Chapter Six
I don’t do well around parental figures.
Neither does Ethan.
But there’s a first time for everything, right?
~ Zayne
“GOOD EVENING, MISS. Welcome to Exquisite. Would you like me to park your car?”
“Thank you.” Chloé took in a deep breath as she handed her keys to the valet opening her driver’s-side door.
It was just coming up on eight, and as she headed toward the restaurant’s entrance, she tried not to think about the reason she was there.
It was no use, though. After her conversation with her parents, there was no getting out of this.
She either had to talk to Ethan and Zayne or risk causing a rift—a bigger one—with her fathers.
So, she’d made the call and asked if they’d meet her for dinner. But whenever she thought about what she was there to discuss, she wanted nothing more than to get back in her car and drive far, far away.
Stop it. They have to know this has something to do with your fathers. So it won’t be that much of a shock, right?
That did nothing to help calm her nerves, though, as she came to a stop at the hostess table and did a quick scan of the dining room, hoping to spot Ethan and Zayne. She was out of luck, though—she couldn’t see anyone who resembled them, and wondered if she had beaten them to restaurant.
“Welcome to Exquisite.” The hostess smiled in greeting. “Do you have a reservation with us tonight?”
“I do, yes. It’s under Ethan Holt.”
“Ah, yes. If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to your table.”
Chloé nodded and followed the woman in through the main dining room, but she couldn’t help but stop and take a moment to admire the view.
Exquisite was one of the top fine-dining restaurants in Chicago, not to mention one of her favorites.
Family-run and owned by one of her papa’s work partners’ wives, it’d been handed down through the generations, much like JULIEN was going to be.
She couldn’t help but admire that. The restaurant business wasn’t an easy one, and to still be going strong decades after opening spoke volumes of both the quality of the food and the owners.
Chloé followed after the hostess as she weaved them through the crowded tables. As they neared the back of the dining room, a familiar face came into view.
As her eyes landed on Zayne’s rugged features, she still couldn’t believe that she’d somehow managed to capture this man’s attention and keep it, because wow .
If she thought he’d been handsome in his tuxedo on Saturday night, something about this look, the casual, open-neck dress shirt and leather jacket, made him downright dangerous to her health.
He was sex personified, and when he glanced up and spotted her, the smile that slowly curved his lips made her instantly think of ice-cream kisses.
She held her breath as he tracked her approach, and as she neared the table, he got to his feet, and so did the other person who had his back to her—Ethan.
His tailored black suit and shirt molded to his body like a second skin, and when he turned, those amber-colored eyes seemed to gleam under the lights.
Damn, he was beautiful. But that beauty was deceiving.
On the surface he appeared charming and suave, a complete gentleman, but Chloé knew better now.
His passions ran hot and matched the intensity in his eyes, and just thinking about some of the things he’d done to her—and Zayne—made a shiver race up her spine.
God, she wasn’t sure she could do this. She wasn’t sure she had the nerve. They’d just started dating, just started to get to know each other, and now here she was about to ask two of the sexiest men she’d ever met if they’d please come and meet her parents.
If the ground could just open up now and swallow me, that’d be great.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” the hostess said as she stopped by the table and gestured to Chloé. “Your final guest has arrived.”
Ethan schooled his features to a polite expression as he looked to the hostess. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. One of our waitstaff will be with you shortly.”
“We appreciate that.” Ethan nodded.
As she hurried off, Zayne pulled out the only other chair at the round table. “Evening, Red. Don’t you look stunning.”
A blush hit her cheeks at his obvious pleasure, especially after she’d spent an inordinate amount of time picking out what to wear tonight.
In the end she’d settled on a white mini dress with gold embroidered detailing to match her bracelets and heels, then pulled her hair up into a playful ponytail.
“Thank you.”
He winked at her. “Oh no, thank you .”
As she took her seat, Ethan leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Zayne’s right, you look absolutely gorgeous. We’re very lucky to have such a beautiful woman dining with us.”
The nerves she’d felt walking in settled somewhat under their praise. “I think I’m the lucky one. There’s two of you.”
Zayne chuckled. “Some might say that’s too much to handle.”
She looked between both of them and smiled. “Then it’s a good thing they’re not handling you.”
Ethan sat down in his chair. “It’s good to see you still have your sense of humor after this weekend. We weren’t sure what to expect tonight.”
