“I have a pretty good idea after placing a few calls after she left the office.”
Whoa, that was interesting. First, that Lisa was having financial issues and second, that Jace had been so quick to check into the matter. Not that it should have surprised her. Gabe, Jace and Ash were tight. And they had each other’s backs. Always.
Jace and Ash had closed ranks around Gabe after the divorce and while it seemed ludicrous that Gabe would need any sort of support, she knew that an unbreakable bond existed among the men. She only hoped to hell it was unbreakable enough to survive the fallout if Jace ever found out about her relationship with Gabe.
And then she remembered Caro’s plight.
“Hey, speaking of,” Mia said, leaning up to stick her head between the front seats. “Can you do a background check on a guy named Brandon Sullivan? He’s a bouncer who works at a club called Vibe. Just general info. You know, like whether he’s married, shacked up with someone or has a criminal record.”
Jace braked for the red light and then both he and Ash turned to stare at her, deep frowns on their faces.
“Is this someone you’re seeing?” Jace demanded.
“A bouncer, Mia? You can do much better than that, sweetheart,” Ash chided.
Mia shook her head. “Not me. Caroline. I told her I’d ask you to check. She’s paranoid after what happened with the last guy she was involved with.”
Jace’s expression became thoughtful as he accelerated down the street. “Oh yeah, wasn’t she involved with a married guy a while back? I remember you saying something about that.”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Mia said with a sigh. “It messed her up pretty bad. Caro’s not like that. I mean she would have never gotten involved with a married man. She’s so sweet and trusting and this guy screwed her over royally. I just don’t want to see that happen to her again.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Jace said. “Tell Caro not to worry. I’ll have him checked out first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You’re the best,” she said.
Jace smiled indulgently at her in the rearview mirror. “I’ve missed you, baby girl. We haven’t spent much time together lately.”
“I’ve missed you too,” she said softly. And she had. Lately, though, it seemed they’d gone their separate ways, even before the thing with Gabe. Jace had been busier than ever with work. It was why she’d purposely gone to his grand opening. A night that had changed the course of her life. Looking back, she’d never have imagined how the decision to go to something as innocuous as a boring cocktail party would change everything so dramatically.
They had to park a block away from the pub, and Ash opened her door, offering his hand to help her out. Jace and Ash flanked her as they made their way down the busy street as dusk settled around them.
The pub was still relatively quiet. It was early to eat yet, and the pub wouldn’t fill to capacity until later in the night. Ash directed them to a corner booth that overlooked the cross street, and a peppy waitress was extremely fast to pick up their table. She eyed Ash and Jace like they were her next meal and she was about to dig in.
She was younger than Mia. She had to be. She looked to be maybe twenty. Probably a college student waiting tables for extra money. Which meant there was an even bigger age gap between her and Jace and Ash. Eighteen years? Not that it was that much more than the difference between her and Gabe, but it just seemed creepy to watch as someone who looked like a teenager flirted with her brother and his best friend.
They managed to get their food ordered after the flirt session. Mia was in the mood to indulge. Since fudge was waiting for her at home, why not just let it all hang out? While she may eat a salad with Gabe, she had no reservations with Jace and Ash and she ordered nachos fully loaded.
That didn’t stop her from mooching off Jace’s and Ash’s plates.
They laughed and joked and talked about everything and nothing. After she’d shoved her plate forward, so stuffed she could barely breathe, she impulsively leaned over and hugged Jace.
“Love you,” she said fiercely. “Thank you for tonight. It was just what I needed.”
Jace hugged her back and kissed her temple. “Everything okay with you?”
She pulled away and smiled. “Yeah. Perfect.”
She hadn’t lied. Tonight had been exactly what she’d needed. Her relationship with Gabe was intense and all consuming. It was easy to get so caught up in him and his demands that she lost sight of everything else. Her family—Jace. Her friends—Caroline and the girls. Herself.
“Are you sure everything’s okay with you, Mia?” Ash asked.
She glanced over to see him studying her, his shrewd stare boring into her.
“Are you happy at work?”
Jace picked up on Ash’s question with a frown. “Is there something going on I don’t know about?”
“Jace, I’m fine,” Mia said.
She was utterly sincere. Maybe she wasn’t always absolutely certain about her direction. Of where she was going with Gabe. But she knew she was fine. Whenever the ride was over, she’d be okay. She’d be better than before.
“You’d tell me if you had a problem,” Jace said in a soft voice, his gaze solidly fixed on her.
It wasn’t a question and it wasn’t voiced as one. It was a statement of fact he wanted her reinforcement on.
“You’ll always be my big brother, Jace. That means, unfortunately, that I’ll always run to you to fix things for me.”
She finished with a wistful smile, remembering all the times when she was a girl that he’d been so patient with her. She always wondered if the reason he hadn’t married and had kids of his own was because he’d spent so much time raising her. It saddened her because he would make such an amazing father. But he’d shown no signs of settling down with one woman. And well, if he and Ash were always in bed with the same woman at the same time, she supposed it would make it a little awkward to forge a more traditional relationship.
“There’s no ‘unfortunately’ to it, baby girl. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“And hey, just so you know. My office is always open if Jace isn’t around,” Ash interjected.
They were genuinely concerned. Was it so evident that she was unsettled? Did she wear the evidence of her association with Gabe on her face? She didn’t feel different. Didn’t think she looked different. But everyone around her had sensed her disquiet.
