Page 40 of Romancing the Rumrunner
Unfortunately, wishing wouldn’t make all the obstacles between them disappear.
When they got to the diner, Tony paused. “Are you hungry? We could stop in, get a bite to eat.”
Jessie hesitated. She wanted to say yes. What could a little dinner hurt? A girl had to eat.
But instead, she looked up into those deep brown eyes of his and pulled away. “I umm…I’d better be getting back to the shop. Joe will be wanting to close up soon.”
Tony’s lips pressed together, but he nodded. “Sure. I understand.”
He stepped out to the curb and waved his arm to flag down a cab. When one pulled up, he opened the back door for her and held out a hand to help her inside.
“I enjoyed spending the afternoon with you, Jessie.”
“I enjoyed it too,” she said quietly. She let him hold her hand as she slid into the cab. When he didn’t relinquish it, she looked up at him.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”
Jessie nodded, holding her breath when he brought her hand to his lips. “Have a pleasant evening, Jessie.”
“You too, Tony.”
He nodded at her, eyes locked, until the cab pulled off.
Jessie leaned her head back against the seat and kicked herself for not saying yes to dinner. She knew it was the smart thing to do, but sometimes playing it smart was a real drag.
Chapter Thirteen
Tony had done his best to stay away from Jessie in the days following her visit to his mother’s. Not that it was easy, watching her sing in his club. And his mother was no help either. She’d taken a shine to Jessie. Her response to his explanation of who Jessie was and why he was involved with her was a roll of the eyes. “Oh posh,” she’d said. “That girl is as much of a criminal as I am. Besides, she’s too far gone on you for her to be involved with anyone else.”
Tony wasn’t sure what to believe. He’d always trusted his mother’s instincts. She’d hated Lucille. Had never trusted her and had known her feelings for Tony hadn’t been genuine. And she’d been right. Maybe she was right about Jessie, as well.
Well, whether she was or wasn’t, he was getting nowhere with his investigation. It was time to get down to business.
When he pulled up to the butcher shop, the sign on the door saidclosed. He tried the knob anyway. It wasn’t locked so he went ahead and entered.
“Jessie?”
No answer. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, though the lights were all on. It was early yet, but still, by that time of the morning the shop should have been open for business.
“Jessie?” he called again, beginning to be a bit concerned.
“Tony? Is that you?”
Her voice was muffled. He walked through the doors leading into the back room and saw the big cellar doors open.
“Jessie?”
“Down here.”
Tony peered down the steps and removed his jacket, laying it over a chair near the doors before he went down. He found her in the giant refrigerator, hacking away at a hunk of meat.
“Hey,” Jessie said, smiling up at him.
“What is all this?” Tony gestured to the piles of meat spread all around her.
“It’s the first of the month.”
“So you decided to come down here and carve up a whole herd of cattle?”
