowing Julia’s reticence with men, it was highly unlikely she knew of any hot clubs to check out. It was a possibility that Angela might, but given that she hadn’t been on a date – or even left her flat on a Friday night – for two years, there were no guarantees.

She regarded the blond, almost pretty man in the navy Gucci suit across the table and wondered if Travis might know of any hot, swinging clubs that weren’t gay hangouts. Lauren had her doubts about that one. His odd young assistant Courtney might have a better handle on it, but Lauren wasn’t sure a hipster bar was what she had in mind, either.

One thing was for sure – wherever they wound up going tomorrow night,, she was dragging Julia and possibly Angela with her. Both her twin and their best friend needed some serious action and soon. Lauren had grown used to Angela’s morose, almost catatonic state over the past couple of years, though she wasn’t giving up hope on her just yet. Julia, on the other hand, certainly had some bug up her perky little ass. She’d been in a crappy mood since Lauren had arrived for a visit last Sunday, and Lauren was about ready to shake or slap her twin if she didn’t snap out of it. Julia was being extremely closed-mouth about it, too, but Lauren was willing to bet there was a man involved somehow. It was almost impossible for the twins to hide anything from each other, even when they saw one another so infrequently these days. And if it was a man causing the usually sweet-tempered Julia to act like a hormonal bear, then she wasn’t confiding in Lauren about it, which was very odd. And made the matter even more intriguing. There had to be a really good reason for Julia to keep a lid on the matter, and Lauren was determined to find out why.

The twins were both dressed appropriately for the warm, almost-summer day, though their styles were very different. Julia was in one of her usual high-fashion sheath dresses – this one of a luscious mint green with a crisscross neckline that showed a hint of cleavage. A wide cream satin sash emphasized her small waist. She wore those killer stilettos that Lauren cringed at the thought of wearing – these in a mint green with a peep toe. Julia’s caramel colored curls fell long and loose down her back, her makeup flawless and glowing.

Lauren, by contrast, was far more casually attired in a white James Perse cotton tank top paired with a slim fitting black and white striped maxi skirt. She wore flat black strappy sandals and not a lick of makeup. Her own tresses – cut several inches shorter than her sister’s – were bound back in a neat French braid.

Today was Thursday, nearing the end of Lauren’s visit with her sister before flying off to Asia in a couple of days. Julia had cooked an incredible dinner the previous evening for Lauren, Travis and Anton – the four of them had gone through three bottles of wine – and now Travis was returning the favor by treating the twins to lunch at a tapas restaurant near his office. Lauren hadn’t met Travis before this visit but was getting along famously with Julia’s boss. He was a perfect foil for her own bold, sarcastic way of speaking, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy some of her more ribald comments and stories.

Travis’ eyes twinkled as he gazed from one sister to the other. “I still can’t get over how different the two of you are. Oh, not in looks, of course – you’re identical from head to toe and everything in between.” He gave a mock lascivious leer at both girls’ generous bosoms. “But personality wise – it’s rather startling.”

Julia took a small sip of her wine and looked at her sister wryly. “You mean because I’m such a refined lady and Lauren’s a bawdy tomboy?”

Lauren snickered. “Appearances can be deceiving, Travis. Julia can cuss like a sailor when it’s called for, and drink like one, too.”

“And you’d be surprised at how nicely Lauren cleans up,” added Julia with a grin. “When you can pry her out of those baggy cargo pants and hiking boots, that is.”

Travis laughed. “I’ll bet the two of you together are really something when you’re in the mood to have fun.”

The girls exchanged a look that Travis didn’t even try to interpret, guessing it was one of those weird twin-radar things. He was about to ask another question when he glanced at the entrance to the restaurant and waved at someone.

“Ah, good timing. There’s Nathan, just finishing up lunch from the looks of it. You have to meet my business partner, Lauren.”

Lauren, being extremely attuned to her twin’s moods, immediately noticed the expression on Julia’s face when the name Nathan was mentioned. It was a curious mixture of panic, annoyance, and fear. And that put Lauren on instant alert as she watched her sister’s reaction to the seriously sexy man who was approaching their table.

Nathan Atwood wasn’t Lauren’s usual type – she didn’t do guys in suits and ties – but there was no denying he was one of the handsomest, smokin’ hot men she’d ever seen. She might not care for suits, but there was a whole lot to admire about the body inside of it. The glittering light blue eyes, thick dark brown hair, and sexy mouth weren’t too bad, either.

