Chapter Twelve #2
“If that’s a reference to our daughter…”
Ethan looked across the table at Papa. “It’s not, though it would be rather on point now, wouldn’t it?”
Dad snorted as Père reached for his glass of wine, and Chloé looked between the two and shook her head.
“Really, Papa? Stop it.”
“Fine.” Papa picked up his wine glass. “Where did you learn French?”
“I picked up a few words when I was in France.”
Chloé’s jaw hit the table as she turned to Ethan. “You were in France?”
The smile that slowly curved Ethan’s lips made a shiver race up her spine. “Yes. I had just returned the night we met.”
The night we— Oh God .
Chloé’s stomach flipped and her cheeks heated, and Ethan’s smile turned smug. She knew exactly what night he was talking about—her first night at The Office. The night Zayne had been giving a demonstration and Ethan had showed up and—well, she knew exactly how that ended.
Focus, Chloé. Don’t think about that now.
“Where in France did you visit?” Père asked, unaware of her internal meltdown.
“Paris.” Ethan looked to Zayne. “We just bought a place there. So we’ll be going back very soon for a visit.”
“To Paris ?” Chloé was thankful her glass of wine was full as she started to gulp it down. How did she not know this? Yes, they’d been preoccupied with other things, but how had this never come up?
“Yes,” Ethan said, calm as you please. “We purchased the place a month or so ago and were waiting for it to close and all the paperwork to go through.”
“Ah, oui . It’s always more complicated purchasing property overseas. Even as a citizen, it took time for us.” Père looked between Ethan and Zayne. “Where in Paris are you? If you don’t mind me asking? We have a place in the second arrondissement.”
Zayne looked at Père , a frown creasing his brow. “That’s right by us, isn’t it, Ethan? We’re in the first.”
Wow, they have a place in Paris? In the first arrondissement? This is crazy.
“That’s a very exclusive area,” Papa said, suspicion lacing his words. “Expensive.”
“It is.” Ethan sat back in his seat, clearly not bothered by whatever her papa might be implying.
“And what is it that you two do that you can afford all of this?”
“Papa!” Chloé wasn’t sure if her outrage was over him asking something so personal or Ethan giving him the actual answer.
“What?” Papa’s eyes found hers. “That’s a perfectly normal question, isn’t it? To ask what they do?”
Well, yes, she supposed it was. But the answer wasn’t.
Chloé whipped her head in Ethan’s direction, and she knew she was screwed. He wasn’t going to lie. That wasn’t his way, and while her papa might one day appreciate that fact, she didn’t think that day would be today.
“We own a club.”
“Like a dance club?” Dad’s eyes lit with excitement as Chloé’s stomach twisted into a knot. “I love to dance.”
“No.” Ethan shook his head. “Not a dance club.”
Chloé felt Zayne’s hand on hers under the table, and when she looked at him and he shrugged, his message was clear: There’s no stopping it now.
“Then what kind of club is it?” Papa’s eyes narrowed on Ethan.
Oh God, just kill me now.
“It’s a sex club.”
The room fell silent.
So silent you could’ve heard a pin drop—or a heartbeat. Hers was thumping so loud there was no way she was the only one who could hear it. She tried to think of something, anything , to say to defuse the tension that had just blanketed the room.
She wasn’t quick enough, though, and before she could remember how to speak, her papa shoved his chair back from the table and got to his feet.
“I need a goddamn minute,” he said, then headed outside.
* * *
ZAYNE GLANCED AROUND the table, and wasn’t all that surprised by the looks of shock on Julien and Robbie’s faces. The air in the room had practically been sucked out with Priest’s exit, and Chloé looked like she might pass out.
The second the question was asked, Zayne had known Ethan wouldn’t lie, so he’d braced for impact. Chloé, however, seemed stunned speechless.
“Did you just say you own a sex club?” Robbie seemed equal parts surprised and thrilled by the idea, whereas Julien just looked bewildered.
“Yes,” Ethan said. “It’s an exclusive high-end club downtown called The—”
“Office.” Robbie turned in his seat and placed a hand on his husband’s arm. “Jules, that’s the club that I—”
“Oh my God.” Chloé finally spoke up, the horror in her voice evident as her wide eyes landed on her two remaining fathers. “Please tell me that you haven’t been there. That you aren’t members.”
The implications of that scenario hadn’t even occurred to Zayne until right then. But if her fathers were members, the likelihood that they would’ve seen him or Ethan during a demonstration was—
“ No .” Robbie shook his head vehemently. “No, we aren’t.” He grinned. “But we almost were.”
