Page 11 of Make Me Burn

Silence.

Jinx spoke up. “Just give him my name, please. He’ll know me.”

More silence. Uh-oh. The receptionist probably thought Jinx was some woman Logan had slept with who was after him. No doubt he got more than a few calls like that. “I’m an old friend,” she added, in a lame attempt to offset the one-night-stand caller possibility.

“Well, Ms. D’Alessio, Mr. Bennett is not in.”

“Oh, really? Then why did you ask me all those questions?”

“Because that is my job.”

Okay, now she felt like an idiot. Of course someone would screen his calls.

She was about to give her phone number and ask that he call her, but then she realized he had the number on the website since he’d given it to Portia, but would it seem more urgent if she gave her personal mobile number…

The receptionist interrupted her thoughts, saying, “I will give the message to his assistant. If you are an old friend, as you say, I suggest you contact him on his private line.” And she hung up.

Frustrated, Jinx almost called her big sister for advice but stopped herself. Natalie was firmly in Victor’s camp when it came to Logan, so Jinx did not want her or anyone in her family to know she’d seen him. Natalie had not been at Lexi’s wedding and no one except Anthia saw what happened outside the event center after the Kirk incident, which meant Jinx’s secret was safe so far.

But what secret what she thinking of?

She knew very well and had to admit what it was—the fact that Jinx felt like a traitor to her brother because she wanted so badly to see Logan. She had always felt there was something that did not ring true with Victor’s story and whether it caused trouble or not, she was determined to find out everything she could about Logan and whatever happened back then.

4

The next day Jinx left the shop at noon and drove into the city early so she could chill out and rest at Jenna Richardson Flynn’s Upper West Side apartment. Otherwise, she would look like a wreck if she bombed into Portia’s big party right after making the two-hour drive from peaceful Peconic Bend on the North Fork to the congested streets of Manhattan.

Jenna was a North Fork native who’d become a ballerina with American Ballet Theater and lived in New York City with her husband who was a thriller author. Jenna’s older sister, Casey, had been Natalie’s best friend since childhood, so Jenna felt somewhat like family. The two women went out to lunch when Jinx arrived and then chilled while Jenna gave her advice on what to wear to Portia’s party at Club Therefore.

Yeah, she had brought about four different outfits, and Jenna helped her choose dark skinny jeans with killer heels and a silky blue low-cut blouse. She piled her hair on top of her head, pulling some tendrils down along the side of her face. And then she added a pair of her best dangle earrings that mixed a design of silver and gold spirals with an amethyst stud at the lobe. The choker she wore had a silver spiral pattern with a small pendant at the throat of an owl with amethyst eyes.

Jinx took a cab to Club Therefore and gave her name at the entrance, half expecting to be turned away. One of the hot guys at the door said, “Hold on,” and stepped a few feet away to make a phone call.

When he returned, he said, “Follow me.”

Jinx followed him down a short hall that opened up into a huge dark ballroom with glowing purple and rose lights, music blaring, retro mirror balls hanging over the dance floor, and sofas with low tables all around the perimeter.

There was a cathedral ceiling with a balcony that circled the space and apparently had second-story lounge areas. He led Jinx up a short flight of stairs to a lounge area where Portia was holding court with an entourage of maybe sixteen people. The lounge was furnished in puffy metallic gold club chairs decked with shiny silver pillows, some of which must have been inflated with helium, as they floated in the air around them.

“Here she is,” the door guy announced, then turned on his heel and left.

All eyes turned to Jinx, some clearly questioning who she was and why she was allowed into this rarified company.

“Look at you.” Portia burst out with a laugh. “Oh my God, look at you.”

Jinx froze, wondering if she had made some kind of faux pas, like there was a dress code she was not aware of or maybe she had goo on her face. Summoning all her courage, she remained still and silent, trying for a pose that exuded confidence.

“Jinx is the absolute perfect name for you,” Portia cooed as she came toward her. “So tiny. Aren’t you just the cutest little thing.”

Everyone in the D’Alessio family was short. Even Victor, who was built like a bull and packed with muscle, was short for a man at five ten. At five foot one, Jinx had always been self-conscious about her height, but she told herself not to let this odd greeting get to her, that this was merely Portia’s Southern style coming out, that she did not mean it as an insult. She tried to believe that, as the tall, rangy star who was famous for her bright blue eyes sauntered toward her, laughing. At her?

Jinx could barely get out the words, “Thanks for inviting me,” before she was crushed in a bear hug that no doubt smeared some of her lipstick on Portia’s shirt.

When Portia released her, she said, “And look at those earrings. Ooh. I’ve got to have them now. Give them to me right now.”

Okay, awkward moment. These were four-hundred-dollar earrings. Although Portia probably spent that much going out to lunch every day, for Jinx it represented a major sale that would help pay the considerable overhead at Bajinx.

With everyone watching and Portia doing the “gimme” dance, Jinx went ahead and pulled the earrings from her earlobes, then stepped up to Portia, who was removing the ones she wore. The star dumped hers on a small round table next to some drinks and finger food, and excitedly grabbed Jinx’s offering, hooking them in her earlobes and turning to her audience with a wide grin.

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