Page 24 of Out of Reach
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” a woman said, looking up at Hawk and Jude. In her early forties, she had rich, dark hair that she’d twisted into a casual bun and wore an emerald lounge dress. Draping his arm around her shoulders, Sam said, “Lizzy, this is Jude English. Jude, this is Eliza Beauford.”
“Oh, so you’re the ex,” Lizzy said, a hint of a smile on her lips, which looked fashionably bee-stung.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jude said. “This is Hawk Sterling.”
“I hope you two are comfortable in your room.” Sam’s dark eyes twinkled as he looked at Hawk, and any doubt Jude might have had that he’d purposely placed the portrait in their room evaporated.
“It’s very nice.” Hawk managed to sound polite and undisturbed, but his hand was squeezing Jude’s almost to the point of pain.
“Have you signed Ricci’s contract?” Sam asked Jude.
Jude nodded. “I went over it with my lawyer and sent it to him this morning by carrier service.”
“Excellent.” Standing, Sam wrapped his arm around Jude’s waist and walked him to the end of the sofa, tugging him down to sit with him. “Tell me, have you kept up on writing your memoirs? I want to read them.”
“I haven’t had time yet to pound out the chapter about being destitute the past six months,” Jude said dryly, glancing at Hawk being pulled onto the couch by Sam’s girlfriend. Jude did not like the predatory gleam in her eyes.
Sam seemed amused. “Is that laptop I bought you still working well? Maybe you should bring it to me and I’ll have it upgraded.”
“It’s fine,” Jude said, watching Eliza’s hand make its way from Hawk’s knee toward his crotch.
Unwilling to sit there and watch her molest him, and spotting someone he knew out on the terrace, he murmured, “Excuse me,” and headed outside.
Sebastian Knight, a model Jude had worked with on a few occasions, stood near the trickling fountain among an array of moon flowers which had not yet started to bloom. He appeared lost in thought and didn’t hear Jude’s approach.
“Seb?”
Sebastian startled so violently, he dropped his glass of wine into the foliage.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” Jude said, retrieving the now-empty glass for him.
Hand to his chest, Seb let out a shaky breath. “No, it’s okay. How are you, Jude?”
“Fine, thanks. I haven’t seen you since the photo shoot last year in Malta. How have you been?”
“Good. I’m surprised to see you here. I heard you and Sam broke up.”
“I’m just here as a friend.” Jude had always been uncomfortable talking about his relationship with Sam with other models because he felt like everyone knew Sam had paved the way for Jude’s success. He felt no differently now. “Are you still with Utopia?” he asked.
Seb looked like he’d lost weight since Jude had seen him last. Jude recalled Sebastian had modeled for Versace and Tom Ford, but he seemed to have faded into obscurity in a relatively short amount of time. What had happened?
“Uh, not lately,” Seb answered vaguely.
Before Jude could inquire further, Sam’s voice boomed out from behind them. “Sebastian, what are you doing out here? I saw Franco looking for you earlier.”
Sebastian briefly met Jude’s gaze before murmuring a polite goodbye and walking away.
Watching him go, Jude couldn’t get past the feeling that something was off with him. “Are you and Seb seeing each other?” he asked Sam.
Sam looked stunned. “Of course not. Did Sebastian tell you that?”
“No. I just…I don’t know. Something seemed strange about him.” Jude shrugged.
“Could it be you’re a little bit jealous?” Sam asked, lips twitching in amusement.
“No. Definitely not jealous,” Jude assured him. “Where has Sebastian been in the last several months? I haven’t seen him in the magazines at all.”
“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have heard.” Sam glanced toward the house where Sebastian had disappeared inside. “It’s sad, really. He succumbed to an old drug habit. I’ve been trying to help him out of it.”