Friendship on Fire Read online

  Fool her once, as her best friend.

  Fool her twice...as her fake fiancé?

  Top Boston interior designer Jules Brogan has no shortage of work. So why say yes to designing a yacht with Noah Lockwood—her former best friend who disappeared from her life ten years ago after one smoldering encounter? Especially since the job requires posing as Noah’s fiancée! But what are old friends for...especially if she can coax him into one more kiss?

  “If you’re going to be my fake girlfriend, I want one real kiss.”

  “Not a good idea, Noah.”

  “Screw good ideas,” Noah whispered, his mouth descending to hers. His words moved over her lips, and his eyes bored into hers. “Every time I’ve seen you since I came back, I’ve wanted to kiss you. It’s bizarre, but I keep wanting to check whether I imagined the power of a furious sea in our kiss. I don’t sail much anymore, Jules, and kissing you is the closet I’ve come for months to belting over a turbulent ocean.”

  God, how was she supposed to resist? He was all man, so sexy, and in his arms she was the woman she’d always wanted to be. Strong, sexy, powerful, feminine. But they shouldn’t be doing this. It so wasn’t a good idea...

  Noah’s mouth on hers kicked that thought away, and all Jules could think about, take in, was that Noah was kissing her.

  He made her feel everything she should.

  Everything she shouldn’t.

  * * *

  Friendship on Fire is part of the

  Love in Boston trilogy from Joss Wood!

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to the Lockwood Country Club Estate and my new Love in Boston series!

  Twins Jules and Darby Brogan, along with their best friend, Dylan-Jane Winston, have grown up on the Lockwood Country Club Estate, and it’s a place they all call home. They have lived across the road from the original house on the property, Lockwood House, which has been, up until now, in the hands of a Lockwood for generations. The Lockwood brothers and the Brogans have been friends all their lives, and Noah Lockwood and Jules Brogan have always had a special connection.

  Jules and Noah’s friendship blew apart after Noah’s mom passed away. Noah left Jules without warning and without discussion and started a new life overseas with no explanation. Jules was hurt beyond measure, and the death of her father solidified her belief that love is a destructive emotion and she can’t afford to risk her heart. Years pass, and then Noah, now a yacht designer, is forced to return to Boston...

  It was so much fun to bring these two emotional, battered people to love, and I hope you enjoy their love story.

  Connect with me at www.josswoodbooks.com, on Twitter, @josswoodbooks, and on Facebook, Joss Wood Author.

  Happy reading,

  Joss

  Joss Wood

  Friendship on Fire

  Joss Wood loves books and traveling—especially to the wild places of Southern Africa. She has the domestic skills of a potted plant and drinks far too much coffee.

  Joss has written for Harlequin KISS, Harlequin Presents and, most recently, Harlequin Desire. After a career in business, she now writes full-time. Joss is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of South Africa.

  Books by Joss Wood

  Harlequin Desire

  Convenient Cinderella Bride

  The Nanny Proposal

  The Ballantyne Billionaires

  His Ex’s Well-Kept Secret

  One Night to Forever

  The CEO’s Nanny Affair

  Little Secrets: Unexpectedly Pregnant

  Love in Boston

  Friendship on Fire

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or josswoodbooks.com, for more titles.

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  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Untamed Cowboy by Maisey Yates

  Excerpt from On Temporary Terms by Janice Maynard

  Prologue

  Callie...

  As she’d done for nearly thirty years, Callie Brogan kissed her daughter’s sable-colored hair, conscious that nothing was guaranteed—not time, affection or life itself so she took every opportunity to kiss and hug her offspring, all seven of them.

  God, no, she hadn’t birthed them all. Levi and the twins—Jules and Darby—were hers. The Lockwood brothers—Noah, Eli and Ben—were the sons of her heart. Biologically, they belonged to her best friend and neighbor, Bethann Lockwood, who had passed away ten years ago. Dylan-Jane, well, DJ was another child of her heart.

  The life Callie had lived back then, as the pampered wife of the stupendously wealthy, successful and most powerful venture capitalist in Boston, was over. Her beloved Ray was gone, too. She’d been a widow for three years now.

  Callie was, gulp, alone. At fifty-four, it was time to reinvent herself.

  So damn scary...

  Who was she if she wasn’t her kids’ mom and her exuberant, forceful husband’s wife?

  At the moment, she was someone she didn’t recognize. She needed to get to know herself again.

  “Mom?”

  Callie blinked and looked into Jules’s brilliant eyes. As always, she caught her breath. Jules had Ray’s eyes, that incredible shade of silver blue, incandescently luminous. Callie waited for the familiar wave of grief, and it washed over her as more of a swell than a tsunami.

  Damn, Callie missed that man. His bawdy laugh, his strong arms, the sex. Yeah, God, she really missed the sex.

  “Mom? Are you okay?” Jules asked, perceptive as always.

  Callie waved her words away. She considered herself a modern mom but telling her very adult daughter that she was horny was not something that she’d ever do. So Callie shrugged and smiled. “I’m good.”

