Chapter 4
WILLOW
I’ve been so preoccupied with keeping our business afloat that I’ve not had time to think about this very moment. Wrapped in a simple, knee-length black dress with matching pumps, I walk out of my apartment building with a shivering confidence.
Cole, Toby, and Asher step out of the silver Lexus to greet me.
“Look at you, ready to steal the show,” Cole says, half smiling as he looks at me.
I tilt my head back to lose myself in the greenish blue pools of his eyes. “You give me far too much credit, sir.”
“You should give yourself more,” he says.
The way he says it sends playful chills down my spine. Toby opens the passenger door for me.
“Let’s get you out of this cold.”
“Where are we going, exactly?” I ask as I get in.
I ride shotgun while Cole drives, and his brothers occupy the backseat with their massive frames—the three of them clad in shades of grey and dark blue to match their piercing gazes and the silver specks in their hair.
“Dinner and a show,” Cole says, hands firmly gripping the wheel as he takes us on a ride across Midtown.
“What show?”
“You’ll see.”
“Playing your cards close to the vest,” I say and giggle nervously.
Asher leans forward, and I turn my head to look at him, instantly caught in the dark blue of his eyes. “It’s the element of surprise, Willow. But we’re certain you’ll enjoy it.”
“How are you certain? You don’t even know me that well.”
Toby laughs lightly. “Let’s just say you’re a bit of an open book.”
As soon as we pull up outside the cabaret theater, I understand precisely what they mean. I know this place. My interest is piqued.
“How’d you know?”
The Morgan brothers flank me with bustling confidence; faint smiles etched across their handsome faces as they look at me.
“You’re a powerhouse, Willow,” Cole says.
“A strong, young woman who built her business from the ground up. You have certain appearances you need to keep up in public, especially when you’re dealing with prissy Hamptonites and upstate New Yorkers and their fancy weddings.
But deep down, there’s a sizzling core of want and need written in your eyes. ”
I’m briefly mesmerized by the intensity of his gaze, by the scent of musk and jasmine coming off him in subtle waves. I’m drawn by the broadness of his shoulders beneath his navy blue jacket.
Toby whispers in my ear. “He saw your post about this place from two weeks ago on your Facebook page. Your profile is public.”
“Ah.” I burst into laughter, realizing Toby is absolutely right. My profile is public, and I do remember casually sharing a post about the cabaret and their winter program.
Cole gives me a crooked, playful smile. “They’re doing the Red Velvet Cupcakes number tonight. I figured you’d want to see that one first. Rita Von Vanderburg is headlining the show.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I reply.
Once we’re inside, a hostess dressed in a ridiculously tight, red velvet bodycon dress welcomes us and escorts us to our table—front-row seats, mere feet away from the sprawling stage.
“Oh, wow, it’s quite something,” I mumble as I gaze around.
Our table features booth-style seating that hides us from sight. I imagine when they turn the lights down during the show we’ll have even more privacy, and I’m surprised by my dirty thoughts.
“We could kick things off with some champagne,” Cole says to the hostess as he and his brothers take their seats.
He sits close enough to me to keep me intoxicated with his fine cologne while Asher flanks my left side. Toby sits across the table, but his long legs still make it easy for our knees to discretely touch.
“I agree,” I say with a slight nod.
Five minutes later, a waitress in tight black velvet brings the champagne over, along with four glasses, then leaves us with the menus. “The show starts in about an hour, so you have plenty of time to order whatever you desire.”
“Yes, eating while Rita Von Vanderburg takes a dip in a giant champagne glass,” Toby chuckles softly. “I don’t mind it one bit.”
By the time the first course of our dinner arrives, the conversation is sparkling and sprinkled with heavy laughter as we talk about what it was like for me to date their stepbrother.
I wasn’t that open about it at first but seeing the ease with which they talk smack about Terrence, I relax and recount the experience.
“He never gave me flowers,” I say at one point. “Oh, gosh… I shouldn’t be talking like this. We’re supposed to be on a date.”
“We are on a date. We can talk about whatever we want,” Asher says. “We saw very little of you two when you were engaged. We’re trying to understand precisely how much of a loser he is. Fumbling a woman like you is unconscionable.”
“Asher, you’re too kind. I’m far from perfect.”
“No one is perfect. But you’re hardly the kind of creature a man in his right mind would toss aside, certainly not in that manner,” he replies with a deep frown.
