Chapter Nine #2
Kelsey comes out from the back to see if she can help and steps close to me. “You’re one lucky woman,” she whispers, eyeing Jason, then returns to the kitchen in the back.
We just had a busy spurt and now things at the shop have died down, so I head out from behind the counter and stride up to him. “So what brings you by?”
“Good news.” His eyes sparkle with a happiness I haven’t seen there before.
“What is it?”
He grasps my elbow and leads me to a set of chairs, nowhere near where Renault lingers in his own corner.
The man acknowledges Jason with a tip of his head and gestures toward the door.
Since Jason is here, he is obviously going outside.
As much as I appreciate the security, I am beginning to feel smothered by people constantly being in my space.
Not Jason, though. “So are you going to tell me?” I ask.
“Look what turned up.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls something out. I notice a flash of gold, and then he dangles a very familiar necklace in front of me.
“Oh my God!” I hold out my hand, and he drops the piece into my palm. Tears well in my eyes as I curl my hands around the cool piece of jewelry. “This means everything to me.” I look up at him in disbelief.
“I told you I’d do everything I could to get it back to you,” he says in a gruff voice.
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close, breathing in his masculine scent as I hug him tight. “Thank you.”
Stepping back, I ask, “Will you put it on for me?” I don’t want to take the heart necklace off again for a long time.
“Sure.”
I lift my hair and turn, my back facing him so he can wrap the chain around my neck and hook the clasp. His big hands fumble a little and he grunts before finally succeeding. “Got it.”
I’m about to release my hair when he leans down and brushes his lips over the sensitive skin on the nape of my neck. I shiver, my nipples puckering and a sudden swell of desire rushing through my veins.
“Jason,” I say softly, dipping my head.
In reply, he sweeps his mouth over my skin and bites down gently with his teeth.
I shiver, backing against him, feeling his hard body come into contact with mine and the ridge of his erection nudging my back.
I turn, cupping his face in my hands, and kiss him, sliding my tongue into his mouth.
But I’m aware of where we are, and having been caught once before by a customer, I keep it brief, stepping away despite wanting so much more.
I brush my hair out of my face and glance at him, his eyes dark with need.
“How do you expect me to go back to work now?” he asks, not so discreetly adjusting himself.
I grin. “At least I know you’ll be thinking about me.”
“I’m always thinking about you, sweetness.”
I’m more affected than I should be by that nickname he gave me. “Thank you again for my necklace.” I touch the heart that now lies around my neck, a reminder of the mother I loved so deeply.
“You really should be thanking Renault and company. They scoured the shops,” Jason says, deferring the compliment.
I pat his cheek. “But it was your idea to hire him to look for it, so just accept my gratitude and go back to work. I need to help Kelsey in the back.”
“One more thing?” he asks.
“What’s up?”
He blows out a long breath and says, “We’ve hired the first live act for the club and they’re playing a week from Friday.”
“That’s great! Did Grey say yes?” I ask, happy for him.
His frown takes me by surprise. “I wish he had. But no. His former bandmate, Lola Corbin, is going to perform instead.”
“From Tangled Royal? I love her!” I clap my hands like the excited fan I am.
“She’ll be singing with Charlotte Jasper,” Jason says, shifting on his feet, his expression taut.
“She’s a big name, too, right? So what’s wrong? You seem uptight about it.”
He rubs at the throbbing in his right temple, a clear indication he is bothered by this whole conversation.
“Charlotte’s my ex,” he says, as if bracing for an argument.
I narrow my gaze. “And?” I didn’t think he was celibate before me.
“I just don’t want you to be…” He trails off, and I can only guess at what he was about to say.
“Jealous?”
“More like uncomfortable with the idea of her being around, I guess.” He shoves his hands into his pants pockets.
I’m a lot of things, but a clinging female isn’t one of them. “If she’s an ex, I don’t see the problem. Unless there’s still something between you?” At the thought, jealousy begins to seep through me, and I don’t like the feeling.
“Not for me,” Jason rushed to assure her. “It’s just that she was persistent when I ended things, and I’m worried she’s going to take the opportunity to perform as something more than a professional invitation.”
I tip my head to the side, staring at Jason.
I think about the pop performer, a gorgeous raven-haired beauty who prefers red lips to my light gloss and who is much thinner than me with my curves.
Charlotte is famous and seems to have it all.
But Jason obviously ended their relationship, so he doesn’t want the other woman. He is with me.
Should I be jealous? Maybe. Am I? Only to the extent that any woman would be.
Jason and I have a solid relationship for what it is. I know better than to expect a future, but I do require fidelity. Given Robert Dare’s history and Jason’s reaction to his father’s behavior, I’m not worried Jason is a cheater.
I reach out and grasp his hand. “Will you be coming home to me after she performs? If so, I don’t see a problem.”
He lets out a relieved breath. “I just assumed you’d have issues with my ex performing. Just like I’m assuming she’ll still want me when, in all probability, she’s moved on. It’s not like I’ve heard from her recently.”
“You see? You’re uptight for no reason.” I have a dawning realization. “I know you didn’t like it when I came to the club with your mother, but you have to know I’m not going to miss this performance.”
He closes his eyes and groans. “I don’t want to worry about your safety while being concerned the night goes off as planned.”
I shrug. “Then leave that worry to my bodyguard over there.” I gesture to Renault, who’s returned to his corner. “And you worry about your business.”
“I just have a bad feeling about you being in the crowded club.” He meets my gaze, a plea in his expression, but I’m not going to give in.
“As long as I’m with you and protected, I’ll be safe.” I kiss him on the cheek, not wanting him to worry.
I worry enough for both of us, but I refuse to miss his big night.
* * *
Jason
The days before Club TEN29’s big concert take a lot of time and planning and keep me out late every night.
