Page 14 of Romancing the Rumrunner
“Fair enough. My place is called The Corkscrew.”
Jessie’s eyebrows raised.
“You’ve heard of it?”
She nodded. “I’ve heard it was under new management.”
Tony gave her a little bow, his lips tweaking into a sexy half-smile that made Jessie want to toss her apron to the floor and run off with him right then and there. What on earth was wrong with her? She’d only gone goofy over a man once before and it had brought her nothing but a world of hurt. Now was no time to make the same mistakes all over again.
“I hear business has been going well for you.”
“So far, yes,” Tony said. “However, as I previously stated, we could use a little entertainment. I have a great band. We just need a dame with a set of pipes who can keep the place hopping. I’ve even got a stockpile of dresses you can wear.”
“I’m not sure…I’ve never been there…”
“Well, that’s easily remedied.” He pulled out a card and slid it across the counter to her. “Be at that address tonight and I’ll show you around.”
Jessie stared at the card in her hand, blank aside from a one-line address. Her brow furrowed. She’d wanted to check out the competition. But she hadn’t counted on the new owner of the place being so…appealing. Her unexpected attraction to him was throwing her for a loop.
She hadn’t felt the slightest interest in any man since Mario, and Mr. Solomon was definitely the wrong man to start carrying a torch for. He was dangerous for her. Getting involved with him could put her out of business, put her in jail, or get her heart broken again. All scenarios she wanted to avoid at all costs. And the riot of nerves erupting in her stomach at the thought of singing in front of an audience couldn’t be healthy. She certainly hadn’t planned on performing at the joint.
“Come on,” Tony urged, taking her hand. “What have you got to lose, eh?”
His thumb rubbed lazy circles over the back of her hand and Jessie heard herself responding before she’d consciously made a decision. “All right then. I’ll see you tonight.”
Tony gave her a dazzling smile that she returned before she could stop herself.
“Midnight,” he said, bringing her hand up to his lips.
“Midnight,” Jessie whispered, distracted by the warmth that was spreading from where his lips lingered on her skin clear up her arm and straight into her chest.
He released her, put his hat back on with a little nod. “Until tonight.”
Jessie nodded back, her mind and body in too much turmoil to realize what she’d just agreed to until he’d already left the shop. When she finally snapped out of it, she groaned and sank down onto the stool behind the counter.
“What the hell did I just get myself into?” she muttered.
Well…she’d wanted to check him out. His club, that is. Looked like she was about to get up close and personal with the competition.
Chapter Six
“Have you lost your mind?” Maude said as Jessie grabbed her best dress out of her closet and laid it on the bed. She wanted the perfect outfit for tonight.
“Jessie! Are you even listening to me?”
Jessie sighed. “Yes, I’m listening. And no, I’m not crazy. It’s the best way to find out what I’m up against. You were the one who told me I should check it out.”
Maude put her hand on her hip, her expression clearly saying she didn’t buy that excuse for a second. “Yes, check it out. Not dive right in and work for the competition! Doesn’t he think you are the Phoenix’s girl, like everyone else? What is the man thinking, asking you to work for him? And what’s he going to think if you accept? You don’t need to go playing private dick to get the score on this guy.”
“I’m not going get the information I need as an outsider. I need to be an employee, one of them. Then maybe I can see what’s really going on with him and Jameson,andsee what’s drawing the crowds. What Tony’s got going for him that I don’t.”
Besides those dark bedroom eyes, tousled hair that looked like he’d just stepped out of bed, and a body that screamed for attention even through the well-fitting navy pinstriped suit he’d been wearing.
She had no doubt why women showed up in droves. She’d pay good money to sit and stare at the club’s handsome owner. She’d done a good bit of staring when he had walked into her shop, and she needed to stop doing that. Tony seemed like the kind of man who was game for a little fun but Jessie wasn’t anyone’s floozy, despite what the Feds thought. She feared ignoring Tony wasn’t going to be all that easy, though. She could still feel his firm grip on her hand, his fingers drawing circles on her skin while they had talked.
She shook her head and went back to getting ready. She couldn’t afford any distractions. With Willie the Weasel breathing down her neck about her dad’s debt and her siphoning off some of his bootlegging business, Tony’s new joint stealing more customers every night, and the Feds always just around the corner, ready to catch her if she slipped up in any way, she needed to keep her head on her shoulders. And she couldn’t do that if she was goofy over some man. Especiallythisman. He was her competition, for goodness’ sakes. And that was the best case scenario. He could be in cahoots with the Feds. She needed to take him down, not take him to bed.
A warmth low in her belly at the mere thought of being in bed with Tony uncovered the lie in that little thought, but she ignored it. She’d done well enough without a man since Mario had used her and left her in a million little pieces. She’d do just fine for a little longer.
