Chapter Eight
Lucas
Friday night and the club is packed. I’m hanging with Tristan, and Jack, who is leaving tomorrow for Charleston to scope out locations for our second night club. His departure had to be pushed back due to storms there, so we have time, just the three of us.
We’ve been talking for an hour and I’m nursing a drink, doing my usual survey of all that’s happening at Midnight. Below our level is the dance floor. I stare, taking in our guests dancing, bodies writhing against each other, and loud music keeping the mood elevated.
Suddenly, Tristan rises from his seat. “I’m heading out. I have a lady to meet.”
“New week, new lady?” Jack asks, a knowing smirk on his face.
Tristan grins. “You know it. Why get pinned down by one when there are so many? Right, Lucas?”
I raise an eyebrow. I may have felt the same way a few years ago. We both have a history of not wanting to commit, and when I was younger, I enjoyed variety. But the merry-go-round of women has been getting stale for a while.
“That’s not it, not anymore,” I say. I want a relationship. Someone to lie down with at night and wake up beside in the morning. Mutual love and support. Things I never had as a child. “But I’ve just screwed up any relationship I’ve tried to have.”
As soon as someone got close, I’d push them away. No one ever knew me. But Rainey does. She’s already aware of more about my past than any female I’ve been with before. I’ve opened up to her, giving her tidbits of information I never wanted to share.
I don’t want to get all sentimental and shit with the guys, so I say, “It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone.” Something I haven’t given any thought to.
Until Rainey. Not that I can admit as much.
Tristan, still standing, stares me down, but I’m not giving in. He may know about my feelings for Jack’s sister, but he’d never betray me.
“It’s been over a year, hasn’t it?” he asks, serious, no teasing in his tone.
I roll my eyes. “Keeping track of my sex life?”
He lifts one shoulder. “It’s so pathetic, it’s hard not to,” he quips back.
Jack snorts. “Look down at the dance floor. I have no doubt you could find someone to take home for the night if you wanted.”
“I could say the same for you, Jack,” Tristan says.
Jack shakes his head. “Don’t you have plans? Just go and leave us alone,” he mutters.
I understand. I have my issues with connection and Jack has his. Dumped by his fiancée, he’s been picky ever since.
“At least I’ll be having fun tonight.” Tristan chuckles and walks away, headed for his one-night stand.
I shake my head. “I thought he’d never leave.”
“You sure you don’t want me to play wingman for you tonight?” Jack asks.
I lean back in my seat. “I’m content as is. How about you?”
“Same. I’ll be busy enough in Charleston. The last thing I need is to get involved with anyone, even for one night.” Jack gestures to Sophie, who always serves on this floor, calling her over.
“Hello, gentleman. What can I get you?” she asks.
“Whiskey on the rocks. You know my brand,” I tell her.
“Bourbon,” Jack says.
She smiles. “Be right back.”
Ordering alcohol has me thinking back to Rainey and the specialty drinks Mak made for her. “So you know I met with Rainey about specialty drinks for the anniversary, right?”
Jack nods. “How’d it go?”
“Mak nailed three unique blends in one shot. Pun intended.” I chuckle at my lame joke. “But your sister loved her creations. She also enjoyed the presentation.” And I enjoyed the lunch we grabbed and the time we spent together afterward.
Her hair blew around her face from the breeze off the ocean, and I loved how she ate without caring what I thought. Her attitude was refreshing and only made me like her more.
“Perfect. Sorry to pass off the job on you, but Rainey’s easy enough to work with,” Jack says. “You’ll have no problems.”
Oh, I have problems, I think to myself. Problems keeping my hands to myself.
The issue would be the phone call I received from Rainey earlier today.
She needs me to handle the exhibit at the museum and gave me the rundown of all I needed to know.
The man in charge of the museum’s role in the exhibit is her ex, Adam Roberts.
Though she didn’t tell me outright, I get the feeling she’s afraid of him on some level.
And she begged me not to tell anyone in her family, including Jack.
Which means I feel like I’m betraying my friend on two different levels.
* * *
Monday evening, the club is closed and I’m alone with Rainey at her office.
Her company is in charge of the upcoming Foster Fundraiser Charity Gala coming up soon, and her partner is running point, so Kaylee is busy tonight with the client.
