Dinner at Eight-epub Read Free

blinked in surprise. How had she tagged him for an Irish whiskey drinker? “First guess. I’m impressed. If I were drinking, I’d order one. But jetlag and whiskey don’t mix, so just a mineral water for me.”
    “Still or sparkling?”
    “Sparkling’s good.”
    “Be right back.”
    “You’re jetlagged?” Zoey wanted to know.
    “I’m buggered,” Jared confessed. “The flight from L.A. confused the heck out of me. I don’t know whether it’s day or night.”
    Levi cocked an eyebrow. “And the lack of sun outside isn’t giving you any clues?”
    “Maybe the candlelight’s confusing him,” Theo said.
    “Guys,” Liv shushed them. “Jared never was the brightest. Don’t embarrass him.”
    Jared grinned. Greg had made two trips to the States, so Jared had seen him recently, but it had been a while since he’d hung with his mates. It didn’t matter. Some things never changed. They were still perfectly comfortable taking the piss out of him. And just as soon as he managed to get a good night’s sleep and acclimatize his body to Australian time, he’d give as good as he got.
    “So, Jazza, saved any kittens of late?” Spencer asked.
    Jared’s grin became a full-on laugh. “One or two.”
    “The last kitten I watched him work with had a front paw bigger than my head,” Greg said. “Fortunately, there was a brick wall and a solid glass window between us. Not to mention enough tranquilizer to take down an elephant.”
    “And that was just for Greg,” Jared deadpanned. “The cat was already asleep when he arrived.”
    “A lion?” Zoey asked.
    “Tiger. Old man with a sad disposition.” Or maybe defeated was a better descriptor, thanks to a lifetime spent in a small and filthy cage.
    Liv set her elbows on the table and leaned in. “Tell us about your work.”
    “More importantly, tell us why you’re home,” Ava said, then rushed to add with a happy smile, “Not that I’m complaining.”
    “My job was brilliant. I loved every minute.” Although sometimes, work as a vet at the wildlife refuge outside of L.A., nursing big cats back to health, had been both gut wrenching and devastating. “But when the refuge outgrew the land and was forced to relocate, I decided to come home. It was time.”
    “So you’re back for good?” Theo asked.
    “Yep.” Jared hadn’t left Sydney with the intention to emigrate permanently. He’d left to escape circumstances he’d had trouble accepting. His best friend—and the woman he loved—was marrying another man, someone Jared had disliked from the instant Ava introduced them. “And if you know of any practices looking for a vet, let me know. Please.” Finding work was a priority. The faster he got a job, the faster he could settle.
    “You realize the number of practices in Sydney specializing in lions, tigers and cougars is limited?” Spence asked dryly. “There are maybe, I don’t know… None.”
    “No worries,” Jared assured him. “I worked with heaps of different animals at the refuge. I bet I can find a practice here that deals almost exclusively with brown and black bears.” He shot Spence a cocky smile. Bears were as native to Australia as lions and tigers.
    Spence laughed. “It’s good to have you back, mate.”
    The waitress took their orders, and while sitting around a table that sagged under the weight of all the delicious food, Jared caught up with his friends.
    Liv and James filled him in on plans for the wedding, which were flimsy at best. Apart from a date in six months’ time, they’d made no arrangements. The couple was too busy focusing on a new business venture they were beginning together—an interior design company.
    Spencer told Jared that he and Chelsea had moved into Levi’s home. Spencer still loved his job crunching numbers, and Levi was working on the last chapters of the next book in his bestselling Willful series.
    Zoey and Theo assured him nothing had changed with them in the last year and a half. Jared would