Stefan (The Marquette Family Book Three)

by Lockwood, Tressie

  Visit after visit, he told himself they would break it off and just dissolve the marriage. Yet, he knew the time for annulment was past. Now they were looking at the only way to break the connection being through divorce.

  No, his mind shouted. If he gave Talicia a divorce, she would end the affair. He wasn’t ready for that to happen. Therefore, no divorce. Period. Stefan knew she wanted him, and his desire for her hadn’t lessened one iota in almost a year. If anything it had grown, along with his feelings for her. He couldn’t say for sure if he loved her. They spent so little time in each other’s presence, and when they did, it was all about lovemaking.

  Even now, thinking about her, he got a hard-on. He wished he could see her more often, but his schedule didn’t allow it, and neither did hers. They were from two different worlds, and he doubted the two would ever meet. She didn’t want to come to him, and he wasn’t sure his family would accept her without hurting her first. No, he refused to allow them the chance. Talicia was far more vulnerable than she believed or anyone around her knew.

  Maybe I’m being selfish. Am I embarrassed over her?

  He thought about Talicia and didn’t think so. She was intelligent and successful. For the most part, she ran the club on her own, handled the finances, the management, hiring, marketing, customer service, all the various parts he and his brothers shared. If anything, he admired what she had done. Aside from all that, she was so damn sexy he wanted to make love to her on a nightly basis.

  Would it be so bad if he pushed to get her to come to him? To reveal her existence to his family? He and she could get to know each other, and maybe the sexual relationship could become something that resembled the beautiful couple that Damen and Heaven were and that Creed and Shada strove to be.

  No, he didn’t want to be tied down, stuck in one place. Not that he desired multiple women. From the first night he met Talicia, he’d been faithful to her. The idea of a steady marriage like what his brothers enjoyed also smacked of staying put. He was known for dropping everything and flying off wherever he wanted, whenever the mood struck him. So far, he’d hung around New Orleans and the restaurant. He loved it, but that might change tomorrow.

  With a wife and maybe later a baby, he would be looking at a very different life. He was thirty-one. There was plenty of time to go until he settled down—if he did. Stefan recognized his impulse to marry Talicia had been partially driven by seeing how nuts Creed was over Shada. Then he had stumbled upon a black woman, found her irresistible, and suggested marriage. Creed would kill him if he found out. His older brother was somewhat of a bully as well, so he might hurt Talicia. Not physically, but emotionally. No, they were better as they were now. If in a few months, she pushed for a divorce, he would allow it. For now, he would hold onto her and enjoy the limited time they shared.

  “You there, boss?”

  Jerome’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Yeah, I’m here. Listen, I’m probably going to go back again soon. I’ll rearrange my schedule. I’m also going to make it a longer visit. I might take Talicia shopping somewhere or on a trip.”

  “I can make the arrangements if you don’t want to ask your secretary in New York.”

  Stefan hesitated. He’d depended on Jerome to arrange trips when he wanted to keep Creed out of the loop of his actions. Their corporate secretaries didn’t have the loyalty of his bodyguard, not when it came to Creed. “No, not yet. I have to talk to her about it. I’ll give her a call first. I just wanted to give you a head’s up.”

  “All right then. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and Stefan called out for the person to enter. Jerome made himself scarce. Damen stuck his head around the door. “Just checking to see if you’ve fallen asleep yet.”

  “Haha, funny.” Stefan grinned and stood. “I’m glad you interrupted. Those numbers were beginning to blur.”

  “I say we ditch the reports. Our shifts are starting anyway. There have been some interesting visitors of late.”

  Stefan raised an eyebrow at his brother. “You’re a married man now. The patrons shouldn’t interest you.”

  Damen twisted the ring on his finger. “They don’t, not in that way. Trust me, I love my wife. Heaven is….well, heaven. I’m the luckiest man on earth to have her. Damn, just talking about her makes me want to go find her and trap her in my office for a couple hours.”

  Stefan knew exactly what his brother meant, but he didn’t say so. “Since she doesn’t work at Marquette’s that would be quite a trip for a quickie.”

  “I said a couple hours, man. No way can I accept a quickie with Heaven. You’ll know what I mean when you find the one.”

  Stefan kept silent and scratched the back of his head. He hadn’t learned how not to look guilty when it was hinted around about him getting married or as Damen had said, “finding the one.” So far, his brothers were so distracted with their own love lives, they never noticed.

