Chapter 17
“Jasper, over here!”
A short blonde woman waves from across the bar, her grin as bright as her green eyes. Jasper squeezes my hand as he waves back and begins to navigate around the other people standing in groups of three or four. The room itself is dark, the walls a deep midnight blue and covered in polaroids of people in various stages of happiness. The small woman runs up to Jasper when we get close enough.
“You did such a good job tonight,” Jasper says with a smile, resting his cheek on the crown of her head.
The woman preens under his praise. I force the instinctual jealousy down before it can ruin the rest of tonight.
“Is this him?” she asks as she steps away, those clear eyes lighting on me. A group of men stand against the back wall, their poses relaxed, but all of them focus on me. The man on the end clenches his jaw as she holds out her hand.
“Hi, I’m Liz. You must be Dominic,” she says.
I take her hand in an easy grip before tucking my hands into the pockets of my slacks. “Nice to meet you, Liz.”
A low rumble from the men has me cursing under my breath.
Liz blushes before clearing her throat.
“Huntley is getting drinks.” She turns to Jasper and points toward the other back corner of the space where a long bar stretches, rows of liquor piled behind the three bartenders doing their best to keep the line from getting out of hand.
“What would you like?” I whisper the question into Jasper’s ear, keeping my voice pitched low enough that no one else will hear me.
It’s not quick enough to keep the other Alphas from approaching.
“Hey, Jasper,” the largest of them says. His mousy brown hair flops onto his forehead, and he shakes it away. The men exchange greetings and handshakes, and Jasper visibly relaxes with each one, his voice warming as the last man offers a greeting.
“Hey, Zach,” he says, his voice full of affection. “Glad to see you here. I thought you would be gone again.”
Zach shakes his head. “Have another week before I’m due back. And then only six months before I’m out entirely.”
Liz trembles where she’s tucked under his arm, and he tightens his hold, brushing his lips against her temple. The touch calms her.
Omega.
Well, that explains the jealousy.
“This is Dominic,” Jasper says after a half-second too long.
I glance at him, but he’s staring at something behind us, toward the front of the bar. I follow his gaze—just in time to see Rylan staring at me, absolute anger etched into the features of his face.
I can’t help but egg him on, even now. I wrap an arm around Jasper’s waist and close the distance between us until I feel Jasper plastered against my side.
Rylan’s neck flexes, the muscle in his jaw twitching as he clenches his teeth. The man beside him says something, and he shakes his head, leaving cash on the bar and heading outside without looking back.
Liz sighs. “He’s been in such a bad mood all week.”
She turns a gaze full of questions on Jasper. He blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. Before he can say anything, though, I lean into him, making sure my lips touch his ear. I hide my grin as goosebumps rise along his neck.
“Let me get us some drinks,” I murmur.
This time, he nods. “Double whiskey, please. On the rocks.”
With a nod, I drop my arm and navigate my way across the room, settling into the small line of other people—most of them vaguely familiar from the concert—waiting for their own chance to order something.
A tall woman with shoulder-length brown hair steps up beside me, a touch too close for the current level of crowd the bar was managing. Both hands hold mixed drinks, one pink and one a pale yellow.
“So you’re Dominic,” she says.
I glance at her, not untucking my hands. “And you are?” I ask, dropping the false niceties that keep others from being intimidated by me.
“I’m Huntley, Jasper’s best friend.”
Best friend? So why wasn’t she there tonight? Especially given that she’s dressed similarly to Liz.
“You’re part of the orchestra?” I ask.
“Principal Oboe.” She offers a half-smile, but her eyes are still calculating. “Most people aren’t able to see me while we’re performing.”
Fair enough.
“Look,” she says after a moment.
The bartender waves me forward, and she goes with me, her lips pursed as I order Jasper’s request and a Negroni for myself. I hand the woman enough to cover both drinks and a decent tip before taking both drinks and turning away from the bar.
“Hold on,” Huntley says, stepping just enough in front of me to keep me from heading back to Jasper. To most people, though, it looks like she just leaned in to say something.
Accidenti.
“Yes?” My voice is barely more than a growl.
“You’re friends with one of the bassists, right?” She takes my raised eyebrow as answer enough and continues. “Great. Look. Rylan has had a thing for Jasper since Jasper flew down from Seattle to audition. I don’t really know what happened before then, just that Jasper came to that audition with his heart on his sleeve and hope in his eyes. When he joined the orchestra a couple months later, it was with a broken heart.”
