“Exactly.”
I laughed and clinked my glass against hers. “How’s the second job search going?” I asked. “Any luck?”
“No.” Her shoulders slumped. “Not unless I want to strip or bartend, both of which I’d be terrible at. If some drunken finance bro tries to grab my ass while I’m working, they’ll have to haul me off to jail.”
“It’s okay. You have time,” I said optimistically. “You’re only twenty-six, and Antarctica will always be there.”
Well, unless climate change did us all in, but I kept that caveat to myself.
“I hope so.” Carina shook her head. “This is so stupid. I can’t believe I’m looking for a second job to fund a holiday.”
“It’s not stupid. It’s a childhood dream.” I nudged her leg with my foot. “We don’t downplay those, remember?”
Carina’s top bucket-list item was to visit Antarctica before she got married. It may sound random to anyone who didn’t know her, but she’d watched a documentary about penguins when she was a kid and fell in love with them. Ten-year-old Carina got it in her head that she had to visit them in Antarctica when she grew up, and it’d been a goal for her since. As for the married part, she said a husband would cramp her style.
Unfortunately, visiting one of the most remote locations on earth was expensive. An executive assistant salary barely covered the cost of rent in London, much less a sojourn to the South Pole, hence her desire for a second job.
I told her once that penguins existed in less expensive, more accessible countries like South Africa. The glare she gave me almost sent me six feet under, so Antarctica it was.
“I guess not.” She sighed. “It’s okay. I’ll figure it out. There are definitely more important things in the world to focus on. How’s your dad?”
“He’s doing well. Vincent says he’s finally warming up to his nurse, which is a good sign. Apparently, they bonded over their favorite wine.”
“How very French,” Carina said dryly. “Did you tell Vincent about Asher?”
I paused mid-sip before swallowing. A wave of prickles swarmed my skin. “He knows we’re training together. There’s nothing else to tell.”
Vincent wasn’t happy about me and Asher still training together, but that was the Boss’s decision, not ours. We all had to make the best of it.
“Hmm.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What was that?”
“What?” she asked, the picture of innocence.
“That sound.”
“What sound?”
“That hmm you just made.”
She tapped her nails on the table as a neighboring group of guys went wild over the cricket match on TV. “You and Asher have been talking a lot. That’s all.”
“We see each other three times a week. It would be weird if we didn’t talk.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize movie nights were essential to your training regimen.” Carina laughed and ducked when I pelted her with a crisp. “Admit it. You want to shag him.” When I didn’t answer, her smile morphed into open-mouthed shock. “Wait. Do you really?”
“No.” I reached for my glass again, but it was empty.
“Scarlett DuBois, don’t you dare lie to me.” Carina gasped. “Oh my God. Did something happen when you stayed at his house during the storm?”
“No.” The prickling sensation intensified. “But it almost did? I’m not sure.”
Her face sobered. “I know I joke about it, but if you hook up with Asher, Vincent will lose his shit. As in, ‘potentially sabotage Blackcastle’s chances of winning by taking his anger out on Asher during a match’ lose his shit.’”
“I know.” Vincent had always been protective of me, but he’d gotten worse since my accident and breakup with Rafe.
“On the other hand, you’re an adult and Vincent needs to get a life, so he’ll have to suck it up.”
I allowed myself a small laugh. “Nothing has actually happened between us.”
“Yet.”
Yet. Funny how one three-letter word contained a world of possibilities.
Every time I thought about Asher, I felt like I was trapped on a runaway train, the wind whipping through my lungs as we barreled toward the edge of a cliff. I knew how the story would end, but for a few precious moments, the sheer exhilaration overshadowed our inevitable doom.
Scarlett, darling, are you jealous?
You wish.
Maybe I do.
The memory blew through me, spiking my pulse and scattering my concentration.
The truth was, I had been jealous. A vicious dose of green poison had burned through me at the sight of him kissing someone else, and I hated it.
“So.” Carina arched a perfectly shaped brow. “Back to what you said earlier. Define almost did. What almost did happen?”
