Tommy Gabrini 4: Dapper Tom Begin Again by Mallory Monroe

smaller group, one that included Sal and
Gemma, had surrounded the new face in the crowd.  
    Cassie
was still hugging her daughter with tears in her eyes, and it was clear that
she was without question the happiest person in the entire house to see
Chelsey.
    Tommy
remained outside of the circle, near Sal and Gemma, just as Sal was whispering
in Gemma’s ear.   “How long has it been?”
he asked her.
    Gemma
exhaled.   “Four years,” she said.
    Sal
couldn’t believe it.   “Four years?”   Then he shook his head.   “Now that’s a crying shame.”
    But
Gemma didn’t seem to agree.   “Not for
nothing,” she said.
    Sal
looked at her, and asked what did she mean, but Gemma was still too stunned
that Chelsey was there at all to respond to anybody.  
    Rodney
was stunned that she was there.  
    Even
Cassie, who was thrilled beyond measure to see their oldest daughter again, was
stunned that she was there.  
    Tommy
was just stunned.   Not by Chelsey’s
presence, but by the woman standing beside her.
    His
look lingered when he saw the woman standing beside her.
    Cassie
stopped hugging her daughter and pulled back, taking a good look at her.   Although Cassie was talking nonstop to the
daughter, Tommy didn’t hear a word she said.   He was too busy staring at Chelsey’s friend.
    What
a sight to behold, he thought.   Tall,
dark, and remarkably gorgeous.   And
although she was slender, there was nothing skinny about her.   This woman had curves.   This woman had the   kind of body he craved.  
    Marvin
was about to go and welcome Chelsey home too, but Tommy grabbed his arm and
pulled him back.   “Who is that?” he
asked, motioning toward the object of his infatuation.
    Marvin
smiled knowingly.   “I knew you’d get
around to noticing her.”
    “You
know her?”
    “Oh
yeah.   Everybody does.   That’s Liz Logan.    She and Chelse have been best friends since
childhood.   She came with Chelse for
moral support, or at least that’s why I think she came.”
    “I
know Gem said Chelse was a foreign correspondent.   Is she one too?”
    “Ha!”
Marvin said.   “Not hardly.   That heifer owns the magazine Chelsey works
for.   And she’s a badass, don’t get it
twisted.   Don’t let her smiles and her
sweet demeanor fool you.   She’s something
else.”
    “Is
she married?” Tommy asked.
    Another ha from Marvin.   “No man in this world will ever please that
battle ax to the point of her wanting to marry one.   Men are intimidated by her.   I know I am, that’s why I steer clear of her.   She may be a lesbo for all I know.”
    Tommy
smiled.   “I doubt that!”
    Marvin
looked at him.   “You don’t know!”   Then he smiled.   “You don’t care, do you?   You’re going to try it anyway, aren’t you?”
    “You
would advise against it?”
    “Strongly,”
Marvin said.   “Take any interest you have
in her, and squash it now.   Your odds are
a million to one, even with your looks.   That lady is the gold standard my friend.   You will have to climb a mountain of men to
get in her pants.”
    Tommy
continued to stare at Liz Logan as he released Marvin, and let him go.   The gold standard?   A badass?   Instead of Marvin’s words scaring Tommy off, they intrigued him even
more.
    He
liked everything about her, even down to the way she carried herself.   She wore a pair of green, skintight, slim-fit
pants that made her look long and sleek, like a hungry panther.   Her high-collar, sleeveless, tucked-in blouse
displayed her big breasts, her flat stomach, and her perfectly narrow
waist.   If fine was wine, Tommy thought
as he looked down the length of her, she was champagne.
    And
the way she stood there, commanding the room just by being in it, so
straight-back and elegant and poised, did something to him.   She knew what she was doing.   She was a sophisticated lady in every sense
of the word.   And that face.   Tommy was captivated by her small, round
face.