Fever (42 page)

he squeezed Bethany back against him, enfolding her more firmly in his embrace.

This was nice. Hanging out with his family. The people who meant the most to him in this world.

The woman he loved in his arms. Him watching his sister with the man who loved and adored her

beyond measure.

The only thing missing was . . . Ash. Not that Ash wasn’t here. But Ash was conspicuously single.

The only loner in the group.

“You make a very romantic argument for that elopement,” Mia murmured.

Gabe’s eyes gleamed mischievously. “Does that mean you’d consider it? I could have the jet fueled

and ready to go in an hour.”

She whopped him again and rolled her eyes. “Nope. I want a wedding. My brother giving me

away. The whole shebang.” Her expression grew wistful. “A gorgeous dress, a beautiful cake and for

everyone to see me become Mrs. Gabe Hamilton.”

“And I want you to have whatever you want,” Gabe said in a serious tone that dropped all pretense

of teasing. “All I want from the deal is you as my wife. Anything else is just icing on that beautiful

cake you want.”

She leaned up and kissed him and Jace rolled his eyes in Ash’s direction. Ash shook his head in

response.

“This means we’ll be subjected to this shit for the next four months,” Ash groaned.

Gabe laughed and Mia glowered in both Jace’s and Ash’s directions. Then she turned her attention

to Bethany.

“I’d like you to be an attendant in my wedding, Bethany,” she said softly.

Bethany went tense against Jace, her mouth opening in surprise. She seemed genuinely befuddled

and at a loss for words. Jace squeezed her reassuringly.

“But you hardly know me,” Bethany said. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to include me because

of me and Jace . . .”

Mia smiled. “I don’t. I want you there. It’s my big day, according to Gabe, and every girl should

have things exactly her way on her big day. And I want you with me.”

Bethany’s cheeks went pink but her eyes glowed with pleasure at Mia’s request. Jace wanted to

hug his little sister for making Bethany feel important and included.

“Then I’d love to,” Bethany said quietly.

Mia beamed at her. “And while I’m in command mode, my girls and I are going out this week to

Vibe.”

Before she could go any further, Gabe broke into a groan and Jace added his own.

“Shush, you two!” Mia admonished. Then she looked apologetically at Bethany. “As I was saying.

My girls and I are going to the club and we’d love for you to come.”

Bethany glanced quickly up at Jace as if seeking his approval and he frowned.

“Of course you can go,” he whispered so the others couldn’t hear. “You don’t need my

permission.”

She sent him a look that suggested she was adhering to the rules of their relationship. Something

agreed upon by both of them. And he loved her for that, that she was so willing to cede power and

control to him. But he wasn’t going to be a bastard about it either. He’d damn near give her the moon

if she wanted it.

Besides, he already knew Mia had planned to invite Bethany for a night out with the girls. When

he’d explained the situation with Jack and how down and worried Bethany had been the last several

days, Mia had seized the opportunity and declared that what Bethany needed was a girls’ night out.

“I’d love to,” Bethany said to Mia.

Mia’s face lit up in delight. “Good! It’s settled then. Night after next, we’ll hit the club. I’ll run by

and get you from Jace’s apartment and then we’ll swing by to get the other girls on the way. Gabe’s

providing a driver for the evening.”

“Damn right,” Gabe muttered. “Last thing I need is a bunch of drunken girls wobbling all over

fucking Manhattan.”

Ash chuckled. “No shit.”

“
Our
apartment, Mia,” Jace corrected gently. “It’s mine and Bethany’s apartment. Not mine.”

Mia flushed, her eyes growing worried. “Of course! I’m so sorry. I’m so used to calling it your

apartment. I’m sorry, Bethany. I wasn’t thinking.”

Bethany looked embarrassed and sent Jace a frown of reprimand that had him grinning. He wasn’t

the least bit repentant for reminding the others of Bethany’s place in his life.

“It’s okay, Mia. I knew what you meant,” Bethany said.

“Oh look!” Mia exclaimed. “It’s almost midnight. The countdown is on!”

Their gazes jerked to the television just in time to see the clock wind down to midnight.

