Page 91 of Hushed

“It’s my friend, Maggie. Something happened. She won’t tell me about it, but she needs me. Would you hate me if I flew back to New York on the next available flight?”

“First, why would I hate you for wanting to help a friend?”

Her hand rose to her mouth, and she chewed at one nail for a few seconds before she answered.

“I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

He reached out and fingered a lock of her hair. “Am I eager to show you off? Yes. Am I disappointed that you have to leave? Also yes. But you are not disappointing me. You make me proud. What do you think happened to your friend?”

She shook her head. “It sounds very personal, but I don’t have a clue what it could be. I love your club, Gage. And I really want to be here, but she’s a good friend, and it seems wrong not to go if I can.”

“Of course you have to go, babe. Do you want me to come with you? Someone else can run things tonight.”

She shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine.”

He frowned. “I don’t like you being on your own in New York right now. I’m going to have security pick you up from the airport.”

She didn’t argue with him like he expected, and for that, he was grateful. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around him. “OK. I can live with security.”

He kissed the top of her head.

“Come on then, imp. Let’s find you a flight.”

In his office, they pulled up an airline website, and he searched for an appropriate flight.

She perched on the corner of his desk and watched him. It was nice having her here. Unable to resist, he reached over and squeezed her thigh.

“I’m sorry I can’t stay for the party tonight. I was looking forward to it.”

“You’ll be back soon.”

“The masquerade is tomorrow night, yeah?”

He clicked through flight times and glanced over at her. “Yeah. But there will be others.”

“I still want to come. How about we buy a round-trip ticket? I’ll make sure Maggie is OK and call in reinforcements from our friends if I have to and be back here tomorrow night.”

Gage smiled at her, warmed by the fact that she was prioritizing time with him even if it was inconvenient.

“Let’s see what’s available.”

When he’d booked her a first-class round-trip ticket, he stood and moved so he was between her thighs. Placing his hands on her hips, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ve enjoyed having you in my space, Kenz. Something tells me it’s going to get harder and harder to say goodbye to you.”

She put her hands against his chest and breathed in deep. “We’ll figure it out. I’m sure I can find work here.”

He shook his head. “I was thinking I could hand over the operation of the club to Olivia or someone else. My business partner Edith might do it.”

“I don’t want you to give this place up, Gage.”

He kissed her nose. “We could come back and visit as much as we wanted. New York isn’t that far.”

“You hate driving in New York.”

He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll start taking the subway.”

Kenzie laughed openly, and he lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean, imp?”

She giggled uncontrollably. “I’m sorry. I just can’t picture you riding the subway at all. You would hate everything about it.”

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