by Aly Martinez
Rhion flipped him off without ever tearing her gaze from mine.
“Maybe she’s coming to apologize. I thought you loved her.”
“I do love Katie! But she gave her mother, the real-world equivalent of Voldemort, my address and security card! She does not get to apologize on a day when my family gets together to give thanks for another year of life. The day I look forward to all year. I spent five hours hand-rolling three-dozen biscuits last night. You avoid me for months, you don’t get my delicious, baked-with-love biscuits.”
They really were good fucking biscuits. But she only had two dozen and ten left; I’d snagged a pair off the baking sheet while she’d been folding linen napkins. I didn’t dare mention that.
“Okay. So tell the security room not to buzz her up. You won’t have to see her. I’ll pour you a glass of wine and you can stop stressing.”
“Pssh. Yeah, right. And miss my opportunity to tell her off in person? No, thank you. Katie and I are going to chat. It may or may not end with her sitting at the dinner table, but no matter what, you make sure she does not get a biscuit.”
I gave her a teasing side-eye and asked, “No biscuits? On Thanksgiving? My girl’s a true savage.”
She cuddled in close. “You don’t know the half of it. I’m also going to rig it so Devon gets Alex for a secret Santa this year. Alex always gives socks.”
I laughed and dipped low to press a kiss to her mouth. “You’re crazy, Butterfly.”
“You like it,” she murmured against my lips
I didn’t. Not anymore.
I loved it. So. Fucking. Much.
“Get a room!” Lark called, walking through the door with a pair of identical redheaded little girls in tow.
“Rhion!” they both squealed in unison and took off at a sprint before careening into her legs.
Rhion’s entire face split into a megawatt grin as she squatted and hooked them into a group bear hug. “Hey, sweets.”
“Daddy say you killed da turkey with you bare hands,” one of the girls said.
The other added, “After you wrestled it to da ground.”
I arched an eyebrow at Lark, but he was too busy beaming with pride at his baby girls to notice.
“Did he now?” Rhion twisted her lips and tipped her head back to scowl at him.
He feigned innocence. “What? Braydon told me you were working at a slaughterhouse.”
Everyone laughed, including Rhion, who stood up and looped an arm around my waist and announced, “Mum’s the word.” And then her body locked up tight as a woman’s voice came from the front door.
“Knock. Knock,” Katie said, timidly peeking her head inside.
Considering she graced nearly half of the picture frames in Rhion’s apartment, I immediately recognized her. She was cute, albeit a little mousy for my taste, but it didn’t escape me the way Devon and Alex suddenly straightened in their seats when she walked in.
Rhion strolled to the door. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
Katie lifted her hands in surrender and flashed her gaze around the room. “I come in peace.”
Johnson grumbled something under his breath and went back to watching the game, though I could tell he was paying studious attention to Rhion and Katie out of the corners of his eyes. I followed his lead and walked to the makeshift bar Rhion had set up to keep us out of the kitchen while the chefs did their thing.
“Long time no see,” Rhion said as I twisted the top off a beer.
“I brought you a surprise,” Katie announced.
My body went stiff as I cut my gaze to Johnson and found him rising to his feet.
“What kind of surprise?” he asked.
Doing my best to keep it casual, I eased back to Rhion’s side and draped an arm around her shoulders. “Yes. I’d love to hear more about this surprise. Hi. I’m Jude.”
Katie’s gaze jumped to me, her eyes drifting to my arm, confusion and shock registering in her dull, brown eyes “It…it’s a peace offering,” she stammered.
Rhion’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she said, “You gave your mother my address and then dodged me for two months. It better be a Saint Bernard puppy I can name Mozart if you expect to be forgiven.”
The entire room went on alert when a second woman’s voice came from the front door. “The dog’s name is Beethoven. Not Mozart.”
“Oh my God!” Rhion shrieked.
Johnson boomed, “What the fuck?”
Devon cursed, “Holy hell.”
“No fucking way,” Alex whispered.
“Yesss,” Braydon hissed.
