by Tara Thomas
Two scantily clad women strutted out onto the stage. Keaton was too far away to see details. All he could make out were tiny bikini tops and even tinier thongs. Blondes. And pretty enough to make any red-blooded man fantasize about ripping the scraps of fabric off them. A movement to the side of the stage caught his eye. A server. He only saw her profile, but there was something about her.
He slid off the barstool to get a closer look.
“Hey, man,” Michael called after him. “Where are you going?”
Keaton didn’t reply.
“Where’s Benedict going?” he heard someone ask.
“He’s interested in a dancer? Here?” someone else asked.
Keaton shook his head; it wasn’t a dancer that captured his attention. He wasn’t a stranger to the numerous clubs around the city that catered to wealthy men and their carnal needs. However, he’d never singled out any particular woman while at one. After all, he’d always said, one half-naked woman was just as good as another. As made evident by the number of times his picture was in the society pages, but never with the same woman twice.
And yet, here he was, eyes fixed on the petite waitress at the side of the stage, currently trying to blend into the background and not take away from the duo on the stage. It was a horrible failure. He wasn’t sure why the management even felt the need to put anyone onstage with her working here. How could anyone look at those two with her in the room?
She moved with a grace that made the two blondes look like ducks swimming alongside a swan. She stretched out her hand to pass a glass to a man sitting on the far inside of a booth. Everyone in her vicinity turned to watch her lithe body.
“Drooling over a topless dancer?” Michael asked, coming up behind him. “I have to say, I’m a bit surprised. They look a bit rough.”
“Not a dancer,” Keaton let slip before he could stop himself.
Michael moved to stand beside him and followed his line of sight. His low whistle signaled he saw the woman in question. “Hot damn. Wait until a certain blonde hears about this. I’m sure Miss Elise Germain will love the fact that her intended is drooling over a half-naked barmaid.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Keaton didn’t shift his attention from the goddess taking drink orders. “I’m not engaged.”
“Please,” Michael’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “You two have been promised to each since you were what? Fifteen?”
Keaton mumbled a curse under his breath, but right now, he couldn’t focus on anything other than the serving siren. It sounded so crazy, he couldn’t even verbalize it, but he thought he knew her from somewhere. Something about the way she moved called to him. Pulled him forward for a better look.
He took another step toward her.
She was magnificent. And the way she moved continued to captivate the audience near her. Keaton’s eyes traveled over her body, taking in as many details as possible: her light brown skin, the curve of her hips, and the slope of her breasts covered by a tight cropped shirt. He knew they would be oh-so-soft to touch. His eyes drifted higher at the same time she turned her head his way and he froze.
Tilly.
He couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t be.
What was she doing in Charleston? The last he’d heard, her family had moved to Texas. Granted, they’d both been fourteen at the time, but he’d never forgotten the day he’d got home from school, walked into the eerily quiet kitchen, and discovered his life had changed forever.
Tilly always came over to his house after school to help him with his homework. Usually her mother would come over with her and gossip with his mom. But there was nothing that day. He’d looked out the back door to get a peek of their house and gasped. There were men all over the yard, carrying furniture.
He’d run back inside and up the stairs to his mother’s room and, with a stomach filled with dread, asked where Mama Ann and Tilly were. His mother arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. She didn’t like that her children called their neighbor Mama Ann, but everyone called her that. It was just her personality. She was so kind and loving, the name came naturally.
“They’re moving to Texas,” she said, and his world shifted out of focus.
“Why?” he managed to croak out. Texas was so far away. It made no sense why they would move away from their family like that and so suddenly.
“It’s been discovered that Mr. Brock has been embezzling money from your father.”
“What?” He couldn’t believe it. Not Tilly’s dad. He was stealing from them? Something didn’t sound right.
His mother gave him a sad smile. “I’m afraid he was caught red-handed. The Brock family’s basically ruined now. Best they move and try to start over.”
His parents had always joked that he and Tilly would get married one day. Everyone talked about it and he didn’t even care because Tilly was smart and pretty. The week before, he’d kissed her for the first time. Her lips had been soft and sweet, and he’d looked forward to kissing them over and over. How could he kiss her if she were in Texas?
“Your father’s going to promote Howard Germain. Isn’t his daughter in your class, too?”
Elise. Tilly’s best friend. Or was. He felt sick. He mumbled a half-intelligible answer to his mom and ran down the stairs to the living room. He had to call Tilly. Had to talk to her, even if it was only to say good-bye.
But their phone had already been disconnected and when he went to their house, the men moving all the furniture told him they’d already left.
* * *
Tilly Brock put on her best plastic smile and muttered a soft, “Excuse me, please,” to the man blocking her path to her customer. She recognized the move for what it was: an attempt to make her reach across him. Two more months. Two more months. She grit her teeth and made sure the men saw just enough of her cleavage as she handed the drink to the waiting customer.
“Thank you, darling,” he said, eyes firmly planted on her chest, never once looking her in the eyes. “Why ain’t someone as pretty as you up onstage?”
