Page 29 of Turning Up the Heat

CHAPTER TWELVE

ONMONDAYMORNING, Gemma arrived at work later than normal. Tom had delayed his flight home and she’d dropped him off at the airport on her way to the distillery. The few extra hours with him had been incredible, and she was grateful for it, but it was getting harder and harder to say goodbye after each visit. She’d never had that feeling before, never had a man who left her feeling like Tom did. There was no doubt in her mind, or her heart. She was falling for him.

Before hitting the distillery floor, she stopped into the break room for a cup of coffee. Quin and Reid had beaten her there.

“Where have you been?” Quin asked.

“I slept in a little,” she said. Lying to her brothers was becoming a frequent occurrence, but it wasn’t getting any easier. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No big deal,” Reid said. “It’s just not common. Is everything looking okay with the tank that malfunctioned on Friday?”

“Yeah, thankfully, we got here just in time and took care of it.”

“We?” Reid asked.

“What?”

“You said, ‘We got here just in time,’” he told her.

“I don’t think so,” she said, knowing that she had come close to being caught. There was no way she was going to tell him about bringing Tom to the distillery. “But it’s fine. I’ve got a technician coming in this afternoon to make sure everything is in order.”

She turned to Quin, who was staring at his tablet while he drank his coffee. “How’s your morning going?” she asked, desperate to change the topic.

“I have an interesting proposition for you,” Quin said, handing over the tablet he had in his hands. “This email came in.”

She read it over. “Interesting.” It was from Men’s Lifestyle magazine, saying they wanted to do a photo shoot and interview with her.

“What do you think?” Quin asked.

“It sounds like a lot of fun,” she said.

“Are you familiar with the types of shoots they do?” Reid asked, frowning.

She laughed at his stern expression. “Yeah, I’ve seen a magazine or two. What, are you afraid of your little sister being half-naked in a magazine?”

“I just don’t think you need a sexy photo shoot. You’re at the top of the industry. I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary, either,” she said. She looked down at the gray coveralls she was wearing. Dressing up for the awards banquet in Jamaica had been the first time in a long time since she’d let herself be feminine or flirty. And every day she spent with Tom, she felt sexy, desired. He brought that out in her. How would he feel about her doing a shoot like that? She realized that it didn’t really matter what he thought. She was her own woman, and could do whatever she wanted, but she would still give him the benefit of a heads-up before going ahead with it.

“What do you think?” Quin asked.

“I think I’m going to do it,” she said. There was nothing wrong with a woman celebrating her sexiness. “It’ll be a good fit for the hip, young market you like so much,” she told Quin. “Can you set it up?”

“Yeah, if that’s what you want.” Quin didn’t sound happy about setting up a sexy photo shoot for his younger sister, but that was his problem.

“I do want it,” she told him. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Something different.”

Her insistence must have won him over, because he nodded. “Sure thing.”

She stood from the table. “I guess I’d better get to work. Let me know what they say about the shoot.”

“Will do,” Quin told her, his fingers already tapping away on the screen of his tablet.

She turned to Reid. “What are your plans for today?”

“I’ve got some calls with distributors in the Northeast.”

“The push on Cain,” she said without much enthusiasm.

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