Katie smiled—a huge, toothy, white grin, which made her look far more attractive than I’d originally thought. But, as I saw the woman standing behind her, I realized not a single person in the room was looking at Katie.
The woman was unbelievably gorgeous. Tall. Thin. Shiny, black hair draped over her shoulders and down the front of her painted-on black dress. Her heels were so tall that she was closer to my height than any woman I’d ever met.
I recognized her immediately. Though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she was standing in Rhion’s apartment.
Lark moved to my side and whispered, “Is that Brianna Talbot?”
“Looks like it,” I replied, equally shocked.
“As in…former lingerie model turned lingerie designer, Brianna fucking Talbot?” he elaborated.
“I…” I started but trailed off.
It was. No question about it, but I’d never been so confused as I watched Rhion pull her in for an exuberant hug.
“What are you doing here?” Rhion exclaimed.
“I hear you’ve got a man. As your best friend, it’s my job to meet him and see if he’s worthy of my stamp of approval.”
Rhion playfully slapped her arm before turning to face me. “Jude. Meet Brianna. Brianna. Meet Jude.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, prowling toward them, extending a hand, which she took in a limp, feminine shake.
“Oh, he’s prettier than the pictures,” Brianna whispered to Rhion.
She giggled. “I told you.”
I blinked. “Pictures?”
What in the actual fuck was happening?
Leo was grinning as he headed toward the door. “Brianna,” he greeted, pulling her into a professional yet friendly hug. “I didn’t know you were coming. I’d have sent one of the guys to pick you up from the airport.”
Her deep-brown eyes lit as she aimed them down at Rhion and winked. “But then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”
Just then, Sarah came rushing through the door. “Sorry, sorry. I’m late. I burnt the mac and cheese, so I had to start over. It’s cooking upstairs. I’ll need—” She suddenly froze. “Brianna?”
“Surprise!” she said with a blinding, big-screen-worthy smile.
“What the…” Sarah squealed, dropping her bags to the ground and rushing over to pull her into a hug.
I scanned the room around us. Johnson was blinking rapidly, Alex’s mouth was hanging open, Devon was finger-combing his hair, and Braydon was wearing a shit-eating grin.
Hooking my arm around Rhion, I tugged her off-balance until she crashed into my chest.
With a giddy smile, she snuggled against me, muttering, “This is the best surprise ever.”
“Surprise is right,” I rumbled into the top of her hair. “Your best friend is Brianna Talbot?”
Rhion tipped her head back and eyed me curiously. “Is that a problem?”
“Damn straight, I’m her best friend! She can’t live without me!” the willowy woman exclaimed, releasing Sarah as Katie shut the door behind them.
Rhion giggled and shot her a smile. Brianna returned the wide grin and capped it off with a wink.
Hand to God I heard Devon moan.
I ground my teeth together. “Right. You going to explain why, in the approximately four thousand conversations we’ve had about her, you didn’t think to mention her last name?”
>
Her head snapped back, a sudden attitude sifting through her features. “You didn’t ask.”
“That’s because, in your file, it says her name is Brianna Turner, thirty-four-year-old, housewife, mother of two, that you met online in a readers’ group.”
“Funny, I was unaware you were dating my file,” she smarted.
I looked up and found Johnson watching us, his expression equally as puzzled as I felt.
“Thirty-four?” Brianna questioned, clearly appalled. She turned her wrath on Leo and repeated, “Thirty-four?”
He chuckled. “I’ll change it to twenty-one if you’d like. Seems like a wasted effort now that you’re here. Cat’s out of the bag.”
Brianna smirked. “You still sign their paychecks though, right?”
“That I do.”
“What the hell is going on?” Johnson joined the conversation, his outrage only slightly more palpable than mine.
“Brianna is a client,” Leo replied. “She likes to keep things…well, private.”
“Like me!” Rhion chirped, looking up to bat her lashes at me.
“What the fuck, Leo? Why didn’t I know about this? Christ, I scoped Brianna Turner’s house when she and Rhion first started talking. I pulled the woman’s bank records, for fuck’s sake,” Johnson grumbled.
