Taking the Heat (Jackson: Girls' Night Out 3)

“I’m sorry!”

“Now you know why I’ve never made out with a girl in this bed. Please tell me you’ll invite me to your hotel.”

He started to tug up his pants, but Veronica stopped him. “Just let me...” she murmured, then leaned forward to press one very chaste kiss to the warm skin of his cock.

“Fuck. Veronica.”

“You taste so good,” she whispered.

“Stop,” he begged.

“Okay. Don’t tell your mom I did that.”

He collapsed onto the bed with a desperate moan and tugged up his pants. “I distinctly remember telling her to wait on the coffee.”

She felt a sadness that wasn’t only about her unrequited lust. “They’re so sweet, Gabe.” She slipped her fingers into his hair just to remind herself how soft it was. “I can see where you got it.”

He turned his head to watch her, his big brown eyes melting everything inside her into something dangerously soft. She sat up quickly before she could throw herself into his arms and confess her terrible, stupid love for him. “Let’s go. What if your parents think you were fingering me in here?”

“They know the cutest girl they’ve ever met would never let me do something like that.”

Oh, God, she loved him so much. Him and his beautiful eyes and his stupid dimples and his ridiculously perfect family. She shouldn’t have come here. She had to let him go.

Gabe checked his clothing and disappeared into his bathroom to wash his hands and then they tiptoed down the hallway as if his mom didn’t already know they’d been locked in his room.

The party started again as soon as they stepped into the kitchen. There were stories and pictures and cups of coffee and an introduction to Claire, who was as beautiful as Naomi but calm and quiet. Gabe’s dad showed her pictures of the new location he had planned. It wasn’t that far from where Veronica had lived in Brooklyn, though in a much nicer neighborhood.

She noticed that Gabe said nothing about the restaurant, though. His dad did all the talking. Gabe changed the subject as quickly as he could. When everyone began getting ready to walk her over for a tour of MacKenzie’s, Gabe whispered, “Sorry about this.”

Not exactly the response she’d expect from a man about to take over the business.

Still, he seemed cheerful as they stepped into the warm, sunny evening. Veronica felt cheerful, too, which was strange. She was in the city she hated, after all, with a man she’d been fighting with, and all while taking a slow stroll with his big family.

But it felt...cozy. Even the city felt cozy, as if she were cocooned in a warm family bubble that colored everything around her. Still, this wasn’t the New York she was used to. There was no garbage piled on the curb. No men calling come-ons from across the street. This was a privileged part of New York she’d never been part of.

Granted, she knew there were nice working-class neighborhoods in the outer boroughs, but she hadn’t even had the money to upgrade to working class. Hell, if she moved here today, she wouldn’t be able to afford her old neighborhood.

But this part of the city...it was awfully nice if you could afford it, and she could imagine visiting. Spending time here. Walking to dinner with Gabe.

“Here it is!” his dad called out from ten feet ahead of her and Gabe. He swung an arm toward the glass-doored entrance of MacKenzie’s. “Our third location. Unfortunately for them, it’s my home base now.”

But the employees didn’t seem to feel put-upon. The hostess gave both James and Mary big hugs when they came in, and several others gathered around to pat James’s back and tell him he looked great.

It was only five-thirty, but the long bar was starting to fill with people ordering drinks or sipping spiked milkshakes. The hostess led the way to a big round table. “Who wants a drink?” James boomed.

“Not you,” said Mary. “And no sneaking a burger in the kitchen.”

“Why don’t I just lie down and die right here, then?” he grumbled.

“That is not funny!” she snapped.

“Aw, I’m sorry, babe.” He kissed her cheek and all seemed forgiven. “No burgers today, all right?”

Naomi and Claire both ordered vodka sodas, but Veronica wasn’t missing out on a spiked milkshake. She shoved down her self-consciousness and ordered a vanilla bourbon milkshake, happy when Gabe did the same. Before the drinks even arrived, though, she was scooted from the table by Gabe’s dad.

“Take her on a tour!” he said to Gabe. “Show her around. This was the first location we designed from scratch. It used to be a shoe factory, if you can believe that. We gutted the whole thing, what...twenty-eight years ago now? Gabe was just a baby. We still had that place over on the West Side.”

Gabe took her hand, sending sparks up her arm as he led her through the dining room toward the swinging kitchen doors.