Friends With Benefits (8 page)

He ran a hand over his smoothly shaven face, tossed on a light splash of aftershave, and put on the suit he’d chosen to wear to the party. Okay, ready to go.

When he walked into the spa and laid eyes on Kerri, his jaw dropped. Jesus. She must have bought a new dress for the party. He’d never seen her look like that.

Her glossy black hair, usually casual and flippy, had been styled into sexy, messy pieces. And the dress…oh man.

Tiny black straps crisscrossed her bare back, revealed by the low cut dress. And then she turned and damn, it was cut low in front too. Very low. She had cleavage. Really nice cleavage. Funny that. Kerri had an awesome body, lithe with long, toned muscles from her yoga, but he’d never noticed her cleavage before. Well, okay, truth be told, he had…but not like this. She didn’t have big breasts, but the dress really showed off their perfect roundness and gleaming golden skin. He had to shove his hands in his pockets against the urge to reach out and touch.

The short skirt fluttered around her knees and showed off her legs, and a pair of black spiky heels looked dangerous. She had on more makeup than usual, her blue eyes shadowed and huge, lips shiny.

She smiled coolly at him, although a touch of nervousness edged her smile. “What are you doing here already?”

“Hello to you too.” He wanted to tell her how great she looked but his throat had closed up and he couldn’t get the words out. “Uh…I came to help.”

“Oh. Thank you.” She picked up a big floral arrangement and he tried to say, “I’ll take that,” but could only hold out his arms. She handed him the flowers. “Can you put those on the small table over there?”

He watched her climb up onto a chair to hang a bunch of silver balloons, flashing some smooth leg, and he swallowed.

Oh for God’s sake. It was
Kerri.

“Want me to do that?

“Sure,” she said with relief. “You’re taller, you can probably reach.”

He did so easily and she directed him where to hang the other bunch.

“So um…how late did you stay last night?” he asked.

“Too late.” She grimaced. “Everyone wanted to party.”

“Yeah, I could see that.” He paused, tried again. “How many people are you expecting tonight?”

“We had replies from about a hundred.”

“Wow. Where are you going to put them all?”

“We can overflow into the studio if we need to. But a party is always better when it’s crowded.”

Kerri’s parents arrived a short time later and, as usual, greeted him warmly. Angela Harris looked gorgeous in a stunning midnight blue dress, although not as spectacular as her daughter.

As more guests arrived, Mitch trailed around, following Kerri as she worked the crowd. She moved easily from group to group, chatting and laughing. She charmed clients and potential clients, both hers and Sela’s. They returned her dazzling smiles, laughed at what she said to them, responded to her vibrant energy. Yet to him, she was acting all frigid, ignoring him and talking to everyone else.

This was no damn good. They were friends. Yeah, okay, he’d screwed up, but he’d tried to make amends by setting her up with another guy like she’d wanted, and he was trying hard to pretend it never happened. What the hell was wrong with her?

He went to stand beside Kerri as she waited at the bar for a drink. Mitch requested a beer. He took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of her, spicy and exotic. “So,” he said. “You get lucky with any of those guys that were all over you last night?”

Kerri looked at him. “Yeah,” she said. “I took them all home with me. We had sex, one after the other, so I could see which one was the best. Then I sent the rest home and we screwed all night.”

Normally he would have laughed at her outrageous story, but lately his sense of humor had done a disappearing act when it came to Kerri. He made a noise of disgust.

“What?” She eyed him over the glass of wine the bartender had handed her. “You asked a stupid question.”

He shook his head. “Actually, I was serious. You’re looking for a husband and those guys seemed interested in you.”

“You said they were ‘all over me’.”

“Whatever.” He waved a hand.

She sighed. “I wasn’t interested in any of those guys.”

“You seemed pretty interested last night. There was a lot of hair flipping and eyelash batting going on.”

“What!” She looked at him incredulously. He couldn’t help but smile. “There was not!”

“Oh, yes there was. You were the champion hair flipper last night.”