“Oh my,” Brianna breathed, clutching her chest. “That’s hot.” Her eyes leveled on Johnson, a sultry smile pulling at her lips.
Leo shrugged nonchalantly, moving to the bar. “It was none of your business, Johnson.”
“None of my business?” he seethed.
Alex inched toward him in preparation of the pending explosion.
“I own a quarter of the company!” Johnson shouted.
“Yeah, well. Brianna is my client,” Leo replied, searching through the beers, inspecting the labels on each one. “Mine. Not Guardian’s. You did not need to know anything about her. I kept it that way.”
Johnson’s expression turned thunderous. “She’s Rhion’s best friend! How the fuck did you figure I didn’t need to know this?”
When Leo finally looked up, his body language was calm, but his scary expression told the real story. “I was the one who introduced them. I wouldn’t have put either one of them in danger, so chill the fuck out. You want to discuss business? You do it in private. But this conversation is done. You got it?”
Johnson planted his hands on his hips and glared at his boss. The entire room swung their heads back and forth between the two men—except for Brianna, who never tore her gaze off Johnson.
“Yeah. I got it,” Johnson finally said, relenting.
But I absolutely did not. Just when I’d thought everything was out in the open between me and Rhion, shit like this came up. I was starting to wonder if I’d ever get the full Rhion Park story or if all I would ever get was the pile of pieces she wanted to show me, keeping the rest locked away so fucking tight that I might not ever get them all.
“Well…okay, then,” Rhion drawled. “Who wants a drink?”
“Me!” Brianna exclaimed.
“Me,” Sarah chimed in behind her.
“I could use a drink,” Katie said softly.
Rhion pointed a finger at her stepsister. “You did good bringing her here. But this does not get you off the hook.”
“I know.” Katie’s shoulders fell, genuine remorse painting her face.
I narrowed my eyes on her as she continued to apologize.
“And I’m so sorry, Rhion. I swear it was an accident. She overheard me talking to Sandy about coming to visit you. I couldn’t remember your address. I’d only been here twice and—”
“We’ll talk later,” Rhion interrupted. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time. First, how you got this thirty-four-year-old to put down her work long enough to come see me.” She hooked an arm around Katie’s neck.
“I mean, for real. Thirty-four?” Brianna complained. “I’ve programmed my biological clock to stop ticking at twenty nine.”
“Six more months, then,” Rhion laughed.
“Don’t remind me.”
“Hey! Have you read Bait yet?” Rhion asked. “Since we’re all here, we could totally do the book club meeting in person this month.”
Every man in the room tracked Brianna as she moved toward Rhion with the grace of a dream.
“I did! I finished it on the plane. Casey Moore was so damn hot.”
They both smiled and then exclaimed in unison, “That hair!”
Chaos broke out as the four women started laughing and talking in some kind of code that I was positive no person with a dick would ever be able to decipher. Something about cliffs, triangles, and HEA. None of us dared to interrupt them.
Well, none of us with a brain between our ears and not just the one between our legs.
“Ladies, ladies. How about I make a pitcher of margaritas?” Braydon said, sauntering over.
Lark laughed and bumped me with his shoulder. “This should be fun. Twenty bucks he bags her.”
“Twenty bucks she amputates his cock,” Leo said, moving to my other side.
“Twenty bucks I cock-block him and bag her myself,” Devon piped up, joining the conversation.
But, through it all, the vise in my stomach twisted tighter. She’d never told me about Brianna. Though she was right—I hadn’t asked. But I hadn’t known that I’d needed to. For fuck’s sake, you’d think, after having spent every day with her for months, shit like that would have come up. Unless she was purposely keeping it from me. An idea that pissed me off as much as it gutted me.
Everything was out in the open between us. No more secrets. No more fiction. Only truths.
Or so I’d thought.
But, as I watched her throw her head back in laughter, Brianna Talbot doing the same, it was obvious I was wrong.
