Chapter 20
Straight Up
After shopping the morning away, Sloane and I end up nestled in the front window spot of a quaint coffee shop.
Sloane is munching on a fetta-and-spinach muffin while I indulge in a massive slice of chocolate mousse cake.
We have perused almost every shop we could find, and I have spent a stupid amount of money on myself, doing everything I could to avoid any conversation about her brothers.
I throw down my fork when I have one more mouthful to go. “I can’t eat another bite.”
“Told you to go for something healthy.” She laughs, finishing her muffin.
“I have no self-control.”
She purses her lips. “Is that so? You keep on skirting around the topic when I bring it up, so I’m going to be more direct.
Since we talked in my office yesterday, what happened with my brothers?
It’s pretty clear I walked in on something massive this morning, and you have been holding out on me.
Jagger was holding your hands, and if I’m not wrong, there was a nice slap mark on his face. ”
I stare at the plate in front of me and then back up to her. “I can’t talk about this with you.”
She smiles softly. “Yes, you can. I’m here for you.”
I let out a heavy sigh, relaxing my shoulders. I have been tight with tension since I left the apartment this morning. “So much has happened, Sloane, I don’t even know where to start.”
She grins. “Let’s start with why Cruz needs to research what boundaries are?”
“That was for both him and Jagger. Your asshole older brother booked me into Ricky’s clinic for this afternoon to get put on birth control.”
Her mouth drops open. “You’re fucking with me.”
“I wish. Why would he think that shit was his responsibility?”
“I don’t know, are you sleeping with him?”
My eyes go wide. This conversation is getting way too personal. “Sloane!” I practically scream her name.
The old lady sitting at the table next to us glares in my direction and moves her chair closer to her husband.
“What? I’m just asking the obvious question. That shit sounds like something he would do if he thought he was responsible for you in that way. If you’re fucking, it kind of explains it. Not that I think he’s excused, just so you know, still major boundary issues.”
“Right! But that’s just the thing. I’m not sure if I am sleeping with Jagger or not.
” I bury my head in my hands, knowing how this sounds, but she has to get it.
She runs the club, and actually, she could be the one person who would know the truth.
“You can see the files of all the VIPs who come to your club and book the private suites, right?”
Her perfectly manicured brow rises. “What are you asking me?”
“Is Jagger the mystery man who keeps booking me?”
She blinks back at me a couple of times, giving nothing away, and that in itself tells me all I need to know. “You know I can’t disclose information about our clientele like that.”
“I knew it.”
Her eyes lock with mine. “You don’t know anything. I haven’t been checking the bookings this week, so I can’t confirm or deny anything, but even if I knew, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”
“I don’t need you to, I already know it’s him.
And this new controlling shit just proves it.
The guy I was with last night, he makes me wear a blindfold so I don’t know who he is, but right after, well, you know, he swore like something was wrong.
It would explain it, right? The condom must have broken, and instead of coming clean and telling me it was him, he books me in to the clinic. ”
Her face says it all, she totally agrees with me. “It does sound like something Jagger would do. But we don’t really know anything.”
“He was hinting at stuff this morning, trying to get under my skin because he heard me and Cruz together.” I cover my mouth when I realize I have said too much.
She bursts out laughing. “Oh, no, you didn’t.”
I nod slowly, knowing I sound like a hussy. “I didn’t mean to, it just kind of happened. Your brother is kind of adorable when he’s not being a psycho.”
“And here I was thinking I had to keep Asher away from you.”
“Umm.” I look away.
Her eyes go wide, and her hand grips my wrist. “You haven’t?”
“No, I heard what you said to Ash that day in your office. You told him to stay away from me, so I have kept him at arm’s length, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t crazy hot chemistry between us and maybe sometimes I want to give in to it,” I admit, feeling my cheeks glow with heat.
I laid it all on the table, and she can make what she wants with it, but I’m not keeping stuff from her.
She’s been good to me, and I trust her. I need someone to talk to about this before it drives me crazy.
She finishes off her black coffee, I’m sure trying to process all the shit I just dumped on her. It’s a lot, I know it is. “If I knew it was this bad, I would have taken you to a bar, not a coffee shop.”
“It’s so insane, right? How did things get so out of control in less than a week?”
