I shake my head. “No, I meant the retiree, but now you’ve got me scared of your family again.”
Monet bumps my shoulder. “Looks like you’ve got some research ahead of you. Exciting proposition, perhaps.”
“Yes, yes I do. Grace, do you think you could introduce me to the owner?”
“Sure. I’ve met him a bazillion times. Done laundry at his place for Nick when he has the loaner towels to wash.”
Now that the idea has taken wing, a niggle of anticipation prods me like a little devil with a pitchfork. What if I paid to expand the gym and the apartment? It could be my contribution to what he’s already built, expanding our lives together. I could run the business easy enough when it’s double the size. Nick would make a mint, and we could have a much larger home, including a whirlpool tub for his aching muscles, a walk-in shower, more bedrooms. A reading room with a library full of books. The options are endless.
If it works out, it will have to be a surprise. Something I do all on my own so Nick knows I’m not a loser—that I’m capable of much more than he’s seen of me in the past. I also have to do it for me. To prove to myself I’m not worthless. Just because my brother took his life doesn’t mean I have to give up everything in mine.
I may have been Hannon’s twin, but we’re not the same. He didn’t fight our parents when they threatened to end Sean’s career, have him fired from the hospital he loves, because they are donors and on the hospital’s board of directors.
He gave up.
They broke him and have spent years trying to break me. No more. I’m going to make this decision for myself, for my love, and for my future.
I can’t wait to get to work.
Nick opens the door of a bar named Harmony Jack’s and gestures for me to enter. Behind us are his friends Atlas and Silas, as well as Amber and Dash. At first I felt weird seeing Amber outside of the hospital, but she hasn’t brought up what occurred a few weeks ago, and neither have I. Her doing that for me added a level of trust toward Nick’s friends that I’ll hold close to my chest. The people he shared his time with were incredible. All of them. Unfortunately, Monet, whom I’ve come to consider a close friend, was exhausted after the launch-party dinner we attended for a new album Atlas and Silas put together. They’d nabbed some local talent, and the album Atlas wrote and the kid sang was hitting charts across the States.
The entire party had been exciting and stressful at the same time. Nick was amazing, though. He didn’t leave my side all evening and made a point to include me in conversations with all his friends. Now, we’re hitting what he calls the chill-time-after-the-party party at his favorite bar.
I’m not a big bar frequenter, but as far as places to imbibe, this place has a cool, hip vibe. Blue lights flash across a stage where a male and a female are singing a rock version of Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe.” Across from the stage are several pool tables and some sort of long table with rolling discs on it. I’ll have to ask Nick what game it is.
The group heads over to a section of tables that have a reserved card on them. A petite woman with short spiked purple hair and a curvy body approaches and hugs Atlas. “Where’s that sexy wife of yours? Don’t tell me you left her at home where I can’t drool all over her?” She pouts prettily.
Atlas tips his head back and laughs, hugging the woman again. “She’s taking care of Aria Monet, my even smaller fiery Latina.”
“How old is that sweet thing now?”
“Pushing eighteen months. Getting into all kinds of trouble…just like her mama.”
The woman smacks his bicep like an old friend. “It’s good to see you, man. You gonna play?”
His eyes flash to Nick’s and then mine. A strange foreboding falls over me momentarily.
“Nah, not tonight. Just going to enjoy the music and check out new talent.”
“Cool.” The pixie-like woman shakes hands with Dash and Silas, hugs Amber, and then turns to Nick and me. “How’s it hanging, tough guy?” She puts up her hands and pretends to make some jabs at Nick’s muscles.
He battles her hands for a moment. “Long, thick, and a little to the right. Maybe you should ask my girlfriend that question.”
Her eyes widen, and she smirks. “Girlfriend, eh? That’s a first.” She smiles widely and genuinely when she extends her hand toward me. “Jacqueline. I own this bar, but my friends use just Jack.”
I offer my hand. “Good to meet you, Just Jack.”
She shakes my hand and pulls me in for a hug. “Quick, this one. Smart and looks like a fuckin’ angel. How’d you score something so sweet?” She’s speaking to Nick, but her gaze is roving up and down my form. I’m pretty sure she’s checking out more than my outfit.
I shimmy from one foot to the next in my pencil skirt and silk white blouse. Nick thought I looked like a naughty librarian, so I put my hair up in a loose bun to aid in his fantasy. He liked the look so much he bent me over one of his gym benches and fucked the daylights out of me before we ever even made it out of the building. At the end of our lovemaking, he reddened my ass with a series of spankings so hard I’d have no choice but be reminded whose body my ass belonged to. I’ve been twitching with the memory all night, readying for round two back at home. The alcohol in
