Page 44 of The Good Girl Effect (Salacious Legacy #1)

After they say their goodbyes, Emerson and Charlotte leave our small group. I’m alone with Jack and Julian, and I can feel the tension between them like a thick fog.

“Phoenix wants us to make a speech,” Jack says.

“You lead,” Julian replies gruffly.

“It’s up to both of us, Jules.”

The other man glances up at Jack as if the use of his nickname triggered some emotional reaction. “Okay. I’ll round everyone up then.” With that, he leaves, weaving through the crowd.

Alone with Jack, I stroke a hand down his arm. His eyes meet mine, but I don’t say anything to him. I don’t have to. With just my eyes, I can convey enough, offering him comfort so at least he doesn’t feel alone. And when I see the flicker of a smile on his lips, I know he can feel it.

As the rest of the owners are wrangled up to the front of the club, they take the stage together.

I hang back and watch Jack so he can find me in the crowd when he needs me.

Even before it starts, he does. It makes me feel useful, knowing I mean something to him.

Knowing he feels what I feel, even when he’s surrounded by hundreds of people.

Once everyone is quiet, Jack starts.

“We’d like to thank you all for coming to our grand reopening,” he says proudly.

Before continuing, he glances down at the other people standing on stage with him: Julian, Amelia, Phoenix, Weston, and Elizabeth.

“I fear that when the six of us first opened this club, we did so by trying to recreate something that was already perfect. We tried to emulate something our parents created.”

Julian’s head turns, staring at Jack with something like affinity in his eyes.

“The club we created was great,” Jack says, this time looking at the man beside him.

“But it wasn’t ours, not really.” This time, as he looks at the crowd, he clears his throat.

“And it’s made me realize that maybe something can be perfect but not right.

Maybe by trying to recreate something perfect for someone else, we made something wrong for us. ”

The people on stage with him nod, wearing expressions of confidence.

“But when I pulled these five people in and I encouraged them to really put their hearts into this club, what they created was…magic. Amelia, with this stunning design, brings something youthful and welcoming to the space. Weston, at the bar, has invented cocktail and mocktail creations like nothing you’ve ever tasted before.

Phoenix, with her brilliant business mind, somehow figured out a way for us to even afford this massive overhaul. ”

The crowd laughs as Phoenix blushes.

“And Elizabeth…” Jack says, holding up his glass. Her throat moves as she swallows, hiding her emotions behind a strong facade. “Elizabeth has turned this stage into a home for real artistry and talent.”

Elizabeth turns toward her brother, and I make out her lips silently mouthing the words thank you to him.

Last, Jack turns toward Julian. He pauses as they stare at each other, and it’s almost hard to believe in this moment that they can’t stand each other. In fact…I’m almost starting to believe they can. Jack claps a comforting hand on Julian’s shoulder, bringing him close to his side.

“And of course, my partner, Julian Kade. It only took one bottle of whiskey and a stern lecture from Matis to make us understand what needed to be done. A man who doesn’t have to work but chooses to work his ass off for what he believes in is a man of great character.

And I’m lucky to have him as my partner. ”

The room is so quiet we could hear a pin drop, but no one can tear their eyes away from the team on the stage, specifically the two men staring at each other. It’s hard to tell if they want to hug each other or punch each other, but it’s clear there’s a lot happening in that loaded gaze.

Finally, Jack turns toward the crowd, lifting his glass again.

“To Legacy,” he calls out. The crowd echoes the toast loudly before breaking out in cheers.

“Now, let’s party!” Weston bellows charismatically, riling up the people. Instantly, the music starts playing again, and the dance floor fills up.

There’s a light in Jack’s eyes as he finds me in the crowd.

I smile, knowing that once he finishes with the party, he’ll have me in those ropes again. He can lose himself in the work of tying them, and I’ll get lost in the nearness of him.

I’m hovering near the bar as Jack bounces from member to member, chatting with them and welcoming them to Legacy. Sipping my champagne, I watch him with pride.

He looks in his element, even if he doesn’t believe it. The grumpy, elusive man I met who hated everyone turned out to be a people person after all.

“I’d call it a success, wouldn’t you?”

I turn to see Julian standing nearby with a glass of something amber in his hands and mischief in his eyes. Turning away from him, I reply, “Yes, I would call it a success.”

“I think you had a hand in it,” he says, and I do everything I can not to spin back to face him again.

“Me? Why?”

“Well…someone had to be responsible for thawing that cold block of ice. Without you, he would have never walked into my office four weeks ago and proposed we make these changes.” He sidles up beside me, but I still refuse to look him in the eye.

Julian has a manipulative side, and I don’t trust him. After that day in the club where he got me in trouble by strapping me to that wall, I refuse to put an ounce of faith in this man.

“Jack is responsible for Jack’s behavior,” I say plainly.

“Ah yes,” he murmurs close to my ear. “And who is responsible for Jack’s good moods?”

I press my lips together to ignore him. But I can’t help feeling an ounce of pride that it might have been me, or rather the relationship between us, that helped turn things around for Jack. He has changed a lot in the past six weeks. So maybe I did play a small part…

“It’s a shame he’s leaving.”

Julian’s words settle slowly in my ears before I process them.

It’s a shame who’s leaving?

Eventually, I turn toward him. “What are you talking about?”

His brow furrows as he leans toward me with forced concern. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Jack has been telling us for the last year that he was only going to stay in Paris until the club reached its one-year anniversary, and then he’s taking his daughter and moving back to California to be with his family. I thought you knew that.”

I stare at Julian’s face, watching it morph from a performance of pity to sly deceit.

He’s telling me this to taunt me, maybe even ruin our relationship.

Why? I don’t know. Jealousy, resentment, cruelty.

After seeing him and Jack onstage, I thought they had mended things, but now I see that Julian likes to meddle and disrupt the peace just for the fun of it.

For these reasons, I try not to let it bother me. Jack would have told me this already. Our relationship hasn’t been serious until recently. If he had plans to move to America, he would have shared them by now.

Wouldn’t he?

I can’t deny that it all makes sense. Jack’s loyalty to this club has been half-hearted. I could always tell there was a sense of urgency in his behavior as if he just needed to get through the next month or week and then everything would be different.

But surely he can’t be thinking about moving away now . Bea is so happy now.

Everyone is so happy now.

Just then, Jack looks up and finds me. I notice the hint of hesitation on his face, and I imagine him hiding something from me. Maybe Julian was right. Maybe Jack is still planning to leave, and he just needs to find a way to break it to me.