Like she didn’t hear that ten times a night. Her mother might not roll over in her grave at the thought of her daughter serving drinks at a gentlemen’s club, but Tilly knew she’d come back from the dead for the sole purpose of telling her how disappointed she was if she even thought about dancing topless.
“Two left feet,” she told the guy instead.
“Trust me.” His laugh gave her chills. “It ain’t your feet we’re interested in.”
Two more months. I can do two more months.
Onstage, the dance was almost over. One of the blond twins glared at her and in doing so, tripped and almost fell. Several men booed. The other twin shot her a look that told Tilly they were blaming everything on her. Oh well, what else was new. It wasn’t a day that ended in “y” if she didn’t piss off the Wonder Twins.
She gathered several empty glasses and nodded as a few drink orders were given. Her tray was heavy, but she thought she could make it back to the bar. She turned that way and suddenly felt someone’s eyes drilling holes into her from the back of the room. Out of habit, she lifted her head to try and find who was watching her so intensely.
She scanned the crowd, but no one looked out of place. Then she saw him, standing slightly off to the side, watching her with an easy confidence, but with a tilt of his head that somehow seemed familiar. He recognized her at the same instant she recognized him.
Keaton Benedict.
Her tray and glasses fell to the floor.
CHAPTER 3
Tilly blinked and he was gone. Just that quickly. She scanned the crowd, but Keaton had disappeared. She wondered if it’d really been him or if she’d only imagined him standing there.
“Damn klutz.”
“I think I stepped on some glass.”
“These are two-hundred-dollar shoes.”
Unfortunately, she did not imagine the mess she’d made, the angry customers, or Mr. Granger, standing near the bar with his arms crossed. The twins, wearing matching see-through
wraps, stood beside him, both with evil grins.
Shit.
Not only had she made a god-awful mess, but she knew the Wonder Twins would somehow make it out that the trip and resulting boos were Tilly’s fault. They never got in trouble, of course. Tilly supposed she could provide her own special service for Mr. Granger, but in all honesty she’d much rather put up with his anger than to have his dick in her mouth.
She held her hand up before he could talk. “I take full responsibility. It won’t happen again.”
He snorted. “Clean it up and then come to my office.” Then to the blondes, he said, “Good job as always, girls.”
Twin One and Twin Two sashayed past her with their noses stuck in the air.
“Our dancing’s a gift,” Twin One said.
“I’d like to exchange it for a gift card,” Tilly mumbled under her breath.
She bent down and started picking up the larger pieces of glass. Not for the first time, she missed Janie, who used to work the bar, but had moved to Washington, DC, with her fiancé. If Janie had still been working at the club, not only would she have come over to help, but she’d crack a joke or two and make Tilly laugh as well.
“Need some help?” a voice from her past asked.
Her heart skipped a beat, causing her hand to slip, cutting her thumb on the broken glass. “Damn it.” She shook her finger, trying not to let the threatening tears escape.
In a swift move, Keaton knelt beside her, took the tray from her other hand and started picking up fragments of glass.
“I somehow feel as if I should apologize.” He never stopped what he was doing as he continued to talk while clearing the floor. “I don’t believed you would have dropped anything if it hadn’t been for me.”
She had no idea what to say to him. What do you say to someone you’d spoken with every day for eight years and then didn’t see for another eight? Not that it mattered. The shock of seeing him seemed to strip her of her ability to speak because when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
Instead, she rocked back and sat on her heels, while doing her best not to flash the entire club with her underwear. She took a deep breath and tried again.
“No, it’s not,” she said, taking a few seconds to study him. He hadn’t changed all that much. He’d always been a ridiculously handsome boy and had matured into a devilishly handsome man. His hair was the same dirty blond and his eyes were the strange light brown that looked almost golden at times. All three of the Benedict brothers had that odd eye color. The lanky frame of a teenaged boy had been replaced by solid muscle.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Granger watching her. He really wouldn’t like the fact that a customer was helping. She reached for a large chunk of glass the same time Keaton did and their hands brushed. She jerked away.
He held her gaze. “Tilly…”
He hesitated and before he could finish, a silver stiletto stepped between them. “Hey there, handsome,” Wonder Twin One said. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“What are you doing here?” Tilly asked, when what she wanted to ask was, Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?
“Mr. Granger sent me,” she said with a shake of her head that made her blond waves bounce around her shoulders.
“Why?” Keaton asked in a hard voice Tilly didn’t recognize. She glanced at him, surprised at how angry he looked.
Apparently, his tone of voice shocked the other woman as well. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess he thought you needed more than what she could provide,” she said with a pointed look at Tilly. “He wants me to give you a private dance.”
Tilly was used to the barely concealed barbs, but seriously? She acted like she wasn’t even listening to the conversation, afraid if she did, she’d blurt out something that would get her in more trouble than she was already in.
Keaton picked up the last big shard of glass and put it on the tray. “I would think it’s very clear to anyone who looks that I’m busy helping his employee. I’d also like to point out that no one else is.”
“It’s okay. Really,” Tilly said.
“It is not okay.” Keaton was still watching the blonde as he took his wallet out of his pocket and peeled off several bills. Tilly couldn’t see the amount from where she stood, but she could see the other woman’s eyes grow large. “I assume this will cover the cost of a dance?”
