Page 51 of Deny Me

“Ooo, was it a desperate wife who needed your help catching her cheating husband?”

“Ha! You know I don’t take those cases,” Jack laughed.

“You should. It would make stories at our lunches so much more interesting. Maybe you could catch a husband having sex with the lawn boy. Who knows?!”

“Maybe I’ll take one just for you.”

“You’re too good to me, Jack. Luella you’re lucky you snatched him up. I might have found him and forced him to take me on ride-alongs.” I winked. “If you catch my drift.”

“Hey now,” Jameson said, standing up from his chair, meeting me halfway. “I’ll take you on a ride-along any time you want.” His arms wrapped around me and he leaned down to place a slow, deep kiss on my lips.

“Damn, Jamie-Boy. You sure know how to greet a lady,” I said breathlessly.

“Gross. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing my brother make out with my best friend.”

Jameson moved behind me, gripping my hips and pulling me back so he could mock-thrust against me. “Oh come on, Lu. Making out is the least graphic thing we do. Evie and I like to get freaky.”

Luella’s face scrunched up into one of horror before slapping a hand over her eyes. “Oh, God. Stop. Please, you win!”

With a laugh, I swatted him away and moved to our seats.

“This game became a whole lot more fun when I could actually get back at you,” Jameson said to Lu. “Now, if only I could do something to get back at you,” he joked, turning to me.

“Oh, honey. You’ll never be able to get me.”

He laughed and leaned in to kiss my temple and then whisper in my ear. “Oh, I already have you.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Lu threw her hands, halting anymore kissing. “What’s going on with everyone? What’s new?”

“My sister, Juliana, is moving up here next month and will be staying with us while she looks for a job.” Jack piped in first.

“That’s exciting.” I said, and gave Lu a look in question.

“No, it’s great. We talked it over. I’m happy to help her out, and it will be nice to have another girl in the house for a little bit. Maybe it will keep Jack in line.”

“You can never keep me in line,” Jack growled, kissing Lu’s cheek.

Jameson rolled his eyes and changed the subject. “I’ve officially started looking at buildings to open a second, bigger King’s.”

I was so proud of him for taking the step toward a dream he’d had for a while. He had set up a meeting with the realtor to sign on the dotted line and had already began laying out a plan with the brewer to start getting things set up for their partnership. The owners of the building were pushing him to open sooner because his bar so close to the apartments made them more desirable.

My boyfriend was a hot commodity.

And that word no longer freaked me out. He was my boyfriend, and it was nicer than I was expecting it to be. Over the past month, he slept at my place on nights he didn’t work at King’s, and on other nights I would stay with him. But on the nights I needed space, he gave it to me. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I had been sure I’d lose a part of myself when I started seeing someone, but instead I felt more comfortable in my own skin. He completed something about me that I didn’t know was missing.

Lu stood up from her chair and clapped excitedly as she moved to Jameson, falling forward to give him a huge hug. “I’m so excited for you. You have put off your own dreams for too long. I can’t believe King’s is going to expand.”

“Well, it hasn’t yet. We still have a lot of work to do.” Jameson laughed, returning his sister’s hug.

“We?” Lu questioned, moving back to her own seat again.

“Yeah.” Jameson’s hand reached for mine resting on the table. “Evelyn has helped me look at a couple spaces. I figure her eye for design could help me make a decision.”

“I tried to tell him, my fashion design wouldn’t help his interior design, but he refused to listen.”

“Don’t talk down about your skills. You’re amazing at seeing things in a new light. I need that when visiting a space,” Jameson refuted, warming my heart.

“So what about you Evie? What’s new with you?” Lu asked.

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