Secret Designs Read online

  "Yay!" Jasmine cried, hugging her tight. "I was worried that you might not have the time."

  "I promise you I would make time even if I have to take annual leave from my job to work on it," she responded, her brain already picturing Jasmine in several styles. "Do you have a design in mind? If I start straight away I'm sure I can finish it well before your wedding."

  "Nothing concrete. I don't want something big and puffy. I want something that hugs my figure but with a bit of a train. I'm really relying on you for the final look, Ari."

  Tears formed in Ari's eyes. She was glad that Jasmine had moved from Melbourne to Sydney to live with Kane. Theirs was a timely friendship. She needed it badly as she had drifted away from some old pals. After her ex-chum stole her ex-boyfriend, she had shied away from the company of people who reminded her of the painful betrayal. Now, Jasmine was giving her the chance to do what she loved most of all.

  "Oh, Jaz. Thank you so much. I won't let you down."

  "I know you won't. And you know what? Last week, I wore one of your casual outfits to dinner at Kane's parents' place, and it got praised by all the girls there. Faye's really keen to meet you so she can have a look at your designs."

  The doorbell rang and Jasmine jumped from her seat. "That'll be Sam and Kris," she said excitedly.

  Ari smiled as she leaned back in the sofa and closed her eyes. For as long as she could remember, she had loved designing pretty dresses. When she was a little kid, she drew paper outfits for her paper dolls and her mother cut them out for her. By the time she was eighteen, she had already landed a junior position working for one of Australia's biggest fashion designers.

  Ten years later, her skills and confidence as a couturier were well honed after working for three different high-end fashion houses. Eight months ago, she'd spread her wings and joined Eros, makers of designer lingerie. She had always wanted to add the crafting of intimate apparel to her skill set; her job at Eros gave her that opportunity.

  She could only hope that the rumour of a take-over circulating in their office wasn't true. Whether it was Eros taking over some other company or the other way around, no one could tell. One thing she knew for sure—she couldn't afford to lose her job. She had next to no savings to fall back on if she did.

  She sighed. If only she could start her own couture business. That had been her ultimate dream for so many years. But without capital, that remained a fantasy. In the last year and a half, money—or rather, the lack of it—had been her biggest problem.

  She shrugged. She wouldn't allow her concerns to dampen her good mood. At least she was still able to design for her friends, feeding her need to create.

  "Ari!"

  She roused herself from her brainwork and stood up to eagerly hug Samantha Lane and Kristen McCann. They were cousins, and Jasmine's best friends from Melbourne, now also Ari's good friends.

  "So glad you're here, girls. Did you have a good flight?" Ari asked.

  "Yes, thanks," Kris said. "We're glad we're here, too. We can start a weekend-long celebration of Jazzie's engagement."

  "Yes," Sam concurred. "But first, I'd like a tour of this place. Jaz, this house looks amazing."

  Jasmine chuckled. "Yes. Kane has designed a beautiful home. I'm glad you finally have the chance to see it. It's so exciting that all you girls are staying with us this weekend."

  "Is Mr. Hotshot Architect home yet?" Kris asked.

  "Not yet. He'd be home in an hour. Just enough time for us to whip up some dinner," Jasmine answered.

  "I'm on it!" Sam declared. "Lead me to the dream kitchen."

  *******

  All four of them were busy preparing dinner, happily taking instructions from Samantha, who had appointed herself head chef for the night, when Jasmine's phone buzzed with a text message.

  "That was from Kane. We're going to have an extra guest tonight," Jasmine announced.

  "Oh, cool. Who?" Kris asked.

  "Dylan. Kane's brother. Apparently, one of Dylan's friends is looking for an architect to renovate an old house he bought recently. Dylan wants to know if Kane would be interested in helping his friend out, so Kane invited Dylan over for dinner to find out more about it."

  "Great! We get to meet one of Kane's brothers. I know you said all his siblings are good-looking, Jaz, but is Dylan as hot as Kane?" Kris asked jokingly.

  Jasmine glanced at Ari before answering. "My answer would be biased, of course, as I'll say my man is a lot hotter. But why don't you ask Ari? She'd met Dylan."

