JOSH PRENTICE lifted his head and looked blankly at his agent. âIâve changed my mind.â He accompanied his bombshell with a languid smile that made Alec Jordan want to tear out what little hair he had left.
Josh wasnât just his most successful client, he was also his friend, and Alec knew he didnât have a languid bone in his well-built body. The older man regarded his friendâs long-limbed, athletically built frame for a moment with wistful resentment.
âIâve got a TV interview lined up for tomorrow night,â he explained for the third time with tight-lipped patience. âThe timing is perfect; your exhibition opens next week. The last interview you did after that art festival went down really wellâapparently they love your cute French accent.â He gritted his teeth as his lavish flattery failed to make any impact on the younger man. âIâve already rescheduled once because of Liamâs birthday party.â He was unable to keep the sense of misuse from his voice. This was all the thanks he got for busting his butt rearranging things for an infuriatingly dedicated single parent!
âThanks for the gift; Liam loved it.â
Alec sighed, seeing no hint of concession in those hard grey eyes, eyes which rarely softened these days for anyone other than his son. He allowed his thoughts to drift longingly in the direction of hungry artists starving in atticsâhow much more malleable, he mused wistfully, they must be than the likes of Josh, who, to add insult to injury didnât even have to rely on the healthy income from his chosen careerâit went against nature for an artist to also have business acumen.
âThe flight to Paris is booked,â he persisted stubbornly.
âThen unbook it.â Josh remained unmoved as, with a deep, agonised groan, his agent slumped theatrically into the opposite chair, his head in his hands.
âWould it be too much to ask where youâre going if itâs not to Paris?â Alec enquired in a muffled voice. âAnd donât give me any guff about artistic temperament because we both know you donât have any!â
Joshâs lips quivered faintly at this hoarse accusation. âActually Iâm not entirely sure yetâ¦â He got to his feet and absent-mindedly tugged at the zip on his jacket, pulling the cloth taut across an impressive chest. He moved restlessly around the room before meeting Alecâs interrogative stare.
His friend barely repressed the shudder that crawled up his spine at the detached, bone-chilling expression in those half-closed pale grey depths. Volcanic emotions, intense and fierce, were there simmering just below the surface. He hadnât seen Josh look like this since just after Bridieâs deathâduring those bleak black days Josh had been totally consumed by a deep, smouldering rage and the only person brave or foolish enough to voluntarily expose himself to all that raw emotion had been his twin brother, Jake.
âIt dependsâ¦Iâm following someone.â Joshâs firm, wide, unmistakably sensual lips compressed into a grim line as he contemplated the task ahead.
âDid you say fâ¦followingâ¦?â
âA womanâ¦â Josh tersely supplied, bringing to an abrupt halt his friendâs incredulous stuttering.
âA woman!â A slow, relieved smile spread across Alecâs face. At lastâto hell with Paris, he decided magnanimously, this really was great news! âAbout time too,â he boomed approvingly. It just wasnât natural, a man like Josh living like a monk. If he had half as many offersâ¦! It wasnât as if anyone had expected the man to jump into bed with the first female who came alongâ¦but three years and he hadnât even looked⦠âWhy didnât you say? Who is she?â
âFlora Graham.â
Alec gasped, his florid complexion growing pale. âYou donât mean the Flora Graham. The daughter ofâ¦the one whoâ¦?â
Josh gave a wintry smile. âThe one who killed my wife?â He ignored Alecâs agonised clucking sounds of denial, and wondered why everyone seemed so anxious to make excuses for David Grahamâeverybody but him, that was. âThe very same,â he confirmed calmly.
Alec, whoâd half expected Josh to launch into a furious tirade at his own ill-advised protest, relaxed slightly. As unlikely pairings went, this one had him reeling.