Neither had she, honestly, but as she sat there between them, a sense of calm enveloped her. It was crazy, but suddenly she wasn’t nervous at all.
“Me either. I was really worried about meeting up with you.”
“And now?”
“Now…” Her lips tipped up at the sides. “Now, I’m just happy to be here.”
“Good. We don’t want you to be nervous to talk to us.”
“I know, but after this weekend and dealing with my parents… It was a lot.”
“We get it, Red, and we don’t want to pressure you in any way. So, you tell us what you need and we’ll go from there.”
Her papa’s words ran through her head: If these two men want to continue dating you, then the least they can do is come and meet us .
It was moments like this she really wished she was old enough to drink alcohol.
“Chloé?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good, it’s just—do you mind if we order something first? I’m really hungry, and it’s probably best you both get a drink.”
“Ah shit.” Zayne’s lips crooked in a half-smile. “That sounds ominous.”
“Um, more unexpected than ominous.”
“And now I’m intrigued.” Ethan signaled the waiter, and luckily for them, it was as though he’d been waiting for the go-ahead. He stopped by their table, and they each put in their order along with requesting a bottle of wine and a sparkling water for her.
Now all she had to do was find the perfect moment to ask her doms to “meet the parents.”
* * *
ZAYNE TOOK A bite of his filet mignon and studied the beautiful woman sitting across from him. All through their appetizers and first round of drinks, Chloé had been smiling and doing her best to make small talk about everything that didn’t involve Saturday night.
It was clear she was no longer worried about talking to them, but it was also very clear she was avoiding something like the plague—what, he wasn’t quite sure.
He glanced over at Ethan to see that he was also sizing Chloé up. No doubt trying to give her the time and space she needed to open up. Ethan was always good at that—Zayne, on the other hand, was not.
Chloé twirled her fork in the black pasta in front of her, and Zayne grimaced. “How can you eat that stuff?”
“Squid ink pasta?” She stabbed one of the shrimp. “It’s delicious.”
“Yeah, I’ll, ah, take your word for it.”
“You don’t like seafood?”
“Oh, I do—the shrimp, crab, and mussels all look good. But that inky black stuff?” He pulled another face, making her laugh. “Pass.”
“Have you ever tried it?”
“Nope.”
“Then how do you know you won’t like it?”
“Trust me, I just know.”
“Uh huh.” She took the bite she’d loaded up on her fork, and gave a sassy wink once she’d swallowed it. “If I had that attitude, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” She glanced around and then leaned in to whisper, “I didn’t think I’d like being submissive. But I tried it, and now look at me.”
He chuckled. “Touché, and trust me, Red. We’re looking.”
Her eyes shifted between them as she began to twirl a second helping onto her fork. Ethan reached over and gently stroked one of the bracelets surrounding her wrists.
“Speaking of”—he eyed her in a way that had her hand freezing mid-twirl—“do we still have a submissive after this weekend?”
“Of course.”
Ethan shook his head. “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. A lot has happened over the last couple of days, and it’s a question that needs to be asked.”
Thank fucking God. Zayne could’ve kissed Ethan for finally breaching the subject they were all tiptoeing around.
“That hasn’t changed,” Chloé said. “At least not for me.”
“Meaning?”
“You might change your minds when I tell you what my fathers want.”
“Ah.” Ethan reached for his wine and took a sip. “Now we’re getting to it.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be vague, I just… They want to meet you, okay?” Chloé reached for her water and took a long gulp, and Zayne suddenly had a feeling she wished it was vodka.
Hell, he wasn’t above ordering himself one after that bombshell.
“They want to meet us?” Ethan asked.
“This weekend.” She covered her face. “Oh my God. This is so mortifying.”
Zayne’s shock took a back seat for a second as he reached out and gently tugged her hands free. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“No it’s not.” Her cheeks turned bright red. “This isn’t what you signed up for. I know, I picked the contract. But that’s what they want. Dinner. With the two of you.” She closed her eyes and muttered, “Just kill me now.”
Zayne wasn’t sure how he felt about this new development. On one hand, it seemed perfectly normal for parents to want to meet their daughter’s…boyfriend s . But on the other, they weren’t exactly boys, and he didn’t do well around parental figures. Neither did Ethan, for that matter.
“Look,” Chloé said. “I understand if you want nothing to do with—”
“Chloé?”
She looked at Ethan, uncertainty swimming in her eyes.
“We didn’t say that.”