Tilly eyed him in disgust while trying to avoid what she knew would be a seething look of victory from the blonde. As it was, she couldn’t miss the “Oh yes, more than enough,” given in reply.
Damn, but this shift sucked. Tilly turned to take her tray back to the bar, but Keaton put a hand on her arm to stop her.
“Good,” Keaton said. “Then take it to your manager and tell him the dance isn’t wanted or needed.”
“What?” Tilly heard the blonde say and she couldn’t help but smile. “We can’t take your money and not give you anything in return.”
Tilly watched in satisfaction as the twin handed the money back to Keaton. He caught her staring and winked. Wanting to talk to him just a few moments more, she turned her attention to the twins, and played on their gullibility, since Twin Two had just walked up. “That new dancer Granger hired walked in about thirty minutes ago. She asked for you. I think she wants advice or something?”
The twins looked at each other and then with almost synchronized movements, tossed their heads and walked toward the employees lounge.
Keaton waited for them to disappear from sight before speaking. “I’m sorry we got interrupted, but I don’t think this is the best time to chat. When do you get off?” He hesitated. “That is, if you want to chat with me.”
Tilly couldn’t believe it: After all these years daydreaming about Keaton walking into the club, he’d actually done it.
“Two hours,” Tilly said.
Keaton flashed her a smile. One that was so familiar yet seemed even sexier now. “See you then.”
Once he left, Tilly carried her tray to the bar, where Raven was working.
“Wonder Twins are in a rare mood tonight,” Tilly said while cleaning the tray.
Raven shook her head and gave a soft, “I saw,” in reply.
They worked side by side for a few minutes. Tilly kept playing the encounter with Keaton over and over in her head. She still had a hard time believing he had been here. In this bar.
She loaded her tray up and was getting ready to head back to the area near the dance floor when one of the Wonder Twins blocked her path.
She turned to Tilly. “Where are you going, klutz?”
Tilly rolled her eyes. Either they hadn’t found the new girl or else the twins decided they didn’t want to share advice. “I’m trying to get these drinks to customers up front. Maybe they’ll drink enough to forget that dance you did.”
“Ha ha. Very cute.”
“It’s funny you think I’m joking.” Tilly kept walking while the Wonder Twin trotted along behind. Tilly finally turned. “You know, if you want to do something useful, you could mop where the tray dropped.”
“It’s funny you think I mop,” the twin said, obviously pleased with herself at using a similar line Tilly had just used.
Tilly spoke soft enough so only the Wonder Twin would hear her. “I’d rather mop than have to suck old-man dick. How long did it take Granger to come? Sore mouth?”
“You bitch!” The Wonder Twin took a swing and Tilly, without thinking, threw the tray up as a shield. The twin couldn’t stop in time and her hand crashed down on the tray. For the second time that night, Tilly stood in a mess of glass and booze.
Of course, by that time, a security guard finally decided to see what was happening. Not surprising since they’d also captured the attention of the entire crowd.
The guard stood over the blond woman sprawled out on the floor. “What’s going on?”
“She pushed me,” the twin said pointing at Tilly, sitting up. “And when I told her to leave me alone and tried to leave
, she dropped the tray on me.”
“You lying…” Tilly told herself to remain calm. She looked up at the guard. “You know she’s lying, right? I mean, you were standing right there. You saw everything.”
“I didn’t see nothing,” he said, and the blonde’s eyes flashed in victory.
“Ohhh, I think I have glass in my foot. Help me?” the twin asked, holding out her hand and fluttering her eyelashes.
Tilly sighed. She should have known better than to deliberately piss off either of the twins. It never ended well for her and since the Wonder Twins had management eating out of their hands, it wasn’t hard to know which side they’d pick.
She didn’t even make it back to the mess with a mop in hand when she heard Granger yell, “Tilly! Office!” The twins stood behind him with matching expressions of glee.
* * *
Keaton walked to the historic district where his brothers had offices. He’d decided to park his car at their office building, thinking it would be safer there than on one of the bar’s side streets. He stepped over a pile of clothes and various stuffed bags and frowned because there was no one anywhere nearby. It wasn’t usual for the homeless to leave their stuff unattended. Or at least that had been his experience while doing charity work. He looked around for a few minutes, but didn’t see anyone.
Keaton checked the time, noting when he needed to be back to meet Tilly, and started the walk to his car. Once inside, he decided to drive the long way home because that would take him back past the club. He’d just driven past the entrance when he saw a familiar figure dart across the road. Tilly?
He pulled up, got out of his car, and went to where the woman stood at the bus stop, and was surprised to see it was her. Her arms were crossed and she tapped her foot while waiting. The two men who were also waiting for the bus nearby watched her with wary eyes. He didn’t blame them; she looked mad enough to bend the bus stop sign in half.
“Tilly?” he asked, not really sure if he should try to touch her or not. “What happened? Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I was sent home early.”
His chest felt hollow. “Was it because I walked out? If I need to go explain or talk to someone, I’ll do it.”
