Page 77 of King of Pain (Damaged Hearts #1)

Faith

Chance

The crowd fades into background blur. Champagne glasses clink and music thumps under the buzz of conversation as I lead Ant down the stairs, off the stage, and into a quiet corner tucked behind one of the exhibit partitions. My fingers are laced tight in his, grounding us both.

I turn to him, still catching my breath from the speech, the surprise, this night, all of it.

“Say something, Beautiful,” I whisper, searching his face. “Please.”

His expression’s unreadable—shocked, maybe. Teary. His lips part but no sound comes out. I panic a little. Maybe this was too much. Maybe I’ve overstepped in the biggest possible way.

I try again. “Is all this okay? Did I... overdo it?”

Ant finally shakes his head and exhales. “No,” he says. “I just—I don’t know what to say.”

I squeeze his hands, but my pulse won’t settle. I wait.

He looks at me again, voice rough. “How did you even do this? This was years away, Chance.”

I rub up and down his arms, trying to settle him. “I had help,” I admit softly.

Ant nods, looking around the room, eyes glassy. “This is amazing, but—”

My stomach drops. There it is. The “but.” The part where I screwed up.

“I’m not experienced enough,” he says quickly. “I can’t fund this. I don’t have clients. I don’t know how—”

His breath starts to pick up and I can see the spiraling begin. Shit.

“Hey, hey,” I say, stepping closer. “You don’t have to figure it all out tonight.”

Right then, like the universe threw me a parachute, Meg appears. I blink. It's the first time I’ve seen her tonight.

She’s a goddamn force—sleek black dress, hair pulled up tight, stilettos that could double as a weapon. The whole look says, ‘don’t fuck with me’ .

She grabs a flute of champagne from a tray without missing a beat and gives me a knowing smile before turning to Ant.

“Funny,” she says, turning and pointing with her glass, “I’m pretty sure that sign saysPacini and Evers.”

Ant’s eyes widen. “Holy shit,” he breathes. “I—I’m sorry. I think I’ve been in shock and haven’t even registered that.” He turns to her, a little helpless. “But Meg... I can’t ask that of you.”

Meg laughs, light and easy. “You didn’t,” she says, glancing at me. “Neither did he.”

I shrug sheepishly.

She sips her champagne and continues. “When Chance came to me looking for advice on setting up a nonprofit, the conversation… evolved.”

Ant looks at me in disbelief and Meg goes on. “It didn’t take long to realize the nonprofit wasn’t the only thing that he was planning.”

She side-eyes me. I shrug again, this time with a grin. “Naturally, I pulled it out of him,” she adds.

Ant huffs a little laugh, then quiets again as Meg steps toward him and places a hand on his shoulder. “Anthony,” she says gently, “I’ve hit the ceiling where we’re at. I believe in your vision, and you and me? We’re a force together. So, no—you didn’t ask. I inserted myself. Hope that’s okay.”

She pulls him into a hug, and Ant melts into it. I watch his shoulders relax a little. When they pull apart, he turns to both of us, shaking his head.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay, but—clients. We don’t have clients. That’s kind of an important part, right?”

Meg opens her mouth to answer when a voice clears from the side.

“Uh, what am I? Chopped liver?”

We all turn to find Butters strolling up, looking smug as hell. Ant blinks at him. “You have an agency,” he says. “I’ve been bugging you for years.”

Butters shrugs and throws a friendly punch at Ant’s shoulder. “Yeah, but you knew I was in a contract. That contract’s up now. As in, next month.”

Ant’s jaw drops.

“And,” Butters continues, pointing behind him, “Beau signed at the same time as me. So... he’s up for renewal too. He’s in.”

Ant just stares at him, speechless again.

Then Jason rolls up, hands tucked in his pockets. “And as you know,” he says smoothly, “I’m up for renewal too.” He flashes a grin at Ant. “I go where you go.”

I watch Ant take it all in. My man looks like he might faint.

Ant narrows his eyes at me, then at Jason, and back at me again. His voice is suspicious but amused. “So,thisis why you two seemed more acquainted earlier.”

I wince. “Guilty.”

Ant turns to Meg, one brow arched. “And this is why you had me pulling renewal files like a cloak and dagger operation.”

Meg takes the tiniest sip of her champagne, absolutely smug. “Yep.”

Ant blows out a breath and shakes his head, but I can see the shift happening.

The excitement starting to win out over the shock.

He points at Meg with the same grin that makes my heart knock against my ribs.