The hottie grinned as he shook her hand. “So you’re Lauren. I’ve heard a number of interesting things about you.”

Lauren raised a brow.”Is that right? Well, knowing my sister she only told you the tamer stories.”

Julia rolled her eyes at her twin. “That’s because you don’t tell me the wilder ones. You’re afraid I can’t handle them.”

“Baby sister, I
know
you can’t handle them.”

Travis grinned up at Nathan. “Have a seat, mate. These two are very entertaining when they get going. Anton and I were practically rolling on the floor when we had dinner with them at Julia’s last night.”

Nathan glanced at Julia, and then both of them looked hurriedly away. But Lauren instantly felt the sizzling heat between the two, and suddenly several lights went on in her head at the same time, and the wheels began to spin in rapid motion.

“I can only stay a few minutes, I’m afraid,’” said Nathan as he pulled out a chair. “I have an appointment in less than an hour at the office.”

Lauren held up the mostly empty bottle of wine. “Care for a glass?”

Nathan shook his head. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Suit yourself.” Lauren poured the rest of the bottle into her glass. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have to go back to work this afternoon, so I won’t say no.”

“Lauren’s a photographer for National Geographic, Nate,” explained Travis. “She’s off to a photo shoot in Nepal in a couple of days.”

“You’re very young to have landed such a high-profile job,” Nathan remarked.

Lauren grinned. “That’s because I’m very good at what I do.”

“Lauren won a couple of national photography contests while she was still at UCLA,” explained Julia. “National Geographic sponsored one of the contests and they actively recruited her after graduation.”

“Interesting. So everyone in your family is some sort of artist – your father the architect, your mother the painter, and the two of you in interior design and photography,” commented Nathan.

“You’re leaving out our aunt, who’s a former fashion designer,” added Lauren. “Aunt Maddy is the head buyer now at Bergdorf Goodman. She’s the reason why baby sister here always looks so hot. I know for a fact you guys don’t pay her enough to afford an Unger dress and Badgley Mishka shoes.”

“She sends you nice stuff, too,” retorted Julia, “but most of it gets shoved to the back of your closet. You’d rather grub around in stuff from the army surplus store.”

“Hey, when you’re lying in a muddy ditch trying to get the perfect shot of a herd of wild horses, you’re not thinking of whether you’re dressed in head to toe designer,” Lauren shot back. “Besides, like you said earlier, Jules – I clean up real nice.”

Travis grinned. “Do the two of you go out much together? I’ll bet you get lots of attention.”

Lauren hitched her head towards Julia. “Well, this one here isn’t much of a party girl, but when she does let her hair down, the two of us have been known to get a little wild and crazy.” She winked at Nathan, and grinned when she saw the look of alarm on his face.

‘Oh, yeah,’ thought Lauren triumphantly. ‘There is definitely something going on here with pretty boy and baby sis. He
so
does not like the idea of Jules getting her bad girl on.’

“So, I’ve got to ask you this,” said Travis with a naughty twinkle in his eye. “Anton and I were wondering about this after we left you two beauties last night. Has a guy ever approached both of you at the same time to suggest, uh -“

“A twin sandwich?” finished Lauren mischievously, watching in amusement as Nathan’s jaw dropped and he looked horror-stricken. “Sure, that’s happened before, hasn’t it, Jules?”

Julia shook her head, her cheeks flushed, and she looked mortified. “I cannot believe you had the nerve to say something like that, Lauren. And in front of my bosses, no less.”

“Pah.” Lauren waved a hand in dismissal. “Like anything I could say would shock this one,” indicating Travis. “You didn’t hear some of the stories he and Anton were regaling me with last night while you were cooking dinner.” She turned to Nathan and blinked at him flirtatiously. “And I’ll bet the idea of two hot, sexy women at the same time isn’t something you’d say no to. Am I right?”

Julia banged her head on the table while Travis laughed uncontrollably. Nathan just stared at Lauren in speechless shock, a deep red flush staining his cheeks.

“I, uh, I’m – er, engaged,” he mumbled.

Now it was Lauren’s turn to burst into laughter. “Oh, that’s a good one. Honey, you might be engaged but you aren’t dead. Unless –“she eyed him suspiciously, “you’re engaged to a dude. Travis, does he bat for your team?”