Page 67 of The Price of Forever

Skintight, seductive, little black dress: check.

Tits galore: check.

Smooth legs, tantalizing perfume, soft curls halfway down my back: check, check, check.

I could tell Chico had no idea what he’d gotten himself into as we hailed the taxi and crossed town to the address in Union Square. His eyes roamed the length of my legs a time or two. When he reached for his phone, I touched his wrist.

“Hey. Who are you going to call?”

“Nobody.” He paused. “I just wanted to check in.”

“No need for that. We’re perfectly fine, and Seven needs a night off. We should let the man enjoy his time. He needs a break from my presence, trust me.”

Chico nodded and slipped his phone back in his pocket. Crisis averted. The longer this went on, the more underhanded I felt. But jealousy was a powerful motivator. I hadn’t felt this bratty and determined in…eons. Possibly ever.

All I could focus on was finding out whether he was meeting up with a woman. Possibly he’d had a girlfriend this entire time. Or maybe this was a dating app hook-up. Not knowing killed me. He was mine, even if he didn’t know it. The thought shuddered through me, but it felt true. He’d grabbed my chin and offered to let me cry with him in a corner earlier that day. He’d even rescued my rescue cat. How could he be meeting up with another woman after all that?

I pulled my leather jacket tighter. Was I sending myself straight into a tangled mess? Both Seven and Chico would discover my scheming as soon as we arrived. But it didn’t matter. I’d find a way to play it off.

We pulled up to The Chop, a steakhouse whose entrance looked weirdly similar to that of Gemstones with neon lights announcing the name and the formal awning over the door. Roxie waited for me outside, hopping from spiked heel to spiked heel in the chilly night air.

“There you are!” She held out her arms for a hug as I climbed out of the back of the taxi. She wore a tight-fitting red dress and big, golden hoops. I squealed as we hugged, her perfume mixing with the scent of cooking meat wafting from the restaurant. “This place looks nice. We thinkin’ cocktails or—”

She trailed off as Chico appeared at my side.

“Why hello,” she murmured, her gaze dragging up and down his body.

Chico stuck out a hand. “Nice to meet you…”

“Roxie,” I supplied for him. “Roxie, meet Chico. He’s just hanging around to make sure we don’t get in too much trouble.” I flashed him a pretty grin. “I work with Roxie and she’s one of the good ones, so we gotta keep an eye on her, all right?”

“It’s my pleasure,” Chico said.

Roxie giggled, swatting at his arm. “I like this one more than the last one.”

I rolled my eyes, linking my arm through hers. “Come on. Let’s go in.” I leaned in closer, my voice dropping to a whisper. “I think Seven is here on a date. I just came to spy.”

Roxie giggled again, squeezing my arm linked through hers. “Are we detectives tonight?”

“Something like that. But this man offers up nothing about his personal life. So I decided to see for myself.”

We pushed in through the main doors, taking a moment to acclimate to the moody red walls, dark wood floors and the cacophony of conversation and clinking glasses. Tables lined one side of the restaurant, and a long bar stretched along the other side. I could see a different seating area toward the back, but it seemed almost all the tables were spoken for. A hostess looked at me with a polite smile.

“Will this be for three?”

I scanned the area as quickly as I could, trying to spot Seven before he spotted me. If he was even here. I was just about to ask the hostess if we could grab a table so I could prowl the back of the restaurant—and then I spotted him.

The charcoal slacks, the white polo shirt I was dying to peel off him, the immaculately clipped dark hair that faded down into his cut jawline. I clenched my thighs together just imagining the way his attention would alight on me, the intensity of his dark gaze. I was suddenly so thirsty for it my tongue was dry. He was the only man who could look at me and both quench me and set me on fire.

Seven sat in one of the last seats at the bar before it curved around, obscured by some other patrons between him and the front of the restaurant. I couldn’t see who was at his side, but I was so excited I blurted, “The bar. We just want the bar.”

The hostess gestured sweetly to her side. “Go ahead, wherever you’d like is fine.”

I thanked her and chose the closest set of seats to Seven and his date. Three customers separated us. My entire body vibrated with excitement as I slipped off my leather jacket and slung it over the back of my bar seat.

“God, this place looks nice,” Roxie gushed as she plopped her tiny butt into the seat. “I’ve lived here for ten years and every day there’s a new place to discover. I’m kinda thinking an app, what about you?”

Roxie was a transplant like me, but from Illinois rather than Kentucky.

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