Page 61 of Turning Up the Heat

“What are you going to do?”

“For once, I’m going to do what’s best for me. I’m quitting.”

“You can’t quit.”

Tom’s righteous anger was matched only by the sadness of what he was about to do. He was about to throw away what he’d worked for, and potentially any relationship with his father he would hope to have. “Watch me.”

Standing outside Reid and Lila’s house, clutching two bottles of wine, Gemma took a deep breath. She’d applied makeup, styled her hair and put on something cute. She, Lila, and Celia were staying in to watch cheesy movies and drink wine, but she was grateful for the opportunity to wear something other than sweats and her coveralls. She’d told herself that she was ready to get back to the old life she’d so craved. It didn’t make her feel any better, though. If she’d been honest with herself, she would have admitted that she was miserable.

She knocked a couple of times on the door before letting herself in. “Hey,” she called, holding her bottles up. “I’m here.” She walked into the kitchen and saw that in addition to Lila and Celia, Reid and Quin were there as well. “You guys are here, too.”

“Well, this is my house,” Reid reminded her, standing and wrapping his arms around her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, apologizing and accepting his hug. “I was just expecting the girls. Not you guys.”

“You’ve been avoiding us all week,” Quin pointed out.

“You’re right,” she sighed. “I have been.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I just didn’t want to hear the I told you so that I had coming.”

Reid shook his head. “Gemma, like I said, we wouldn’t have said that. We just want you to be okay. How are you?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured them. “Probably not today, but that’s why I brought these,” she said, holding up the wine bottles. “I briefly forgot that Celia wouldn’t be drinking. But I figured two bottles would come in handy anyway.”

“All right, let’s get out of here, Reid,” Quin said, grabbing his coat. “Our car should be here very soon.”

“Where are you going?”

“Dinner at Arlo’s and then some drinks and cigars.”

“Have fun,” she said, moving past them. While the women said goodbye to her brothers with hugs and kisses, Gemma busied herself opening one of the bottles of wine she’d brought. She thought back to all the goodbyes she’d shared with Tom. And then the final one when she’d told him it was over.

So many times that week she’d wanted to call him—she almost had. But she’d been strong. Life was easier, and she would learn to be happy without him. She sat on a stool at the kitchen island and picked at the charcuterie plate Lila had prepared. She wondered just how long it would take before her relationship—or lack thereof—became the topic of conversation.

“So tell me,” Lila said. “What exactly happened between you and Tom?”

So, not long, then.“I could say it started because of that damned ad,” she started.

“The one with the woman?” Celia asked. “That was some serious shade.”

“You’re telling me. It’s embarrassing to be on top of my industry and have a competitor pull something like that.”

“Did he have anything to do with it?”

“He said he didn’t, and I believe him. Apparently, he had no idea until it came across his desk, and he tried to stop it.”

“So why did you break up with him?”

“It was too hard. Me being a Rexford, him being a Cain. The businesses, and our families.” She didn’t think she could talk about it anymore. “So, that’s enough about my miserable love life. Why don’t we decide on movies?”

Lila scrolled through a list of candidates they could stream. Gemma, already feeling the effects of the wine in her mostly empty stomach, stopped her. “The one about the male strippers going on a road trip is what I want.”

“Again?” Celia asked.

“Listen, if any other movie features muscly guys in thongs, I’m all for it. But for tonight, I want a group of sexy guys in thongs.”

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