“You’ll get it next time, tiger,” Oliver teased and Julia grinned at him but Charlie reproached him good-naturedly.
“Don’t be condescending, darling, it doesn’t suit you.”
Douglas started again, ignoring the witty repartee and in no time he was on another roll when Charlie came over to Julia and pushed her into Douglas. Tipsy, she couldn’t right herself before she fell forward and nudged his hip, jarring him and making him send the ball flying in the wrong direction.
He slowly rose and turned to her. She prepared herself for an unpleasant confrontation but instead he simply lowered his cue and looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes.
“I’m sure you can think of some better way to distract me,” he goaded, his eyes challenging her.
Her stomach flipped at the look in his eye.
“I’m sure she can!” Charlie took up the gauntlet for her with glee and Julia nearly groaned. She bugged her eyes out at Charlie who just bugged hers right back.
At that point, the game descended into total farce. Oliver destroyed Charlie’s shots, Charlie destroyed Oliver’s shots and when it was Julia’s turn, Douglas approached a tense Julia, murmuring about “coaching” her.
“I think I should help my own teammate, thank-you-very-much,” Charlie barged her way forward, slipped against Julia, who had lined up her shot, sending the cue flying into the ball, which went off in a wild trajectory across the table. Julia was too occupied to notice what happened to her wayward shot as Charlie falling into her sent her backwards, straight into Douglas. One strong arm closed around her waist to steady her and she immediately became aware of his warm body behind her.
“That’s her shot!” Oliver crowed.
“It is not! It was a mistake. She tripped.” Charlie went off to argue with her husband and Julia pulled herself firmly, albeit it tipsily, away from Douglas’s arm.
Therefore, she stumbled again, cursing the drink as his hand shot out to steady her.
“I’m fine,” she said and thanked the Lord above there were no words to slur in that statement. Then she turned and he dropped his hand.
“I can see that,” he replied, amusement dripping from every word.
She lifted narrowed eyes to him.
Douglas was amused?
“Are you making fun of me?” Julia asked.
He didn’t answer, he simply lifted a brow.
“I hate it when you lift that brow,” she outright lied. “It’s so superior.”
“That’s apt, especially in snooker,” Douglas returned.
“We’ll see about that!” she snapped, this time accepting his challenge herself.
It was his turn and as he lined up his shot, she got in front of him, as close to him as she dared, and looked down on him as he bent over the table.
“Oo, that looks like a difficult one,” she remarked in a sugary-sweet tone with false wide-eyed wonder. “Do you really think you’ll make it?”
He lifted his head to gaze at her levelly over his shoulder, turned back and, within a split second, potted the ball.
Oliver hooted, clapped and then shouted, “Well done, mate!”
Julia wanted to stamp her foot in frustration.
Charlie was having the time of her life.
“Don’t give up!” she cheered from across the room.
Douglas chose his next shot and, with a lot of wine-fuelled courage and Charlie’s urging, she sidled up next to Douglas as he leaned over the table. She bent over behind him and, as he pulled the cue back, she screwed up her courage, leaned in deeper and blew in his ear.
The shot flew wide and she straightened quickly, jumping up and down and clapping her hands as Charlie came over and gave her a whirling, girlie hug.