ash smiled at his sister. "be ready at seven. it's jace's turn to ride herd so he'll be around in a car. i'll let him know to pick you up and to drop you back off when you're done."

her eyes glittered with excitement. in that moment, josie was glad she'd issued the impulsive invitation.

"thank you for inviting me, josie. it sounds like fun!"

josie smiled warmly at ash's sister and then reached across the table to squeeze her hand. "us girls have to stick together, right?"

brittany grinned back. "yep. and with guys like ash around, it's even more important not to let them get one over on us."

"hey," ash defended.

josie elbowed him in the gut and he pretended to double over in pain.

"let's finish eating. not going to let that bitch ruin the meal for us," ash proclaimed. "you have to get back to work, britt, and josie and i have some shopping to do."

brittany's eyes rounded. "shopping? you?"

ash glared at her. "some things are worth going shopping for. like the results of this shopping trip."

josie elbowed him for real, her face flaming with heat.

brittany laughed and ash grinned. josie relaxed. the awkward moment was over and ash and brittany hadn't let it ruin their day.

fifteen minutes later, ash was guiding josie into the car and they rode off toward the stores ash was taking her to.

he pulled her against him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. he kissed her temple and left his lips pressed to her skin for a long moment.

"meant a lot that you'd invite britt on your girls' night out," he rumbled. "that was sweet of you, baby. i won't forget it."

josie smiled and then sobered. "you don't think mia and bethany will mind, do you? i didn't even think about asking them first."

ash shook his head, pulling back from her temple. "no, they're the best. they won't mind a bit. especially if i put a bug in mia's ear about britt. it was a nice thing to do, baby. it was something you didn't have to do, but i'm really happy that you're including britt in your girls' stuff. she needs that. she needs good friends."

"i was happy to do it," josie said softly. "everyone needs friends. brittany probably more than most. she looked so miserable and embarrassed when your mom showed up."

ash's face darkened and he went stiff next to her. "i'm sorry for that. sorry she ruined our lunch."

josie shook her head. "she didn't ruin it, darling. you and brittany didn't let her. i don't know the woman. don't care what she thinks about me or that she doesn't think i'm good enough for you."

he went utterly still, his eyes blazing across her face. "you called me 'darling.'"

she blushed and looked away. "sorry. it probably sounds stupid."

he took her face, not too gently, and forced her back to him. "i liked it. liked it a hell of a lot. you've never called me anything but ash."

"you do?"

he nodded. "yeah. don't give a fuck what other men like or don't like or what anyone thinks because you call me something sweet. i like it. makes me feel like i mean something to you, so yeah, i like it a whole lot."

she smiled. "okay then, darling. i'll remember that."

he kissed her, hard, long, breathless. his tongue pushed in, roaming through her mouth with sensual familiarity. when he finally dragged himself away, his eyes were dark with desire. he stroked her cheek, palming it with one hand as he stared back at her.

"don't give a shit what my mother thinks about you either, baby. as long as you remember that it's bullshit you not being good enough for me. don't want that ever on your mind. doesn't even need to cross it. you're fucking perfect for me and you need to always remember that."

she smiled again and leaned up to kiss him, savoring the sweetness of his mouth against hers.

"i will."

chapter twenty-three

after hearing all about the previous girls' nights out from ash, josie was determined to make sure he enjoyed it every bit as much as gabe and jace had on previous occasions. which meant that she didn't let him see the dress. or the shoes. or, well, anything at all.

he'd protested the idea of her getting dressed at mia's. he'd wanted a teaser of what was to come, but josie had told him in a firm voice that the effect would be ruined if he saw her beforehand.

oh, he'd seen the dress. he'd even seen the shoes. after all he'd gone with her to buy them. it had taken him twenty minutes to convince her to buy them because oh my god, they were ridiculously expensive! clearly she was in the wrong line of work because that one pair of shoes cost three times as much as one of her paintings sold for. but he hadn't seen the dress or shoes on her nor had he seen her all made-up for the night out. she packed makeup, her dress and shoes, determined that she'd do her hair and everything over at mia's.

ash wasn't happy about it, but he saw her into his car with instructions for the driver to take her to mia and gabe's high-rise apartment in midtown. she'd waved cheekily with a promise to see him much later.

when she arrived at mia's building, to her surprise she found both bethany and mia waiting for her in the lobby. bethany took one of josie's bags while mia herded them all into the elevator. when they reached the top floor, the elevator opened into a spacious apartment with a beautiful view of the city from the living room windows.

gabe met them in the living room and josie stood back, a little wary of him. he just looked so . . . formidable. not that she thought he'd hurt her. or mia. but he was just this quiet, intimidating guy, and she had only been around him once, so she hadn't reached a level of comfort with him yet.

gabe pulled mia to him and planted a scorching kiss on her that made josie's toes curl. bethany just smiled and glanced at josie, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"i'll leave you ladies to it," gabe said. "the car and driver are waiting out front. just call down and let the doorman know when you're ready to leave. jace will get to the club a little later and make sure you all get home afterward. i'm going to head over to eat dinner with ash."

mia bestowed a devastating smile on her husband, one that earned her a sultry stare that told josie gabe was very much looking forward to later.