She shrugs. “Chemistry?”
I stare at her more seriously. “Sloane, what am I going to do?”
“My suggestion still stands; I could find you a new place to live.”
“I’m sorry I’m such a burden.”
She waves me off. “You’re not at all. Is that what you want, some space from them? Cruz will probably kill me, but I can make it work.”
I drink the last of my coffee while I think on it. Is that what I want? My own place away from them? “Honestly?”
She nods.
“I feel safe with them. I’ve stopped having nightmares.
And the truth is, I’m not home that much; I spend most of my time at the club.
I just need the controlling shit to simmer down or I will run again.
I won’t be able to help it. I made a promise to myself that I would never put up with how Valentine treated me again.
And I won’t, Sloane. I know they are coming from a place of protection, but it’s… ”
“Suffocating.” As she says it, she glances across the street, and I spot what she’s looking at. Cruz stands by Jagger’s Range Rover, arms folded over his chest, watching us.
“Yeah.” I sigh. “Why are they so full-on?”
“Those boys have been keeping shit from me since I was a kid, so honestly, I couldn’t tell you. But my guess is they are involved in something they shouldn’t be. They always did know how to find trouble. And Cruz getting stabbed the other night cements it.”
I look back at her more seriously, knowing I probably shouldn’t say anything, but shit, I need someone to talk to about this, and she’s the only one who gets it. “The first night I got here, I got off my bus headed for your club, and I stumbled upon something I shouldn’t have.”
“That explains it. They must be worried someone important saw you. They have a lot of enemies in this town, people worse than your ex-husband.”
I scrunch up my face as memories I don’t want invade my brain. “Is there worse?”
“If you’re on the wrong side of them,” she says quickly, because we both watch her brother walk through the front door of the coffee shop heading right for our table.
He shoves in beside me, taking my hand in his. Then he picks up my fork and eats the last scoop of my cake.
“Unbelievable,” Sloane snips. “You clearly didn’t do your homework.”
“Got sick of waiting for your girly catch-up to be over, so thought I would join you.”
“Girly catch-up implies you’re not welcome,” I mutter back, only half serious.
“Harsh. But I know you really love me, so I will ignore your cutting words.” He kisses my cheek playfully and pulls me in close. How can he be so confident about what this is when my head is spinning.
Sloane smirks back at the two of us. “Well, this is adorable.”
I throw her a “no it’s not” glare.
“What did we buy?” he asks, and before I can stop him, he’s digging around in one of the bags on my other side. “Nice.” He pulls a pair of frilly panties from the bag and inspects them.
I shove his hand back in the bag quickly. “Cruz,” I warn him. “We’re in public.”
The old woman glares at me again, and I glare back. If she doesn’t want to listen to my conversation, she should stop eavesdropping.
“No fair, Sloane got to pick them out with you. I was going to replace the ones I destroyed this morning.”
My cheeks glow with heat. “Oh, my God. What is wrong with you? Stop talking!”
Sloane’s slapping her thigh now, her head back, laughing in hysterics. I’m the color of a beetroot, and Cruz just grins at me like he has no clue what he’s done wrong.
Sloane collects her bags of shopping. “I think that’s my cue to leave.”
Or he has every idea what he’s doing and he’s trying to get rid of his sister so he can have me all to himself.
“Think about what I said, you have options, sis. And Cruz, give the poor girl some space. She’s your roommate, not some new plaything for you to corrupt.” With that, she walks away, her long blonde hair flowing out behind her.
He takes my hand and kisses the back of it, his eyes dancing with delight. “I think my sister is right about one thing. That’s exactly what you are, isn’t it, little darlin’?”
Oh God, I’m not getting any further in this conversation with him here in a nice little coffee shop. I’m going to give the old woman a heart attack. I lean in closer. “What are you and your brothers involved in?”
He wraps his arm around me and pulls me in close, breathing me in. “Nothing for you to worry about.” He bops my nose with his finger.
“Am I in some sort of danger because of what I saw the other night?”
He stands and holds out a hand for me to take. “Let’s get you off to the doctor’s, hey?” he responds, and I know I’m not the only one trying to avoid certain topics of conversation.
I scoop up my shopping bags and take his hand.