It reaches the point where I barely see Faith, who is sleeping when I come home and gone when I wake up in the morning.
Now that I’m back to working normal shifts, my hours are the complete opposite of hers.
But I’m determined to make this shift in the club’s vision all it can be, and if that means sacrificing my personal life, so be it.
I didn’t lie to Faith when I told her I have an uneasy feeling something is going to go down on the night of the concert.
Her brother can’t stay hidden forever. He won’t, not if he wants his money.
He’s going to come after her when she’s vulnerable, and where will she be more susceptible than in a club loaded with people?
But I can’t keep her prisoner, which means she’ll be coming to the club. So I’ll have to split my focus in order to make sure she’s safe … and I will because, when it comes down to it, she means everything to me.
Faith slipped behind the carefully constructed walls I erected and has become part of my family, part of my life, and integral to my well-being.
I never believed it could happen, and yet it did.
If I lose her now, I’ll hurt as badly as I did when I lost Levi.
Now that she is in, I’m never letting her go.
Levi, I think, would want me to live my life.
To honor him in all ways, not dwell on the past and never climb out of the horror we experienced.
Although I haven’t realized it before, I understand that now.
Faith showed me I can have a future. Not one defined by Robert Dare’s mistakes or by tragic loss.
Now I just have to get Faith’s brother out of her life, and then I can tell her how I feel and hope she believes how far I’ve come.
* * *
Faith
Izzy calls me and invites me to go dress shopping with her and with Jason’s sister, Sienna, for Club TEN29’s big concert event.
It takes a lot of arguing for me to get Jason to accept the fact that I can go to department stores and boutiques and be safe.
I have to agree to have Renault trailing me every step of the way, and I feel sorry for the big man watching three women laugh their way through trying on at least fifty dresses before even hitting the shoe department in the store.
For the first time since I moved to New York, I’m free to do what I want with friends, or at least with Jason’s female relatives, who feel like they could be my friends.
The day brings me face-to-face with what I’ve been missing in my life, and I promise myself that when Colton is caught, I will build a full life for myself.
We’ve finished our shopping, loaded the bags into the trunk of Izzy’s SUV, and are now sitting around a table in a restaurant in Midtown.
Because Sienna is breastfeeding, she has a club soda in front of her, but Izzy and I have mimosas. We all order Oriental salads, and while waiting, we talk.
“To a successful day,” Sienna says, raising her alcohol-free glass.
“Hear, hear.” Izzy touches her glass to Sienna’s and the three of us each do the same.
“Izzy, I can’t thank you enough for letting me put my business card on the table at Noah’s party. I have been inundated with calls. Even moms whose kids’ birthdays aren’t until the summer wanted me to schedule them on my calendar.”
The pretty blonde smiles and raised her glass again. “To growing your business.”
“Thank you.”
“So,” Sienna says. “What’s really going on between you and my brother? And don’t tell me you’re just friends.” Her eyes glitter with mischief.
I choke on my drink. After coughing, I dab at my wet eyes.
“She’s blunt,” Izzy says needlessly. “And much younger, so we’ll have to forgive her.”
A twenty-three-year-old Sienna wrinkles her nose. “Hey. I have enough older brothers meddling in my life that I can do the same in theirs if I want. But I apologize if I’m being too nosy,” the pretty blonde says.
I smile, feeling my cheeks burn as I answer.
“Oh, there’s a lot going on,” I admit. “But it has an expiration date. When my brother is finally caught and we get him out of my life and I move out of Jason’s apartment, we’ll go our separate ways.
” My stomach lurches, and though I want to blame the alcohol, I know for a fact it is the thought of leaving Jason that upsets me.
Sienna sighs. “My father’s behavior made all of us wary of relationships, but I really hoped that Jason would find the right woman and settle down.”
I place my drink down on the table. “I think it’s more than just your father.” I won’t betray any confidences Jason gave me about his past.
“Oh, I know. Losing Levi devastated him.” Sienna’s face crumbles, her pain for her brother clear.
“All those guys were destroyed, really. But instead of shutting people out, Jason should embrace the good in life and live it to the fullest.” She clearly wants the best for her brother, but she doesn’t want to accept his choices.
I can’t help but feel protective of Jason and his feelings, even if they aren’t in my best interest. “Jason really is entitled to react his own way, and if he doesn’t want the kind of future I do, that’s okay.
” I force the words out, because in my heart, I mean them, no matter how painful the thought.
Do I want everything with the man? Hell, yes. But I won’t force or judge his choices. “Can we talk about something else?” I don’t want to get more upset and cry when there is nothing I can do about the situation I find myself in.
“Let’s talk about candy,” Izzy says. “Faith is a master.”
“Sure. I’m sorry,” Sienna murmurs. “So tell me about your business. I love sweets and I’m sorry I haven’t come by before, but now that I have Mom to help out, I’m going to visit you.”
“That would be lovely. How is your mom?” I ask.
With a sigh, Sienna sips her club soda before answering. “She’s stronger than I knew. And she has the entire family’s support, even my half-siblings. Everyone’s come around and embraced her. I’m so glad.”
“Savannah’s a sweet woman. I’m glad the family is a whole unit at last.”
The waitress walks over and places our salads in front of us, ending conversation, leaving me alone with my thoughts while we eat in relative silence.
Instead of dragging myself through a sad rehashing of losing Jason sometime soon, I think about the dress I bought for the concert.
I went overboard, choosing a red garment that comes to above the knee and dips low in the front with a slit up one thigh.
I surpassed my budget, but I have a feeling this is my final chance to make a lasting impression on Jason Dare, and I decided the splurge was worth it. He might let me go in the end but I’ll give him a sexy, stunning vision to remember me by.