"you need me for anything," gabe said as he tipped mia's chin up with his fingers, "you call me. i'll have my cell. you run into any problems, you call."

mia rolled her eyes. "you know i will, gabe. besides, jace will be there, not to mention brandon and all his bouncer friends. they keep a very close eye on us when we're at the club."

josie was fast getting lost in this conversation.

"brandon is our friend caroline's boyfriend. or rather fiance since he popped the question recently. that's what we're celebrating tonight," bethany whispered. "he works at vibe as a bouncer and he always takes care of us when we're out getting drunk."

josie nodded.

gabe kissed mia one last time and then he nodded to bethany and josie.

"have a good time, ladies, but be careful, okay? stay together at the club. don't leave your drinks unattended and if one of you goes to the bathroom, take at least one other person with you."

"gabe!" mia exclaimed in irritation. "for god's sake, we aren't teenagers. we can take care of ourselves already!"

gabe chuckled, had the grace to look abashed and then headed toward the elevator.

the women barely had time to head into the huge bathroom before mia's cell phone rang. she heaved a sigh when she looked at who was calling. "for the love of god. he's not even gone yet and he's already calling me."

bethany giggled and both she and josie waited as mia answered the phone. she said "okay" and then "i love you too," her voice going soft when she said the last.

mia put her phone down on the counter and glanced up at josie and bethany. "gabe ran into brittany downstairs so he's sending her up in the elevator now. i'll go grab her. bethany, get started on josie's hair. she'll need to put on her dress before we do makeup or she'll get foundation all over her dress."

"we got this," bethany said, making a shooing motion with her hands. "go get brittany so we can get this evening started."

an hour later, the four women rode the elevator down to the lobby and got off, mia leading the way. outside, as gabe had promised, a driver waited to usher them into the waiting limousine.

when they were all settled, mia pulled a chilled bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and poured four glasses.

"caro's not with us. she'll meet us at the club. however, that doesn't prevent us from having a toast in her honor."

bethany nodded solemnly as she raised her glass.

brittany clinked glasses enthusiastically, her green eyes, ash's green eyes, sparkled with excitement.

"thank you so much for inviting me to come," brittany said. "i've been doing nothing but working and going back to my apartment. i'm starting to feel my age!"

mia sent her a look of horror. "we can't have that. spend an evening with us. that'll fix you right up."

brittany sobered and glanced josie's way. "i'm really sorry about my mom and what she said about you. i was so horrified and embarrassed. even more so because i've put up with her for so long. ash has never let her walk over him and that's why she hates him so much. but me and my other brothers?"

she broke off, cringing.

josie's heart went out to her and she reached forward to squeeze her hand. "you have nothing to be sorry for, britt," she said, adopting ash's pet name for her. judging by the instant light in her eyes, she liked it. "i'm just so happy you aren't letting her run over you now."

mia's nose crinkled in distaste. "not to offend you, brittany, but your mother is a bitch. and ash is such a good guy. i have no idea how he managed it springing from that gene pool."

brittany frowned. "you aren't offending me, mia. i, more than anyone, know how much of a bitch my mother is. i don't know why she's the way she is. i wish i knew."

bethany's eyes simmered with sympathy. "i don't know much, only what jace has told me and the few times ash has mentioned his family, but none of it sounds good. jace worries about him. a lot."

"let's not talk about them tonight," brittany said in a bright voice. "we're supposed to be having fun, right? this is the first time i can honestly say i've looked forward to a night out with the girls."

"agreed," josie said. "and i need mia's and bethany's help because, uhm, obviously ash is expecting something from this night, and i'm not entirely certain what it is. i don't want to disappoint him!"

mia and bethany both dissolved into laughter.

"oh, we'll fill you in on all the juicy details," mia said smugly. "i had to guide bethany through her first night out with us, and let's just say, she had one happy man that night."

"you're killing me," brittany muttered. "i have no hot guy to go home to, and i have to say, it's been way too long since i've had anything remotely resembling good sex."

bethany's lips pinched together in thought. "what about one of brandon's friends, mia? there is a vast array of hotness working at that club. surely one of them is single."

"i'll sic caro on it when we get there," mia said.

"i don't want to come across as desperate!" brittany protested.

bethany shook her head. "of course not! caro will fix you up. maybe introduce you to one of the guys."

when they arrived at the club, the door immediately opened, and a pretty, younger woman stuck her head in, a broad smile on her lips. she shoved her hand in before anyone could get out.

"look at it!" she squealed. "isn't it awesome?"

mia pounced on the woman's hand and then pulled her so she fell into the car with them.

"oh my god, caro, it's gorgeous! brandon did so good!"

caro grinned so big that it lit up the inside of the limo. then she glanced josie and brittany's way and her smile got even bigger.

"i'm caroline," she said, extending her right hand. "you must be josie and brittany!"

"i'm josie," josie said, returning her smile. "and this is brittany."

"brandon's waiting so let's get going," caroline said enthusiastically. "he has our table, of course, and tonight we have two waitresses instead of our usual one. we're expanding, girls! soon we'll have the entire club to ourselves on our nights out."