She flips her hair over her shoulder and steps fully in front of me, encouraging me back toward the bar. Most of me wants to push the issue, to show her what happens when a disrespectful Beta tries to manhandle an Alpha. But the low-dose suppressor takes just enough of the rage away that I’m able to hold my tongue.
“How do you know that? Other performers aren’t typically part of auditions.”
She nods. “I wasn’t part of it. Saw him walking the hallway. And the assistant director at the time was one of my best friends from college. I trust her measurement of a person.”
She pauses, waiting for me to press the issue, but I shrug. “All right.”
With a nod, she continues. “Rylan has done a damn good job hiding his interest this entire time. Flirted a couple times the first month or so Jasper joined but then stopped. Keeps mostly to himself. I know the orchestra isn’t his only job, so most people assume that’s why. But you know what I think?”
She takes a breath and continues, not waiting to see if I can—or even want to—answer her rhetorical question.
“I think that Rylan doesn’t get along with the Concertmaster. Ben’s an asshole to pretty much every Alpha. Not sure why. I don’t rock that boat. I like having my place in the symphony, thank you very much.”
Jasper looks up and catches my gaze. I give an easy smile, hiding the tension of the moment well enough that he smiles back and turns back to Liz and her Alphas. I take a sip of my Negroni to keep my mouth shut.
“I think that Rylan realizes that most of the orchestra absolutely adore Jasper, though he doesn’t seem to see it. I think that Rylan would go after Jasper in a heartbeat if he thought Jasper was truly interested.”
Her pause this time is longer, carrying a weight with it.
“You asking me to break up with him?” The question is a snarl.
She pales but doesn’t move away.
Points to her.
“I think that you’re Rylan’s friend.”
My eyebrows shoot up.
“My sorority sister works at a small cafe in Brentwood.” The information comes out of nowhere, but I hold my tongue, sinking into the training my father and uncle gave me as a teenager. People with information don’t always go about giving it in concise ways. Huntley takes a drink from the pink drink. “We make a game of seeing if anyone interesting eats there—normally celebrities and other really famous people. But when Rylan walked in earlier this week, she sent me a text. He doesn’t quite fit in, and she knows him from when he used to go to Thursday trivia.”
She sighs. I take another drink and look toward Jasper. His shoulders shake as he laughs with the group congregated around Liz. She’s radiant, soft and delicate and absolutely not my type. Her grabbing Jasper’s hand is enough to drive my jealousy into my voice.
“Your point?” I growl.
Huntley swallows.
“Rylan has been all kinds of caught up with Jasper, and I know them living together these last two weeks hasn’t helped with any of that. No, I won’t tell you why I know that,” she says, not even waiting to see if I’ll make an objection. “And I know that Jasper is into him, too. Just like he’s clearly into you. I don’t know how to get Rylan into this whole thing with you both, but you need to try. Because if it doesn’t happen, I don’t see how Rylan or Jasper will survive to still be part of the orchestra by the end of the season. Rylan is the best damn bassist we’ve had in the last ten years regardless of whether Ben wants to admit it. And Jasper is one of the good ones—the ones that help everyone meld together when it’s easier for us to get too competitive. I don’t want to lose either of them.”
I nod, finally understanding what she’s asking.
“I know that Jasper’s a Beta and not an Omega, so maybe it’s not as appealing to have a triad but…” She blows out a breath and takes another drink. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure what I’m asking you to do. All I know is that whatever is happening is dangerously precarious, and I’m worried about the fallout for Jasper.”
I take a step around her.
“Thank you for telling me,” I tell her, using that extra bit of Alpha nature even though it won’t impact her as effectively as an Omega. She nods, the tension in her shoulders slowly leaking away. “I have no intention of putting Jasper in a situation where he has to choose between Rylan and me. I’ll do my best to talk to Rylan about everything.”
Not totally a lie.
Though there’s probably going to be a fight before Rylan’s willing to admit to anything. Good thing I don’t have family dinner until Friday.
“Good. Let’s go have some fun, then.”
Just like that, a brilliant smile is lighting her face and she’s walking back to the group. I blow out a breath and breathe out a low chuckle.
“All right, piccolo fuoco.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Little fire?” She shrugs. “I’ve been called worse.”
This time, my laugh shakes my chest.