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  Whatever his rationale, when her anger had dwindled and she’d released the bitterness of the past, she’d realised Hudson was staring at her with admiration, not disgust, and she’d never felt so empowered as she’d showered in front of him. Knowing he was finally looking at her the way she wanted him to look. Knowing he wanted her.

  ‘You so did sleep with someone. Look at your cheeks!’ Charlotte yelled. ‘You’re crimson.’

  Makayla pressed her palms to her scorching cheeks. ‘I didn’t sleep with anyone but there may have been other stuff going on.’

  ‘Ooh, do tell.’ Charlotte rubbed her hands together, but before Makayla could reveal the partial truth, the doorbell rang.

  ‘That’ll be Abby,’ she said, glancing at her watch. ‘She’s bringing leftovers from the patisserie.’

  ‘Good, I’m starved.’ Charlotte leapt nimbly to her feet, her petite frame always making Makayla feel like an ogre. ‘Dealing with an asshole boss gives me an appetite.’

  Dealing with Makayla’s boss gave her an appetite too, but not for food.

  ‘Hi, lovelies.’ Abby breezed into the room brandishing the distinct pink and gold cardboard bags from Le Miel. ‘I come bearing gifts.’

  ‘Whatever you’re offering, I’ll have three of each,’ Charlotte said, padding into the kitchen to get plates. ‘Chardonnay okay for you two?’

  ‘Please,’ Abby said, shooting Makayla a ‘what’s up?’ look when she hadn’t said anything.

  ‘Tell you in a minute,’ Makayla said, waiting until Charlotte had poured them each a glass of wine and their plates were covered with lemon tartlets, petite croissants and beignets.

  ‘Makayla’s been up to no good with someone at work,’ Charlotte said, popping a tartlet into her mouth whole. ‘And she’s about to spare this poor, pathetic spinster no details.’

  ‘Someone at work?’ Predictably, Abby’s ears all but twitched. ‘Tell me it’s Hudson. He’s gorgeous.’ She swivelled towards Charlotte and wiggled her eyebrows. ‘You know the actor Tom Hiddleston?’

  Charlotte’s forehead crinkled before she snapped her fingers. ‘English, right? Tall, blond, blue eyes, incredibly hot?’

  Abby nodded. ‘Hudson could be his twin.’

  Charlotte wolf whistled. ‘But isn’t he your boss?’

  Makayla sighed, knowing she should’ve remembered that salient point around the time he’d opened that shower door. ‘Technically, yes, but we’re old friends.’

  ‘Friends or friends?’ Charlotte made smoochy sounds. ‘I do love a good juicy friends-to-lovers saga.’

  Makayla snorted and pointed to a towering stack of novels on a side table. ‘Stick to your romance novels because there’s not much to tell.’

  Abby’s grin channelled pure evil. ‘Maybe I should ask Tanner—’

  ‘Don’t you dare.’ Makayla glared at Abby, who feigned innocence before taking a bite out of one of her signature croissants.

  Makayla loved Abby’s pastries but if she ate half of what Abby did she wouldn’t be able to fit into her leotards, let alone dance.

  ‘You’ll have to give us something, my friend, otherwise I’m getting Tanner to do some digging.’ Abby dusted off her hands and reached for her wine glass. ‘And trust me, he’s more of a gossip than I am.’

  ‘Okay, okay, sheesh.’ Makayla blew out a breath, keen to get her friends’ take on what had gone down with Hudson—literally—but nervous they’d reiterate what she already knew. She was stupid for complicating a working relationship with her boss. ‘But you promise not to breathe a word of this to Tanner, okay?’

  Abby hesitated before nodding. ‘We tell each other everything, but considering you’re my best friend and Hudson’s his, we’ll stay out of it.’

  Makayla glanced at Charlotte, who held up her hands. ‘Hey, who would I tell? You two are the only friends I have.’

  Makayla searched for the right words, something to tell her friends that didn’t involve revealing everything. Before realising if she left out the juicy stuff there wouldn’t be much to tell.

