Free A Shot of Red by Tracy March

jacket matched the color of her lightly glossed lips. Her lips… His heart tugged like a rip current as he tore his gaze away from them, knowing better than to drown in those memories right now.
    “Sorry I kept everyone waiting.” Mia winced.
    Senator Moncure, Secretary Dartmouth, and Matthew glared at her in triplicate.
    “I was visiting Nora English,” she said solemnly, “and it was difficult to leave her.”
    The glare squad sat chastised. Could they really fault her for not being able to make a quick exit from the grieving mother of her ex-boyfriend, especially since he’d been a Moncure employee? The poor guy would be sitting at this table right now if he were still alive.
    Gio took several gulps of water, emptying his glass.
    A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Lila Moncure’s mouth as Mia took the seat next to Ellen, who sat in between Mia and Gio. She was seated at such an angle that he couldn’t catch her eye—even if he dared. This white-tablecloth-and-silver atmosphere, in the company of the characters in her family, was no place to flirt with that kind of disaster. The last thing he wanted them to know was that outside of his job, he hadn’t thought about much else but her since the moment she’d gotten on his motorcycle months ago.
    “CVS is sponsoring a One Shot event at the Broadmoor tomorrow,” Mia said as she put her napkin in her lap. “Nice to see a big chain jumping in and recruiting the seniors so quickly.”
    Secretary Dartmouth actually smiled a little. Gio was surprised the guy’s face didn’t crumble. Senator Moncure nodded approvingly. He had to give Mia credit for quickly neutralizing the tension at the table.
    “Those seniors are a critical demographic,” Richard said. “The government can’t afford to have them sick—or any other demographic, for that matter.”
    Senator Moncure grimaced. “Health care costs were totally out of control even before we made the huge investment in this vaccine. It’s critical for people to get their shots.”
    “You’ve got a big job ahead of you, Mia,” Matthew said, clearly eager to put the pressure back on her.
    “She’ll do fine,” Lila said, and Claude nodded.
    Matthew shrugged one shoulder. “I just worry, since she’s been out of the corporate loop so long.”
    “I’m sitting right here,” Mia said. “There’s no need to talk about me in third person.”
    This was as close to the Moncure family inner circle as Gio had ever gotten, and he had a front-row seat watching Mia live up to her renegade reputation. At the very least, she didn’t hesitate to take up for herself. Seeing her like this stirred up his blood and had him wanting her more. It pissed him off a little, really. He wanted her way too damn much already.
    “The stakes are really high with this vaccine.” Matthew spoke to Mia, but made eye contact with his mother.
    “I’ve been hands-on in a high-stakes area for months now,” Mia said calmly. “I understand the fear involved in a tense and potentially life-threatening situation like we have here now. And believe it or not, I’m squared away with the facts about the vaccine, down to its molecular structure, but I don’t think that’s what the American people are going to be tuning in to hear about when I’m on TV.”
    “She has a point,” Lila said. “Besides, a CDC person will be traveling with the team, and we’re all just a phone call away.”
    “We’ll have Gio there,” Senator Moncure said. The confident tone in her voice pleased Gio, but he didn’t imagine it scored him any points with Mia.
    “And Ellen.” Mia gave Ellen a reassuring smile. “From what I’ve seen, you and Brent have been the most instrumental from a PR perspective.”
    Gio wasn’t sure what to make of the ease with which Mia said Brent’s name. He couldn’t tell if she was hiding lots of emotion, or if the loss of him hadn’t affected her as deeply as he might’ve suspected.
    “I’ll second that,” Gio