Bridget had moved on from movies to naming rom-com novels that included paintball scenes.

“Well, then, it sounds like I’ll be seeing all of you at paintball for sure!” With an easy, polished smile—one that didn’t hold even the slightest hint that the two of them knew each other, let alone that they were siblings—Penelope nodded at Luke and said goodbye to the group before moving on to the next table.

“This Means War!” Andie exclaimed suddenly, pounding the table, rattling silverware.

Luke bent his head to Julia again. “You’re right, she is competitive.”

Julia giggled. “She’s talking about the movie.”

“Huh?”

“The rom-com with Chris Pine and Tom Hardy?”

“Uh, right.” If Penelope had still been at their table, she’d be gloating right now. Luke was notoriously bad at remembering titles.

“Tom Hardy,” Andie purred. “Now there’s some Mr. Big potential.”

“Excuse me?” Bridget huffed, accent wavering. “Are you dissing Chris Pine? You know he’s my number one Chris.”

“Oh, I know all about your Chris rating system,” Andie snorted.

“Rating system?” Patrick asked, eyebrows raised.

“It’s a little inside joke of ours.” Bridget smiled wickedly. “Pine.” She held up her index finger. “Hemsworth.” She held up her middle finger. “Evans.” She held up her ring finger.

“What about Pratt?” Zach wondered. “He’s a Chris too, right?”

“Barely.” David tsked.

“Sure.” Bridget held up her pinkie. “Pratt.”

Julia giggled.

“You can have all the Chrises you want.” Carrie shrugged smugly. “One Tom Hardy still beats your whole hand.”

Beside Luke, Julia squirmed, lips pinched with barely contained laughter.

He watched her, bemused. “Are they talking about what I think they’re talking about?”

“Possibly.” She gave him a coy smile, glancing sideways at him from beneath her lashes. “Depends on what you think they’re talking about.”

“I think,” he said, lowering his voice so only she could hear, “you have some very creative friends.”

A pretty pink blush rose in her cheeks, but she lifted her chin and met his gaze, eyes sparkling with excitement and a hint of wariness. “Is that a bad thing?” she whispered.

“No, I don’t think it’s bad.” He brushed his index finger over the top of hers and she shivered. “Do you?”

She swallowed and shook her head, watching his hand move over hers.

Her reaction made his breath hitch. A wave of boldness swept through him. He shifted their hands beneath the table, stroking his middle finger over hers and then repeating the movement with their ring fingers.

“Yay, dessert!” Andie announced gleefully, startling Luke into dropping Julia’s hand, shattering the moment. A server slipped between them and plunked down plates of pie and ice cream.

Luke blinked. His brain felt thick inside his skull, thoughts fuzzy as if he’d done a round of shots.

Lust. He was drunk on lust.

He glanced over at Julia. She also seemed disoriented. Maybe she’d felt it too.