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damian

“Hi, Damian,” Charlotte greeted me, not looking surprised to see me.

“Where’s Talie?” I asked, looking around again.

“She’s…uh, she’s working,” Charlotte answered slowly.

“Working?” I repeated. “She works here?”

“Kinda.”

My jaw clenched as my impatience bubbled. “What does that mean?”

“I’ll let her explain,” she said, reaching for her drink on the table in front of her.

“Where is she?”

“She’ll be here soon.”

I swiped a hand down my face. “Charlotte. Please, just tell me where she is.”

Her eyes met mine. “Do you trust her?”

“Yes,” I answered. “But I want to know?—”

“She’s going to tell you,” Charlotte interrupted, standing up to keep her next words between us. “I’m the only one who knows about this, and she’s finally ready to tell you. So don’t mess it up.”

My eyes widened slightly at her sharp tone. “So I’m just supposed to wait?”

She grinned. “Yes.”

I bit my tongue, swallowing my annoyance. Pulling my phone out, I called Talie, only to get sent to her voicemail. Grumbling under my breath, I slid it back into my jacket pocket.

“I’ll get a round of drinks,” Rhyett said, catching the attention of a woman who was carrying an empty tray.

“Charlotte’s busy for the night. You can go.” Ash dismissed the guy who’d been talking to Charlotte as he continued to sit on the couch. He stared at Ash before swinging his gaze toward Charlotte with a frown on his face.

She sighed. “I’ll see you in class, Collin.”

Once he got up and stormed away, I sat down next to Ash, and Charlotte took the spot on the other side of me.

My gaze darted around as I waited for Talie to show up.

Now, I was more confused than anything. It wasn’t possible she worked here.

If she wasn’t home with me, then she was at my club.

Nights like this, when she was with Charlotte, were the only times I didn’t know where she was.

“Don’t look so stressed,” Charlotte said before taking a sip of her mixed drink. “She’s not doing anything bad.”

“Then why hasn’t she told me?”

“She was working up to it. But you’ll know tonight.” She turned to look at me. “And if you don’t side with her on this, you’ll lose her.”

I frowned. “What?”

“She wants a career , Damian. If our father finds out, then he’ll try to put a stop to it. It’s your job to support her.” She scoffed. “You might be happy working with the family business, but she doesn’t have that option, even if she wanted it.”

With a chuckle, I leaned closer. “You think I’m happy working with my dad? Want to hear one of my secrets?”

She shot me a questioning look. “Sure.”

“How did you like your time at Club Facade?”

Shock flared on her face before she shook her head. “Talie told you about my birthday?”

“She didn’t need to tell me. The club you went to? I own it.”

She stared at me in stunned silence. Ash rested his elbows on his knees, looking past her to grin at me.

“Are we making it public knowledge now?” he asked.

“She’s family and knows how to keep a secret. Don’t you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s how you knew Talie came home? Because I chose to go to your club?”

Shit. Talie had been home so long, I’d forgotten she’d come home on Charlotte’s birthday. A small amount of guilt pestered me, but I shook it off.

“She was coming home anyway,” I replied coolly. “I only sped up the process by a couple of months.”

“I don’t think she would have come home. Ever,” she muttered, her voice barely audible over the music. “But you seem to make her happy now.” She frowned. “Are you the one who carried her onto the stage on my birthday?”

I arched an eyebrow. “You think I’d let any other man touch my wife?”

Before she could respond, her attention went behind me.

Looking over my shoulder, I spotted the DJ crossing the room toward us.

Her red mask was still on, and from what we knew about her, she never took it off in public.

Her black dress brushed the floor and had a slit up one side.

The sleeves were long and the fabric clung seamlessly to her body.

My eyes cut back to her mask as she got closer.

Ash jumped off the couch, his eyes locked on the woman. Charlotte watched him with a smile tipping her lips as she leaned back against the couch cushions.

“She won’t talk to you,” Rhyett reminded Ash, handing him a drink. “She only talks via email or her manager.”

“Maybe she’ll make an exception,” he said, not hiding that he was checking her out. “You think she’ll go out with me?”

Charlotte giggled, and I glanced at her, wondering what I was missing.

She met my gaze, her eyes dancing with amusement.

I checked my watch, not caring about talking to the DJ.

I just wanted to see my wife. I got to my feet, intent on searching this entire fucking place if she didn’t show in the next few minutes.

The woman stopped a couple feet away, and Charlotte stood up, tugging down her short dress. Ash stepped in front of the masked woman, holding out his hand.

“Your music mixes are amazing,” he told her, a flirtatious gleam in his eye.

“He’s gonna try to sleep with her and fuck up the chance of her playing at Facade,” Rhyett muttered in my ear.

