Stand-In Saturday (Love For Days #2) - Kirsty Moseley Page 0,19

wedding and needs a date, so he asked me to go with him. He sold it as basically a four-day all-you-can-drink mini break.”

Her mouth comically opens and closes like a fish.

I chew on my lip and shrug one shoulder as I continue, “But I’m not going to go. I said yes at the time, but I was under duress. Now that I’m not trapped in a metal box with him, I’ve realised how damn stupid it is. I can’t go away for the weekend with a guy I just met.” I really am certifiable for even agreeing to it in the first place.

“Wait, who is this guy? Does he work for Bluebird imprint, like you?” She leans forward into my space, her eyes wide and excited, food long forgotten.

I shrug and scrunch my nose. “No, he had a visitor’s badge clipped on his pocket, so he doesn’t work there. I don’t really know who he is. His name is Theo. He’s hilarious, and he’s super hot. That’s all I know.” I pull out my phone and open the Twitter photo, sliding it across the table to her. “This is him.”

Her eyes widen like saucers, and her mouth drops open as she looks at the picture. “Oh my God. The Theo you were stuck in a lift with is Theo Stone?”

I shrug, taking a bite of my sandwich. “I guess. I don’t know. He only told me his first name. You know him?”

She puts her hand on her forehead and does a long, disbelieving blink. “Theo Stone invited you for a weekend of sin with him in Scotland, and you’re considering not going? Are you insane?”

I wince at her scolding tone.

She purses her lips. “Lucie, you’re going. If you don’t go, I’m unfriending you. You have to go, and you have to sleep with him!”

I almost choke on my food. “What? Shut up! No way!”

“Yes way! Have you seen him?”

“Obviously. We were trapped in a lift for almost an hour together,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes and chewing more carefully.

“He’s so damn handsome. Everyone in my office has a thing for him. When we first moved buildings last year, he got lost and wandered onto our floor, trying to find the children’s division. We were all falling over ourselves to show him where it was. Now, we all try to sneak a look when he comes in for a meeting. That face! I’d like to sit on it.”

I snicker behind my hand. “Aubrey!”

She sucks her teeth and plucks a packet of sugar from the bowl on the table, throwing it at me. “You’re going. I need this to happen. One of us needs to screw him. I’d volunteer as tribute, but he didn’t ask me to Scotland, so …” She trails off, waggling her eyebrows.

I can’t contain my groan. “I’m not ready to start dating people. I’m not sleeping with him.” I say it sternly, but my mind is already running rampant with thoughts of the feel of his skin under my fingertips, his mouth on my body. I haven’t had sex for a while, and it’s not like I’m getting a lot of offers for naked time. Plus, he is damn hot.

“Who said anything about dating him? Come on, are you honestly telling me you don’t fancy him? Of course you do!” she states knowingly.

I chew on my lip and scrunch my nose. She’s right; of course I do. He’s melt-your-underwear hot, especially when he smiles.

Aubrey continues, “Look, you’ve been frustrated. This is the twenty-first century, and you’re a modern woman. Go get it, girl. Sex is just sex, if you want it to be. No need to be ashamed for wanting to be satisfied. We all have needs. You can sleep with him with no regrets or strings. I’m not saying you have to marry the guy. All I’m saying is, go with an open mind. Don’t beaver-dam yourself before you even board the plane.”

I chuckle and take a sip of my drink.

“And don’t let memories of that idiot Lucas beaver-dam you either.”

I chew on my lip. I shouldn’t have told her about his offer. I should have just sent my rejection text to Theo and pretended it’d never happened. Now that I’ve told her, she’ll drone on and on about it until I change my mind and agree to go. Especially if she thinks it’ll get me laid. She’s already tried persuading me that to get over Lucas, I need to get under someone else. So far,