“Oh God.” Chloé covered her face. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“I think your papa might be feeling the same way.” Julien let out a breath and shook his head. “Really, Chloé. You couldn’t have told us this before tonight?”
Chloé lowered her hands and eyed him across the table. “You told me that my private life was mine. That’s private.”
“Well, yes, of course it is, dear.” Robbie leaned across the table and added in a hushed voice, “But no one likes to think about their daughter at a sex—”
“ Dad! ”
Robbie frowned, clearly torn between fatherly outrage and maybe a little bit of pride. In the end, he looked over his shoulder to where Priest had exited the house.
“I think that maybe I should go and check on him.”
Under any other circumstance, Zayne would sit tight and let the chips fall where they may, but the stress on Chloé’s face told him that she might need her dad’s optimism right now.
“I’ll go.”
Robbie looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Zayne stepped away from the table and caught Ethan’s eyes. He looked concerned, but Zayne had this. “Old fashioned, right?”
“Right,” Julien said as Zayne made his way to the bar.
He mixed the drinks, winked at Chloé, then headed for the doors. He walked outside and across the patio, until he spotted Priest down in the gardens. Night had fallen, but the landscape lighting made the grounds just as beautiful to walk in the evening as during the days.
With the drinks in hand, Zayne made his way across the perfectly cut lawn and over to where Priest stood staring out at the lake.
Priest was an intimidating man, not only in height and stature but in his overall demeanor that screamed, Back the fuck off . His shoulders were rigid, his spine stiff as a board, and as he caught the sound of Zayne’s approach, he said in a curt tone, “I said I need a minute.”
Zayne’s feet faltered for a second, but then he remembered why he was out there and told himself to man the fuck up.
“It’s been more than a minute, and your daughter’s getting upset.”
“Well, that’s her own fault.”
“Actually, it’s yours.”
Priest slowly turned to look over his shoulder, and the look in his eye suggested Zayne should either shut up or run. But he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Drink?” He held up the tumbler and walked over.
Priest’s eyes narrowed as he reached for the glass. “You two have some serious balls, I’ll give you that. It’s not often people stand up to me, but you two seem to be making a habit of it.”
Zayne looked out at the property he and Ethan called home. “Adversity was an everyday occurrence for us as kids. We’re used to fighting for what we want.”
“So that’s what this is? You two fighting us for Chloé?”
“No. I’m just pointing out that we don’t give up easy.” Zayne took a sip of his drink. “Not when something’s important to us.”
Yeah, he was onto this guy. Priest might not like what he saw when he looked at him and Ethan, but Zayne had a sneaking suspicion that was because he saw a lot of himself in them—especially Ethan.
It was almost uncanny, really, but the moment Priest had stepped out of the car, Zayne had recognized him. And any fear or nerves over meeting him had vanished.
Strong, powerful, and guarded. Like Ethan, Priest was possessive and extremely protective over those he loved—and lucky for Zayne, he understood exactly how those men ticked.
“I know you don’t like us very much right now.” When Priest said nothing to refute that, Zayne continued, “You have every reason not to.”
“You think?”
“But Red—Chloé—wants to be with us whether you like it or not.”
Priest shook his head and walked toward the property’s edge. “I thought you came out here to get me to come back inside?”
“I did.”
“You have a funny way of going about it.”
“Probably, but I’ve never been real good with parents.” Priest glanced at him, and Zayne shrugged. “Not really a shock considering who my father is, right?”
If Priest felt any kind of pity for him, it didn’t show as he looked back out to the lake.
“Parents don’t have to define who you become as an adult.”
Zayne scoffed. “Oh yeah? You grow up with a bigoted narcissist as a father?”
“I grew up with much worse.” Priest’s tone was as icy as the wind that would whip up off the lake in the dead of winter.
Then he turned and pinned Zayne with a stare just as cold.
“But we’re not here to talk about my piece-of-shit father, or yours.
We’re here discussing me as a father, and I’ll be damned if I sit in there and act happy that your partner just informed me that the two of you own a sex club. He’s too cocky for his own good.”
“Would you rather he’d lied?”
“What do you think?”
“Do you really wanna know?”
Priest’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re just like him.” When Priest said nothing, Zayne smirked. “ Ethan . He’s blunt, to the point, and will never tell you a lie.”
“Never?”
“Not even to spare your daughter’s embarrassment.”
“And that’s supposed to make me like him?”
“Nope. But it’s meant to help you understand him a little better. Maybe even respect him a bit. Look, Ethan’s not the easiest person to get to know. Trust me, I get it. But he is the most caring, loyal, and protective partner a person could ask for.”