  ‘The short version? I had a dress fitting tonight for another show I’m doing, a one-off. Rehearsals ran late so I wouldn’t have had time to get back here to shower. Hudson lives in an apartment over Embue so he offered me his shower to save time.’ Makayla felt heat flush her cheeks as Abby’s eyes widened to saucer proportion.

  ‘You didn’t! He showered with you?’

  Charlotte blew a raspberry. ‘I’m so freaking jealous. You lead the most exciting life ever.’

  Not usually. Exciting things didn’t happen to Makayla often. Today had been an aberration...that she’d remember for a very long time. ‘Do you want to hear the rest or not?’

  ‘Yes!’ both girls yelled in unison, so she continued. ‘The shower mixer thingy wasn’t working and I couldn’t get the water temp right. So I called out to him to fix it.’

  ‘And?’ Charlotte prompted, her elbows resting on her knees, chin in her hands, leaning forward and hanging on her every word.

  ‘He said he’d fix it.’ Makayla paused for dramatic effect. ‘If I let him watch me shower.’

  Charlotte squealed and Abby’s mouth dropped open. ‘No way. That’s so hot.’

  ‘I know, right?’ Makayla’s skin pebbled at the remembrance of having Hudson watch her with that intense gaze of his. Like he couldn’t look away. Like he was really seeing her for the first time. ‘I should never have agreed but we’ve got this attraction going on, always have, so I thought why not?’

  ‘Why not indeed?’ Charlotte sighed and slumped back on the sofa, wistfulness clouding her eyes. ‘You are so lucky.’

  Since they’d been flatmates, Makayla had never seen Charlotte date, let alone have a boyfriend. She’d tried to encourage her to go clubbing or go out for drinks at their local bar on a Friday night, but Charlotte preferred reading to socialising. She hoped she could drag her to Embue to watch her perform. If Makayla was in a man slump, Charlotte was in severe drought.

  ‘So what happened after that?’ Abby prompted.

  ‘I was angry at first, really mad.’ For reasons she wouldn’t go into with her friends. She’d left the past behind and had no intention of rehashing it. ‘I wanted to tell him to stick his ludicrous challenge.’ Her grin turned sly. ‘But then I wanted to make him sweat for being so audacious, so while he watched I may have played up to him a tad and...he, uh...ended up in the shower...’ Hell, there was no easy way to say this, so she blurted, ‘He went down on me.’

  ‘Hells bells.’ Charlotte almost fell off her chair she leaned forward so far, while Abby tut-tutted. ‘Bad girl.’

  ‘Or good, very, very good, depending how you look at it.’ Makayla couldn’t keep the smug grin off her face now she’d come to terms with her fall from grace. And she’d fallen far. From indignant woman scorned to moaning, wanton goddess, she’d given in to Hudson when she should’ve rallied against his injustice. But the moment he’d lapped at her with his tongue her outrage at his double standards had been obliterated and, considering the ferocity of her orgasm, she couldn’t be sorry for that. ‘Let’s just say if I hadn’t had to rush off I’d probably still be there, returning the favour.’

  ‘You two are so going to end up together,’ Charlotte said, sounding pensive. ‘I can sense it.’

  Abby, the more practical of her friends, seemed less caught up in the romanticism. ‘What does he think about this fling?’

  Something in Makayla’s chest tightened at Abby’s casual labelling of what she’d shared with Hudson as a fling. She shouldn’t care, because if things proceeded with them that was exactly what it would be.

  But having Abby articulate it meant her friend either thought she wasn’t up for anything more or she knew more about Hudson via Tanner and he wasn’t.

  ‘We didn’t really get to talk,’ Makayla said, some of her earlier enthusiasm
at getting the girls’ opinions dwindling. ‘But I like him. He likes me. The shower thing could be a prelude to more.’

  ‘Do you want that?’

  ‘Of course she does,’ Charlotte answered for her. ‘If this guy is as hot as you say, why wouldn’t she?’