She scowled and lifted her wine glass to her mouth, taking a big gulp. Her hand rose and he thought she was actually going to flip her hair back, but then she dropped it to her side as she apparently became aware of what she was doing. His lips twitched. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I know you’re mad, Kerr,” he said softly. “Why don’t you just tell me and get it over with. At least then I’ll know what I’ve done.”

She peered up at him and her crystal blue eyes were shadowed. “You know what you did,” she said obscurely. He sighed. Women.

“I apologized for that. I’m trying to pretend it never happened,” he said heavily.

“Not that! I mean last night.”

He stared blankly at her. “What?”

She paused, looking down at her wine. “You told everyone you’re finding guys for me to go out with.”

Oh, shit. That. Yeah, she’d looked kind of hurt. He’d just been trying to joke around and tease like they always did.

“Damn, Kerri, I’m sorry. But you never told me it was a big secret.”

“It’s embarrassing,” she said in a small voice, not looking at him.

“I’m sorry.” Damn, he was apologizing a lot lately. His beer arrived and he picked it up.

He had the feeling that wasn’t all there was to her frostiness, but he really didn’t want to start talking about “the kiss” right now. Kerri went over to talk to Sela, Hailey and Miguel standing in a group along with a man Mitch recognized. He followed and joined them.

“How are Hailey and Miguel feeling today?” Mitch asked.

“We’re fine,” they answered as one. Then Hailey asked, “Why’d you leave so early?”

“It wasn’t early. You guys were out late.”

“Hi, Mitch.” The other man in the group spoke up and held out a hand.

“Jack,” Mitch said, shaking his hand firmly. “Hey, how are you?”

“Really well, thanks.” Jack was a client whose divorce had recently been finalized. It had been messy and Mitch had felt sorry for the poor guy. His wife had tried to take him for every penny she could and had fought an ugly custody-battle for the children. She’d even fought over the dog. “How about you? Life is easier now?”

“Hell of a lot easier,” Jack said wholeheartedly. “Thank God that chapter of my life is over with.”

Mitch nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, I know. Glad things worked out okay for you. Jack, do you know Kerri? She’s the owner of the yoga part of White Lotus. Kerri, this is Jack Farnham, one of my clients.”

Kerri reached out and shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

Jack smiled at her admiringly. “Recently divorced,” he said. “Nice to meet you too.”

Shit. Mitch scowled. Kerri did
not
want to get messed up with this guy and all the baggage he carried around, not to mention a vicious, greedy ex-wife and three children whose custody had been a major battle. But Kerri was smiling at the guy.

“You don’t look like the typical spa customer,” she said, fluttering her long eyelashes at him.

He grinned. “I actually come every week for a manicure and a massage. Amanda is the best massage therapist I’ve ever had.”

Mitch’s frown deepened. Kerri nodded. “Yes, she’s great. Has she tried her new massage oil on you?”

“No…I don’t think so.”

Kerri nodded thoughtfully. “Probably too feminine a fragrance for you. You’ll have to check with her about some of the other oils she has.”

Mitch wrinkled his forehead. What the hell was she talking about? Oils?

“So,” Jack said, turning to Mitch. “I hear you’re trying some different things in your divorce work.”

“Like what?” Kerri asked, brows raised, looking from Jack to Mitch.

Mitch sighed. “I’ve been doing more and more dispute resolution work for couples that are divorcing.”

“Oh. But do they still get divorced?”

He laughed. “Well, yeah. I’m not a marriage counselor. I was getting frustrated at all the animosity and ugliness so I started trying to use some conflict resolution stuff to help them work things out. Not resolve their marital issues, although I have to say it has happened a couple of times. Mostly I just try to help work out how to divide assets, custody, stuff like that.”

“Oh. That’s what you were talking to my dad about last weekend.” He nodded. “I know you were getting a reputation as someone who could work any kind of deal out, no matter how bitter the couple was. So you’re actually doing more of that.”

He nodded again, her words warming him, and she met his eyes.