  Ari fidgeted as Kris and Sam looked at her expectantly. "Oh...um," she stuttered, embarrassingly flustered.

  Heck, she couldn't help it. Dylan was having dinner with them tonight. She had dreamt about him all week—hot, sweaty dreams—and soon she would be seeing him again. In the flesh.

  "I know Jaz thinks Kane is the hottest man on the planet," she said blithely, forcing herself to maintain composure. "But I think Dylan is not far off the mark. In fact, at the risk of having a debate with our friend here, I'll go one step further and say Dylan's hotter."

  "Oh, really?" Kris asked, her eyes wide. "Do I detect an interest from you, Ari?"

  Ari laughed. "A passing interest that had been assuaged. You might as well know, I had a one-night stand with him."

  "What?" Kris and Sam cried out together.

  "It was totally unexpected," Ari replied, colour rising to her neck and face. "We bumped into each other at a club last week and we probably had too much to drink and ended up in my apartment. But we did discuss it, and agreed that we were both only interested in a one-night stand."

  We were both only interested in a one-night stand.

  Ari had been repeating that mantra to herself all week. She was sick of hearing it in her head. She must have said it at least a hundred times. But for the life of her, she felt she had to keep reminding herself of that simple fact.

  "Wow," Sam said in wonder. "So you're not interested in anything more than that?"

  "I don't think Dylan's interested in a relationship," she answered. "Nor am I," she added hastily.

  "Would you be okay with Dylan joining us tonight, Ari?" Jasmine asked, her tone light but her eyes betraying her concern.

  "Of course!" She went over to her friend and gave her hug. "The question is do you think Dylan would be okay with me being here tonight?"

  "Yes," Jasmine replied without hesitation. "Kane told me Dylan can maintain friendships with women he's had one-night stands with. I'm not concerned about Dylan. I'm worried about you! You've told me before you're not into one-night stands, so I was very surprised you had one. With Dylan, at that!"

  "I know I've said that in the past, but after my experience with my cheating ex a new relationship is the farthest thing from my mind. For the record, the one-night stand was my idea, not Dylan's," she said with a carefree face.

  "Really? Well, okay. As long as you're fine, I'll stop worrying about it." Jasmine matched her lighthearted tone.

  "Good! I'm absolutely fine, so stop being such a worrywart," she said emphatically, grateful acting was one of her hidden talents.

  So Dylan remains friends with other women he's slept with?

  The thought disturbed her more than she cared to admit.

  *******

  Ari jumped when she heard the doorbell. She was thankful she had already placed the plates she'd been carrying on the dining table. Nothing would be more embarrassing than if she had dropped and broken them.

  She hid a sigh. No doubt that was Dylan at the door. The butterflies in her stomach were going haywire.

  How on earth would she be able to enjoy the sumptuous meal Sam had masterminded when her tummy was feeling funny and her heart was pounding like crazy?

  She heard Jasmine talking. "Come to the kitchen and meet my best friends from Melbourne. Ari's here, too."

  "Ari's here, too?" an achingly familiar voice asked.

  Jasmine appeared in her line of sight with the man she had developed an enormous crush on.

&
nbsp; "Hi, Dylan," she said lightly, keen to play Super-Cool-and-Unaffected-Ari to the hilt.

  "Hey, Ari! Good to see you here, gorgeous," Dylan responded, walking up to her and giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek.

  Her breath hitched at the feel of his lips on her skin, but she forced the words, "You, too," past her throat.

  Did that come out too high-pitched?

  Fortunately, Dylan turned to the other girls, giving her the chance to busy herself with setting the table as Jasmine introduced Samantha and Kristen to her future brother-in-law.

  "Is Kane not home yet?" Dylan asked.

  "He'll be here any minute," Jasmine answered.

  "I suppose I get to enjoy the company of four beautiful girls by myself for a short time," Dylan said in a cheeky tone, as he accepted the glass of wine Jasmine offered.

  "Lucky you," Kris replied. "You picked the right night to turn up here for dinner. Samantha Lane, chef extraordinaire, is in town."

  "Oh, please, Kris," Sam said with a blush. "She's exaggerating, Dylan."

  "No, I'm not," Kris retorted.

