16. Luna
CHAPTER 16
Luna
“The permit didn’t go through.”
Parvati didn’t even wait until I fully exited my town car to tell me. Nope. She held the door open and casually dropped the latest in a series of setbacks.
“Fuck,” I swore, adjusting my dress to make sure I didn’t show the goodies to the men wandering around the active worksite.
Parvati performed her typical Sorkin-inspired walk ‘n talk, taking us from the street to the main entrance of the job site. By the looks of it, there were a handful of folks erecting the steel beams that would keep the place upright. Things were busier than ever, and yet there managed to be setback after setback.
“I swear it’s like the city doesn’t even want us to build with the way they are putting up one bureaucratic barrier after another. It’s bullshit, is what it is. This happened to me once before on a job site in Southern California. Let me tell you, I started attending every damn city council meeting to make sure they saw me and knew exactly what they were doing by stalling our project. It was for a non-profit that got unhoused folks back to work! And they tried to stop me.” She huffed, as if the challenge was nothing but a battle to win.
Despite my increased heart rate and the sour taste in the bottom of my esophagus, I knew for certain that Parvati would do everything she could to remedy the situation. That was the kind of leadership and badassery I wanted around me at all times.
I looked at her pointedly. “You tell me when the next meeting is, and I’ll show up with red lipstick and my eyes lined so sharp they could kill a man.”
Parvati smiled smugly. “You up to some vigilante shit?”
“Something like that.”
She nodded approvingly. “And in the meantime, I’ll pay the city a little visit. I’ve dotted my tees and crossed my ‘I’s. I know the paperwork is perfect and their excuses are total bullshit. If I have my way, you won’t have to step foot in a city council chamber.”
Parvati waved me forward to the trailer that served as her headquarters. Thanks to Sebastian’s surveillance equipment and the new “Business” tab on my Steele Cyber Security app, I was able to check in on the project whenever I could.
I wonder if this is how parents feel who have nanny cams throughout their house. It had felt a little like spying when I first got access, but honestly, it’s my site and I found it soothing to watch the feed in the wee hours of the night while I laid restless in bed.
We each took a seat at the small round table inside the trailer. “We also need to talk about the designs for the breakfast buffet. Drew sent them to both of us. Have you had a chance to take a look?” Parvati asked.
I groaned as I considered the interior designer I’d hired for this project. “I did. My list of changes is probably going to drive Drew away, but I can’t have a breakfast buffet in a luxury, boutique casino and hotel that looks anything less than perfect. We already have cheesy-kitchy covered by the other casinos. I’ll be damned if I let mine get steered in that direction. People are going to spend almost a hundred dollars for breakfast. It can’t look like they are stepping into a bottle of Pepto Bismol.”
Parvati released an unhinged giggle. It clashed with what I knew about the woman who—in my mind—embodied the term “put together.” “I’ve been trying to figure out what it reminded me of. That’s exactly it.”
“Oof, I knew it the second my peepers laid eyes on that god-awful design.”
As Parvati continued to talk through the items on her agenda, I already started mentally planning to visit my bestie and get her input.
* * *
“I’m gassing up the PJ and coming for a visit.”
Faith blinked. “Excuse me?”
I pulled my suitcase out of the hallway closet with one hand and held the phone in my other hand, granting Faith a shaky view of me and my brownstone.
“I need your design expertise, and I need to escape the city for at least twenty-four hours.”
Faith laughed. “You're always welcome here.”
Sebastian groaned in the background. “Who is that?”
Faith set down her paint brush. As usual, my friend was creating masterpieces in the atrium of the gorgeous house she shared with Sebastian. “It's Luna. She's coming for a visit,” she shouted over her shoulder before turning back to me. “You aren't really taking a private jet here are you?”
“Nah, there's no good place to land. Besides, all my money is going into this casino, so I have to be smart with it. Town car it is. I should be there in three hours. Make sure you brew a pot of coffee; we’re going to need it.”
I watched Faith leave her easel and sit down on a nearby couch. “Ohh, what are we doing this time?”
I threw a swimsuit in my bag and a couple of bras and undies. Clothes. I still needed clothes. “I need to provide feedback on the buffet and, oof, it's a doozy. That brilliant brain of yours better be ready to brainstorm. This designer is getting feedback like they've never seen before. Frankly, I might have to switch interior design firms. It's that bad.”
I pinched the spot between my brows, a headache forming.