“Wow,” she said. “That’s really different for you. I thought all lawyers wanted to drag things out as long as possible so they could make as much money as they could.”

He let his breath out in a deflated whoosh. “You have such a high opinion of me.”

“So, what would be your advice to couples?” Jack asked. “Litigation? Mediation?”

“My advice would be to not get married,” Mitch said dryly, and everybody laughed. “Seriously. If they could only hear the horror stories of the hatred and destruction divorcing couples inflict on each other, they might think twice about getting married. They think they love each other and they don’t believe that in a few years, they’ll be emotionally and physically beating each other up, spending thousands of dollars fighting over a five-hundred-dollar painting or a dog, or accusing the other of child molestation or being a drunken slut.”

He felt Kerri’s eyes on him and glanced at her. She’d heard this stuff before, no surprise to her. But her eyes flashed and the corners of her mouth tipped down.

“You’re so cynical,” she said, everyone standing there listening. “You shouldn’t be talking like that in front of Hailey and Miguel. They’re getting married in two weeks. We should all be happy for them. So listen. Why does California have the most lawyers in the country while New Jersey has the most toxic waste sites?” She waited a beat.

No, Kerri, not now.
He sighed inwardly.

“New Jersey got first choice.”

Everyone laughed.

“What’s the difference between lawyers and accountants?”

The others all grinned. “At least accountants
know
they’re boring.” They laughed again, except Mitch, who grimaced. She looked at him, shaking her head, a little smile playing on her pretty mouth. She continued, “What’s wrong with lawyer jokes?” She paused. “Lawyers don't think they’re funny and no one else thinks they’re jokes.”

More laughter followed, and now Mitch shook his head, trying to be a good sport, but damn, these lawyer jokes were getting to him. It was fine when he knew she was just teasing him, but lately she’d been so cool to him it was tough to take it in a light-hearted vein. Sparks shot between them as they exchanged a glare.

“Would you two just stop it!” Hailey burst out. The group grew quiet. Kerri and Mitch both looked at her, startled.

“Uh…stop what?” Kerri asked, glancing at Mitch.

“What is with you two?” Hailey looked from one to the other. “Last night you two just kept at each other, pushing each other’s buttons, and tonight it’s even worse.”

“That’s how we talk to each other,” Kerri said in a small voice. “We like to tease each other.”

“There’s teasing and then there’s tormenting. I don’t get it. What’s going on?”

They were both silent, again glancing at each other.

“Nothing,” Mitch said finally. “Kerri, I think Sela and your parents are trying to get your attention.”

She looked across the room where they beckoned her over. “Excuse me.” She flashed an apologetic smile at Jack then separated from the group and went over to talk to their parents.

Hailey and Miguel also excused themselves.

“Wow,” Jack said under his breath as he and Mitch both watched Kerri walk away, the straps criss-crossing her smooth bare back, hips swaying under the filmy black skirt. “She’s hot. She single?”

She’d kill him, but… “She is, but she’s kind of flaky,” he told Jack. “Not your type at all.”

“Like, what is the deal with you and Mitch?” she challenged Kerri. “You guys are our friends. Everybody noticed you two going at each other last night.”

Kerri swallowed, her throat tight. “It’s complicated,” she whispered.

Hailey nodded, slowly released her arm but gave her hand a squeeze. “Okay. But if you want to talk about it at all, I’m here.”

Kerri just nodded. She couldn’t talk about this. She didn’t even understand herself what was going on. That kiss had messed everything up, and much as she tried to pretend it had never happened, everything was different now. It was like seeing things through different eyes.

She looked around and found Mitch across the room still talking to Jack, but watching her. Her tummy did a little flip and she slowly turned and went over to her parents where Sela had joined them.

“Hi, Kerri.” Her dad gave her a brief hug. “We were just telling Sela what a great party this is. The place looks awesome.” He smiled at his eldest daughter. “You’ve done a great job, honey.”

