Chapter 68
MELODY
“Dane!” Cash called out to a man who walked into the private room.
I immediately saw the family resemblance. Same strong jaw as Austin and Cash, same dark eyes, though his held a perpetual hint of irritation that seemed baked in from years of running a high-end kitchen.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Dane said. “You’re damn lucky the room wasn’t booked tonight. Otherwise, you’d be eating in the alley with the rats.”
“Always so dramatic,” Cash said, but he was smiling.
“I’m a chef. Drama is part of the job description. I should start charging double for family. You guys are sucking the life out of me.” He was obviously joking. “I’ll send someone with drinks and food.”
“Thank you, Dane,” I said, feeling guilty that we had imposed. “I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”
He waved me off. “Don’t apologize. These two deserve to grovel. But you seem nice. Too nice for this one.” He jerked his thumb at Austin.
“Hey,” Austin protested.
“Am I wrong?” Dane challenged.
“No, but you don’t have to say it out loud.”
Dane’s lips twitched into what might have been a smile. Then he disappeared, muttering to himself.
“He loves us really,” Cash said.
“Does he?” Cleo asked.
“Deep, deep down,” Austin replied. “It’s why he leaves a table open for family every night. He likes when we show up. Gives him a chance to show off.”
Within minutes, a server appeared with a bottle of excellent wine and a spread of appetizers that looked like art on the plates. Dane might grumble, but he was taking care of us.
I leaned against Austin, finally able to just be close to him without worrying about cameras or being seen. His arm went around my shoulders immediately, and I felt the last of my adrenaline start to fade.
“You were perfect, baby girl.”
“I felt like I was going to throw up the entire time.” I took a sip of wine, trying to settle my still-churning stomach. “Honestly, I feel kind of bad for her.”
Austin and Cash both looked at me in surprise.
“Bad for her?” Austin asked.
“I know, I know. She’s awful and she tried to destroy you. But I feel bad that she is going to be destroyed.” I struggled to find the words. “I’ve never met someone so desperate that they would cripple someone else for their own gain. That’s such a sad way to live.”
Austin and Cash exchanged a look I couldn’t quite read.
“What?” I asked.
“We know a lot of people like that,” Cash said quietly. “It comes with the territory of having our last name. People see dollar signs instead of human beings. They see opportunities instead of relationships. People will do a lot of things they might not normally do if it means a big payout.”
“That’s why what you did tonight was even more important,” Austin added. “You could have joined her. Could have used this to boost your own platform, get your own revenge on the Bancrofts for dragging you into our mess. But you didn’t. You could have walked away with millions.”
“Of course I didn’t,” I said. “Why would I hurt you for personal gain?”
“Because a lot of people would,” Cash said simply. “That’s the world we live in.”
The sadness in his voice made my chest ache. I felt bad for them as well. It must be difficult to live such a jaded existence. “Well, not everyone is like that. Some of us actually care about people more than we care about clout and money.”
Cleo raised her glass. “Damn right.”
We clinked glasses and drank. I no longer had to be as careful now that my spy mission was over.
The conversation flowed easily from there.
The wine helped, loosening everyone up. Cash told stories about other crises he’d managed for the family, each one more ridiculous than the last. Austin shared tales from his traveling years that had us all laughing.
Cleo recounted some of the wilder fashion emergencies she’d handled for me.
At some point, Dane himself appeared with more food, things that weren’t on the menu. He said they were experiments he wanted us to try. He stayed for a few minutes, trading barbs with his brothers, and I could see the affection beneath the grumbling.
“I need to get a better look at this Instagram I’ve been hearing about,” Dane said.
Austin frowned. “Melody’s?”
“No, yours,” Dane said, nodding at Austin.
Cash pointed at Cleo. “Technically, it’s hers. She runs it.”
“It’s got some real gems.” Cleo grinned. “I get people sending me pics all the time. I only select the worst of the worst to post.”
“The account has eight hundred thousand followers.” Cash laughed, his professional composure completely shattered.
I looked at Austin, expecting him to be furious, but instead, he was smiling.
“I can’t believe I have to say this,” I said, torn between horror and hysterical laughter. “But, Cleo, can you please stop cyberbullying my boyfriend?”
“It’s not cyberbullying if it’s funny,” Cleo said. “And if he deserved it. Which he did, at first.”