“Happy New Year!” Mia cried.

“Happy New Year,” Ash said, raising his glass in toast.

“Happy New Year,” Gabe echoed.

Jace leaned down, touching his lips to Bethany’s. “Happy New Year, baby.”

“You too,” she whispered as she kissed him back.

“Know what I plan to be doing New Year’s Day?” he whispered.

“What?” she whispered back.

“Making love to you. They say whatever you do on New Year’s Day you’ll be doing the entire rest

of the year.”

She grinned. “For real?”

“So the saying goes.”

“In that case, I vote we do exactly that,” she said before kissing him again.

“No arguments from me.”

“And they say we’re bad,” Mia grumbled, jerking Jace back before he completely lost himself in

Bethany’s kiss and forgot where they were.

He shot his sister a glare. “Oh please. Like anyone is worse than you and Gabe.”

Gabe looked amused but kept his mouth shut.

“Try being me,” Ash muttered. “Jesus, it’s like a couples’ retreat around here.”

“So find you a woman,” Mia said lightly.

Ash rolled his eyes and then drained his wineglass. “No hurry there, sweetheart. Besides, who in

their right mind would ever marry into my crazy-ass family?”

Mia gasped. “Did he just insult us?”

Jace smiled, loving her even more in that moment. Ash looked dumbstruck for a moment and then a

warm smile lit up his entire face and his eyes gleamed with affection.

Mia had effectively reminded him that
they
were Ash’s family. Not his father or mother or batshit

crazy siblings. Here in this room was Ash’s real family. The ones who supported him

unconditionally.

“Never that,” Ash said. “And thanks for the reminder, sweetness.”

Bethany was looking at the others with something akin to wonder. Her smile was achingly filled

with longing. For what the others shared. That unbreakable bond. One that extended to her now, even

if she hadn’t fully grasped it.

“They’re your family too,” he murmured into her ear.

She turned to him, her eyes bright with happiness for the first time in days. They were clear and not

clouded with sadness and worry.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I guess they are, aren’t they?”

He kissed her lingeringly, hugging her tightly to his chest. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“It’s the best,” she said fiercely. “It’s something I never imagined having. I still can’t believe it. I

still wake up and have to tell myself this is really happening and not some crazy dream I’ve hatched.”

He smiled gently, his chest aching with the love he felt for her. “Believe it, baby. It’s real and it’s

yours.”

chapter thirty-five

“I feel so guilty,” Bethany said.

Mia glanced over from where she sat beside Bethany in the limo, her brow furrowed in question.

Bethany sighed. “I have no idea where Jack is. If he’s dead or alive, hungry or cold. Nothing. And

yet I’m going on about my life, going out with girlfriends clubbing. It seems so . . . cold and

heartless.”

Mia reached over and squeezed Bethany’s hand. “Oh honey, you’re anything but cold and heartless.

Give yourself a break here. Jack is a grown man. He’s made his decisions, whether they’re good or

bad, and you have to accept that. You can’t live his life for him. You can’t make him do the right

thing. But what you
can
do is live
your
life, be happy and make your own choices free of guilt.”

Bethany blinked at the other woman, astonished by how much sense Mia made.

“I’m an idiot.”

Mia laughed. “First you’re cold and heartless and now you’re an idiot?”

Bethany breathed a deep sigh. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Jace has been telling me the same

thing, only I haven’t been listening. And then you say it and suddenly it makes so much more sense.”

“That’s because I’m smarter than Jace,” Mia said smugly.

Bethany grinned, feeling lighter than she had in an entire week. “Thank you for inviting me tonight,”

she said, reaching over impulsively to hug Mia.

Mia hugged her back fiercely. “Thank you for making my brother happy.”

Bethany drew away, her lips curving ruefully. “I only hope I continue to make him happy. I love

him.”

“And he loves you,” Mia said matter-of-factly. “It’s so plain to see. I’ve never seen him so gaga

over a woman. I have to tell you, it’s astonishing to witness!”

The car pulled to a stop in front of another apartment complex, where four women stood waiting.