  Abby’s furtive glance away made Makayla’s heart sink. ‘What aren’t you telling me, Abs?’

  Abby hesitated before giving a brief nod. ‘Tanner and Hudson have been mates since high school. According to Tanner, Hudson hasn’t been in a relationship ever. He dates a few times max, moves on. Are you okay with that, considering you share a past?’

  Makayla’s heart foolishly lifted at the thought of Hudson never being involved with a woman long term. Not that she was interested in changing his track record—far from it—but it meant that if they did have a fling it wouldn’t change the status quo for either of them.

  She didn’t have time for mess. Not when this job could be the first step to achieving her dream.

  ‘We both grew up in Kings Cross. Our paths crossed regularly and we ended up friends. Then we had a falling out and we weren’t any more. But all that’s in the past, and whatever happens now we’ll both know where we stand.’

  Sounded nice in theory but Makayla knew it had the potential to be way more complicated than that.

  Working with Hudson could provide her with contacts she needed to climb the industry ladder. It could lead to her big break. So what happened if they had a fling but it soured? Their friendship had gone south once before and she still didn’t know the real reason behind his outburst that had effectively ended them. This time, it could have far more severe consequences.

  The concern creasing Abby’s brow faded. ‘As long as you both know the score before you start something up, you’ll be fine.’

  ‘I think they’ve already started something up,’ Charlotte said with a cheeky wink. ‘You should go for it, sweetie. Have some fun. You deserve it.’

  ‘Here’s to both of you getting clean in many showers together.’ Abby raised her glass in a toast. ‘Or should that be getting dirty?’

  Makayla chuckled and clinked glasses with the girls. While she didn’t need their approval to take things further with Hudson, it had been helpful to use them as sounding boards.

  Not that she had a hope in hell of backing out. She’d made her decision the second she’d let the towel drop and allowed Hudson to see her naked several hours ago.

  A bold move or a moment of madness?

  Guess she’d soon find out.

  CHAPTER TEN

  WORK HAD KICKED Hudson’s ass tonight.

  Patrons flocked to Embue for a good time on a daily basis but some nights were crazy busy. Being the manager for Sydney’s hottest nightclub had its advantages. He counted the coolest celebrities and sports stars as friends, knew every up-and-comer in the city and had his pick of gorgeous women.

  He should’ve been rapt that Australia’s biggest beauty pageant contingent had chosen Embue as their venue for an after-party tonight. Instead, as he watched countless stunning women swan by him wearing next to nothing, sporting bodies that could make a guy grovel, all he could think about was Makayla.

  Was she regretting their earlier encounter?

  Was she looking forward to the next?

  Was she thinking about him at all?

  He sure as hell couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  He’d never expected to take things so far. He’d wanted to test himself, to see if he’d moved on from the past, to ensure that seeing her naked again wouldn’t resurrect the old feelings of repugnance; not against her, but for what seeing her naked the first time represented to him.

  Thankfully, nothing but desire had filled him, pounding through his blood to a relentless beat he couldn’t ignore. He’d never been prone to impulsiveness but watching her soap and stroke herself had lit something within he couldn’t deny.

  He had to prove—to both of them—that he saw her as a beautiful, desirable woman. That he’d left his reservations from the past behind. That he’d moved on, for both their sakes.

  When he’d opened the shower stall, he’d had no idea what to do. Kiss her maybe. Touch her. But the look in her eyes had slayed him: as if she half expected his rejection all over again.

  That realisation had gutted him and he’d known he had to give her pleasure and keep a tight rein on his.

  Tasting her, hearing her tiny mewls of satisfaction, had been amazing. But he couldn’t forget that damn look in her eyes and the fact he’d put it there with his appalling treatment of her five years earlier.

  Scowling, he made his umpteenth round of the club, doing impromptu spot checks on everything from the cleanliness of the cocktail glasses to dance-floor spills. Staff must’ve sensed his mood because they steered clear, ensuring their workstations were spotless, not giving him the usual grief.

