I offered my hand, but he hesitated. I could see the jealousy radiating in his eyes, and that made me wonder if Joanne was a little naïve when it came to her assessment of this guy. What was it she’d told me? He might have a crush on her? I would say might was a huge understatement.
As soon as the introductions were done, I slid my hand over the small of Joanne’s back.
“We should go.”
Her sister leaned in and said something, making Joanne slap her on the arm. And then we were making our escape, slipping out the door to the limo waiting at the curb.
“It’s kind of a requirement for these things,” I said as I helped her inside. “My parents have a certain reputation.”
She just nodded, her eyes wide as she took in the full bar and the television hanging from one corner.
“It must be interesting, attending these sorts of things every weekend.”
“Not every weekend. Just most.”
She slipped her hand over mine and intertwined her fingers with mine. I turned into her and brushed my lips along the curve of her jaw just below her ear.
“You look amazing.”
“Thank you for the dress.”
“Of course. I invited you last minute. The least I could do was help out with the details.”
She blushed and turned away, her eyes moving to the window.
“What?”
“I just…I don’t want you to think that I expect stuff like this.”
“I don’t.”
“I mean, I didn’t have anything to wear, and I probably couldn’t have bought anything quite like this, but I don’t want you to have to buy me clothes every time we go out.”
“I wouldn’t mind.”
“I would.”
“Okay. I won’t do it again without talking to you first.”
“Thank you.”
I kissed her jaw again. “But you do look amazing. You’re making it so hard for me to concentrate on anything other than you.”
She blushed. “I’d apologize, but…”
I kissed her, drawing her bottom lip between my teeth and nibbling on it just a little before deepening the kiss, pulling her close to me as I explored territory that should seem familiar now, but really wasn’t. I ran my hand over her hip, letting it slide down over the silky material of her dress, searching for a place that would offer a little more access to the gorgeous turn of her thigh. But there was no slit in this skirt and the length was too much for a discrete touch.
And her touch…she slid her hand under my overcoat and my dinner jacket, sliding her fingers around the buttons until she finally slipped one inside that little gap, her fingertip creating designs against my abdominal muscles. I wished I hadn’t worn an undershirt. I wished her skin could touch mine. And then, as her hand began to slide downward again, I wished we weren’t in the backseat of a limo, but in the privacy of my bedroom.
But we weren’t. We were on the way to a very important charity event for my parents’ foundation—and I needed to remember that. Unfortunately.
I broke our kiss, but drew her body in closer to mine, wrapping my arms around her as I cradled her to my chest.
“I should warn you. This thing is going to be something of a circus.”
“Yeah?”
“There will be press all over the place. When we arrive, it’ll be a little like a mini-red carpet event. Then, inside, there will be reporters watching everything we do.”
She nodded her head where it rested against my shoulder.
“My brother and his wife will be there. And a huge number of my parents’ friends, clients, coworkers…whatever. A lot of people my parents would rather not offend. And we want all these people to donate tons of money to the community center, so we have to play nice.”
“Are you saying that for my benefit or yours?”
I chuckled a little. “Mine, maybe.”
She straightened up and ran her hands over her skirt. “I know how to behave.”
“I know. I just want you to be prepared. From the moment we get out of the car until we get back inside, people are going to watch our every move.”
“Okay.”
“So no more of this,” I said, tugging her jaw and stealing another kiss. She melted into me, her body molding against mine. I loved the way she did that, the way her body fit mine so perfectly. I wanted to tell the driver to turn around and take us back to my place, but it was too late. We were there.
The car slowed to the side of the road and joined the line of other limos vomiting their passengers. I tensed, and Joanne felt it. She straightened a little and glanced out the window at the chaos going on just ahead of us.
“Is it always like this?”
“A lot of the time.”
“It must have been hard when you were a kid.”
I loved that her mind automatically went there. Any other woman I’d ever dated would have been excited by the whole thing. They would have been thinking about the potential for themselves, how they might appear in the newspaper and the internet gossip pages. They would have had stars dancing in their eyes. Joanne thought about me and how living like this affected me. That told me volumes about her.
I kissed her temple.
“Are you ready for this?”
A little tension came into her expression, but she nodded. “If you are.”
The door was wrenched open a second later. I stepped out first, lifting a hand to the sudden sound of my name coming from half a dozen reporters’ lips. “Where are your parents?” they wanted to know.
“How much do you hope to raise tonight?”
“Where will the bulk of the funds go?”
“Are you planning to take over as chairman of the foundation?”
All questions I’d heard a dozen times in the last few weeks already, questions I’ve already answered. Questions I really didn’t feel the need to answer again.
I turned and reached back into the car for Joanne’s hand. She gripped mine and stepped out of the car, careful to keep her skirt out of the way of her feet, but down around her ankles. It was a process I’d seen dozens of women complete, but never really understood how they did it without tripping over their own toes. Joanne did it with as much grace as any of them, maybe more so.
