“Tempting as that is, Prickles, I’m not going to make you late. I’m just taking these.” He tugged my black panties down and indicated for me to step out before smoothing my skirt back over my ass. “Much better. No panty lines, and Jace will have easy access if he needs anydistractionduring dinner.” He shot me a wink, and my belly fluttered in response. How had I never realized what a sex addict I was? These days it was like I wasnevernot in the mood.
“Jace is not going to try and fuck me halfway through dinner with his family,” I grumbled, but I also didn’t put my panties back on. I liked the secret knowledge of being totally naked beneath my demure dress, and I knew Jace would enjoy that discovery if hedidneed a little distraction.
My guy in question knocked on my door a moment later, asking if I was ready to leave, then paused with his jaw dropped as he took in my outfit.
“Rose… holy crap, you look incredible,” he commented, licking his lips. “Maybe we should tell them we’ll be late.” He reached for his pants, jokingly, and I laughed.
“Stop it. I just wanted to make a good impression… The last time your mom and dad saw me was, uh, probably at my parents’ funeral.” I blanched. “I mean, my mom’s. I guess my dad never got buried, huh?”
“They loved you then, they’ll love you now,” Jace reassured me, dropping the joke. Okay, maybe it wasn’t totally a joke because he needed to rearrange his growing erection as we headed out to the garage. Grayson told us to take the Mustang, and there was no security since we were heading for a swanky restaurant that had their own staff. Jace grabbed the Mustang key from the peg board on our way.
He kept stealing glances at me while he drove, and I had to hide my smiles so we didn’t end up late. It was unbelievably hard to keep our hands off each other at the moment.
“Just so we’re clear,” he told me as we pulled into the valet parking of the restaurant, “if you get up during dinner to use the ladies’ room… I’m going to follow. And wewillfuck.”
My heart fluttered and my pussy heated. “Noted,” I replied with a grin.
Laughing, he handed the car keys to the attendant, then offered me his arm. “You think I’m joking, but I’m not. I’ll be sitting there trying to talk to my fucking family with a raging boner. So, thanks for that.”
I blushed when an older woman nearby gasped. Jace hadn’t even tried to keep his voice down as he’d said that. He ignored her, though, heading straight to the hostess station to give his name.
His family had arrived before us, and his dad stood to greet him as the waitress showed us to a table near the back of the restaurant. I recognized Greg and Lydia Adams, Jace’s parents, but the pretty blonde woman seated beside Lydia was a stranger to me.
“Hi, you must be Billie,” she said with a smile, standing up to offer me her hand. “I’m Teresa, but call me Tess.”
I accepted her hand and cheek kiss. “Tess. Nice to meet you!” Then I turned to Lydia, who had tears in her eyes. “Hi, um, Mrs. Adams.”
She burst out crying, grabbing me in a huge hug. “You stop that, Billie Bellerose, it’s Lydia and you darn well know it.” I relaxed into her embrace, hugging her back with tears in my own eyes. I didn’t realize how worried I’d been about their reception until now. They had once been like family to me, and I hadn’t seen them, outside of the funeral, in years.
“Liddy, let the girl go,” Greg gently scolded his wife. “We’re in a fancy restaurant.”
Lydia sniffled but nodded, releasing me. “Sorry, Billie. Gosh, this is all very overwhelming. Sit, sweetheart, sit down.” She flapped her hand to one of the seats, and I did as I was told while she greeted her son with a big kiss on his cheek.
“Mom,” he said softly as he sat in his own chair beside me. “Did you guys find the place okay?”
His dad gave him a long look. “I know we aren’t celebrities, son, but Naples isn’t that far from Siena. We’ve been here before.”
“Once,” Lydia added with a smile. “On our twentieth wedding anniversary. Really, though, we’d have been just fine to meet you two at a diner.”
“I know,” Jace sighed. “But places like this are more…respectfulof, um, recognizable people. Billie had an uncomfortable interaction with a Bellerose fan earlier in the week, so I wanted to try and avoid that happening again.”
Tess nodded. “I saw that on the Dirty Truths. Rhett beat up a photographer?”
Jace grimaced. “Don’t tell me you follow that bullshit gossip site, Tess; you’re too smart for that shit.”
She just shrugged. “Gotta stay up to date with my rock star little brother somehow. Besides, you know they have like six million followers now?”
“They’re parasites,” Jace growled, “preying on our private lives and spreading bullshit rumors.”
I placed my hand on his knee under the table, giving it a squeeze to tell him to change the subject. “Tess, Jace told me that you work closely with a women’s shelter. How’d you get into that?”
Her smile was bittersweet as she started telling me about her work and how her mom had suffered through a string of abusive relationships while Tess was growing up. Eventually, she and her mom had ended up in a shelter. “The people who ran that shelter saved our lives. Without the care and support they provided, who knows where we would have ended up. My mom was my biggest supporter when I decided to venture into trauma recovery, and specializing in domestic abuse survivors. Every day when I go to work, I see my mom in the women I try to help. I hope she would still be proud of the woman I became.” Tess cleared her throat, her eyes glassy.
“Her mom’s passing was the reason Tess started to search for me on the ancestry site,” Greg said with a soft, and clearly proud smile. “Clara only told her about me just before she died.”
“She didn’t want to leave with secrets,” Tess said huskily. “I don’t have any family left on my mom’s side. It was just us.”
I wanted to hug her. I seriously wanted to get up and walk around this damn table and hug her. Instead, I settled for reaching out and grasping her hand. “Your mom would besoproud of you,” I whispered, unable to speak louder with how choked up I felt. “And I’m so happy you found Greg and Lydia. And Jace. They’re the best kind of people.”