“You’re both sweet,” she said. “But I’m good. Gabe was right. I was hiding by working at La Patisserie. I needed that jolt he gave me to get me moving in the right direction. I’m not saying I’ll work as a personal assistant forever, but Gabe gave me the opportunity to gain some experience that wasn’t about refilling a coffee cup.”
“As long as you’re happy,” Jace said. “I just want you to be happy.”
She smiled. “I am.”
They sat and talked for a while longer before Jace motioned for the check. After the waitress dropped it off, Jace took out his credit card. As he slid it inside the leather folder with the check, a tall brunette walked purposefully in their direction.
At first Mia thought she was going to the bathroom, but her gaze was locked on Ash and Jace and it became apparent that she was on a mission.
“Oh shit,” Ash murmured.
Jace looked up and the brunette halted at the table, her eyes glittering and a fake fourteen-karat smile plastered on her face. But then she turned to look at Mia and her gaze became frigid.
“Ash. Jace,” she said in a clipped voice. “Slumming tonight?”
Mia’s eyes widened. Holy shit but she’d just been royally insulted. She glanced down. She didn’t look that bad, did she?
Jace’s face grew cold. It was a look that had always scared Mia because when he got that quiet and that glacial, it meant he was seriously pissed off.
“Miss Houston,” he said tersely. “This is my sister, Mia, and you owe her an apology for your rude, crass behavior.”
The brunette’s cheeks bloomed with instant color. She looked mortified. Mia could almost feel sorry for her except…well, she didn’t.
Ash looked as pissed as Jace did. He reached over, picked up the check holder and then waved it at the waitress, looking beyond the brunette as if she weren’t standing there.
“Forgive me,” the brunette said huskily. But she wasn’t looking at Mia when she uttered the apology. Her stare was still fixed on Jace and then Ash in turns. Mia may as well have not even been there.
“You never returned my calls,” she said.
Ugh, this was starting to get ugly. Mia cringed for the woman. She wanted to tell her to have some pride and walk away.
“We said all that was necessary when we parted,” Ash said, before Jace could respond. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re having a night out with Mia and we’d like to get our check from the waitress who’s standing behind you.”
Mia didn’t need it spelled out to her that this was obviously one of Jace and Ash’s threesome women. The way Miss Houston looked at both men told of her intimate knowledge of both.
Jace stood, his face brooding and dark. “Have some class, Erica. Go home. Don’t make a scene in public. You’ll regret it tomorrow.”
He reached back for Mia’s hand, pulling her up so she stood on his other side, away from Erica.
Erica’s face hardened and her eyes narrowed.
“The only thing I regret is that I wasted my time with the both of you.”
She pivoted on her very high heels and stalked out of the pub, leaving Jace, Mia and Ash standing by the booth they’d occupied.
“You guys have a stalker?” Mia murmured. “Kind of weird that she’d show up in the exact same place we’re eating out of all the possible restaurants in Manhattan.”
Neither man looked inclined to comment. They both looked like they wanted the matter to disappear. Mia could find it funny if they both weren’t so pissed off.
They walked back to Jace’s car and when they got in, Jace glanced up in his rearview mirror. “Sorry about that, Mia.”
She smiled. “Women flocking to you two isn’t anything new. And hey, if you guys ever want to go slumming again, call me. The food was awesome. I probably gained five pounds tonight and I’m going home to gain another five eating the fudge Caroline made.”
Ash groaned. “For God’s sake. You could let us forget she made the slumming comment. What a bitch she was. I can’t believe she insulted you like that.”
Mia shrugged. “I don’t think it would have mattered if I were dressed to the nines. She would have found some way to take me down a few notches. How dare I be out with you two!”
Jace grimaced and fell silent as he and Ash exchanged quick, uneasy glances. She wanted to laugh. Yeah, she knew about them and it was funny to see them worry about just how much she knew.
They drove her to her apartment and Jace let her and Ash out front so Ash could walk her up while Jace circled the block and came back for him.
“Thanks for dinner, Ash. It was a lot of fun,” she said when they were inside the building.
He kissed her on the cheek when the elevator door opened and then waved as she got inside.
“See you tomorrow at work,” he called.
She waved back, and then he disappeared as the doors closed.
How very interesting the evening had turned out. She mulled over the scene at dinner as she rode up the elevator.
Her phone went off, and she dug into her purse as she got off the elevator and walked toward her apartment door. She punched the button to retrieve the text message and saw it was from Gabe.
Hope you had a nice dinner with Jace and Ash. Text me to let me know you made it back to your place safely.
Her heart fluttered and her chest tightened as she stared at his words. His concern, or rather his possessiveness—she wasn’t sure which it was—warmed her to her core.
She sent back a quick text, smiling as she entered her apartment.
I’m back just now. Had fun. See you tomorrow.
Chapter twenty-four
Gabe’s phone rang as he entered his office building the next morning. He was earlier than usual. It had already become a habit, a routine he found pleasure and comfort in, for him and Mia to ride in together after she’d spent the night at his apartment. Last night had made him restless and edgy, and he’d spent the majority of the evening brooding in silence as he imagined Mia in her bed alone just as he was alone in his.
He didn’t like feeling this way. Hated that he was somehow dependent on Mia for the peace of mind he only felt when she was near. It made him feel like a needy, grasping fool, and with his age and experience he shouldn’t be responding like this.
He grimaced when he saw that it was his mother calling. He let it go to voice mail as he got onto the elevator, resolving to call her back in the privacy of his office. What she had to say wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have in public. Or what he imagined she would say.