“Sia and I could go to another bar if you don’t want to be distracted.” She raised her eyebrows and grinned.

“No chance. At least at my bar, I can fight off anyone who tries to touch you.” The idea of another man going anywhere near her flared a possessive streak I didn’t even know I had. I kissed her again, wanting to savour the taste of her. “We really need to go.”

She moved away from me and turned, looking back over her shoulder as she walked towards the door, smiling seductively. She knew the power she had over me. I bowed my head and groaned again before following her out the door.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Juliette

Sia met us out the front of the bar.

“Are you sure about this place?” she asked as she gave me a hug. “I’d never have found it without directions.

“You’ll see. It’s really cool inside.” I stepped back and reached for Leo’s hand.

“I think we need a few introductions here.” She raised her eyebrows, glancing at Leo and then our interlinked hands. “Jesus, Juliette. I’m off work for a week and you’ve found yourself a much hotter man.” She shook her head and chuckled.

My cheeks heated. Sia had thought Richard was hot, but she’d never really had a chance to get to know him. Good looks fade with a bad personality.

“Sia. Leo. Leo. Sia.” I gestured between them.

Leo released my hand and then stepped forward to shake her hand. “Pleasure to meet you. Juliette says really good things about you.”

“She better! I’m awesome!”

We all laughed at her humility.

“Hey, Sia.” A stunning blonde girl approached, holding hands with a guy who looked like he could be a male model.

“Aspen, you made it.” Sia kissed her on the cheek. “And Jason. Aspen told me you were flying down from Sydney today.”

“How are you, gorgeous Sia? Thanks for letting me tag along.” He kissed Sia on the cheek.

Sia had such a beautiful, magnetic personality. Everyone couldn’t help but love her. She introduced Leo and me to her friends, and I was struck by the warmth I felt for them immediately. They both looked me dead in the eye when they shook my hand.

My mother had always ‘encouraged’ friendships with the daughters of her social network, and I just never found any real connection to any of them. Sia felt like my first real friend and I’d barely seen her outside work. My mother had blown a bubble for me to live in and it had taken me twenty-five years to burst it.

“I’m going to have to clock on, Jules,” Leo whispered into my ear and kissed my neck, making my whole body hum. He then turned to the group. “Are you guys ready to go in?”

Everyone nodded.

“Hey, Tony,” Leo said to the bouncer. “These four are with me.”

Tony nodded and let us pass.

“I’ll find you on my break, okay?” Leo kissed me unashamedly right in the middle of the bar. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. I loved how he groaned into my mouth, clearly not wanting to let me go. Hopefully all the single girls in the room had watched me stake my claim.

He disappeared behind the bar, and I turned to see Sia smiling radiantly. Wow! she mouthed.

My cheeks flamed again, but I couldn’t help returning her smile. I was completely smitten for the first time in my life.

“Seriously, Jules.” She hooked her arm through mine. “He is a god and seems lovely too.”

“My shout, ladies,” Jason offered. “What are you drinking?”

“Corona with lime,” Aspen, Sia and I said in unison then looked at each other and chuckled.

“Well, that’s easy,” Jason said, shaking his head and smiling. “You girls find somewhere to sit and I’ll find you with the drinks.” He kissed Aspen lightly on the lips then turned and headed for the bar.

All the lounges were taken, but we found some bar stools around tall, round tables in the back corner of the ground floor.

“So, how do you two know each other?” I asked, glancing between Sia and Aspen. I’d heard Sia mention her name before, but I didn’t actually know anything about her.

“When I moved to Melbourne from Sydney, I didn’t know anyone. I answered a share accommodation ad, and lucky for me, it was Sia’s ad.” She looked fondly at Sia. “She took me under her wing while I got my bearings. I stayed with her for… how long?” She looked at Sia.

“About six months I think. Then your super-hot big brother gave you an apartment in Brighton and I was ancient history.” She rolled her eyes but smiled warmly.

“My brother is a property developer and is far too generous.”

Jason appeared with the drinks and we all clinked bottles. “Cheers.”

“So you and Sia work together, I hear.” Aspen continued with our conversation.

“For three years now,” I replied. “And she was dating my boss for like five minutes.”

Aspen chuckled. “Oh, she told me about him. Enormous p—”

“Oh my God,” I cut her off and laughed at the same time. “I’m still trying to block out that visual. Change of subject, please,” I begged. “How long have you two been dating?” I asked Jason and Aspen. They were a gorgeous couple.

They looked at each other and smiled.

“Bit over six months,” Jason said, clearly besotted with his beautiful girlfriend. “We’re doing the long-distance thing at the moment, which is killing me.”

Aspen leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Jason’s in Melbourne for work. He’s a kickass Sydney architect.”

“How long are you here for this time, Jason?” Sia asked.

“A week this time, but I’m seriously considering moving here.” He looked directly at Aspen. “I really love Melbourne.”

Aspen blushed, and Sia groaned but laughed at the same time. “Oh my God. I’m surrounded by lovebirds.”

I decided to change the subject for Sia’s sake. “Aspen’s a beautiful name. Are your parents skiers?”

“Funny story,” she said with a grimace more than a smile. “I thought I was named after the North American ski resort and my brother, Ryan, always teased me that it’s where I was conceived because our parents holidayed there.

“Oh God. No one wants to think about their parents like that.” My mind flashed back to the conversation with my father when he had told me about the way Mum used to be. Apparently they had been madly in love when they first got married. It was hard to reconcile that with the awkwardness I had often felt between them growing up. I really hoped they could find a little bit of their old selves if they got some help. Grief really can have some devastating long-term effects I was only just beginning to understand.

“Well, my mum told me the real reason for my name on the day she married my stepfather, Jonathan, earlier this year. I was named after the Aspen tree.”

I scrunched up my nose and tried not to laugh. “Really?”

She nodded her head and laughed. “Should’ve heard her try to justify it. ‘They’re beautiful trees, darling. They benefit from fire. They’re resilient.’ Blah, blah, blah.”

I laughed and was still laughing when I felt strong arms encircle me from behind. I knew it was Leo immediately from his unique scent—an intoxicating mixture reminiscent of pine trees. I inhaled and basked in the perfect feeling of being in his arms.

“Having a good time?” Leo asked the group.

“I’m surrounded by drop-dead gorgeous women,” Jason replied. “Best night ever.”

“Cheers to that.” Leo clinked his water glass with Jason’s beer bottle.

I placed my hands over Leo’s arms and reached back and kissed him. “Aspen was just telling me about her name. You know, I’ve never asked my parents how they came up with my name.” I turned my head back again. “How about you, Leo? I bet your mum loved Tolstoy, or the zodiac maybe?”

Leo’s whole body tensed briefly. He tried to shrug it off by releasing me and taking a seat at the spare bar stool. I looked at him questioningly.