Did Reese look at her all the time? Audrey hadn’t realized. “His name’s Reese Durham. He’s one of Cade’s billionaire friends.”
“Yuck. Men with money are nothing but trouble.” For a moment, Daphne looked sad, then shook it off, taking another puff of her cigarette. “So are you having sex with him?”
“Not yet.” Audrey bit her lip. “But I really want to.”
“So have sex with him.”
She shook her head. “Not that simple, Daph. I kind of have a thing for Cade.” Understatement of the year.
“Mmm. Love troubles.” Daphne’s eyes sparked with interest, and she looked less tired for the first time in days. “So glad that they’re someone else’s for a change.”
“Have you had love troubles?” Audrey asked. Daphne never shared any of the details of her relationships, though her songs were always teasing about men and breakups.
Daphne flicked her fingers, as if brushing the comment away. “Bygones. We’re talking about you right now, sis. So you want the big hunk but you’re afraid that it might interfere with your crush on Cade? Is he aware of how you feel?”
Audrey thought for a moment, wondering what to tell her sister. “He knows I exist, but it’s definitely one-sided.”
Daphne grinned. “So here’s what you do. Nail the hot tub hottie until you’re bored of him, and then go back to moping about Cade.”
Audrey stood up, her shoulders squaring defensively. “Now you’re just making fun of me. Not cool, Daph. I thought we were having a real discussion.”
“Wait,” Daphne said, reaching for Audrey’s arm. “I was serious. What’s wrong with hitting it until you quit it?”
Audrey stared at her twin. “Are you kidding? This is me we’re talking about. I’m not the kind to sleep with a man just for sex’s sake.”
“You’re not in a relationship, Audrey. Like you said, Cade doesn’t even know you have feelings for him. Why not have a little fun? Play the field a bit? It’s just physical. Have a little fling. Cade can’t be mad that you hooked up with someone if you aren’t with him.”
Audrey bit her lip, considering. “I don’t know.”
“You’re not old and married. Act your age. God. You make me feel old just being around you.”
That hurt. “Gee, thanks Daph.”
“I’m serious. Don’t you ever have fun? You always look so serious and unhappy, like you’re doing your best to be the most vanilla, boring person you can imagine. That’s no way to live.” Daphne stubbed her cigarette out in the oatmeal bowl. “I was hoping you were having a turnaround this week. You just seemed so lively. A bit irritated, but still lively. I liked seeing that in you. At least then you had some spark, instead of just gray and bland all the time.”
Knew that underneath all that proper do-gooder Audrey there was the fiery girl. Fucking love bringing her out to play.
Audrey thought for a long moment, staring at her oatmeal bowl. How much should she tell Daphne what was truly going on? Could she count on Daphne to be discreet? She glanced over at her twin, who was pulling a new cigarette out of her pack, her hands trembling slightly. And then Audrey decided to trust Daphne just a little.
“I went skinny-dipping with Reese last night.”
The new cigarette Daphne had just placed between her lips automatically fell out. She snagged it then pulled out her lighter. “Get out. You did? I’m proud of you.”
For some reason, her twin’s approval was . . . appealing. Even if it was over something as naughty as skinny-dipping. “Cade caught us, too.”
Daphne grimaced. “You want to talk about someone who’s no fun. Cade’s picture’s next to serious in the dictionary. So he caught you, huh? What did you do?”
“Hmm. Scream and ran for the house with a towel around me?”
“How did I sleep through this?” Daphne murmured, grinning. She gave her head a little shake. “So you going to go catch up where you left off tonight?”
“I don’t know,” Audrey admitted. The idea was taking root in her mind and it had a strange amount of appeal. Use Reese like he used women? Sleep with him just for sex’s sake? Was it such a terrible idea? “I wouldn’t know what to tell Cade about what’s going on.”
“It’s none of Cade’s business,” Daphne said in a pert tone. “He has zero claim on you at the moment. The only people it’s between are you, that big hunk, and your twin sister who gets to hear all the secrets.” She grinned at Audrey. “You’ll have to tell me how it is.”
“You’re assuming I’m going to go through with it,” Audrey said in a crisp tone.
“Don’t get all proper with me, Aud. I know you. And I encourage this act of liberation. I say go for it.”
“I’m glad I have your approval,” Audrey teased, but the idea was now in her head and it wouldn’t go away. What would it be like to sleep with a man, no strings attached? A man as sexy as Reese who drove her as crazy as he did?
She knew anything with him wouldn’t be permanent. Not a bit. He used women like Camilla in the hot tub. They were diversions, and she was the current one.
But wouldn’t it be fun—just for a little while—to be the diversion?
Chapter Six
With that morning’s conversation she’d had with Daphne still going through her mind, Audrey cleaned up the kitchen, straightened the living room, and then went upstairs to check her appearance.
Shirt: plain black and long sleeved. Jeans: serviceable. Hair: tight bun. Skin: fresh scrubbed and freckled. It’d have to do. Audrey smoothed a hand over her bun and then headed outside, looking for Reese.
He wasn’t hard to find—the sound of chopping wood rang in her ears even from inside the house. Sure enough, he stood up in a small clearing near a pile of wood, axe in hand. He was wearing a muscle shirt, his corded arms bare and gleaming with sweat. He’d obviously been at things for some time.
“Reese?” She shielded her eyes from the sun and stood a decent distance away. “Can we talk for a moment?”
He turned to her and tossed the axe down to the ground. “Sure, what’s up?”
She glanced around. “Where’s Cade?”
“Out for a morning walk. He wanted to clear his head. That what you wanted to talk about?” He wiped at his brow, then picked up a water bottle from nearby.