“Hope you’re hungry,” Mitch said, gesturing for his dad to precede him down the sidewalk. “Because I’m starving.”
“Enjoy the carbs while you can. Eventually you’ll need to slow down,” his dad said, patting his stomach as they walked to the front door of Pasta Plus. There really wasn’t much more to say as they entered the restaurant and were seated before busying themselves with their menus. Mitch delayed asking any questions until after they’d ordered and had the feeling his dad was doing the same. They needed to hold on to whatever conversation they could to get them through a whole meal together.
“So.” Mitch cleared his throat once their server walked away with their menus. “What brings you to D.C.?” Hopefully, some kind of project that would be long and involved.
“Oh, ye know, business.” His dad rubbed the underside of his beard, a sure sign he was being cagey.
“What kind of business?” Mitch didn’t really care that much. His dad had never really wanted Mitch around the Outlands, the bar and club he owned, as if he thought Mitch would either make trouble or would fall prey to bad influences if he were there too much. He’d even refused to hire Mitch as a server or bartender, even after Mitch turned twenty-one. At one point, Mitch had had a vague idea of them working there together until his dad eventually retired and turned the bar over to Mitch, but since he’d never been allowed to work there, that idea never turned into anything more.
“I’m meeting with another club owner down here. Later this evening, in fact, so I can take a tour of his place. We’re going to talk business. Trade some tips. You wouldna be interested. What’s new with you?” His dad shrugged, picking up his glass of water and taking a drink. The lilt of his Scottish brogue had seemed slightly more intense than usual, which was one of the few reliable indicators of his dad’s emotions.
Mitch narrowed his eyes. For some reason, the fact his dad didn’t want to talk about it just made him even more curious and determined to find out. He was an adult now, and his dad couldn’t keep him out of Outlands business forever. Unless he was planning on selling it?
“Are you planning on selling the Outlands?” He had trouble imagining that.
His dad blinked in shock, putting the glass down with a thud.
“Hell, no!” He shook his head. “I… No, it’s just to talk about a business venture and find out some more about a new space they opened. I’ve been thinking about expanding, and I want to know how it’s going for them.”
That made a lot more sense.
“What club down here?” Mitch asked. “Maybe I’ve been to it.”
His dad chuckled. “I doubt it.”
Rolling his eyes, Mitch sat back in his chair.
“I do go out, you know. What club?”
“It’s called Stronghold.”
Time skidded to a stop—except it didn’t. It was Mitch’s brain that stopped. Froze. Time, the rest of the world, it all kept moving. Their server appeared at their table with the crusty bread he loved so much and the beers they’d ordered.
“Here you go,” she said cheerfully while Mitch and his dad stared at each other across the table, his dad’s expression slowly changing as he realized Mitch knew exactly what Stronghold was.
“Stronghold? And Marquis?” Mitch’s voice sounded odd. Strangled.
Did his dad look paler? He nodded. “Aye. I ah… I take it you know of them?”
“I’m a member.” His brain felt as if it was exploding. Suddenly, his dad’s reluctance to have him anywhere near the Outlands took on a whole new meaning. “Does this mean… you and Mom?” Of course, his mom was part of it. His parents had owned the Outlands for years before Mitch was born. They’d gone out every weekend on dates before things started to break apart. Sometimes, even after things had started to break apart.
Back then, Mitch hadn’t understood why they kept going out together when they did nothing but argue at home. Now… fuck. He’d had more than one thought lately about how hard it would be to go back to vanilla sex. Not that he wanted to think about his parents getting their needs met, especially kinky needs, but… fuck. It all made sense—too much sense.
His dad’s chuckle was a pale imitation of his usual hearty laugh. “Ye really are a chip off the ole block, eh?”
Mitch’s stomach sank like a brick.
Which, of course, was when Domi and her family walked in.
Domi
Meeting up with Marcus and Julia in front of the restaurant, Domi was trying not to seethe. For some reason, Ana was completely invested in finding Domi a boyfriend and was convinced the purple dress was the way to do it. Ana had dressed up in her fanciest dress as well—her Elsa costume—so Domi wouldn’t feel so alone. Which was very sweet. Rae thought the whole thing was hilarious, and Domi could tell from her bestie’s significant looks, she thought Domi should tell Ana about Mitch.
But it was Ana’s birthday, which was definitely not the right time.
“Daddy! Mama Julia!” To everyone’s surprise, rather than running to her father’s arms, Ana went straight for Julia, stopping in front of her and pushing her face up close to Julia’s stomach. “Hello, baby!”
From the expression on Julia and Marcus’ faces, Domi wasn’t the only one who melted at the sight, and she could hear Rae let out a soft little sigh beside her. Damn, the kid was cute. She was going to be such a good big sister.
Wedging herself between Marcus and Julia, Ana grabbed both of their hands, pulling them forward.
“Come on, come on! Time for my birthday dinner!”
“Wow.” Marcus’ eyebrows went up in surprise when he saw Domi’s outfit, and Julia looked a little stunned. They were both dressed nicely but far more casually, Marcus in slacks and a dress shirt,
