Chapter 24
Bex
A few days after that miserable phone call with Corey, I’m back serving in the Regency Room at the Bravado. It’s the first night I’ve been back here since the night I met Corey. I feel a pang of wistful sadness as I pass by the blackjack table, recalling how he rescued me from Gary. How he immediately seemed attuned to me, his heated gaze tracking me along the room as I worked my shift.
Only a handful of players are scattered across the various blackjack, roulette, and craps tables. Everyone is incredibly polite, and most of the patrons are over sixty-five. Essentially, it’s boring as fuck in here today.
After making two rounds in a row in which no patrons need a drink, I slink toward the bar window in the back of the room and lean on the counter. Finn—the bartender whose name I have learned tonight—is slightly nicer to me this time than he was previously. I’m curious as to why, but don’t have the energy to ponder it.
I haven’t been able to calm my mind since the phone call with Corey. So many parts of our conversation replay over and over in my head. I think of so many things I could have said, or should have said differently. I went into that conversation wanting answers, owning my position on things, standing my ground… And now I’m worried that I’ve done something to ruin whatever Corey and I had going.
“God dammit,” I mumble, dropping my head back against the wall.
“You okay, Bex?” Aaron’s voice startles me into a rigid standing position, and I whip my drink tray up in front of my body like a shield.
“Mr. Blackwood, sir,” Finn says behind me. “What an honor to have you visiting us here in the Regency Room.” Finn gives me the softest glare possible, as if trying to adjust my attitude with a simple look.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes; Finn sounds like such a fucking brownnoser, but then again, if I didn’t know Aaron the way that I do, I might be trying to suck up as well.
“Hey, Aaron,” I say quietly, turning my back to Finn to block him out of our conversation.
Aaron glances at me with concern, and I don’t know why, but his concern, of all people, is making tears well in the corners of my eyes. He looks over my shoulder and says, “Finn, cover the room. Bex is taking ten.”
“Of course, sir,” Finn practically barks. I’m sure if I turned to look at him, he would be saluting.
“Let’s go somewhere quiet,” Aaron says as he wraps his arm around me, not quite touching, but enough to guide me toward the door to the back room .
Once we’re through the back door, Aaron leads me down an unfamiliar hall toward a cozy alcove with a couch, some chairs, and a mini-fridge stocked with water.
“What the hell is this space?” I ask incredulously. I want to laugh, but I still feel like crying, so my tone is wobbly when I say, “Sorry, I’ve just never been back here before.”
Aaron laughs softly as he settles into one of the chairs. “Believe me, this was all Drew’s idea. When we rebuilt most of the space, he loved the concept of having small, somewhat hidden areas for the staff to relax.”
He gestures for me to sit down, and I swipe at a few stray tears on my cheeks as I settle into the chair next to his. I’m embarrassed, behaving this way in front of not just my boss, but Corey’s best friend.
When Aaron whips the pocket square out of his suit and hands it to me, I can’t help but give in to real tears.
“I’m sorry,” I groan as I dab at my eyes. “This is so unprofessional.”
“Bex,” Aaron says softly. “I’m coming to you as a friend right now.”
“That almost makes it worse,” I sniff, resisting the urge to blow my nose in the most perfect pink silk piece of fabric. “Did Corey tell you that we spoke?”
Aaron nods, a grimace on his handsome face. “I’m sorry if I caught you off guard the other day, with your friends.” His cheeks heat, but he continues. “It wasn’t my place to—”
“You don’t need to cover for him,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “He’s a big boy. You just clued me into something he should have been honest about from the start.”
“Still,” Aaron says, absently rubbing the short beard along his jaw. “Bex, I would be a terrible friend to both you and Corey if I wasn’t honest right now. ”
“I think we need to hang out a bit more often if you want to qualify us as friends,” I say, lips lifting into a smile.
“We’ll get there, I’m sure,” he says. “But seriously, you mean so much to Corey. He’s my best friend. I’ve seen him through some shit.”
“Like Sabrina?”
Aaron rolls his eyes and mumbles, “That fucking cunt.”
“Oh, I see how it is!”
“Sorry, that was—”
“Probably an appropriate thing to say about Corey’s ex,” I finish. “Continue.”
“Right. Like I was saying, I’ve been there for Corey through a lot. Highs, lows, everything in between. And I want you to hear this truth, Bex… I have never seen him happier than since he’s met you.”
