Page 49 of Turning Up the Heat

Quin spoke first. “Gemma,” he said, and his voice held an awe that embarrassed her a little. “That’s incredible.”

“Yeah,” Reid concurred. “On its own, with juice or with seltzer, it’ll be incredible.”

They all drank in silence, savoring the new rum. When Gemma saw Reid’s eyes catch on the barrel in the corner that held her and Tom’s rum, she knew what was coming. Her brothers normally left the distillery floor to her. But they both still had a keen eye on what happened. Reid pointed to the small barrel. “What is that?” he asked. “Another infusion? Something new?”

“Yeah, kind of,” she said, hoping they’d drop it and focus on what she was putting in front of them. They’d just come to an understanding about Tom, and she was reluctant to bring him up again. Gemma thought about lying, but she had nothing to hide. Even if her brothers didn’t like him, she was in love with Tom and was proud of their relationship. Reid and Quin would just have to get used to it. She straightened. “That’s the batch that Tom and I made.”

His eyes narrowed. “Wait, what do you mean? You and Tom made a batch?”

“I knew you would hate this. I didn’t want to tell you,” she muttered. “He was at my place a few weeks ago, and I had that emergency with the tank. I had to come in and fix it. It was a Friday night and I didn’t want to call in any of the crew, so he came with me and helped save a huge batch. We ended up making some ourselves.”

“You let him into the distillery?” Reid asked, angry again. “Jesus, Gemma, how could you be so stupid as to let him in here?”

Her mouth dropped in a mix of anger and surprise. “Stupid?”

“What would you call it?” he challenged. “You’re sleeping with this guy. Our families have been at odds for years, and this is what you do? You invite him into our distillery? What about family loyalty?”

“Fuck you, Reid. I thought we were past this. What I do is none of your business.”

“Cain Rum almost ruined us once. How could you have forgotten about that? And you invited him in here after hours?”

Here we go again. “I haven’t forgotten what Carolina did—not for a second. But that has nothing to do with Tom.” When Reid rolled his eyes, she slammed her fist down on her desk in frustration. She would never get through to them. Quin casually stepped between her and her oldest brother.

“He stole our recipes,” Reid maintained.

“He did not!” She sighed and walked to her desk. She opened the top drawer and took out the flash drive that Tom had given her—the one that contained the recipes Carolina had stolen. She tossed it to Reid, and he caught it in one hand.

“What is this?” he asked.

“It’s the recipes that Carolina stole. The same ones that Tom paid his distillery workers to hand over and forget about.” That shut him up, but she was still angry. “I’m done with this conversation. What I do in my personal life is none of your business.”

“It’s my business when it comes to protecting the distillery and this family.” His voice was softer.

“Reid, you don’t need to protect me.”

“He could have taken anything,” Reid said. “Or seen anything, sabotaged something. We have sensitive equipment here that a lot of people want to get their hands on.” He wasn’t letting go of it, but he seemed tired of fighting. But not as tired of it as Gemma was.

Gemma didn’t want to admit to Reid that he was right. Something like that could have happened. But not with Tom. She trusted him. Didn’t she? She thought back to his questions that he’d had about their future plans. She thought about him studying her equipment, but she shook it away. “He wouldn’t do any of that.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know him.”

“How well?”

Gemma had given Tom her heart. Her body. Her love. She trusted him with those things. But she eyed the glass of rum in her hand. Could she trust him with her family?

“Why did you choose him?” Quin asked. “Just tell us that.”

“The truth? I didn’t choose him. Did you choose Celia?” She pointed at Reid. “Did you choose Lila?” She stopped. “Wait. Is that what this is about? Do you think I’m choosing him over you guys?” Neither of her brothers looked at her, telling her that she might be right. She felt kind of sad for them. “Guys, I’m choosing to be happy. And Tom, whether he’s a Cain or not, makes me happy. It doesn’t have to be so black-and-white.”

“It’s not just black-and-white,” Quin said. “It’s what’s realistic. Where is your future going? He’s poised to take over Cain. Do you think he’s just going to drop everything and move down here to be with you?”

Hearing it out loud made her heart pound. Reid had echoed her own concerns. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it,” she lied. “We haven’t talked about it yet.”

“I mean, if you’re not looking for a future with him, if it’s casual and that’s all right with you, then fine. We just don’t want you to be hurt.”

She wouldn’t let on that their words hurt like knives driving into her heart. They were right, of course. But she straightened, looking firm and resolute for her brothers so they wouldn’t know she was crumbling inside. She needed to have a serious conversation with Tom—as soon as possible. “I won’t get hurt, Reid. I’m a grown woman. And I can look after myself.”

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