I tucked her arm into my elbow and we made our way up the steps to the hotel that was hosting the event. I didn’t answer any questions despite the rising volume of the more insistent reporters. I felt Joanne’s hand grip my upper arm a little harder as we turned toward the glass doors and were greeted by half a dozen more reporters taking our pictures along with another half dozen hotel employees trying to keep the doors clear. I was practiced at this, able to keep a relaxed smile on my face. But I could feel her tension growing with every step we took.
Once inside the hotel lobby, we were directed toward the ballroom at the very back. I’d been here earlier in the day to check on the arrangements with Shelly. The decorations had come out well and the caterer was already setting up the centerpieces and the long buffet table where refreshments should be set out. The room looked different as we paused in the doorway and shed our outerwear. There were so many people, too many people.
“Take a deep breath,” I whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry about remembering everyone’s name. Just smile and pretend you’re taking in every word that falls from everyone’s lips.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Yes, it is.”
And then it began.
Chapter 17
Joey
I couldn’t believe how relaxed Jason seemed. I wanted to turn and run screaming from the room. There were so many people, and they all wanted to be near him. I was feeling claustrophobic before we even walked into the ballroom, and I’d never felt that way before. It was only the feel of his hand in mine and the occasional smile from his lips that helped me survive.
We’d been there more than an hour when Jason turned and I felt—more than saw—the relief momentarily relax the te
nsion in his shoulders.
“Finally,” he muttered.
And then he was turning me, striding so quickly across the room that I almost had to run to keep up with him.
“Where have you been?” he demanded of a man with dark hair and a tuxedo almost identical to Jason’s. In fact, there were a lot of similarities between the two of them. The same blue eyes and wide jaw. The same charming smile. The same deep tone to his voice.
“The baby wouldn’t go to sleep. And Sara didn’t want to leave while she was still crying.”
“I knew it would have something to do with the baby.” Jason smiled despite the accusation in his words. However, the smile faltered—just slightly—when the other man’s eyes slid down along the length of my dress.
“Joanne, this is my brother, Justin,” Jason said, as he slid his arm around my waist and tugged me closer to him. “Justin, Joanne.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
Justin took my hand and bent low to kiss the back of it. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Joanne.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d met a dozen people already tonight, but none of them had been quite this charming, or this effusive. I glanced at Jason, and Justin began to laugh.
“Ignore me,” he said, squeezing my hand before letting it go. “I’m terribly sleep deprived.”
“You have a new baby?”
“Alexa. She’s a month old tomorrow.”
“Congratulations.”
Justin’s smile widened, and this one was much more genuine than the one before it.
“This one’s a keeper, Jason,” he said.
Jason’s hold on my waist tightened. “Where’s Sara?” he asked his brother.
“She’s in the restroom. She was worried that her slip was showing.”
“Well, we need to go coordinate with Shelly. It’s almost time to introduce the silent auction.”
Justin threw a glance over his shoulder. “You wouldn’t mind going to find my wife, would you, Joanne?”
“It’s fine,” Jason said against my ear before pressing his lips to my temple. “I’ll come find you when we’re done.”
I nodded because it didn’t seem like I had any other choice. I watched them walk away, side by side, my thoughts moving to a place that it usually didn’t go. Rosie’s mind, maybe, but not mine.
Wow. The genes in that family are quite impressive.
I kind of shook myself, taking a careful step as my knees wobbled a little.
The bathroom was in the lobby, just off the corridor that led to the ballroom. I stepped inside and was a little surprised to find the room nearly overflowing with women in very expensive clothing. If I could collect just half the garments and sell them for half of what they probably cost originally, I could pay off my student loans.
She was standing at the sinks, leaning close to the mirror to refresh her lipstick. I remembered her from the night she met Rahul and me at Jason’s house to set up the cake I was supposed to jump out of. She’d been in jeans and a t-shirt that night, rushing to get home. Now she was wearing a black dress that hugged her full curves and made her pale skin sparkle. I wouldn’t have believed she just had a baby a month ago if I didn’t already know. She was beautiful, and I suddenly felt like a fraud.
“Sara?” I asked, moving up behind her.
She caught my eye in the mirror. It took her a second to put it together, but when she did, her eyes widened.
“You’re that girl,” she said—more to the mirror than me.
“Justin asked that I come find you.”
“Justin?” She turned, her eyes moving slowly over my dress. “What are you doing here?”
I blushed, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the way she was looking at me—like I didn’t belong—or because of the accusation in her voice, the one that suggested I didn’t belong.
“I came with Jason.”
“Jason? My Jason?”
I would have bit my bottom lip to hold back my next words, but I was afraid of biting off the last of my lipstick. I glanced down at the floor, then reminded myself that I was invited to be here. I did belong here. And Jason…I didn’t know if he was mine, but I felt like I had a bit more of a claim on him right now than she did.
But Sara didn’t wait for my response.
“You’re the girl from that picture. The one in the backseat of his car.”
There was suddenly laughter dancing in her eyes. She put her lipstick away and turned toward me.