Rainey’s family always attends, as does mine.
Foster kids are important to the Dares and to the Carras family for similar reasons.
Madison and Alex Dare fostered many children over the years, adopting the ones who didn’t end up going home. Like me.
Rainey’s receptionist is gone for the day. We’ve ordered Chinese food and are waiting for the delivery to arrive so we can eat while we talk.
We sit beside each other at the same table we shared the first time I came here, discussing the opening anniversary party for the team family, as she calls the invitees. Through the windows lining the wall, the sun begins to lower on the horizon, but the overheads give us plenty of light.
We’ve already talked about the hors d’oeuvres.
Since, by law, Midnight has to serve food, we agreed to have the dinner part of the night catered by a company of Rainey’s choice.
Weather permitting, we’d serve food on the rooftop, using chafing dishes while hors d’oeuvres are passed around by servers.
If it rains, we’ll move the food inside to the lower level.
“I thought we’d hang tapestries of the current first-string players around the main room,” Rainey says. “Will that work for you?”
I realize I’ve been lost in thought, but I heard what she said. “That’s fine.”
She glances up at the lights, her brow crinkled in thought. “What if we change the white string lights on the rooftop bar to the team colors?”
“We can do the lights on the roof in black and gold,” I say at the same time she offers up the same idea.
The tinkling sound of her laughter echoes in the empty space. “We can check that off the list,” she says with a cheeky smile. “Apparently, we’re in agreement. Kaylee and I call it mind-melding.”
I like that we’re on the same page with things, both vibing well. It’s a pleasure planning with her, discovering how her mind works and how good she is at her job.
“Is it always like this when you meet with clients?” I ask. “Because this has been amazingly easy compared to some of the people I’ve dealt with who rented out the rooftop for a party.” Some human beings can be a royal pain in the ass.
“Well, most people aren’t as fun and easy to be around as you are.”
I take the compliment and let it fill me up. It isn’t something I hear often. “Well, I can say the same about you.”
“Thank you. But to answer your question, no, it’s not always this easy.
” The smile that lit up her face dims. “In fact, three years ago, when Kaylee and I started the company, we were building a steady clientele until a man named Gregory Atwater hired us to do a holiday party for his investment firm. Kaylee was already working on another company’s event, so I took lead on his.
” Rainey lets out a heavy sigh, and I can tell it’s not a good story.
I wish I could reach out and pull her into my arms, but that would be beyond inappropriate, so I just listen.
“Everything he agreed to, he had an issue with the night of the party. The details aren’t important but the gist of it is.
He bad-mouthed not just me but our company to everyone who would listen.
He even made use of online reviews to trash us there, too, always making sure to use my name.
” She dips her head and her eyes shimmer, showing me how badly the incident affected her.
The need to comfort her is strong. Reaching out, I place my hand over hers and we sit in silence for a few long seconds.
“It gets worse,” she finally says. “Long-standing bookings canceled on us. Our phones grew silent. The business we’d been building with such high hopes and hard work came to a standstill. And I can’t help but feel like it was all my fault.”
If Gregory were standing before me now, it would be my pleasure to take a swing.
It’s one thing to be unhappy with someone you hire, another to deliberately destroy their business.
My gut tells me Rainey worked hard on the event and even if some things went wrong, the unexpected always happens.
But I’m sure she did a stellar job and didn’t deserve the backlash she received.
“You can’t blame yourself because someone else doesn’t deal with disappointment in a professional way. Or because that person is an ass.”
She bursts out laughing.
Goal accomplished.
“I needed that,” she says, still grinning.
“I’m glad.” I lean in and brush her hair off her shoulder. “I hate to see you sad,” I say, realizing at that moment our lips are inches apart and this time, I’m not going to be able to stop myself from kissing her.
Her lips part, my mouth touches hers, and fucking fireworks go off in my brain.
She tastes sweet, better than I’ve imagined, and I’ve done plenty of fantasizing about this very moment.
I slide my hand around her neck, pulling her close as our tongues meet.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and if this is all I get, I’ll die a happy man.
A soft moan escapes her throat, and I’m about to pull her into my lap when glass shatters as a loud crash sounds and something comes flying through the window.
I dive, pushing Rainey off the chair and onto the floor, waiting to see if anything else happens before I finally roll off her and let her sit up.