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“Gemmie, there’s no other girl I’d want as my daughter,” Frank said to her.
“You aren’t so bad yourself.”
“Shit.” I sucked in a sharp breath when I pinched my middle finger in the zipper.
“I’ll see you later,” Gemma said, and then presumably to Remy, “Thanks for your help.”
His chipper response had me rolling his eyes as I fumbled with the buttons of the shirt. “It was no problem at all. It was a pleasure meeting you. So…uh…”
Their voices started to fade, and I ripped the suit jacket off the hanger, the edge of the hard wood socking me in the eye. I hissed in pain and shoved the heel of my palm against it. “For fuck’s sake!”
“What do you think about giving me your number? Maybe I could take you out this weekend?” Remy said, almost inaudibly to my ears.
I hurriedly shoved my arms through the tuxedo jacket, but by the time I got myself together and barreled out of the dressing room, Remy stood at the door, waving at Gemma. She was already in the parking lot.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Gem
The following Friday morning, my mom stopped by Bare Necessities, an unusual occurrence. I tossed down my phone, where I’d been reading an article about the Brazilian rainforest and sat up behind the counter. “What are you doing here?”
She placed her designer purse on the counter. “I wanted to tell you we’re going to Jason’s house tonight.”
“Okay.”
She inspected the products next to the register, picking up each one. “You should be there around six.”
“What? I’m not going.”
“Why not?” She held a short, round tub. “What’s this?”
“I have a date tonight, and it’s lavender body butter. One hundred percent organic and vegan.”
“Gemma Rose, why didn’t you tell me you had a date?” She lit up in delight while digging out a dollop of lotion to smell. “With whom?”
“A guy I met when I was helping Frank at the tuxedo place.”
“What’s his name?”
“Remy.”
“Is he cute?”
“Yes.”
She rubbed the butter over her hands. “Well, I think you should come to the party first. A lot of Frank’s coworkers will be there. Jason finalized that development project he’s been working on. It’s a big deal for the company, and they’re celebrating.”
I perked up. Despite his terrible track record with me, I was interested in his work. “Really?”
Mom found a lipstick and drew a small line of it on the back of her hand. “You have to come.”
“I wasn’t invited.”
“Of course you were. We’re all family now.” When I chewed my lip in thought, she swatted at me. “Don’t bite your lips. It’s not—”
“Not ladylike.”
Eyeing me, she snagged her wallet. “Exactly. And you need to come tonight to support Jason, for a little while, at least. He’s important to Frank, and Frank’s important to me.”