“Kind of brilliant, actually. Talent without contracts. You’re a dirty little schemer. I like it.”

Meg winks over the rim of her glass.

Ant gestures at the entire circle: Jason, Butters, Meg, and me. “You’re all dirty schemesters, in fact.”

I chuckle. “There was plenty of scheming. Andplanning.” I thumb toward Butters and Jason. “These two clowns aren’t just clients—they’re silent partners. Helped fund a good chunk of the startup costs. Liz, too.”

“Don’t forget about us.”

Ant’s eyes widen as Frank and Kathy make their way to us with Jen in tow. “I can’t believe you guys are here!” he says—a mixture of excitement and fondness in his voice.

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t miss Chance’s big night for anything,” Kathy says warmly.

Ant greets them both with long hugs. I do the same, lifting Kathy off the ground, earning myself a laugh and a gentle back slap.

“I’m so glad you made it,” I tell them. “Do you want to tell Ant your news?”

Franks nods, a huge smile lighting up his face. “We sold Devil Records.”

Ant’s jaw drops. “What? Why?”

Frank is still beaming. “We’re retiring and moving to Hawaii!” he exclaims, pulling Kathy into his side.

Kathy reaches out and rubs Ant’s arm. “Anthony, between Vino & Vinyl and your other marketing ideas, Devil Records grew into a desirable purchase. We sold for far more than we ever thought we could get.”

“Frank and Kathy also invested in the agency,” I tell Ant.

I watch his throat working over the lump forming as his eyes start misting over. “I don’t even know what to say.”

I move in closer, my hand finding the small of his back, and I press a soft kiss to the top of his head. “A lot of people believe in this vision.”

“Damn right we do,” Frank says.

“We’re so proud of all of you,” Kathy whispers, a little choked up. “You were never employees in our eyes. We didn’t tell you, but I was not able to conceive.” She takes a deep breath, and Frank pulls her in tighter.

“What my beautiful wife is trying to say is that the three of you were the closest we ever had to having children of our own. Sure, we’ve had employees after you all left the nest, but nothing will ever compare to the originals.”

“If I cry one more time tonight, I’m going to hurt someone,” Jen says through a laugh, wiping at her eyes.

“And you two,” Kathy says, waggling two fingers at me and Ant. “We were pulling for the two of you the whole time.”

Ant’s jaw drops. “Wait. What? You knew? The whole time?”

“Uh—duh. Everyone knew,” Jen teases. Then, with a sly grin, she adds, “With the chemistry you two have… there was no hiding it. Especially your heart-shaped eyes, Anthony.”

Ant laughs. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I was a goner from the start.”

Frank chuckles. “Yes, you were.”

Kathy grabs Frank’s hand. “Let’s go get a drink, husband. Jen, join us. Let’s give these boys a minute.”

We promise to catch up with them more later tonight. Butters, Jason and Meg are deep in their own conversation off to the side.

I lean into Ant and whisper, “If all this isn’t what you want, Beautiful… if you feel pushed or pressured in any way, I can undo it. All of it. I made sure of that.”

He whips around so fast I nearly lose my balance. “What? No!”

His fingers grip the lapel of my jacket, fisting the fabric and pulling me closer. “This is the most incredible, thoughtful, sweet—and yeah, a little bit insane—thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

His mouth crashes against mine before I can say anything else. It’s not gentle. It’s not polite. It’s full of fire and that familiar need that lives in both of us. His lips part mine, and I let him take whatever he needs, my hands planted on his waist.

Somewhere in the background, Jason coughs and says, “Butters, want to get a drink?”

Ant and I break apart, catching our breath, and turn to see Meg... just staring at us, sipping her champagne.

“What?” she says, shrugging. “I like watching.”

She swipes another flute from a passing tray, gaze trailing after the server. Her eyes drop to his ass, and she smiles like a woman on a mission. “Looks like I found my distraction for the evening, fellas.”

Ant snickers, and I laugh, shaking my head.

She’s already turning away, but she pauses, pointing her glass at me.

“Chance, give your man the tour of our new offices. I already took first dibs.”

Then she disappears into the crowd, unapologetically seeking out her prey.

Ant blows out a big breath. “I hope I can pull this off, Chance.”

“You gotta have faith,” I tell him with a wink and hold out my hands. “Ready to see what your future looks like?”

He grabs both my hands and looks me squarely in the eyes. “I'm looking at it right now, baby.”