  "No, she's not," Jasmine confirmed. "Sam's just way too humble to admit her excellent culinary skills."

  "Well, then, I'm glad I only had light lunch today and nothing else since. I'm starving," Dylan said, as he walked over to the stove and peered at Sam's simmering casserole dish. "It smells mouthwatering. Can I have a taste?"

  "Sure," Sam said, picking up a clean spoon and scooping a portion for Dylan to try. Dylan gripped Sam's hand as he guided the spoon she was holding to his mouth.

  Something needled Ari's chest—an unpleasant feeling that made her scowl. Her frown deepened as she identified it.

  Jealousy.

  Oh darn! Now she had to work to hide that too.

  "Hello, guys!"

  All heads turned to Kane who had arrived home.

  "Honey!" Jasmine practically flew to her fiancé's arms.

  They kissed sweetly before Kane turned his attention to everyone else. "Great to have you here, girls. You, too, bro. Oh, and whatever that is you're cooking, Sam? It smells divine. Is it ready? I can eat a horse."

  "Well, it's not a horse, but yes, it's ready. We can eat," Sam answered.

  Ari put on a delighted face as everyone settled around the dining table.

  *******

  Ari was able to relax while they feasted on the delicious food. She had to admit, though, that she was less tense because Dylan was too busy chatting with Kane to continue flirting with the other girls.

  She couldn't really blame her friends for responding in kind. Dylan was fun, friendly, and oh-so-attractive. Besides, he flirted with all of them, including Jasmine—seeming to enjoy pushing Kane's buttons in a brotherly sort of way. He was just a big flirt, and it was hard not to get caught up in his light-hearted, teasing mood.

  Hmm. Maybe that was how he stayed friends with women he'd slept with—no hang-ups, no issues, just keeping it fun and light.

  Okay, she could do that, too, couldn't she? In fact, the flirting and the teasing would help cover her strong attraction to him, should she unconsciously show it. She could pass it off as playfulness—a mirroring of his actions.

  Loud laughter from Kris and Sam pulled her from her thoughts. What are they laughing about?

  "...but we were planning on staying up all night watching Blu-ray movies on that massive TV screen while we sit next to the crackling fire and sip wine," Kris was saying in a teasing tone to Jasmine.

  "You could stay up for as long as you want," Jasmine said. "Then tomorrow we could go anywhere you girls want to go to or we could stay here and have a dip in the pool. It's supposed to be sunny this weekend, and the pool's heated, so the water's really nice even during winter."

  "But you won't be staying up with us tonight?"

  "No-o," Jasmine said, embarrassed.

  "You heard her, girls," Kane said in a smug tone. "She'll be hanging out with you until around midnight. Then she'll go to bed, and you won't see her again until after ten tomorrow morning."

  "I thought this was our girls' weekend?" Sam asked, her eyes shining with mirth.

  "Yes, but you really won't need me while you watch movies," Jasmine answered, blushing.

  "That's right," Kane said. "I, on the other hand, will need her tonight."

  Jasmine's face reddened further.

  "If I were Jazzie's man, I'd need her every night, too," Dylan quipped.

  Kane threw his brother a deadly glare. "Don't even think about it."

  Dylan laughed heartily. "You're so easy to stir up, Kane."

  Kane shook his head exasperatedly, a reluctant smile forming on his lips.

  Ari sighed, enjoying the banter while feeling envious. Why couldn't Dylan feel that way about her—like Kane did for Jasmine?

  Whoa! Where did that come from?

  She gave herself an imperceptible shake. Dangerous thoughts, Arielle. Don't go there.

  She sat up straighter and joined in the conversation to distract herself from her unwanted feelings. "Well, girls," she said to Sam and Kris, "we'll just have to enjoy the movies without Jaz tonight."

  "Hey, maybe I'll join you," Dylan said.

  Ari's head whipped toward Dylan and found him looking straight at her. Her heartbeat spiked up instantly. Oh no.

  "It's a girls' night in, Dylan," she teased. "Last time I checked, you're not a girl."

  A knowing smile tugged Dylan's lips, his eyes pinning her with their heat. "That may be so. But I won't mind if you check again."

