“Jade Robbins. I’m Ace’s associate.”
Rory massaged at the headache in his temple. “You’re Mr. Kenzie’s associate and you call him Ace?”
She smiled slyly. “You spent the night in his bed and you call him Mr. Kenzie?”
Rory went scarlet. “I didn’t—we didn’t—”
“I’m teasing. You didn’t.” Jade was firm. “You were unconscious and he watched over you.”
Unconscious. Rory shivered. “Did he say if I, uh, did anything weird? Sleepwalking, talking nuts?”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” she said, her voice softer. “Whatever you might have done, you were perfectly safe here.”
Rory crumpled the edge of the comforter in his hands. It was silky soft, thick and warm. It’d be nice to believe a heaven like this could be safe, but he must’ve miraculously kept his trap shut or Kenzie would never have let him stay.
“There’s some aspirin on the nightstand, if you think it would help your head,” she went on. “And I hope you’ll accept my apology.”
“Apology?” he repeated, already reaching for the medicine.
“The Magnoliais my family’s speakeasy. My brother manages, my sister sings, and I assist in—other ways.” She offered him an apologetic smile. “I feel responsible for the brandy you had.”
“Not your fault I’m a lightweight.” He didn’t remember much from the night before. The singer, the brandy, a tailor, maybe? But he could picture Kenzie across the table perfectly, blue eyes bright against his black hair and that charming smile on his lips.
Are your lips soft as they look?
Rory froze, hearing his own voice echo in his memory.
Surely—surely he hadn’t tried toflirtwith Kenzie?
He shot to his feet. “I should go. I have work and—”
“Ace went round to your shop this morning. Mrs. Brodigan won’t be expecting you any time soon.”
Rory’s heart plummeted. “Mr. Kenzie got me fired?”
“What?No,” Jade said in shock. “He took the blame for your late arrival.”
Rory blinked.
“You can stay if you like,” she said. “Ace got called on business, but he’ll be back and he’d like to talk to you—”
“I don’t think I should be here when Mr. Kenzie returns.” Most fellas didn’t want another fella to tell them their lips look soft. Rory needed to be on a different island when Kenzie got back.
“If you like,” she said. “He did say you’d probably want to leave. He left money with the doorman for your cab.”
She moved gracefully out of his way as he scrambled for the front door. His ragged coat was hanging on a hook with his hat, looking particularly forlorn against Kenzie’s collection of fine outerwear but still hung up like it deserved that kind of treatment. He fought to get it on as fast as he could. He had to get gone before Kenzie showed and clocked him for flirting. Rory wasn’t stupid enough to think he could win that fight, and he liked his teeth where they were.
“Rory.”
He paused, hat on, hand on the door.
Jade smiled, genuine and hopeful. “I’ll see you again?”
She was the nicest person Rory had met in ages and he desperately wished he could say yes. Instead, he gave a half-hearted nod he didn’t mean and dashed out the door.
“You’ll be Mr. Kenzie’s guest, won’t you?” The doorman didn’t wait for an affirmation, just stepped toward the street. “I’ll get a cab, sir.”
Rory followed out from the lobby onto the sidewalk, wincing as the mercilessly bright sun pierced his head. Maybe Prohibition wasn’t such a bad deal after all.