“It’s about time.”
“Excuse me?”
“My brother-in-law has quite the reputation. But the truth is, most of the things he’s been accused of are things his brother—my darling husband—did. Jason is more cautious about the women he goes out with. And it has been quite a while since he’s been with anyone. At least, as far as I know. So it’s nice to see him hooking up with someone.”
“Thank you,” I said, not sure if it was a question or a statement or what. I really didn’t know what to say to her comments.
She smiled, took my elbow, and led the way back out to the ballroom.
“I’m sure you’re a little overwhelmed, so let me show you around a little,” she said.
We strutted into the ballroom, side by side. Sara paused just inside the doorway and looked around.
“Okay. You see that tall guy over there with the red hair? Watch out for him. He’s a reporter for the Times, and he can be quite ruthless sometimes. And that woman in the red dress with the godawful sparkles? She’s married to one of the richest men in the country. Her, you want to kiss ass with. And the bald guy in the green tux? He’s also a moneybags, so make sure you flirt a little with him.”
She continued on for several minutes, pointing out everyone I should spend time with, everyone I should ignore, and everyone I could expect to make their way into Jason’s house at one point or another. She was talking to me as if Jason had proposed and we had this long future ahead of us. But, in reality, I had no idea what I was doing there. And I had no idea if I’d ever need any of this information again.
Her tutorial only ended when the guys stepped out onto the small stage and asked for attention. Jason let his brother take control, standing just to the side as Justin made a few jokes about this party being a thinly veiled attempt on behalf of the Wallach family to steal money out of all the attendees’ wallets.
“But you know how it is,” he said, that charming smile coming out again, “you scrub our backs, and we’ll scrub yours.”
A little laughter tittered around the room. But not a lot.
“My brother, Jason, is in charge of the silent auction this year since Mom and Dad decided to make their trip to Paris something of an extended vacation. So, I won’t bore you any longer.”
He stepped back and gestured for Jason to take the mic. Jason whispered something to him that we couldn’t hear, then stepped up and gave a brief description of the process everyone should follow in participating in the auction. Then he promised to come back in a little less than an hour to announce the winners.
“Good luck,” he called, his voice so quiet on the last syllable that I’m not sure anyone heard it.
They came back down into the crowd, but it took them a few minutes to reach Sara and I because people kept stopping and asking questions about the auction, or just tried to monopolize their time for some other reason. I think I heard multiple people ask Jason about his parents, wondering if they were finally retiring.
When they finally reached us, Justin groaned as he folded his wife into his arms. I couldn’t help but smile at the way she looked up at him with the most adoring expression on her face. And then Jason was stepping in front of me, his hands moving gently over my upper arms.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I was about to ask you that. Are you terribly bored?”
I shook my head. I wanted to tell him that I was pretty happy in his arms, but I didn’t want to say something that seemed a bit premature. Three days. I ha
d to keep reminding myself we’d only known each other for three days.
But then he kissed me, his lips lingering on mine for a bit longer than might be socially acceptable. So much for the rules he laid out in the back of the car.
“Let’s show off these ladies, brother,” Justin said. And then we were moving into the room again, meeting more people than I ever imagined I would.
Chapter 18
Jason
I was damn exhausted! These things were always such a drain. But it seemed like there were more questions, more stupidity, going on than usual. Everyone wanted to know all about Joanne, as if I’d never brought a date to one of these things before. Or maybe it was just the photo on the internet. I’d hoped that only a few people would have seen it, but I guess I’d underestimated the voyeurism of the upper crust.
The auction went well though. We sold everything at or above cost. A few things had gone high above cost, the trip to Cabo being one. That would make my mother happy.
But now it was over, and I was alone with Joanne in the back of the limo.
I pulled her against my chest and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“You were wonderful tonight.”
“Was I?”
“Perfect. Everyone either wanted to be near you or to be you.”
She chuckled softly. “If they knew what was going on inside of my head the entire night, they would have stayed as far from me as possible.”
“And what was that?”
“How desperately I wanted to get out of there and be alone with you for a while.”
“Hmm, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“You wanted to be alone with yourself?”
I laughed, not just at her small attempt at a joke, but the honest way in which she delivered it. There was just something so naive about Joanne that made me want listen to her talk for hours and hours. She was so different from everyone else I’d ever known. It was refreshing.
“Will you come home with me?” I asked softly.
“I will.”
I lifted her chin and kissed her, loving the taste of the champagne we’d enjoyed before we left the hotel on her lips. It was crisp, sweet. It was so much better on her lips than out of the glass. She sighed against me, encouraging my touch with soft moans and simple movements. I ran my hand over her hip, drawing her closer to me as the limo made its way through dark streets that were mostly abandoned this late at night. It was an easy trip back to my place, a short one. I was almost disappointed when I felt the limo stop. But, again, it probably wasn’t a good idea to get caught in the backseat of another car.
KILLIAN: A Mafia Romance (The Callahans Book 2) Page 62