  She swallowed visibly. She hadn't meant to bring his attention to that hot, steamy night they had together. Dylan's intense gaze was unraveling her as desire flowed in her veins.

  Geez, Ari. He's just flirting! Get a grip!

  "No need," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Besides, we plan to watch chick flicks. You'll be seriously bored, I think."

  "Not if I watch you, instead," Dylan countered, his tone husky.

  Ari felt the heat rise up to her face. She must be as red as Jasmine was a couple of minutes ago.

  "Stop it, Dylan," Kane rebuked mildly.

  "So that's a no to me joining you, girls?" Dylan's tone was back to light teasing as he switched his attention to Sam and Kris.

  Ari looked at the cousins, her eyes silently pleading with them to say no.

  "Nah," Sam said.

  "Yeah, that's a no, Dylan," Kris confirmed. "You'll never pass the sisterhood test."

  Ari let go of the breath she was holding and glanced at Dylan. He winked at her, his expression playful.

  See, Ari? He's just playing. Watch your step now. You might fall and hurt yourself.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Dylan carried his laptop to his balcony with the objective of knuckling down and doing some work. The sun was shining and he was tempted to simply sit there and enjoy the mesmerising view of Sydney city and its sparkling harbour from the high vantage point of his Potts Point apartment. He placed the computer on the patio table and closed his eyes to feel the welcome warmth of the mid-morning end-of-winter sun, only to open them quickly. The alluring, chestnut-haired, brown-eyed woman was there again, a haunting behind his closed eyelids. Fuck! If he didn't stop wanting Ari, he wouldn't get any work done.

  He didn't expect to see her at Kane and Jasmine's place last night. He'd been surprised by how much he had wanted to attach himself to her side, but he was keen to steer their friendship to the right direction. He made sure he paid equal attention to all four women so that Ari wouldn't think he meant anything special when he flirted with her.

  Okay, sure, she was special in a way. She was the only girl there he lusted after. But he didn't want her to misread his intentions.

  Well, what were his intentions, really?

  He raked his fingers through his hair. The fact of the matter was that he was dying to have her again. That was the pure and simple truth. He couldn't get their passionate night—and morning—out of his mind, and it was driving him to distraction.
/>   Would she be open to another night with him? She had been friendly and flirty last night—a sign that their one-night stand didn't adversely affect the easy-going friendship they wanted to develop for each other. Would sleeping with her again jeopardise that?

  Ah, Dylan. Stop it.

  He gave himself gentle slaps on the face. He had work to do. His company had been commissioned by one of Australia's leading retail chains to write their latest smartphone app project. He had been slacking during the last week, though, and now he was behind schedule. His best friends Trey and Adam—also his business partners—were already getting cranky with him. The longer it took him to finish his part of the project, the less time they had to spend on their preferred and more lucrative enterprise: another game app for mobile devices.

  The company that had paid close to half a million dollars each for their last three game apps was already making loud noises about buying this next one, too—but it would have to fight for it. They had already captured the attention of two other firms interested in their work in progress. Whichever of those three companies wanted their new app would need to pay a hell of a lot more for it, considering their track record of producing lucrative and highly popular games.

  His phone rang, and he made a face when he saw the caller ID. "Hi Sandy, what's up?"

  Sandy irritated him. She seemed to think that just because she was Adam's new girlfriend she was automatically one of Dylan's best friends, too.

  "Hi, Dylan. How are you?" Sandy said in a too-exuberant voice.

  "Fine, thanks. Busy. You?"

  "Oh, I'm good. Listen, Dylan, do you want to join me and Adam to dinner at his place tonight?"

  "I'm afraid I'm busy, Sandy. I have to get some work done. Thanks, but maybe some other time," he responded.

  "But Adam's already looking forward to it! He really wants you to come."

  Dylan narrowed his eyes. Did Sandy know about the argument he'd had with Adam last week? He had already apologised, but he knew his buddy was still hurting a little bit from what he'd said.

  He supposed he should go. He wouldn't want Adam to think he wasn't keen on patching things up with him. If he went he could also let him know Kane was happy to personally work on his house renovation. Adam would be ecstatic. Kane's firm wouldn't normally have taken a relatively small job, but Kane was doing it as a favour to Dylan.