Rush (Breathless #1)(72)

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.