Holly hell. How was a woman to react to that?
And why did it have to be so hot out here? She was sure it was hotter than the thirty degrees they’d said it was going to be today. And far more humid. She was burning up—and she was just going to ignore that it was coming from the inside, not the outside. Oh god! She needed a cold shower. Or at least, to tip some cold water over her head.
She glanced over at Reid and Barb who were standing at the BBQ having their usual argument over marinating and cooking techniques. She wondered where Mac was. CoalCliff’s foreman had become a constant presence at Barb’s side in the last year or so. Everyone assumed something was going on between them, but neither of them had admitted to it and he never stayed the night at Barb’s and Barb was never at his place that she’d heard of. They hadn’t once been caught kissing or hugging or even holding hands either. He was just there. It had become a guessing game of what was going on.
He wasn’t there now though. She had to be thankful for that, because the man had hawk’s eyes, rarely wasting words that didn’t need to be spoken, just watching. Watching. He would have noticed the fact she was a little more than flustered. Reid and Barb were too caught up in their friendly bantering over cooking methods to notice her behaviour, although one of them was bound to notice if she tipped the jug of ice-cold water Nat had just placed on the side table all over herself. Damn. A cold drink would have to do—and not the one Flynn was bringing out.
Fanning herself, she poured herself a full glass of water, and sculled it down. It wasn’t enough to dampen the fire still burning inside her. Her hands were still tingling and shooting out sparks from when they’d slid over his naked, hot, wet chest. Oh god. That was bound to play in her hot and sexy dreams for years to come as the main feature. It had been bad enough when she’d simply touched that golden breadth of chest when they’d kissed, felt just how hot his skin was, how hard the muscles were, how crisp the light sprinkle of chest hair was against her fingers. Now she’d seen it, it was one hundred times worse. Just picturing him was likely to give her an orgasm on the spot. Or a sexually-frustrated induced aneurism. She wasn’t sure what would be worse.
She fanned herself again and poured another water, forcing herself to drink it more slowly, letting the iciness shiver down her oesophagus. Still not enough. Desire heated her skin, making her prickle, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Not without calling unwanted attention to herself or making Flynn aware of just how much he affected her.
‘Okay, the kids are set up playing computer games on the TV for now,’ Nat said as she walked out the sliding glass door. ‘I’ll get Reid to set them up with popcorn and the movie after we’ve had dinner. Flynn’s getting them drinks and then will bring ours out. I thought long G&Ts all around to start with and then we’ll have some sparkling later to cheers your birthday.’
‘Sounds perfect,’ Prita said, trying not to let her relief show that she was given a few more minutes reprieve before she had to see Flynn again. A few more minutes to get under control and hide this absurd reaction. Because it was. Absurd. As was her inability to deal with it clinically. It was simply chemicals in her brain and endocrine system making her feel like this. It wasn’t emotional—not in any true sense. If she simply treated it like any medical problem, surely she could find the solution.
As that was unlikely to occur right now, ignoring it was the best option.
‘A bit hot, are you?’ Nat was standing beside her at the table, the now empty jug in her hands.
‘Yes.’
Nat smirked and shook her head sadly. ‘Well do I know the impact of that kind of hot.’ Her gaze flickered to Reid and back and she waggled her eyebrows.
Prita snort-laughed. ‘Yes, well, I don’t have that issue.’
‘Pity. You don’t know what you’re missing out on.’
If it was anything like the way she felt when Flynn was around, she didn’t want it. ‘I really appreciate you throwing this little party for me.’
Nat waved her hand. ‘Don’t be silly. That’s what friends are for. I only wish you’d let us throw you a bigger party.’
‘This is perfect.’ And then, she was telling Nat what she’d told Barb, something she’d never talked about with anyone before, but suddenly had the urge to share with this woman who’d become such a good friend. She told her about losing her mother, the devastation of that and then being sent away to live with her mother’s family who she’d never met, the culture shock of it, the way she’d never felt like she’d fitted in.
Nat’s expression of interest melted into sympathy. ‘Oh god. No wonder you don’t want a big birthday party. I’m sorry if we’ve made things awkward for you.’
‘No.’ She grabbed Nat’s hand. ‘This is good. I need to be able to show Carter that bad things happen and you can’t let them affect the rest of your life. This is part of that.’
Nat squeezed her hand. ‘He’s so lucky to have you.’
‘I’m the lucky one.’ They smiled at each other.
‘So, is it just birthday parties you dislike? Tell me we haven’t been forcing you to endure party after party this last year and a half?’
Prita laughed. ‘Not at all. I’ve actually enjoyed the parties you throw, which is kind of weird as I used to hate all parties. My Indian family never did things in a small way and with the size of
