Uppercut Princess (The Heights Crew #1)(48)

Johnny’s too busy talking to Magnum when I first appear. I just stand there, waiting for them to notice and also trying to hear the muted words of their conversation. Johnny looks up, and then does a double-take. He captures my gaze, following me appreciatively as I move forward.

Magnum turns to see what’s caught Johnny’s attention. I try not to focus on him, but his reaction catches my eye. His jaw ticks. His stare captures mine, holding it, and the copper scruff on his face moves as his jaw tightens.

I’m not used to being looked at in this way. Guys at the prep school I went to knew I didn’t have any real money, so they never gave me the time of day. I was just a relation to the ones who had money. To them, I begged for scraps off my aunt and uncle, even though I knew my aunt and uncle would do anything for me if I needed it.

Worse than that, I was just my aunt’s niece. It was my aunt who married into the wealthy family. His family never got over why he chose my aunt over one of the prim and proper girls attached with a hefty bank account. Apparently, for some people, it’s still like we’re living in the 1800s

A part of me feels like I belong more in this life. Maybe not the whole gang aspect, but the having to work to get something. Not using the good ol’ boy network to make connections. It’s all about climbing the ladder here, and I get that. Every day is a fight, and we already know how much I enjoy fighting.

As charming as ever, Johnny moves to pick my hand up and brushes a soft kiss over my knuckles. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I tell him, cheeks heating.

Over his shoulder, Magnum blatantly stares at us. Heat envelops me under his inspection. He must think what Brawler thought of me. How can someone treat me like he did at the dress store, and I still stand here in front of him with this dress on as if I’m trying to impress him?

I wiggle my fingers out of Johnny’s grip. Doing what I’m doing right now actually goes against everything I believe in, but I’m caught. I have to be here, standing in front of Johnny like this, trying to impress him. I have to stay in his good favor, so I will, no matter what it makes me look like. “There’s just one problem,” I tell him. “I don’t have the right kind of shoes to go with the dress.”

A pout pulls his lips into a frown. His stare drags down the length of me until he gets to my bare feet, which I wiggle around, showing off my lack of shoes. He moves forward, and I still. Before I know it, he has me pulled into his arms—one arm in the crook of my knee and the other around my shoulders. He plucks me easily off the ground and turns. “I’ll take care of this,” he promises.

His cologne fills my nostrils. It’s a musky scent that’s not all together bad. In fact, it’s pleasing. He went all out for tonight. We catch one another’s gaze, and I smile up at him as a draft hits my backside when Magnum opens the door for us. “I’m pretty sure everyone can see my ass,” I tell him, laughing. “This dress is short.”

Johnny cocks a grin. “No one will be looking at your ass. Not unless they want to die.”

A heavy mask falls over his face. I blink up at him, but he’s deadly serious. He’s not messing around. For everyone’s sake, I hope we don’t run into someone bold enough to check out my ass.

Johnny moves into the open elevator, and we step inside. He adjusts me in his grip, and I say, “You don’t have to carry me. I can walk.”

“On these shitty floors? Fuck no.”

Magnum gets in and immediately faces the other way. With Johnny openly gawking at me and Magnum doing everything in his power not to look at me, I’m feeling the confines of the elevator. The walls push in on us as we descend to the lobby level. When the doors open, the extra room is a relief.

A couple of people mill around in the small lobby when we pass through, and Johnny’s right. As soon as they notice it’s him, they look the other way. He has a magical gift of repelling people. Or instilling fear in people. Or both.

Magnum holds the door to the car open as we approach. Johnny leans over to set my feet inside the first, and then I maneuver in, having to pull my dress down once I get situated. Johnny peeks in. “Give me one second.”

I sit there as the driver’s side door opens. The divider between the front and the back is actually open, so I catch Magnum’s hard brown eyes in the rearview mirror. He doesn’t let up until Johnny slides in next to me.

“Lynette’s going to meet us at the restaurant with a pair of shoes.”

“Lynette? From the dress store?”

Johnny nods. “What’s your size? I need to text her, so she can pick out the perfect pair.”

I tell him, and he types it out on his phone and then puts it away. He rests his hand on my leg, his pinky sneaking under the hem of my dress just barely. I may not be looking at it, but it’s my entire focus. I close my eyes, hoping he doesn’t move it any further up. Hoping he doesn’t try anything tonight. I’m entirely too conflicted about him. To distract him, I start a conversation. “Will your dad be at the fights tonight?”

Johnny shrugs. “He hardly goes to the fights anymore. He has other business ventures he’s interested in. He lets me take care of this aspect.”

Pride lights his eyes, and I look down. So much for thinking I’d have easy access to the guy I’m really here for. “That’s cool.”