Ice dripped through my veins at his words. It was another reminder that soon I wouldn’t be a part of the club I built anymore. Not if my father got his way.

She didn’t respond to Ash but looked in my direction instead. I gave her a polite smile, in no mood for small talk. Before I could leave to find Talie, the woman erased the space between us, her palm landing on my chest. I grabbed her wrist without a thought, gently removing her hand.

“Not interested?” she asked, tilting her head. The mask muffled her voice, and I barely heard it over the music.

“My wife is the jealous type.”

Ash barked out a laugh at my response, sauntering closer to try and claim the woman’s attention again. But she only scooted closer to me, clearly determined to talk.

“I thought you came to see me?” she questioned. Since she was closer, her voice was slightly more audible, and I stared at her, wondering why she sounded vaguely familiar.

Rhyett was studying her, his usual frown on his lips, while Charlotte watched all of us with a gleeful smile.

“No, he’s here to see his wife,” Ash said cheerfully. “But I’m not married.”

She didn’t turn away from me. “If I could, I’d throw you over my shoulder like you did to me when I first saw you in a mask.”

I went still, gaping at her. Her words were loud enough for all of us to hear, and confusion swam on Ash's face as his gaze flicked to me.

“Talie?” I hissed in disbelief, my eyes raking over her again. Between her long dress and the full-face mask, it was nearly impossible to recognize her. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun, and I noticed for the first time that it perfectly matched Talie’s.

“Oh, shit,” Ash choked out with a laugh, glancing at me sheepishly. “I take back every dirty thought I had a few seconds ago.”

“You’re DJ Savoie?” Rhyett asked in a low voice.

Before anyone else could say a word, I snatched her wrist, pulling her with me toward the bar.

She didn’t utter a protest even when I tugged her behind the bar and into a door marked Storage .

The small supply room had floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with boxes, with a bright fluorescent light already on.

She pushed the door closed behind her, leaning against it before carefully pulling up her mask until it was resting on top of her head.

Her green eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed, most likely from having the mask on.

A smug grin lifted her lips as she stared at me, but I caught a speck of indecision in her gaze.

“Music,” I murmured, kicking myself for not thinking about it earlier. “That’s what you did when you were gone?”

“Yes.” She reached for me, grabbing my wrist to look at my watch. “I have three minutes before I have to get back to my table.”

“This is what you do every time you go out with your sister?”

Her eyes darted to mine. “Every single time, Damian. Were you thinking the worst of me?”

“No,” I answered, keeping her stare. “I wasn’t suspicious. I was curious.”

“Really?” she mused. “You seemed pretty intent on finding out where I was tonight.”

I sighed. “It’s been a fucking night. This just made it better.”

“Better?”

I stalked forward, pressing my hand on the door next to her head.

“Seeing you happy? I fucking love it, Talie. Music is what you love. I understand why you didn’t tell me when you first came back.

But you want to explain why we had the conversation about making this marriage work weeks ago, and I’m just learning about your career tonight? ”

She raised her chin, defiance gleaming in her eyes. “I told you I wouldn’t be happy in this life being a little housewife.”

“I agreed with you,” I reminded her. “So why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was scared.”

My stomach dropped. “Of me?”

“Of what you’d say.”

Her eyes searched mine when I put my knuckles under her chin. “You really thought I’d be angry?”

“I had no idea how you would react,” she said stiffly. “I was going to tell you tonight, but then you sent me away from your club.” She pushed my hand from her jaw before glancing at my watch again. “I have to go.”

“This conversation isn’t over, Talie.”

“I know. I’ll see you at home.”

She reached for her mask, and I grabbed her wrist, stopping her as I dropped my head, pressing my lips to her.

When she let out a small gasp of surprise, I deepened the kiss, letting out a groan as I tasted her.

She pulled away far too soon, and I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to take her right here.

“I won’t see you at home,” I said roughly. “I’ll see you when you’re done?—”

“It’s not even eleven. I’ll be here at least another four hours.”

“I’ll be sitting on that couch, watching my sexy-as-fuck wife work until she’s done.” I brushed one more kiss across her lips before she lowered the mask. “Then I’ll take you home and get on my knees to show you how much I enjoy seeing you do something you love.”

She giggled as she opened the door. “ Do something I love?” she repeated, her muffled voice teasing. “Are you talking about music or you? I think I enjoy being in your bed as much as my music.”

She scurried away, disappearing around a corner. I leaned against the doorframe, a smile forming on my lips when the song mixed into a faster beat. The entire issue with my father was the furthest thing from my mind right now.

Because my wife admitted she wanted to be in this marriage. When we were kids, she loved music more than anything in this world.

Her words proved she wanted me just as much.