Free Jimmy: Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 3 by Cat Johnson

long time. He hadn’t gained any weight so he figured they would still fit fine. More importantly, he’d feel better wearing this than any tux or suit. But seeing Lia while wearing his uniform also meant tonight was the night he’d have to confess to her who he really was. After he’d slept with her while letting her believe he was just a waiter, and then kissed her when she believed he was a farmer, he had a feeling she wasn’t going to be very happy about learning the truth.

Chapter Eight
     
    Lia took her own car instead of riding with her father to the party. She made sure she arrived early so she could keep a vigilant watch for Jimmy’s arrival. Tonight was going to be challenging enough. She didn’t want him to have to be alone and feel awkward for any amount of time.
    Smoothing the fabric of her black dress one more time, she realized she was feeling pretty awkward herself. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies she hadn’t felt in years, and all at the thought of seeing Jimmy again. Not just seeing him, but declaring him her official date for this event to her father, the senator, John and pretty much the world as she knew it.
    She prayed he’d come up with something decent to wear. Second-guessing her suggestion he wear a suit to a black-tie event, she realized she really should have arranged for a tux to be dropped off at his house. Though it was doubtful he would have accepted it from her. James Gordon didn’t seem the type to take handouts gracefully. More than that, with his muscular build she doubted he would fit in anything off-the-rack anyway.
    To still her jangling nerves, Lia grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. After downing a big mouthful much too fast, she quickly covered her mouth to stifle the burp it caused. Thinking better of her idea of using alcohol to calm herself, she placed the half-empty glass on a nearby table and glanced again at the doorway.
    Maybe she should go out front and make sure, again, that they had Jimmy’s name on the guest list. She was about to do that when she noticed everyone, the women in particular, staring at the entrance. Through the crowd she saw a tall figure dressed in the unmistakable uniform of the Marine Corps. He stood for a moment in the doorway, and then took off his hat. He clutched it in his hand as he surveyed the room. Then he spotted her and slowly smiled.
    Recovering from the initial shock, if not from the fluttering in her heart, she smiled back before making her way across the room. When she finally stood directly in front of him, she raised a hand and touched one of the many medals pinned to his chest. “Wow.” Her voice sounded breathy to her own ears.
    Jimmy took her hand in his and planted a light kiss on her fingertips. “Hey, darlin’.”
    She drew in a shaky breath, her gaze rising from the spectacular sight of the uniform to the face of the amazing man inside of it. “Well, this brings to mind about as many questions as it does answers.”
    His expression turned contrite. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I know I owe you a lot of explaining. Later, in private. Can you wait until then?”
    Lia could wait for an explanation, but not for a kiss. The buildup of sexual frustration within her couldn’t be denied any longer. She’d lived like a nun for months. Her body remembered too well what Jimmy could do to her and it demanded satisfaction. The uniform had initially been a shock, but now the sight of him in it was really starting to get to her. Who knew she had a thing for a man in uniform? Although maybe it was just this man in particular, uniform or not.
    Smiling wickedly, she stepped closer and lightly ran her hands up and down his chest. “I’ll wait for us to talk, yes, but not for other things. Do you think there’s a coat closet around here somewhere?”
    Grinning, he stilled her hands with his. “You’ll have to wait for that too, darlin’. But I don’t think I can wait for a drink. I’m such a bundle