“More work to get the menu right, but when you can’t deliver two, up the ante to three.”

“Awesome.”

Lei rubbed her hands together. “With any luck, we’ll still be cracking open bottles of bubbly.”

I heard my desk phone ringing through the open door and stood.

She pushed her phone over to me. “You can get that here.”

Picking up the receiver, I hit the button for my line and answered.

“Miss Rossi, Ian Pembry. Good morning.”

I raised my brows and mouthed Ian to Lei. Her mouth curved.

“Good morning, Mr. Pembry. I was just thinking about you.”

“I was waiting for you to call, then I got impatient.” The warm amusement in his voice hit me the way I suspected it hit most women. There was no doubt about it; he had a great bedroom voice.

“Would you be available for lunch sometime?” I asked, shooting a look at Lei to make sure she’d be okay with it. She nodded.

“I’m flattered you’d choose me over Jackson,” he said, putting my back up. “But I was hoping for dinner instead. I have an engagement tonight and I need a date.”

Reaching over, I hit the speaker button. “What about Stacy?”

“She’s wonderful, of course, but I’d prefer to take you. You’ll want to come along, Lei,” he posited, addressing her directly, “and look out for your girl, which is fine. The more the merrier. It’s a formal event. Be at the Midtown heliport by six.”

Lei grinned, clearly enjoying the exchange although she didn’t reply.

“You’re assuming I don’t have plans on a Friday night,” I said.

“Don’t be offended, Miss Rossi.” He sounded amused. “It’s a compliment on your dedication. Lei wouldn’t have hired you if you didn’t put the job first. See you tonight.”

The line clicked off, and I set the receiver back in the cradle. “Well...what do you think?”

“I think we need to go shopping.”

* * *

WHEN I RETURNED to my desk, I found a package waiting.

I ripped into the brown paper wrapping and discovered a foiled box of chocolates inside. The surge of desire that pierced me at the sight of that particular brand—Neuhaus—and the memories it 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.”

* * *

THE 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 better,” he warned.

“Yeah,” I agreed, “I do.”

My smartphone rang, and I knew Lei’s driver had arrived. “Gotta run!”

I hurried across the refinished hardwood of our joint loft to grab my heels, clutch and wrap from the bench by the door, waving at Pam before I exited through the open sliding front door. I skipped the temperamental old freight elevator and took the three flights of stairs to reach the street. Lei’s driver was used to the delay.

Nico, Vincent and Angelo had bought the loft with the expectation of fixing it up and selling it for a profit. I’d moved in after college and eventually bought Nico’s share when he moved to New Jersey. Then Vincent and I had split the cost of Angelo’s share when he’d moved out with Denise, giving the two of us 50 percent stake each. We’d been considering selling out when Denise found out she was pregnant, and she and Angelo moved back in to save money.

I liked coming home to a full house and missed Nico. I wasn’t sure what I’d have done with myself living alone. I think having someone around all the time had helped me focus on work and date less than I normally would have. I’d been comfortable with that, but maybe I had just been hiding from the fact I was nursing a broken heart. Maybe I should’ve faced that sooner. Certainly it was time to face it now.