“Truth be told, when our father married Sheila, we weren’t too happy, mainly because her kid was already troublesome.
From prep school to college, plenty of donation checks were signed and slipped to the deans to keep that idiot enrolled.
When he first announced that you two were dating, we were genuinely intrigued. ”
“Terrence isn’t the kind of man who can attract a good woman,” Toby agrees. “It was a mystery.”
“How did you know what kind of woman I was?” I ask, genuinely curious. They seem to know a lot more about me than I do about them.
Cole gives me a cool smile. “Remember, your social media profiles are public.”
“But that just skims the surface; it’s barely a facade,” I reply.
“Not with you. You’re genuine. I could tell from what you post on a daily basis: things that interest you, inspire you: design, theater, great music, and various social and political issues that most women in their twenties know or care little to nothing about.
It doesn’t take a forensic psychologist to recognize your depth, Willow. Give yourself a little more credit.”
For a moment, I’m stunned, imagining Cole late at night, scrolling through my social media, discovering me, studying me, showing interest in what gets my mind ticking.
It turns me on.
“Refill?” I ask Asher, and he gladly obliges before he orders a second bottle.
The champagne flows freely, the floral spirit working its way through my system and gradually loosening every knot in my body, including the ones in my tongue.
“Yeah, so Terrence was just not what I expected at first. I kept thinking, hoping it would get better. There were so many things I overlooked because his attention flattered me for some reason, until I realized that marrying him would’ve held me back.”
“But he beat you to the punch by calling it off,” Cole sighs. “And he chose to do it publicly to humiliate you.”
“You stepped in, though. I did not see that coming.”
“We had no other choice. Not with you, Willow. You’re too special to let someone like Terrence mistreat you in any way,” he says.
I can’t help but blush as I finish the last of my Italian-style bruschetta bites.
“Well, I’ll admit, I didn’t mind getting asked out by three of New York’s finest,” I tell them.
“Even now, I consider myself fortunate to be in your company. I’m pretty sure I bagged the handsomest guys in this theater. ”
“And we’re just getting started,” Toby says, stretching his legs underneath the table until his rock-hard calves brush against mine. I can feel them through the fabric of his slacks, and the sensation causes a hum deep within my core as our gazes lock.
I feel his brothers’ eyes on us, too. I can almost hear it. The whispered promise of what’s to come.
“You said your parents died when you were little,” Cole says, lowering his voice as the lights go off and the waitress clears our table, leaving only the drinks and the dessert menus to check during intermission. “I’m sorry you had to grow up without them. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“At least I didn’t get lost in the foster system,” I reply with a shrug. “My aunt Mary took me in, raised me like her daughter. She never wanted kids, being so focused on her career—”
“Mary Woodrow, right, the marketing mogul?” Toby raises an appreciative eyebrow. “I took one of her seminars at Hudson University a few years back, just to brush up on the basics for my up-and-coming bike shop. The woman knows her stuff.”
“Oh, she spearheaded several major campaigns for some huge clients, Meta and among them,” I say with a broad smile.
“But she still made time for me and she made sure I was well taken care of while she was away, too. It got lonely sometimes, I’ll admit, but Mary loved me unconditionally. She still does.”
“There’s plenty to love in a woman like you. And given the way you’ve handled yourself in a very competitive business environment, I’m pretty sure she’s proud of you and then some,” Asher states.
“She is,” I say. “We talk once in a while and I bring her up to speed. She books dinner for us at the Ritz whenever she’s in town. I haven’t told her about the loss of clients since the charity gala, though.”
Asher shakes his head slowly. “All we can do is apologize on Sheila’s behalf. She can be a nightmare sometime, a gratuitous, fucking nightmare.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I say, my brow furrowing slightly. “Here’s to hoping she’ll get over it sooner rather than later, especially now that I’m organizing Terrence and Katrina’s wedding.” I chuckle. “It’s not what I had on my bingo card for this Christmas, I’ll say that much.”
Cole narrows his eyes, staring at his glass for a moment. “I do wonder what her endgame is. With hiring you, that is. There is an endgame, for sure.”
“Dominance, perhaps? Her way to prove she has the power to make or break me,” I surmise with a casual shrug. “I’ll rise to the challenge, but I hope Terrence or Katrina won’t be the stuff of nightmares for the next few weeks.”