Page 12 of Wine & Whiskey
At the gym, he parks next to her car and takes a deep breath, trying to find the right words. Before he can speak, she turns to him, her eyes and smile sparkling again. “Thank you for dinner and the drink. I’m embarrassed about falling asleep, but I still had a great time with you tonight.”
His body softens with relief. Somehow, he’s earned a second chance, and he won’t fuck it up this time. “From okay to good to great. I must be doing something right.”
Her sweet laugh quickens his pulse before she shakes her head. “You’re teetering on the edge with that cockiness. Be careful or you’ll slip back to pretty good.”
Fucking shit. How can a woman this incredible not be taken? He slides her delicate hand into his and holds it against his chest. “I have to see you again.”
Pink tints her cheeks before she drops her eyes from his gaze. “Well, it just so happens we’re going running in the morning, remember?”
“I mean a real date. Not exercising with Jason.”
Her fingers squeeze his before she pulls away and opens the car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
* * *
Jason pacesoutside the entrance as Shae pulls into the gym parking lot. He frantically waves her toward him, making her laugh. How can she drive faster when she’s trying to park?
She climbs out and leans forward to give him a quick hug. “Good morning!”
He shrugs her off, worry etched into his face, his somber gaze boring into hers. “Yeah, hi. Did you go out with Nick DeMarco last night?”
“What kind of welcome is that? And, yes, he took me out for dinner. He’s cool.” And intense, sweet, sexy, arrogant. She smiles to herself. Jason may be her best guy friend, but he doesn’t need to know all that.
His head shakes, his wide eyes conveying disbelief before he even speaks. “I can’t believe you went out with some guy you just met. What were you thinking? It could have been dangerous. You know better than that.”
Warmth flames her cheeks from his disappointed tone. She does know better, but it’s difficult to feel guilty when exhilaration fills her heart instead. A deep breath escapes her mouth. Which is crazy. A simple dinner turning into one of the best nights she’s enjoyed in a really long time. “Me?” She points from her chest to his, not letting him push all the blame on her. “You’re the one who invited him to run with us. I figured if you liked him, he must be okay.”
Jason’s face softens as he puts his hands on her shoulders. “Well, that’s before I found out he’s in the mob.”
"What?" She laughs and rolls her eyes, her shame fading at his accusations. This is too much, even for Jason. “You’re crazy.”
He holds up his phone and taps the screen. “I looked him up and read all about it. He’s very powerful and has tons of people working for him. They say he’s a real hard ass. They even say his dad killed his mom!”
“You’re nuts.” She pushes the cell away and curls her fingers into air quotes, trying to bring her loving but high-strung friend back to reality. “Who are ‘they’? We read stuff about me all the time that isn’t true. This is probably the same thing.”
He ignores her and scrolls through a list of articles, his finger tapping below one of the headlines. “See right here? ‘Nick DeMarco, wealthy financier with alleged ties to organized crime.’” She shakes her head and stretches across the center console to get her bag, but his fingers tug at her waist, pulling her back to face him. “All I’m saying is be careful. Or you could find yourself wearing concrete shoes at the bottom of the ocean!”
“Oh, my God. You’re such a drama queen.”
“Better than a mafia king.” Extending his arms to the sky, he runs his hands across an invisible marquee. “I can see it now…the pop princess and the mafia king…the perfect match.”
Butterflies swirl in her stomach. With a reputation for theatrics as well-known as his training abilities, Jason’s melodrama can be easy to ignore. But this time, his concern seems sincere. He really is worried.
And maybe she should be too. Maybe she’s naïve. More than she realizes. The gates, the guards, the tough guy with the guilty smile who notified Nick of yet another problem. A lot of security for a legitimate businessman, no matter how rich and powerful he may be.
She pushes his arms down as Nick drives up, unwilling to entangle him in their argument. Or let him know they’ve been gossiping about him when he’s been nothing but generous and thoughtful to her. “Shhhh! Here he comes.”
“I’m serious.” Jason’s voice plunges to a whisper. “You don’t really know this guy, and I don’t want you to make another dumb mistake like last night. Check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“Okay. I promise." Humiliation fills her chest before she nods her head in Nick’s direction. “Just please drop it for now. I don’t want to get into it with him here.”
“Fine.”
She bristles at his irritation. They’ve never argued before, not ever had any squabbles or disagreements. Always on the same wavelength regardless of the problem or situation.
Nick climbs out and jogs toward them. The butterflies float to her chest from the smile spreading across his face as he meets her gaze. “Hi, guys. Are you ready?”
Ignoring Jason’s sigh, she matches Nick’s happy expression. “Let’s go.”
