Babushka blushed.
Heather had spent a lot of time with Babushka—in the shop, up at the casino, taking her to appointments. But she’d never, not once, seen the woman blush.
And there had been plenty of opportunity for blushing.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Harry rubbed his hands together, smoothed his comb-over, and hurried to the woman Heather could only assume was Carol.
“Tomorrow vill be vonderful. Jason, you and Heather will be there, yes?” Babushka asked.
What was tomorrow? All Heather had on her schedule was work, laundry, and starting the search for Candy’s replacement. She couldn’t fault her sister for wanting to follow her dreams. Hell, that’s what Heather had done herself. She just wished the timing was a bit better. That things were more established at the shop.
“Nadzieja, come have punch.” Morty held up a cup of the punch. Babushka bustled to him before Jase could answer about tomorrow.
“What’s tomorrow?” Heather asked him.
“Family shit. Trust me, you don’t want to be there.” He adjusted his hand at her waist. He also didn’t meet her eyes.
The little hairs on her arms stood on end. “What kind of family shit?” And why was Babushka inviting her when Jase clearly didn’t want her there?
“The kind you don’t want to get in the middle of.” He kissed her forehead. “Promise.”
Her stomach felt uneasy, and not from the spiked punch in the limo. Like she’d pulled the big wheel onThePrice is Rightand she was shouting,Big money! Big money!But she knew, deep down, she was only going to win a quarter and there was no hope of a showcase showdown.
“Is this because your mother hates me?” she asked, cautious.
“My mother doesn’t hate you.” He said it, but he didn’t sound convincing. “C’mon, let’s go dance.” He did his chin-jerk thing toward the dance floor. “Eli and Doris look all alone out there.”
“Jase.” Heather released his arm.
He stopped.
“I want to make things right with your mom and dad,” she continued.
It meant a lot to her that his family was on board with them as a couple. Given her past track record, she wanted a guy who was all in with her. He knew this.
He sighed. “My parents will come around. But for now, I think it’s best if we avoid family gatherings. Until things blow over.”
She let out a breath. They were seeing each other. They were seeing each other exclusively. They were seeing each other with the hope of more…weren’t they? Or was she making what they were doing into more? Like she had always done before?
He wanted to keep her separate from his family, keep that part of him away from her.
Her history had proven she wasn’t exactly the best at getting a read on men. But she was certain she and Jase were more than just a passing fling.
“Dance with me?” Jase asked, holding his hand out to her. She nodded. She took his hand, and they’d made it to the edge of the dance floor when the music changed from big band to the golden oldies. “Great Balls of Fire” filled the air. Jase spun her in a circle, catching her against his chest and tracing his hand over her waist just a tad too low for public consumption.
A buzz of awareness sizzled through her. Jase did a spin/turn combo move, pulling Heather along with him, ending with her back against his chest and giving her a view of Harry and Carol getting their groove on.
Harry was really into his moves. Heather’s stomach dropped. Holy shit, if he kept that up, he’d break his hip.
They didn’t need an ambulance extraction that night.
Apparently, Morty wasn’t one to be upstaged, and given that he owned a gentlemen’s club, he also had some moves. Moves that involved an abundance of pelvis action.
Heather looked to Jase. “Are they—?”
“You know, just when I think my life can’t get any weirder, Babushka’s two boyfriends have a dance off.” He shook his head.
Morty did a slow air hump.