  His cell buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out, his heart giving a traitorous leap when Mak’s name flashed up on the screen.

  She’d sent him a text. Short and sweet.

  I’ve got 2 tix for show @ Opera House 2moro nite. U free?

  He worked nights, but if Mak wanted to spend any time with him after what had happened earlier, it meant she didn’t want to castrate him for his boldness and was open to more.

  Nothing could keep him away.

  Spying Tanner near the sound booth, he crossed the club with determined strides, eager to give her an answer before she changed her mind or asked someone else to accompany her.

  ‘Hey, bozo, what are you putting in the drinks?’ Tanner gestured around. ‘This place is packed tonight.’

  ‘Word travels. That, and you’ve got the best manager in the business.’

  ‘Modest, much?’ Tanner leaned against the console, his white T-shirt fluorescent in the club lights. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Speaking of being the best manager in the business, can I have tomorrow night off?’

  Tanner’s eyebrows rose. ‘You never ask for time off. What gives?’

  ‘A show at the Opera House I want to check out.’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ Tanner tapped his temple, pretending to think. ‘Is this technically work? You checking out a show to get ideas for the show here?’

  Hudson didn’t lie to his best friend. But he knew if he told the truth, he’d never hear the end of it.

  ‘Something like that,’ he said, the half-truth lodging in his throat.

  ‘Sure, go ahead. Knock yourself out.’ Tanner shrugged. ‘Say hi to Mak for me.’

  ‘What?’

  Tanner guffawed and slapped him on the back. ‘Listen, dickhead, when a workaholic like you asks for a night off for the first time in five years it must involve a woman. And seeing as Mak had you in a spin after the audition, it has to be her. Correct?’

  ‘You’re full of shit,’ Hudson said, glad his friend knew him so well. ‘She has a spare ticket, she asked me to go, that’s it.’

  ‘Keep telling yourself that,’ Tanner said, grinning like a doofus. ‘Though you’ve heard the saying, right? Don’t screw the crew?’

  ‘Like you did with Abby?’

  ‘Touché, my smitten friend.’ Tanner shrugged. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

  Hudson flipped him the bird and stalked off, already tapping a response to Mak.

  He didn’t need any warnings. He already knew that getting involved with Mak could lead to disaster.

  But with relentless desire pounding through his body, making him want her with a mindless intensity he couldn’t shake no matter how hard he tried, he knew that some things were worth the risk.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  HUDSON HAD OFFERED to pick Makayla up but she’d cited a late shift at the patisserie and arranged to meet him on the steps of the Opera House instead.

  Pathetic, considering she
’d invited him. No use chickening out now. But that was exactly what she’d done, ever since Charlotte had presented her with the tickets last night after their gossip session.

  At the time, she’d justified her decision to invite him as a way to thank him for the job opportunity. Now, twenty-four hours later, with the prospect of sitting next to him in the dark, trying to keep her mind on the recital and not on the delectable guy making her think naughty thoughts, her decision didn’t seem so smart.

  In reality, she could dress up her invitation any way she liked but the truth was she wanted to spend more time with him.

  He’d been out of her life for years and in less than a week, he’d insinuated his way back into it without trying.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  Probably her hormones wanting a repeat of what went down in his shower too, but she owed it to herself to explore this thing they had between them.

  She’d been dating regularly for years. Not without any thought for the future, but for the simple pleasure of having fun. She hadn’t slept with a lot of guys—she was too picky for that—but she liked dating, enjoyed sex, and hadn’t had enough of either over the last year.

  Time to rectify that with a guy she actually respected and admired.

  Hudson had always been larger than life for her. The kind of guy who strode into a room and everyone took notice. Back then, he’d been amenable and pleasant and a hard worker, friendly to everyone. His laissez faire attitude had got him regular work around the Cross, because no one doubted if they hired Hudson their work would get done.

  Despite his busy schedule, he’d always had time for her. Had listened to her wax lyrical about everything, from her favourite boy band to her crappiest teacher. She’d never mentioned any crushes, because he’d been it for her.