Afterburn

evoked quickened my breathing. My skin heated.
    I’d had the Belgian truffles only once before, when I’d sucked them off the tips of Jax’s fingers. He’d melted them with the heat of his touch...then painted words over my body that he’d licked off with wicked lashes of his tongue.
    Sexy Gia. Sweet. And my favorite— mine.
    My thighs clenched, and I crossed my ankles, my core tightening in greedy demand. My body didn’t care that he’d dumped me without a word. It wanted Jax. Desperately.
    The note attached was simple and unsigned.

    I’d know you blindfolded.
    * * *
    I COULDN ’ T TELL you where Lei took us to buy gowns. It was a small, unmarked storefront that had a permanent Closed sign on the door. Appointments only. The moment Lei’s town car pulled up out front, we were ushered inside a showroom of quiet luxury and served champagne with ripe strawberries. There were no price tags in evidence anywhere.
    The next hour passed in a blur of silks and taffetas. I was dazzled.
    There had been times working with Lei that I had been exposed to a world far beyond anything I knew. I always struggled to hide my wide-eyed awe on such occasions, striving to take my cues from Lei, who seemed so natural and at ease. I had to remind myself that her background wasn’t so different from mine. She’d acquired polish over the years and so could I.
    I was eyeing a black gown with lace cap sleeves when Lei set her hand on my shoulder.
    “That’s too old for you,” she said.
    I glanced at her. “I think it looks understated and elegant.”
    “It does, for a woman my age. You’re twenty-five. Enjoy it.”
    “I have to be careful,” I explained. My boss was slender as a reed, graceful and lithe. I was too curvy. “My boobs are too big. And so is my butt.”
    “You’re sexy,” she asserted bluntly. “You play it down at work, which I understand and appreciate, but don’t waste it. It’s a terrible myth that a successful woman can’t be sexy without it ruining her credibility. Don’t buy into it.”
    I caught my lower lip between my teeth. Looking around the showroom, I was intimidated by the reek of wealth it exuded. I was out of my league. The walls were draped in billowing ivory silk, for Christ’s sake, instead of wallpaper. And the finger sandwiches they had just brought out were sitting on a platter I was positive was pure, heavy silver. “Can you help me? I’m afraid I’ll make the wrong choice.”
    “That’s what I’m here for, Gianna.” She gestured at one of the three women helping us. “Let’s see what you’ve got for young, beautiful and voluptuous.”
    * * *
    T HE WHISTLES I got when I stepped out of my bedroom a few hours later both excited me and made me nervous. Denise had come home early to do my hair, bringing Pam, one of her stylists, with her to do my makeup. Angelo was sprawled across the couch watching stuff he’d recorded on the DVR, passing the time until his eight o’clock shift at Rossi’s.
    “Wow,” my brother said, sliding up into a sitting position. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
    “Shut up,” Denise and I retorted in unison.
    “She looks like a movie star,” Pam said, returning from the kitchen, where she’d been cleaning her cosmetic brushes. “One of the real goddesses, I’d say. A Raquel Welch or Sophia Loren.”
    “Who?” Denise frowned.
    But I got it. I’d always thought of my mom the same way.
    The gown we’d chosen in the end was still black, but much sexier. A jeweled brooch held the one shoulder strap together, with inky satin ruched across the bust, cinched at the waist with a thin diamond belt, then slit down the right leg from midthigh to hem. It occurred to me that it was a good thing Vincent was already at Rossi’s. He might’ve freaked a little at how much of my legs were showing. Nico, who was living in Jersey now, would’ve loved it.
    Denise plopped down on the sofa with two beers in hand, passing one over to her husband and setting the other on the coffee table for Pam. She’d been sticking religiously to water and fruit juice since she had found out about the baby.
    Gold hoops glittered from between the crimped mass of her hair. “Is Chad going, too?” she asked.
    “I have no idea.”
    “Is Jax?” Angelo added tightly.
    I shrugged, but my pulse leaped. I had tried not to think about Jax when I’d been getting ready, but I couldn’t help hoping he could see me dolled up. I looked hot.
    “You know