He followed, just a few steps behind her.
“Gents,” Evelyn called to the men lingering outside a descending stairway. “Jack around?”
“Sure he is, Miss Evie,” one of the men said, tipping his hat and bowing slightly. “You go right on in.”
Evelyn knew that Buck was behind her, just as surely as she knew that as soon as she was out of his sight, he’d climb into the back of the car to wait for her to return, pulling his collar up against the frigid fingers of wind dancing tiny circles along New York’s sidewalks. And she knew both of those things as surely as she knew that Buck wouldn’t judge her for pretending—even for one night—that her life wasn’t preordained.
Stepping through the door at Maison was like walking into another world, and it was easy to forget all about her driver, her daddy, and pretty much anything else an uptown debutante should be keeping in her mind at midnight in New York City. None of it mattered once Evelyn had shed her coat and set eyes on Jack Taylor.
Jack Taylor was a beautiful specimen of a man. He was tall, but not lanky and thin. His dark hair waved perfectly from the part in the center and made the bright blue eyes sparkle under dark brows. Evelyn sat on a tall stool near the bar and watched him across the dance floor talking with the bandleader. She took in the perfectly pressed jacket and trousers, which hung on his body the way tinsel dressed a Christmas tree—as an accessory—and had the same thought she always did when she saw him. Here was a man who was perfect and complete unto himself. Anything he added to that package—from a hat to his patent shoes—was unnecessary. But the clothes did quite a bit to complete the picture, Evelyn thought, as memories of their first meeting began to play through her mind.
She’d come in the small hours, just as she had tonight. Her girlfriends Tug and Jane had gotten out, too, and it’d been their first time coming to Maison—or to any speakeasy. Jane, especially, was not the kind of girl to go against her parents’ wishes, and it had taken a lot of work to get her there. But Tug had been talking about visiting the clubs all year, ever since bumping into Texas Guinan in the ladies’ room at the Plaza. She had been enamored and decided that she needed to get out more, to expand her horizons.
“Women can do anything now, just look at Miss Guinan. She’s one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the city!”
Jack Taylor had overheard Tug’s excited banter about how easy it would be to run a speak, and had stood at the bar next to the small group of girls, a smile on his thin lips.
“I’m sure it’s really just about personality,” Tug said. “That’s what Miss Guinan said. She told me that it was about creating a dream—giving people what they want. What they know they aren’t supposed to have.”
“It’s called a fantasy,” Jack said, leaning in slightly with a wry smile. He exhaled then, still not looking at the girls, and a stream of smoke shot from his lips and lingered in front of them over the bar. “Excuse me, girls. I couldn’t help but overhear. Jack Taylor.” He turned to them then and took each girl in with an appraising up and down stare. His eyes came to rest on Evelyn and didn’t stray again. “Welcome to Maison. I’m the owner here.”
He’d bought them a round and explained that running a speak was about much more than personality, and that Texas Guinan—for all her bluster—was an excellent businesswoman. “She knows who to bribe and who to coddle,” he said. “In this town, this business is politics, pure and simple.”
Evie had watched him as he talked, her body igniting under the steady gaze of the handsome proprietor. Though he spoke to all three of them, his attention was fully on her and she’d never felt as exposed. The man before her, Jack Taylor, was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, and the way he looked at her made her feel as if his hands were already upon her. The icy blue eyes watched her, and with every second that passed, she ached for his touch. Being near Jack almost made her forget that she was practically promised to another.
After a time, he made an excuse to get away, and within minutes he had reappeared at Evie’s side.
“Would you like to see the rest of the club?” he asked, his breath hot on her neck as he spoke in a low voice in her ear.
“I shouldn’t leave the girls,” she said. Shock mingled with the intense heat that his nearness brought. She hadn’t been raised to be the kind of girl who would disappear with a man unaccompanied. But she hadn’t been raised to sneak out after midnight to visit illicit nightclubs, either.
“They’ll be fine. Toby, another drink for the ladies?” The ruddy-faced bartender jumped when his boss said jump, and drinks appeared in front of Janie and Tug within seconds. “I’ll bring your friend back in just a moment,” Jack assured them.
The girls’ eyebrows went up in question, and Evie smiled in response. “It’s okay, girls,” she said, taking Jack’s arm. His sleeve was cool and smooth under her fingers, but a heat emanated from beneath the clothing, from the entirety of the big man who was now close at her side. And under the fabric, she could feel the solidity and strength of that arm. The thought of his nearness caused a deep pull inside Evelyn, which had her blushing furiously, as Jack put his hand over hers, guiding her around the end of the bar and through a curtain into a back room. He opened one more door and led her into a small office, where a low couch sat against one wall.
“This is the heart of the operation,” he said in a low amused voice. The blue eyes were still on her, watching every breath she took.
“And you run the whole place yourself?” she asked. She wanted to come up with clever things to say, to show him her intelligence and pep. But words were not at the forefront of her mind with his face so near to her exposed shoulder.
As if reading her mind, Jack ran a finger over the skin on her shoulder and then let the finger trace the line of her dress strap. “I do run it myself, yes. It can be a…lonely operation at times.”
She’d shuddered involuntarily at the combination of his touch and the thought of him needing comfort.
“You’re beautiful, you know,” he said. “I hope you’ll come visit us again soon.” He’d put his lips on her then, gently dragging them along the path his finger had traced, letting them glance over her skin, soft as a feather but accompanied by his hot breath.
Evie had felt like she might burst as tension coiled inside her, begging for some kind of release.
“I’d better return you to your friends, Miss…?”
“Evelyn. Evie.”
“I’m Jack.” He leaned in and let those perfect lips graze her own, lightly. It wasn’t a kiss—not really—more of a promise. Or a claim.
Jack returned Evie to her stool next to her friends who stared openly, mouths agape.
“Are you all right?” Jane asked, placing a hand on Evie’s forehead. “You’re awfully flushed.”
“I’m fine,” Evie breathed, swallowing the rest of her drink in one long swallow.
She had said she was fine, but she worried that Jack had ignited something within her that might never stop burning. And at that moment, she had felt willing to do almost anything to feed that hungry fire simmering in her belly.
Toby broke Evie’s recollection of her first night with Jack with an eager smile. “Evenin’, Miss Evie!”
She smiled back and then slid her flask across the polished bar top to him. “For my driver please, Toby,” she said.
“Sure thing.” He filled the flask and handed it back across to her. “You are looking particularly lovely tonight. Jack Taylor is a lucky man.”
She smiled. “I’ll be right back.” She ran back up to the top of the stairs, where Buck waited in the small crowd of men, beating his hands against his legs for warmth.
“Here you go, Buck.” She handed him the flask. “I won’t be long. Don’t