Undercover ✔️

Chapter 17

The day was warm and the large tent that covered the back patio kept the brunch pleasant, enough that most of the people were still sitting around after two hours; though some had started to drift away.

"You didn't have someplace to be today?"

Lucas took a seat next to Audrey at the end of one of the tables. When he had shown up for brunch Liddy and Ashley had quickly pulled him over to their side of the table; but now Liddy's and Ashley's attention was taken up with Declan, Micky and James. Charlotte and Paul sat on the other end of the table, their heads close together, the world around them lost.

"No, not today."

Audrey had sat with Declan, James and Micky talking over their worst polo matches during the brunch. At one point she had been listening to James's and had placed her hand on his arm in a sympathetic manner. She quickly took it back but noticed as James looked at her, searching for the meaning behind the touch.

"Apparently you miss every other brunch, where do you go?" Lucas asked.

Audrey stopped playing with the silver fork in her hand and looked at him.

"Are you checking up on me?"

"How else am I suppose to know who you are?"

"True, but I didn't know people noticed I was gone every other brunch."

"Where do you go?"

"You'd make a very good detective you know."

"Thanks."

She watched as he took a glass of champagne and drank part of it, his hand encircling the glass, forming a perfect hand print that Audrey could use.

"I go into the city to the company my father works with. I can only talk to him with their equipment since he works pretty much in the middle of nowhere." Audrey said, taking her eyes off the glass and bringing them back to his face.

"You get to talk to him, every two weeks?"

"Not all the time, some times he doesn't answer but I try anyways in hopes that I will be able to talk to him."

"What's he working on?"

"He's somewhere in Africa working on a burial site."

"Is it hard not seeing him?"

"No, he's been gone for so long that it feels normal now."

"When is he coming back."

Audrey shrugged.

"I don't know if he ever will." Audrey said, she let some of her emotion slip into her voice.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

They were silent for a moment and Audrey studied the table cloth. She watched and inwardly groaned as Lucas mindlessly rubbed the side of the glass, erasing the perfect finger print. "Fine I'll just have to try something else." Audrey thought. Her eyes drifted to his lips.

"How was your poker night?" She asked.

"Good, James won about a hundred dollars from me at first and then I took him for three."

"How'd he feel about that?"

"The guy laughed it off with a shrug."

"Money's not really a big thing for them."

"I can see it."

"Are you and Liddy a thing now?" Audrey said, leaning on her hand.

Her hair fell over her wrists and scrapped the top of the table. She laughed when Lucas made a face.