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stepped away from the other man and slipped under Leo’s
arm. Leo didn’t miss the way her sister Love’s eyebrows went up. He was a
little shocked himself. She’d had her arm around him off and on all night, but
not like this.
    “Leonardo, this is Bruce Allen. He’s an old friend of my
family,” she explained with a terse smile. “Bruce, Leonardo Jones.”
    Leo extended his hand, feeling more than a little like a
puppet. Allen gave his hand a disdainful glance before shaking it with an
almost comical reluctance.
    “Bruce is CEO of Blue Suede Shoes Records. His father-in-law
signed my mother years ago when she was just an eighteen-year-old girl.”
    So he was married. Not that marriage meant much to some.
    “I have a copy of Angelina’s first record in my collection,”
Leo told him conversationally, trying to hide the way his temper was starting
to rise at the smirk on the older man’s face.
    That smirk was pure evil. And when the man’s eyes shifted to
Joy and filled with malice, Leo had to resist the very real, very primal urge
to punch the fucker’s lights out.
    “First runs of that record are extremely rare.” Bruce held Joy’s
gaze a moment longer, then his beady eyes made an oily slide back. “I’d like to
see that some time.”
    “It’s in Ohio, where I live. I’m sure I won’t remember you
asking by the time I get back.” He smiled as innocently as possible and added,
“Late tomorrow afternoon.”
    His gut told him he shouldn’t be provoking the guy, but he
couldn’t seem to help himself. Joy tightened her grip on his waist.
    “Bruce, Leonardo and I were just leaving,” she told him,
reaching for Love’s hand.
    “It’s a shame you couldn’t make it earlier,” Leo said to
Bruce. “It would have been interesting to talk shop. My band is about to
release our second CD with Motor City Records out of Detroit.”
    That seemed to spark some genuine interest. Bruce narrowed
his already beady eyes. “What did you say the name of your band was?”
    Leo shook his head. “I didn’t.” He turned to Love.
“Beautiful exhibit. I’ll have to bring my mother back some time soon. She would
absolutely love your work.”
    He kissed her on the cheek and waited while Joy hugged her,
whispering something in her ear as she did.
    “Good to meet you, Bruce,” he said, not shaking hands,
before he steered Joy away to the coat closet.
    He was quiet as they waited for a taxi. He didn’t mind her
huddling against him for warmth, but the magic that had been sparking between
them all day had dimmed.
    “Thank you for playing along,” she said quietly once they
were in a taxicab and on their way back to her apartment.
    It took him a minute to speak. “Is that why you asked me to
come along, because you need an extra in whatever game you were just playing
with him?”
    From the corner of his eye he could see her turn to fully
face him.
    “I invited you because I want you here with me.”
    “To put that guy off. You know, sometimes just saying no
works.”
    She turned back to the window and was quiet for a long
moment.
    “You’re assuming quite a bit, don’t you think?”
    He looked at her. “Is he giving you trouble?”
    She didn’t look back. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
    “Joy, I could tell from the first second I laid eyes on him
that he isn’t the kind of man who takes no for an answer. Is he threatening
you?”
    Her lips pressed into a tight line.
    “Not me specifically.” She hung her head and picked at her
fingernails.
    He turned to look out his own window as he thought. “Your
mother?”
    “He knows something that could affect my entire family.”
    “And he wants you to sleep with him in exchange for his
silence?”
    Her sigh held the weight of the world. “Pretty much.”

Chapter Five
     
    Leonardo was quiet the rest of the ride from the gallery to
her building, which was perfectly all right with Joy. She needed a moment to
process. He’d had nailed her predicament with