A corner of Kerri’s mouth turned down. Yeah,
Sela
had done a great job. The few things she’d allowed Kerri to help with were insignificant. The fact that Kerri, too, had a successful business was once again overlooked. She forced a smile as Kerri’s two teenage daughters joined them, looking startlingly grown up in their fancy dresses and makeup.

“You two look very sophisticated tonight,” she told them, giving them big hugs, which they returned. “Are you enjoying the party?”

“It’s cool, Aunt Kerri! And I love your yoga studio,” Claire said.

“Thank you.”

Sela’s husband, Doug, appeared and put his arm around his wife.

“I don’t know how you do it,” he told her admiringly. Sela smiled happily and reached out to smooth a lock of hair off her younger daughter’s cheek.

Sela’s daughter Jasmine snorted. “Dad! Last night you told her she was a controlling b—”

“Oh, Jasmine, never mind that.” Sela said with a light laugh. “Why don’t you and Claire go find your brother?”

“But…” Jasmine started to protest, but Sela was shepherding everyone across the room for an impromptu tour.

Kerri watched them all disappear, left alone. She could have gone with them, but all the fun had been sucked out of the evening. She sighed. Much as she wished she could just leave, she was stuck there for the duration. Time for another glass of wine.

As she waited for her drink, Mitch appeared beside her. He leaned his elbows on the bar, beer bottle clasped between his hands, head bowed.

“Are you having fun?” he asked.

“No.”

“Me neither.” He looked at her. “I hate this, Kerri.”

Her heart tightened painfully. “Me, too,” she whispered.

“What do I have to do to fix things? Just tell me.”

She tilted her head up to look at him, and laughed humorlessly. “Hell if I know.”

He put an arm around her, hand on her waist, and pulled her closer to his side.

She tried to pull away. “I don’t think this is going to fix things.” He pulled her back. “Seriously, Mitch.”

“What?” he murmured.

She stepped away from him, but it was difficult. Heat flared in her at his touch. His hand drifted across her back and found bare skin where her dress was cut low, sending shivers through her that were not unpleasant. Her breasts felt full and heavy and her heart pumped wildly. She bit back a moan.

“Tell me, Kerri,” he murmured, again pulling her closer. This time she softened, savored the warmth of his body, the comfort of feeling someone big and strong close to her. Oh, no. No, no, no.

“Tell you what?”

“How to fix things. How to fix us. ’Cause I don’t have a hot clue. I know I screwed up, but I apologized and I’ve been trying to act like it never happened.”

“You act like you hate me,” she whispered, staring at the glass of wine in front of her.

“God, no! Of course I don’t hate you. You’re the one who’s acting like
you
hate
me
.”

“Should we fight over that, too?” Humor tugged the corners of her mouth as she raised her eyes to his. He smiled and his amber eyes were warm as they turned to face each other, bodies brushing together. Electricity sizzled and their eyes joined like lasers, each of them unable to look away. Again, her breasts swelled, nipples tingling agonizingly, and she melted, a slow liquid heat deep inside her. Her lips parted a little and when his eyes dropped to her mouth, she grew hotter. Her mouth actually watered, wanting to open and feel his mouth on hers, his tongue inside her.

“We can’t do this,” she whispered, trying to fight the sensations swirling through her, trying to be sensible.

“Maybe this is how we fix things,” he murmured, gaze still locked on her mouth.

She shook her head. “No,” she choked out. “We’re just making things worse.”

Suddenly, they both became aware they were in a crowded room. Kerri glanced around and damned if Miguel and Hailey weren’t across the room, watching them stand there as if they were about to kiss.

Kerri pulled back out of his arms. “I-I’m going to the washroom.” She rushed out of the room. In the hallway, she ignored people she knew and bolted into the changing room at the end of the hall. In a bathroom stall, she sat there, her face in her hands, trying to get control of herself.

What the hell was all that? Her mind was a twisted mass of confused emotions and thoughts. It had felt so good and so right to be in Mitch’s arms, and when he looked at her like that, warm and attentive, it made her feel so special. Like before, when they were friends. Okay, maybe not quite like before. She’d never felt quite like this before, ever.