  Jules frowned. “I don’t believe you.”

  Callie looked around and wished Noah—and Eli and Ben—were here. Eli and Ben had excused themselves from Sunday lunch; both were working overtime to restore a catamaran. And Noah was in Italy? Or was it Greece? Cannes? The boy used jet travel like normal people used cars.

  Would Noah ever come back home to Boston? The eldest Lockwood boy wasn’t one to wear his heart on his sleeve but his stepdad’s actions after Bethann’s death had scarred him. He had far too much pride to show how wounded he was, to admit he was lost and lonely and hurt. Like Bethann, he saw emotion and communicating his fears as a failure and a weakness.

  Noah’s independence frustrated Callie but she’d never stopped loving the boy...the man. Noah was in his midthirties now.

  Her own son, Levi, sat down on the bigger of the two leather couches and placed his glass of whiskey on the coffee table. “Right, Mom, what’s the big news?”

  Callie took her seat with Jules next to her, on the arm of the chair. Darby and the twins’ best friend, DJ, bookended Levi.

  Jules rubbed her hand up and down Callie’s back. “What is it, Mom?”

  Well, here goes. “Last Tuesday was three years since your dad died.”

  “We know, Mom,” Darby murmured, her elegant fingers holding the stem of her wineglass.

/>   “I’ve decided to make some changes.”

  Jules lifted her eyebrows, looking skeptical. Jules, thanks to Noah’s desertion and Ray’s sudden death, wasn’t a fan of impetuous decisions or change. “Okay. Like...?”

  Callie looked out the picture windows to the lake and the golf course beyond. “Before you were all born, Bethann’s father decided to turn Lockwood Estate into an exclusive gated community, complete with a golf course and country club. Your dad was one of the first people to buy and build on this estate and this house is still, apart from Lockwood itself, one of the biggest in the community.”

  Her kids’ faces all reflected some measure of frustration at the history lesson. They’d lived here all their lives; they’d heard it all before. “It’s definitely too big for me. The tenants renting the three-bedroom we own on the other side of the estate have handed in their notice. I’m going to move into that house.”

  Callie could see the horror on their faces, saw that they didn’t like the idea of losing their family home. She’d reassure them. “When I die, this house will come to you, Levi, but I think you should take possession of it now. I’ve heard each of you talk of buying your own places. It doesn’t make sense to buy when you have this one, Levi. The twins can move in here while they look for a property that suits them. This house has four bedrooms, lots of communal space. It’s central, convenient, and you’d just have to pay for the utilities.”

  “Move in with Levi? Yuck,” Darby said, as Callie expected her to. But Callie caught the long look her daughter exchanged with her twin sister, Jules, and smiled at their excitement.

  Callie knew what was coming next...

  “DJ could move into the apartment over the garage,” Jules suggested, excitement in her eyes.

  She loved this house; they all did. And why wouldn’t they? It was spacious, with high ceilings and wooden floors, an outdoor entertainment area and a big backyard. It was close to Lockwood Country Club’s private gym, which they all still used. The Tavern, the pub and Italian restaurant attached to the country club, was one of her kids’ favorite places to meet, have a drink. The boys played golf within the walls of the pretty, green estate where they were raised, as often as their busy schedules allowed.

  It was home.

  “I don’t want to live with my sisters, Mom. It was bad enough sharing a childhood with them,” Levi said.

  He was lying, Callie could tell. Levi adored his sisters and this way, he could vet who they dated without stalking them on social media. Levi’s protective streak ran a mile long.

  “It’s a good solution. This way, you don’t have to rent while you’re looking to buy and, Levi, since I know you and Noah sank most of your cash into that new marina, it’ll be a while before your bank account recovers.”

  Callie wrinkled her nose. Levi probably still had a few million at his fingertips. They were one of Boston’s wealthiest families.

  Levi shook his head. “Mom, we appreciate the offer, but you do know that we are all successful and you don’t need to worry about us anymore?”

  She was Mom, Callie wanted to tell him. She’d always be Mom. One day they’d understand. She’d always worry about them.

  “Are you sure you want to move into the house on Ennis Street?” Jules asked.

  Absolutely. There were too many ghosts in this house, too many memories. “I need something new, something different. Dad is gone but I’m still standing and I’ve made the decision to reinvent my life. I have a bucket list and so many things I want to do by the time I turn fifty-five.”

  “That’s in ten months,” Darby pointed out.

  Callie was so aware, thank you very much.

  “What’s on the bucket list, Mom?” Jules asked, amused.

  Callie smiled. “Oh, the usual. A road trip through France, take an art class, learn how to paint.”

  Jules sent her an indulgent smile. God. Jules would probably fall off her chair if Callie told her that a one-night stand, phone sex, seeing a tiger in the wild, bungee jumping and sleeping naked in the sun were also on her to-do list. Oh, and she definitely wouldn’t tell them that her highest priority was to help them all settle down...

  She wasn’t hung up on them getting married. No, sometimes marriage, like her best friend’s, wasn’t worth the paper the license was written on.