Mia jumped out, pulling Bethany with her.

“I’ll make this quick. It’s freezing!” Mia said. “Bethany, I want you to meet my best friends on

earth, Caroline, Chessy, Gina and Trish. Guys, this is Jace’s girlfriend, Bethany.”

“Ah damn it, Mia, break my heart, why don’t you,” Chessy said dramatically.

Bethany looked at the pretty woman in confusion.

Mia laughed. “She’s had the hots for Jace forever. It’s slaying her that he’s off the market now.”

Bethany burst into laughter. “Sorry. Well, not really.”

The others laughed with her.

“I wouldn’t be sorry either,” Trish said. “Jace is one fine specimen of a man. You’re a lucky

woman, Bethany.”

“What about Ash?” Gina asked hopefully. “Is he off the market too then?”

Mia’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. No, no! Bethany is only with
Jace
.”

Bethany’s cheeks warmed as she blushed furiously. Obviously they all knew of Jace and Ash’s

propensity for having threesomes. Now they thought she was involved with both of them. There was

no way in hell she’d ever admit that she’d had sex with both men.

The other girls’ eyes widened. “Damn,” Caroline breathed. “Jace is going solo now. Wow,

Bethany. You must have really rocked his world.”

“Okay, okay, enough of tormenting Bethany with my brother’s sexual exploits,” Mia groaned.

“Let’s get in the car and go have fun!”

“I’m down with that,” Chessy said. “Caro, is Brandon working tonight?”

Caroline’s entire face lit up. “Yeah, he said he’d totally take care of us.”

The others snorted as they piled into the limo.

“Caroline’s boyfriend works as a bouncer at Vibe,” Mia explained. “They live together now and

he’s hugely protective of her and, well, us when we go out. We don’t have to worry about anyone

messing with us. Brandon spread the word with the other guys who work there and we’re totally VIP

all the way. Whatever we want, we get, and they all look out for us. Gabe had to discuss it with

Brandon and sign off before he’d let us all go back.”

She said the last with a roll of her eyes and the others dissolved into giggles.

“I want one of those insanely overprotective men,” Chessy drawled. “They’re kind of nice to have

in a caveman, knuckles-dragging-the-ground sort of way. And they’re the bomb in bed, so Mia and

Caroline tell us.”

She reached forward, all but pouncing on Bethany. “And now we have you to regale us with how

awesome Jace is in the sack. You don’t know the amount of time we’ve spent fantasizing about that

particular unknown.”

“Just please don’t tell us he’s all vanilla and boring,” Gina said with a shudder. “If he’s that, lie to

us and let us live in our dream land a little longer.”

Bethany burst into laughter again.

“You guys!” Mia hissed. “Give her a break. You’re going to scare her off before we ever get to the

club and if she goes home and tells Jace all this shit, he’ll never let her go out with us again!”

“Throw us a bone at least, girl,” Trish said to Bethany.

Bethany grinned. “He’s not vanilla or boring.”

They all groaned.

“That’s bad. Teasing us with what we’ll never have,” Gina grumbled.

Bethany relaxed, enjoying something she’d never experienced before. Girlfriends. Friendships. It

had always been just her and Jack. She’d never gotten close to anyone and now she wanted this.

Camaraderie. A night out with the girls. It was
fun
.

When they pulled to a stop in front of the nightclub, the door opened and a gorgeous, Latino-looking

man with a goatee and one earring held out his hand to Caroline to help her. He immediately enfolded

her in his muscled arms and laid one on her that had the others sighing and whistling.

“Damn,” Chessy muttered. “I’m one jealous bitch right now.”

“That must be her boyfriend,” Bethany murmured to Mia.

Mia smiled. “Yes, that’s Brandon. He’s head over heels for Caro and she’s the same for him.”

“Ladies,” Brandon said, offering his hand when he’d released Caroline. “Let’s get you inside

where it’s warm. You have a table waiting and your own waitress for the night. The boys will be

looking out for you and if you have any trouble at all, you see me. I’ll take care of it.”

“Holy crap,” Bethany whispered. “He gives me the shivers!”