What on earth was happening? Mitch had been coming on to her again, and—she had to admit it—she loved it. She wanted him on her side again, not fighting with her like they had been. She wanted him to look at her like that again, not coldly or angrily, like he had been for the last week, but warmly. And, stunningly, she wanted to press herself against his big, hard body, rub against him…God!

She pushed her hair back and sat up straight. She stared up at the ceiling.

She heard laughing voices come in and recognized Hailey and Sela. Apparently they were unaware of her in the end stall.

“What is with Kerri and Mitch?” Sela asked. “Did you talk to her?”

“I tried. Something’s going on. You should have heard them! They’re both as tense as cats in a canoe. But she wouldn’t say much.” Hailey sighed. “I wish they’d just get it over with. Everyone knows they’re crazy about each other. Except them.”

“Yeah. They’re so cute together. Except lately. I was afraid knives were going to come out or something.”

Their voices faded as the heavy washroom door closed behind them.

Kerri sat there for long moments. They were insane! She and Mitch were not crazy about each other. They were
friends.

Mitch stood there after Kerri bolted to the washroom. Shit. She was panicked and he didn’t blame her. He was terrified, too. Man, what was he thinking? Hell, he wasn’t thinking. Not with his big head, anyway.

No, blaming this on hormones wasn’t right. If he was just horny, he could have lots of girls. That had never been a problem for him. But he didn’t want any other girls. He was hot for Kerri.

Shame and embarrassment slid over him and he rubbed his face. He glanced around the room, but everyone was busy laughing and talking.

How could he have done that to his best friend? No wonder she was pissed at him. He took a deep breath.

And yet…he’d felt her response. Yeah, she’d tried to pull away, tried to pretend nothing was happening, but he’d felt it. Just like he’d felt it that afternoon when he’d kissed her. He took the blame for that, for initiating it, for acting like a sex-starved teenager, but there was no denying she had kissed him back.
Really
kissed him back. She’d melted under him, held on to him, opened for him.

Jesus, he was getting hard again just thinking about it. Great. He shifted from one foot to the other. Then Hailey and Sela walked into the room, talking seriously about something. They both looked at him, then away.

Shit. They were talking about him. And since they were women, they, too, were probably pissed off at him for coming on to Kerri. He groaned. He needed another beer.

After he’d been to the bar and had been stopped by several people to talk, there was still no sign of Kerri. He checked his watch. It had been a while since she’d taken off.

He wandered out into the hall, casually looking for her, but no luck. He went to the door of her office, thinking she might have ducked out of the party for a few moments of peace and quiet. He poked his head in the door. Someone was in there, in the dark… Kerri? He started to speak, then realized a man and woman were locked in a heated embrace. What the hell? A hot wave of jealousy rushed over him.

Ah hell. It was Kerri’s parents.

He stood there for few seconds, grinning, light with relief and amusement. Whoa. Forty years of marriage and still hot for each other. He shook his head as he silently back out of the room. Amazing. It was almost enough to make him rethink his feelings about marriage. Almost.

Mitch returned to the party, wandered over to one of the armchairs that had been pushed to the perimeter of the room, and threw himself into it. From there he spotted Kerri. He watched her talk and laugh animatedly for a few minutes until she excused herself and left the room.

This time he followed her into her darkened yoga studio. He watched her walk slowly through it, stopping in the middle of the room to remove those killer high heels. Then she continued toward her office, shoes dangling from her fingertips.

He wondered if her parents were still making out in her office. Better stop her before she busted in on them.

“Hey,” he said softly. She turned.

“Mitch.”

She gazed at him, her eyes huge, questioning, fearful. They stared at each other for long, silent, heart-thumping moments.

He took a step toward her. She moved toward him. And then she was in his arms, and he wasn’t sure if she’d come to him or he’d gone to her, but their bodies were pressed together.