Braydon cleared his throat to interrupt them and extended a hand toward Brianna. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Braydon Hughes.”
She grinned but didn’t take his hand. “Oh, aren’t you cute,” she said in a patronizing tone before tapping him on the nose like a child. “Sorry, sweetie. I’m here for Devon.”
Devon went rock solid beside me as her amber-colored gaze flashed across the room.
An epic smile pulled at his lips until she finished with, “And Johnson.”
I couldn’t stop the chuckle as both of the men’s backs shot ramrod straight and they looked at each other.
“Nope. Nope. Nope,” Rhion said, walking in her direction. “Keep it in your pants, Talbot.”
She rested a manicured hand over her heart. “Who, me?”
“Yes, you. Now, let’s go hang out on the beach while the boys watch the rest of the game.”
“Am I forgiven?” Katie squeaked.
“Nope,” Rhion replied, heading down the hall. “But Bri is way better at doling out the guilt than I am. You screwed up by bringing her here.”
“Shit,” Katie grumbled as the four women disappeared into the ocean room.
When the door clicked behind them, a round of rumbled curses filled the room.
“Rock-paper-scissors!” Devon announced, heading toward Johnson. “Best two out of three. Winner takes all.”
“All being Brianna Talbot?” Johnson asked. “Fuck you. Every man for himself.”
Everyone laughed—except me. I stared at the door, a sick sense of dread turning my stomach. It must have shown on my face, because a second later, Leo cupped me on the shoulder.
“She wasn’t allowed to tell you.”
“Bullshit,” I mumbled, not looking in his direction.
“I’m serious. Do not read into this. Brianna made her sign an NDA the first—and only—time they met two years ago. Katie and Sarah signed one after Rhion convinced Brianna to start a damn virtual book club with them. If you think Rhion has a past full of secrets, you should see Brianna’s laundry list. I’m not even allowed to acknowledge that she’s a client. I only introduced her and Rhion because they were both such l
oners. They made it work because they needed someone who didn’t ask questions.”
I turned and looked at him. “See, that’s exactly my problem. I want answers. You forget I’m not just working for Rhion. I’m planning a life with her, but it still feels like I’m putting a fucking puzzle together in the dark.”
“Son, women in general are a puzzle. Not just Rhion. I’ve been with Sarah for over six years now, and every day, I get a new piece of who she really is. She told me yesterday that green olives are her favorite food. I’ve never seen the woman eat a damn olive in her life. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t get pissed at me for not knowing. I get it. Rhion’s complex. But nothing you have with a woman like that is ever going to be easy. You want easy, you get a Playboy subscription. They don’t talk back.
“Now, I’m not sure what you had with your ex-wife, but considering she’s your ex, I’m going to assume it wasn’t much. But newsflash: Women make you fucking work for everything. You want answers? Ask the fucking questions. And, if I know Rhion, the payoff for your time will be more than worth the effort.”
I scoffed. Of course Rhion would be worth it. But I hated that, while we talked constantly, it felt like she never actually said anything.
“Well, look at you. Security extraordinaire and Dr. fucking Phil.”
He patted my back hard as hell. “You’re a smart man, Levitt. You’ll figure it out. Besides, everyone knows that the best part of a puzzle isn’t the final product. The real thrill is finding the pieces that match.” He winked.
“Sage advice,” I said dryly.
One side of his mouth lifted in a grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go defuse a bomb.” He jerked his chin to Johnson, who was fuming in the corner. Clapping his hands, he called out, “All right, boys. I need a hockey ticket, a tube of toothpaste, a paper clip, and a pair of toenail clippers. McGuyver is going to work.”
Johnson glared.
Leo chuckled.
I went back to staring at the door to the ocean room.
Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Or maybe I was too tipsy to worry about any possible hitches after drinking wine and laughing with my girls. But, minus two biscuits, which had mysteriously gone missing, we’d had plenty of food and better company. After a few beers, Leo even agreed to give me back my official Thanksgiving host title. I felt like it should have come with some kind of medal or plaque, but Leo told me not to hold my breath.