My friend's brows knit together, her voice soft. “Have you taken your medicine?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I'll take it now.” Heaven knows if I didn't do that I'd be up a shit creek. And then how would I get back to Drew in time.
Fuck .
My meds were in the downstairs bathroom, so I trekked there to grab a pill. “I should probably keep my migraine meds on me like an EpiPen.”
I said it flippantly, but a frown tugged at the corner of Faith's lips. “That might not be a bad idea.”
“Aha!” I found the bottle and tossed the pill in my mouth. After setting down the phone, I turned on the facet and got some water to wash it down.
The room spun.
Fuck, I felt like I was going to fall over. I pinched my eyes shut and took a few deep inhales—in through my nose and out through my mouth.
“Luna? Luna, can you hear me?”
My friend's voice broke through the whine that pierced my skull.
“Going to go lay down and the second I feel better I'm heading upstate.”
I ended the call before Faith could protest and laid down on the plush rug, grateful for past Luna who splurged on bathroom decor for the tiny half bath just off the kitchen.
It was there I clutched my head and willed the pain to go away.
* * *
A knock startled me awake.
Disoriented, I rose on my forearms and swiped away the drool dripping down my chin. The cursed piercing abated. Not fully; it still felt like pain was knocking on the door of my frontal lobe but at least it wasn't barging through with a pickaxe.
I savored the little win for what it was.
The pounding resumed, and for a second I wasn't sure if it was the door or my head.
“Definitely the door,” I mumbled, getting to my feet. It took me a good few seconds to feel sturdy enough to move forward.
By then the pounding stopped. I’d just turned the corner in my kitchen when my security system beeped, and the door swept open revealing a frantic Beck. His normally well-kept hair was swept every which way as if he’d been tugging on it.
“What's wrong? You need me to watch Alice again? Because it's really not a great time.” I grabbed the base of my neck, trying to massage away the stiffness there.
Beck didn't stop barreling toward me, pulling me into his strong arms. I collapsed into him, too tired to protest, especially when he smelled so good. So safe. So him .
I think I even released a little sigh.
Beck lifted me into his arms and whispered, “You can't keep doing this, Luna. You scared the shit out of me.”
I played with his hair. “You love taking care of me and you know it. You weirdo.”
He practically growled in my ear. The warmth of his breath sent a shudder along my spine. “We’re going to my place.”
I made a pathetic attempt to swat at him. It resulted in more of a feather-light graze at best. Ugh. This was twice now he’d come to my rescue, like some damn damsel in distress.
I loathed the feeling. The feeling of helplessness. I’d been on my own for so long now that the idea of any man— this man—stepping in to help felt completely foreign. More foreign was how much I liked it.
When we reached his house, Beck didn’t drop me off at the couch like he had last time. Instead, he traversed the stairs. I hadn’t been up here yet, so I peeked my eyes open to find photos of Alice on the wall. He must have made that one of his first priorities since moving in.
The hallway itself was painted a lovely neutral gray. We passed a room that had to be Alice’s with a pink ruffled bed skirt that was similar to the one I’d wished for as a little girl. Beck’s long strides made it impossible to catch a glimpse of anything else.
I wonder if we’re going to his bedroom…
And despite the dull headache that remained, a pool of heat formed low in my belly. The idea of being alone with Beck in his bedroom excited me. In all those years since our night together, I hadn’t longed for a man the way I had him.
In fact, quite the opposite. A few days after our romp together, I’d adopted a sober lifestyle and licked my wounds, not just the emotional ones left behind by Beck’s disappearance but by the man that came after . The one who I didn’t want and yet he took something from me without asking.
That loss of control was something I could never forget and never forgive. It was why all of my bars had a code for women and anyone else that felt uncomfortable or uneasy. To make sure what happened to me didn't happen to the happy people who patronized Club Deux. It was also why I made sure to offer free self-defense lessons for staff and had strip tests readily available for people to test their drinks for date rape drugs.
All these safety measures made Club Deux the most popular place to party for women and LGBTQIA clientele. Creating that safe space was essential and part of my mission as a business owner in hospitality.
I may never feel able to have fun and experiment in a way I once did, but I wanted to reduce as much risk as I could for others.
Beck carried me into a bedroom. Probably not his since the floral decor screamed guest bedroom. Without losing his grip on me, he lifted the corner of the comforter and slid me into the luscious satiny sheets.
“Stay here. I’ll get you some water and call your doctor.”
The man slipped out of the room, and I immediately felt the loss of his presence. My eyelids grew heavy, and I fell fast asleep.