ON MONDAY MORNING, Gemma arrived at work later than normal. Tom had delayed his flight home and she’d dropped him off at the airport on her way to the distillery. The few extra hours with him had been incredible, and she was grateful for it, but it was getting harder and harder to say goodbye after each visit. She’d never had that feeling before, never had a man who left her feeling like Tom did. There was no doubt in her mind, or her heart. She was falling for him.
Before hitting the distillery floor, she stopped into the break room for a cup of coffee. Quin and Reid had beaten her there.
“Where have you been?” Quin asked.
“I slept in a little,” she said. Lying to her brothers was becoming a frequent occurrence, but it wasn’t getting any easier. “Sorry I’m late.”
“No big deal,” Reid said. “It’s just not common. Is everything looking okay with the tank that malfunctioned on Friday?”
“Yeah, thankfully, we got here just in time and took care of it.”
“We?” Reid asked.
“What?”
“You said, ‘We got here just in time,’” he told her.
“I don’t think so,” she said, knowing that she had come close to being caught. There was no way she was going to tell him about bringing Tom to the distillery. “But it’s fine. I’ve got a technician coming in this afternoon to make sure everything is in order.”
She turned to Quin, who was staring at his tablet while he drank his coffee. “How’s your morning going?” she asked, desperate to change the topic.
“I have an interesting proposition for you,” Quin said, handing over the tablet he had in his hands. “This email came in.”
She read it over. “Interesting.” It was from Men’s Lifestyle magazine, saying they wanted to do a photo shoot and interview with her.
“What do you think?” Quin asked.
“It sounds like a lot of fun,” she said.
“Are you familiar with the types of shoots they do?” Reid asked, frowning.
She laughed at his stern expression. “Yeah, I’ve seen a magazine or two. What, are you afraid of your little sister being half-naked in a magazine?”
“I just don’t think you need a sexy photo shoot. You’re at the top of the industry. I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary, either,” she said. She looked down at the gray coveralls she was wearing. Dressing up for the awards banquet in Jamaica had been the first time in a long time since she’d let herself be feminine or flirty. And every day she spent with Tom, she felt sexy, desired. He brought that out in her. How would he feel about her doing a shoot like that? She realized that it didn’t really matter what he thought. She was her own woman, and could do whatever she wanted, but she would still give him the benefit of a heads-up before going ahead with it.
“What do you think?” Quin asked.
“I think I’m going to do it,” she said. There was nothing wrong with a woman celebrating her sexiness. “It’ll be a good fit for the hip, young market you like so much,” she told Quin. “Can you set it up?”
“Yeah, if that’s what you want.” Quin didn’t sound happy about setting up a sexy photo shoot for his younger sister, but that was his problem.
“I do want it,” she told him. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Something different.”
Her insistence must have won him over, because he nodded. “Sure thing.”
She stood from the table. “I guess I’d better get to work. Let me know what they say about the shoot.”
“Will do,” Quin told her, his fingers already tapping away on the screen of his tablet.
She turned to Reid. “What are your plans for today?”
“I’ve got some calls with distributors in the Northeast.”
“The push on Cain,” she said without much enthusiasm.
“Yeah, anything wrong with that? What’s with the tone?”
She realized that she was about to step in it. She had little of the enthusiasm she’d once had for the plan. “Why do we bother?” she asked. “Why are we in the business destroying others? We make a superior product. Why don’t we just focus on doing our best and let the customers decide?”
That got Quin’s attention. He looked up from his email. “That isn’t what you said before.”
“Maybe I’m tired of this rivalry,” she admitted with a sigh.
“It’s business, Gem,” Quin told her. “Taking out our competitors. That’s how this works.”
She wanted the conversation off Cain Rum, because the more they talked about Tom’s family, the guiltier she felt. The meeting reminded her that her illicit weekends with Tom were essentially a betrayal of her family. She needed to get out of the room and away from her brothers, so she headed back to the distillery.
Gemma crossed the floor, her heart still heavy with guilt. Her crew was working diligently on the various steps in rum production. She checked in with a couple. They were a capable group, and it felt like some days she was barely needed in the place. She went into her office to work on some new ideas for their upcoming summer campaign. But not until she finished her coffee.
She sat at her desk, and her thoughts turned to the magazine shoot. It would be fun to come out of her shell a little. She could put a little more sex appeal out there. Gemma couldn’t wait to tell Tom.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Speak of the devil. It was Tom. “Hey, you,” she answered.
“Hey. We just landed, and I figured I’d give you a call.”
She could hear the pilot in the background. “Are you taxiing?”
“Yeah.”
He’d never called from the plane before. Sure, he would text to let her know he was home, but this was new. “How was your flight?”
“Pretty smooth. I’m beat, though. I was hoping to get a little sleep on the way. But it didn’t happen.”
Gemma thought about how tired she was and how that was a direct consequence of the man she was speaking to. She didn’t feel bad for him. “Well, I’ve got some news,” she teased.
“Yeah?”
“I was asked to take part in a feature for Men’s Lifestyle magazine.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. An interview and a sexy photo spread.” He didn’t say anything for a while, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Did he not want her to do it? “Hello?” she asked. “Are you still there?”
There was a knocking sound on his end of the line. “Sorry, I was getting my bag,” Another pause, and she could hear him thank the flight crew. “So,” he continued, and she could hear the mischievous smile on his lips. “Tell me more about this sexy photo spread.”
There was an email notification on her computer. She opened it, and it was already information for the photo shoot. She had to be in Los Angeles in a few days. “Well, it’s in L.A. in three days. Want to meet me there?”
“Tell me where and I’ll be there.”