My breath catches in my throat. “What?”
“I mean it. I was there in the early days of his career, and right when things were taking off. The guy was on top of the fucking world. But none of that, and I mean none of it, compares to the giddy, love-drunk motherfucker he’s turned into after meeting you.” Aaron smiles at me, and I feel like my world is tilting on its axis.
“Love?”
His eyes wide, Aaron quickly says, “No–shit–I’m sorry. He hasn’t said that, specifically. At least, not to me. But honestly, from the way he’s been acting? I wouldn’t be surprised.”
I’m silent for a moment, clutching Aaron’s pocket square in my hands with a death-grip, and run the idea of Corey being… in love with me, through my head. Given the butterflies fluttering through my entire body at the thought, I think it’s something my rapidly beating heart might be on the same page with.
“Is he really retiring? ”
Aaron looks at me thoughtfully and shrugs. “You should ask him. I know him, and I know he cares a lot about what his woman thinks.”
His woman. There’s a roar in my ears at those words, but it doesn’t upset me. No. The idea of being Corey’s… being claimed by him? A rush of arousal courses through me before reality comes crashing in.
I jump up, practically tossing Aaron’s pocket square back in his face. “Sorry, I just—my brain is scattering and suddenly, I feel like I’m out of time. “Shit!”
Aaron stares up at me, amusement on his face. “Yes?”
“The awards show is in two days!” I yelp. “And I never, I didn’t—”
“You didn’t respond to the email introducing us, yes I know.”
I whip my head toward a woman striding into the alcove area. She’s tall, so tall, and she’s not even wearing heels. Thick, inky black hair falls down her back, and she carries herself with a distinct gracefulness, despite being tall and, well, curvy. Like me.
“Nice to meet you, Bex. I’m Jessica.” She holds her hand out to me, and I return her handshake somewhat weakly.
“I’m so sorry that I never—”
“Eh, it’s fine,” Jessica says, shrugging. She gives Aaron a pointed look. “I heard this guy dropped a bomb on you right after he mentioned me, so I don’t blame you.”
“You could say that,” I respond, giving Aaron a small smile.
“Anyway, I’m here because I assume you have some sort of desperate fashion emergency that only I can assist with?” She flashes a brilliant white smile at me, and I’m stunned stupid at how gorgeous she is. She could easily be a model, but I guess that would explain her connection to fashion.
Aaron stands up, and it’s clear to me these two are siblings, based on their hair color, the shape of their eyes, their height… their gorgeous overall features. What a gene pool lottery to win.
“Yes, Jess. I have a feeling Bex is going to need something stunning for the awards show in a few days.” Aaron gives his sister a nudge, then looks at me. “Right? You’re still going to go with Corey.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Yes. I want to be there for him.”
“Not everyday you get honored with a lifetime achievement award in the art of pornography,” Jessica says, giggling.
That’s right. Not only will I make a public outing with Corey, but at an awards show where he’ll be receiving the highest honor.
I turn toward Jessica. “I need you to work a miracle on me, please.”
She reaches out and wraps a flyaway piece of hair from my messy bun around her finger. “Honey, you already are a miracle. I’m going to make you fucking shine.”
“Shit!” I exclaim. “It’s way past the end of my break. Can we—”
Aaron shakes his head. “Nope. You’re off the clock. Grab your stuff from the staff room and get out of here.”
Jessica stands beside me, looping my arm in hers. “I have a studio space a few blocks from here. Plenty of things we can get started with ASAP, including this gorgeous little number I just designed for Ashley Graham.” She looks me up and down, assessing. “Hmmm, might work, but will definitely need to be shortened for you, shorty.”
“Aaron, I—”
“Bex, please. Go. I’ll handle the floor.”
An image of Aaron holding a drink tray, weaving between tables in the Regency Room in his dark gray, custom Tom Ford suit, has me laughing nervously. “Really? ”
He straightens the front of his suit coat and gives the slightest shake of his head. “Well, not me specifically, but—”
“Bye, brother. You’re done; it’s my turn now.”
Aaron mumbles a goodbye to us as Jessica whirls me back down the hallway. In a matter of fifteen minutes, it feels like my entire world has experienced an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime type of whiplash. Taking a deep breath, I say a quick prayer that Jessica can be the miracle worker she claims.
After all, I want to impress my man on his big night.