  Callie wanted her children to find their soft place to fall, the person who would make their lives complete.

  But, right now, Callie wanted Noah home, back in Boston, where he belonged.

  How was she supposed to get him to settle down when he was on the other side of the world?

  One

  Noah...

  Noah pushed his hand into her thick hair and looked down into those amazing eyes, the exact tint of a new moon on the Southern Ocean. Her scent, something sexy but still sweet, drifted off her skin and her wide mouth promised a kiss that was dark and delectable. His stupid heart was trying to climb out of his chest so that it could rest in her hand.

  Jules pushed her breasts into his chest and tilted her hips so that her stomach brushed his hard-as-hell erection...

  This was Jules, his best friend.

  Thought, time, the raucous sounds of the New Year’s party receded and Jules was all that mattered. Jules with her tight nipples and her tilted hips and her silver-blue eyes begging him to kiss her.

  He’d make it quick. Just one quick sip, a fast taste. He wouldn’t take it any further. He couldn’t. He wanted to, desperately, but there were reasons why he had no right to place his hand on her spectacular ass, to push his chest into her small but perfect breasts.

  One kiss, that’s all he could have, take.

  Noah touched his lips to hers and he fell, lost in her taste, in her scent. For the first time in months his grief dissipated, his confusion cleared. As her tongue slid between his teeth, his responsibilities faded, and the decisions he’d been forced to make didn’t matter.

  Jules was in his arms and she was kissing him and the world suddenly made sense...

  He was about to palm her beautiful breasts, have her wrap her legs around his hips to rock against her core when hands gripped his shoulders, yanked his hair.

  Surprised, he stumbled back, fell onto his tailbone to see Morgan and his dad looking down at him, laughing their asses off. His eyes bounced to Jules and tears streaked her face.

  “Bastard!” Morgan screamed.

  “That’s my boy,” Ethan cooed. “Blood or not, you are my son.”

  And Jules? Well, Jules just cried.

  Another night, the same recurring dream. Noah Lockwood punched the comforter and the sheets away, unable to bare the constricting fabric against his heated skin. Draping one forearm across bent knees, Noah ran a hand behind his neck. Cursing, he fumbled for the glass of water on the bedside table, grimacing at the handprint his sweat made on the deep black comforter.

  Noah swung his legs off the side of the large bed, reached for a pair of boxers on the nearby chair and yanked them on. He looked across the bed and Jenna—a friend he occasionally hooked up with when he was in this particular city—reached over to the side table and flipped on the bedside light. She checked her watch before shoving the covers back, muttered a quick curse and, naked, started to gather her clothes.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  Hell, no. He rarely opened up to his brothers or his closest friends, so there was no chance he’d talk to an infrequent bed buddy about his dream. Without a long explanation Jenna wouldn’t understand, and since Noah didn’t do explanations, that would never happen. Besides, talking meant examining and facing his fears, confronting guilt and dissecting his past. That would be amusing...in the same way an electric shock to his junk would be nice.

  He tried, as much as possible, not to think about the past...

  Noah walked over to the French doors that
opened to the balcony. Pushing them open, he sucked in the briny air of the cool late-autumn night. Tinges of a new morning peeked through the trees that bordered the side and back edges of the complex.

  He loved Cape Town, and enjoyed his visits to the city nestled between the mountains and the sea. It was beautiful, as were Oahu or Cannes or Monaco. But it wasn’t home. He missed Boston with an intensity that sometimes threatened to drop him to his knees. But he couldn’t go back...

  The last time he left it nearly killed him and that wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat.

  Noah accepted Jenna’s brief goodbye kiss and walked her to the door. Finally alone, he grabbed a T-shirt from the chair behind him and yanked it over his head and, picking up his phone, walked onto the balcony, then perched lightly on the edge of a sturdy morris chair.

  The dream’s sour aftertaste remained and he sucked in long, clean breaths, trying to cleanse his mind. Because his nightmares always made him want to touch base with his brothers, he dialed Eli’s number, knowing he was more likely to answer than Ben.

  “Noah, I was just about to call you.” Despite being across the world in Boston, Eli sounded like he was in the next room.

  Noah heard the worry in Eli’s voice and his stomach swooped.

  “What’s up?” he asked, trying to project confidence. He was the oldest and although he was always absent, his hand was still the one, via phone calls and emails, steering the Lockwood ship. Actually, that wasn’t completely true; Levi buying into the North Shore marina and boatyard using the money he inherited from Ray allowed Noah to take a step back. Eli and Ben were a little hotheaded and prone to making impulsive decisions but Levi wasn’t. Noah was happy to leave the day-to-day decisions in Levi’s capable hands.

  “Callie called us earlier—a for-sale sign has gone up at Lockwood.”

  “Ethan’s selling the house?” Noah asked.

  “No. He’s selling everything. Our childhood home, the land, the country club, the golf course, the buildings. He’s selling the LCC Trust and that includes everything on the estate except for the individually owned houses.”