Free Falling Into Drew by Harriet Schultz Page A

away, Drew and Charles sat at a high top table in a crowded bar unwinding after a packed day. They were dressed casually in jeans and sweaters, Charles in navy blue and Drew in his usual black. Instead of his leather jacket, a down parka — black, of course — was flung over the back of his chair.
    No one would argue that they were the two best-looking men in the place, but both were oblivious to the admiring eyes aimed their way.
    “I think today went well,” Drew said after taking a sip of the steaming hot buttered rum he’d ordered to help thaw his body after being outside all day.
    “It did. No one calls a ski race like you, my man. You bring an excitement and insight to it that someone who’s never competed at the same level can. And you’re the skiers’ favorite interviewer because you’re one of them. That makes my job really easy.” Charles leaned back and studied his friend, then frowned. “I’m the only person who would notice, but you seem a little distracted. Want to tell me what’s on your mind? Is it something I can handle for you?”
    Drew’s blue eyes flashed a warning. “You’ll keep your hands to yourself on this one,” he growled, and his friend’s smile broadened in response.
    Charles leaned in so that he wouldn’t be overheard. “It’s a woman and not just any woman. The editor, right?”
    Drew nodded. “We got together after your driver dropped you off the day we had the meeting at her office.”
    “ Got together can mean many things. Drinks? Dinner? Conversation? Or did you just fuck her?”
    Drew’s whole body tensed at Charles’ use of that word. He’d fucked enough women to recognize that what he and Kate had done was more than that. Although the mechanics were the same, sex with her was different. He couldn’t say they’d made love, but he’d felt something beyond the physical. Hell, she’d spent the night and that only happened if he was wiped out and fell asleep. Even then, the women usually had the sense to leave before he woke. He couldn’t remember ever inviting a woman to sleep in his bed, yet that was where he’d wanted her to be. It scared the shit out of him.
    Drew shot a murderous look at Charles. “We. Did. Not. Fuck. We went for a drink to talk about the book that I somehow got manipulated into doing. But I guess I should thank you because without your push, I never would have met Kate again.”
    “So you went back uptown in a snowstorm just to talk business with her?”
    Drew’s hand met Charles’ shoulder in a playful shove that was hard enough to almost knock him off his chair. “Cut the crap. If you want to know something, ask me.”
    “Did you sleep with her and, more important, did she spend the night?”
    “Yes and yes.” Drew couldn’t prevent his lips from curving into a satisfied smile. “And to prevent more questions — a: I’m not sure what it means; b: I slept like a baby; and, c: when I woke up with my body wrapped around hers, I didn’t wish that she’d left during the night.”
    Before Charles could react to his friend’s surprising revelation, he spotted two women headed for their table. “Incoming,” he warned, but it was too late. Drew lifted his brows and turned his head just in time to watch the woman rest her hand on his crotch. Red lips landed on his before he recognized the predator as a ski groupie who he’d slept with once. Or maybe it had been twice. The hand massaging his package should have made him hard, but his cock didn’t make the smallest twitch in acknowledgement. He lifted her hand away as if it offended him, because it did.
    “Inga,” he said, pulling her in front of him. “It’s been a while, but I see you’re still collecting skiers. Why bother with someone like me who’s out of the game when there’s so much hot, young blood available?”
    The blond, blue-eyed Austrian beauty made a Germanic sound of disgust. “Ach. The young ones are asleep already, preparing for tomorrow’s races. You