“At first?” Austin raised an eyebrow.
“Well, then it just became fun. And the followers kept growing. Want to see the analytics? The engagement rate is incredible. People like seeing that you’re not always hot and charming. They like knowing you’re actually human and not a total pod person.”
“This one got half a million likes,” he said, scrolling through. “It’s me tripping on a red carpet.”
“You didn’t just trip,” Cleo said. “You full-on face planted. It was magnificent.”
Cash kept grinning. “This is the best thing I’ve heard all year. Cleo, you’re a genius.”
“Thank you,” she said, preening slightly. “I take my craft very seriously.”
“Your craft of destroying my reputation?” Austin asked.
“Your reputation is Teflon. Even you stuffing your face with mayo on your lips gets likes. I don’t know if there is anything that would truly scar you. It just makes you more endearing.”
Austin grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “What can I say? I’m hard to hate.”
“I can’t believe you’re bonding over this,” I said.
“I like her,” Cash said to Austin. “She’s got guts. And a good eye for comedy.”
“I like you too,” Cleo said. “You laugh at my jokes. That’s important in a person.”
The way she said it, the slight flush on her cheeks, the way Cash was looking at her with genuine interest—I filed it away to discuss with her later. Much later. When we weren’t dealing with Summer and injunctions and fake breakups.
We stayed in that private room for another hour, laughing and talking and finishing the incredible food Dane kept sending in. The tension from earlier had completely evaporated, replaced by something that felt like family. We had become a team.
Eventually, Cash checked his watch. “We should probably head out. It’s getting late, and we all have early mornings tomorrow.”
“Right,” I said, reality crashing back. “The injunction.”
“Don’t worry,” Cash said. “By the time you wake up, our lawyers will have already filed everything. Summer Auburn’s going to have a very bad morning.”
“She’s probably going to be blowing up my phone as soon as she finds out her little interview is canceled,” I said.
“Ignore her,” Cash said.
“What if she shows up at my house?” I asked. “I mean she brought the envelope to my door. She was all dressed up and ready to drop her little bombshell. She’s not going to be happy.”
“Ignore her,” Austin said. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t have anything to do with her.”
“I won’t,” I said.
We gathered our things and headed back through the kitchen, where Dane was still working despite the late hour. He gave me a bag of leftovers.
“For tomorrow,” he said. “Since these idiots will probably forget to feed you while they’re busy dealing with the fallout.”
“Thank you,” I said, genuinely touched. “And everything was delicious.”
Outside, we had to split up to maintain the illusion of the breakup. Austin would take a separate car back to his place while Cash drove Cleo and me home.
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered as Austin kissed me goodbye in the shadows of the alley. “I hate this.”
“Just a little longer,” he promised. “Forty-eight hours, maybe less. Then we can be together for real.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
He kissed me once more, then reluctantly pulled away and headed for his car.
I climbed into the back of a cab with Cleo and Cash. We dropped Cleo off first at her apartment.
“Thanks for tonight,” she said before getting out. “You’re not as uptight as I thought you’d be.”
“Thanks for the Instagram account,” Cash replied. “It’s brought me genuine joy.”
“Anytime. Well, not anytime. Austin’s being better now, so the content is drying up. But I have a good backlog.”
Then it was just Cash and me for the drive to my townhouse.
“Thank you,” I said. “For everything tonight. For the plan, for helping Austin, and being a good brother to him.”
“He deserves it,” Cash said. “I’m just sorry it took me so long to see that.”
“Better late than never.”
The car pulled up in front of my place. I gathered Dane’s leftovers and my purse.
“Get some sleep,” Cash said. “Tomorrow’s going to be intense, but we’ve got this.”
“We do,” I agreed.
I let myself into my townhouse, exhausted and wrung out and ready to collapse into bed. I kicked off my heels in the entryway and walked into the kitchen to put the leftovers in the fridge. A lamp was on in the living room.
Austin sat on my couch, looking at me with that crooked smile that made my heart skip.
“How did you get in here?” I said with some alarm.
“I have my ways,” he said, standing up. “I couldn’t let you spend tonight alone. Not after everything.”
I dropped my purse and Dane’s leftovers on the counter and walked straight into his arms.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.
“I’m so glad I get to be here.”