Jill Shalvis - New and…Improved? & Andrew in Excess

She recognized Andrew’s act for what it was, nonetheless, his declaration of love set her heart rate to double time. “Oh, Muffin…” She didn’t have to try to sound breathless. She was.

“For God’s sake…” A.W. grumbled.

Margaret sniffed an admonishment. “Really, Andrew! You seem to have forgotten yourself.”

“Kat tends to affect me that way.” On the Richter scale, his cavalier grin registered a ten. The husky note in his bourbon voice stroked her like an arousing caress.

She liked him on a good day. When he switched on the devoted husband routine, he turned lethal. She munched another cracker under her in-laws’ disapproving stares.

A.W. and Margaret prepared to excuse themselves and Kat prepared a sigh of relief at their impending departure. All the preparation proved for naught. Claudia wafted over on a cloud of perfume and the arm of a bespectacled man.

Kat swallowed her sigh, bracing herself for round two. Claudia exchanged perfunctory kisses with A.W. and Margaret, cooing, “A.W., you’re looking as handsome as ever. And, Margaret, you’re stunning tonight.”

In the momentary lull, Kat heard the opening strains of “The Party’s Over.” She couldn’t check a grin. Even if tonight turned out to be a total wash, the band leader had impeccable timing.

Ignoring Kat, Claudia eyed Andrew as if he were her next meal, her lips puckering into a practiced pout. “And you’re certainly looking well.”

Kat noted with satisfaction that Andrew didn’t show even a hint of interest in his former girlfriend. His eyes reflected only a cool remoteness.

“Marriage agrees with me, Claudia.” Reaching past her proffered pout, Andrew shook hands with her date. “Glad you could make it, Trent. I’d like to introduce my wife, Kat.”

Andrew turned, his smile tugging at her. “Kat, Trent Braxton and Claudia van Dierling.”

Murmuring a greeting, Trent retreated, looking for all the world as if he’d rather be anywhere than in the middle of the unfolding power play. Kat empathized, but she’d be damned if she’d let these people intimidate her.

Claudia struck a model pose, bony hipbones evident beneath her dress, her store-bought breasts jutting at Kat’s eye level. “So, you’re the little woman.”

“That’s me. And I’ve heard so much about you, Claudette.”

“Claudia.” Claudia and Margaret corrected in unison, matching frowns marring the perfection of their respective brows.

“Oh, of course. Claudia.”

“Exactly how did you and Andrew meet? It seems as if one day he and I were an item and the next the two of you were married.”

“We’d all be terribly interested to hear,” Margaret chimed in, glancing significantly toward Claudia. “We expected, well, it was certainly a surprise to learn Andrew had married a stranger.”

A.W. stood silent, a spectator enjoying the sharks circling.

“Love at first sight,” Andrew smiled.

Kat had no idea Andrew could sound so…sappy. “I suppose I just knocked him off his feet.”

Kat and Andrew exchanged a smile borne of a shared experience. He obviously remembered his landing in the sand as clearly as she did.

“How clichéd,” Claudia drawled.

“It’s a good thing you and I were just pals, Claudia, because this woman has left me breathless from the moment I met her.” Andrew spoke to Claudia, but he gazed adoringly at Kat.

Despite the audience and the playacting, the heat in his eyes left her shaken.

Claudia’s eyes narrowed to catlike slits. “Well, since Andrew and I are pals, perhaps you and I can do lunch one day.” Claudia tilted her head, pretending to study Kat before she lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “I’d be delighted to introduce you to an excellent plastic surgeon.”

A retort trembled on the tip of Kat’s tongue, but Andrew jumped into the verbal fray ahead of her. “I can assure you, Claudia, every inch of Kat is perfect.” Steel threaded his smooth tone.

Kat laid her hand on the rigid muscles of Andrew’s arm, thanking him with a slight squeeze. She’d made her own way for a long time, depending only on herself. It felt good to have Andrew standing beside her. Somehow it felt right.

Claudia shared an arch look with Margaret, clearly implying that Kat’s lack of inches could use some help.

Trent Braxton shuffled uncomfortably while A.W. nursed a drink and a smirk.

Mustering a confiding smile, Kat leaned toward Claudia. “It’s such a relief you’re taking this so well, Claudine, with you and Andrew being pals and everything. I wasn’t sure what to expect.” She lowered her voice to the same stage whisper Claudia had affected earlier. “Mean-spiritedness can be such an unattractive trait, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely, my dear.” Claudia’s tight smile promised retribution while conceding Kat had backed her in a corner.

One second Kat was watching Claudia’s feline snarl and the next she felt a thud against her back as an overenthusiastic dancing couple bounced off her. The two canapés sailed out of her hand as if flung on a planned trajectory. Everything slowed down to slow motion, just like in a bad dream. She watched in horrified fascination as the caviar-covered crackers soared straight toward Claudia.

Plop.

With unerring accuracy one landed between her eyes. The other smacked her chest. Fish roe slid south, disappearing between her two mounds of surgically perfected breasts.

Trent broke the silence. “Good shot!”

Claudia, wearing fish eggs and dripping venom, silenced him with a murderous look before rounding on Kat. “You…you…moron! How dare you attack me like that.”

“I’m sorry. It was an accident.” Kat tried not to laugh as she apologized.

Someone pounded a choking A.W. on the back.

“A couple bumped into her, Claudia. We’ll take care of the cleaning bill,” Andrew offered.

Trent pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the murky mess on her chest. Claudia slapped his hand away and turned to wreak further verbal havoc on Kat.

Andrew tugged at Kat. “And now, if you’ll excuse us…they’re playing our song.”

Kat laughed with delight at Andrew’s escape tactic as he pulled her into his arms, settled her against his hard angles and whisked her away from the mess. “Since when is the orchestral rendition of ‘Old Man River’ our song?”

A devilish grin echoed her amusement. “As of about one minute ago, when I decided you’d been subjected to enough nastiness.”

Held close against his lean body, awareness of every thoroughly male inch of him tingled through her. The play of sinew and muscle against her palm, her hips and thighs, her aching breasts. The sound of his breathing mingled with her own, playing like a sensuous symphony in her head. Kat trembled with the hot heat that flooded her and pooled into a slick wetness at the juncture of her thighs. She ached for this man, and this man alone.

Concern darkened his eyes to storm gray as he sobered. “Are you okay?” His hand tightened on her waist.

No. She wanted to shout at him. You could break my heart if I let you. Actually, he was well on his way without her permission.

And she’d better remember where she was and her role for the evening.

“I’m fine. It really was an accident, you know.” Kat smiled adoringly at Andrew and picked an imaginary speck of lint off his lapel for the benefit of their guests. “Admit it. I did you a big, big favor when I saved you from Claudia. She’s dreadful.”

Andrew pulled her closer still, the rush of charged sensuality sizzling between them echoed in the pounding of his heart beneath her cheek and the hard ridge pressed intimately against her. “Mmm. I suppose I owe you a favor in return.”