  “I know,” Damen said. “For old times sake, you and I will case the restaurant, and I’ll help you pick out a beauty that should rock your world tonight. I’m pretty good at spotting them.”

  “I’m sure you are,” Stefan said, “but no thanks. I can choose my own lovers.”

  “Come on, man.” Damen slung an arm about Stefan’s shoulders and propelled him toward the door. “Don’t ruin my fun.”

  “Your fun?”

  Damen yanked the office door open, and they stepped into the hall. “Yeah, choosing a woman for you. None of us have ever seen your lovers. I mean you charm the ladies better than anyone I know, but I can’t remember seeing you leave with them.”

  “That’s because I don’t advertise a lady’s private affairs.”

  Damen snorted. “Always the gentleman. Are you even related to us?”

  “Leave him alone, Damen,” Duke boomed from the other end of the hall. “Who knows? He might be gay and just too scared to come out of the closet. Don’t worry, little cousin. I accept you just the way you are.”

  At Stefan’s side, Damen stiffened. He and Duke had never gotten along, and Damen respected Duke even less after he found out Creed had been bailing Duke out of trouble for years without telling them.

  “I’m not gay,” Stefan assured him.

  Duke slapped him on the opposite shoulder, and Damen stepped farther away from the two of them, glaring at their cousin. Duke appeared oblivious to how much Damen disliked him. He always wore a smile, and from the stories that Stefan had heard Duke was more impulsive than he could ever be. The difference lay in the fact that Duke didn’t care if he broke the law or endangered his or anyone else’s lives.

  “You’re still in town?” Damen growled. “When are you leaving?”

  “I’m here to stay.” Duke set his fists on his hips, and Stefan flashed on the image of a swashbuckling pirate. In a way, Duke resembled one. At least he had trimmed the beard and gotten a haircut. The family resemblance was there. He could be Damen’s twin, which probably pissed Damen off all the more. “I like Marquette’s, and there are too many single women coming through here to leave after a few days.”

  “Our restaurant isn’t your dating service,” Damen bit out between gritted teeth. Never mind that he’d just been suggesting to Stefan that he look over the guests for a date. “Why don’t you go find a job?”

  “Ah, but I have.”

  Suspicion rose in Damen’s gaze, and Stefan knew what was coming.

  Duke wiggled his eyebrows. “Tonight, I start as one of the hosts. I told Creed a waiter might be a little much to begin with, and cooking’s not my thing.”

  “You mean the less work involved the better,” Damen interrupted.

  “Hey, I’m willing to start out at the bottom.”

  Damen cursed. “I don’t expect you to last the week. Before five days, you’ll find some reason to quit, or you just won’t show up. That’s your M.O., isn’t it? If you think we’re going to support you just because you’re family you can forget it.”
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br />   At last the smile left Duke’s face, and he moved closer to Damen. The two men stood chest to chest, nostrils flared. “You’ve got a big mouth on you, Damen. Don’t forget who used to wipe your nose when you were a kid.”

  “Not you,” Damen shot back.

  “Yeah, me. Creed wasn’t always around. I cleaned up after you when you were bullied.”

  “Guys, cool it,” Stefan tried, but they ignored him.

  Damen shoved the other man. “Get out of my face, Duke. You should have never come back from the army. Oh wait, they kicked you out. That’s right. I forgot.”

  “Fuck you!”

  Damen surprised Stefan when he threw the first swing. His middle brother hated violence, yet Duke pissed him off so much, he couldn’t resist. Stefan watched in shock as Duke deliberately stepped into the swing and let it connect with his jaw. His head snapped back, and he grinned in amusement.

  “Wow, you hit like a girl, Damen. Guess your lady wears the pants in your house.”

  Stefan gasped. “Duke, stop.”

  Damen roared and launched himself at Duke. This time, their cousin sidestepped him and grabbed Damen’s fist, twisted it, and grabbed his brother by the back of the neck. Damen landed on the floor, but he was big enough to unsettle Duke’s stance. Duke thumped a shoulder against the wall. Several shouts of surprise rang through the hall, and Stefan looked up to find the entire kitchen staff and the wait staff gathered to watch the fight.

  Stefan reached out and grabbed Duke’s shoulder. “Let him up, and stop fighting, Duke.”

  “He thinks he can take me,” Duke shot back. “Come on, Damen. Get up if you can.”

  A door banged. Stefan found himself shouldered aside, and Creed appeared. His oldest brother jerked Duke away from Damen and slammed him against the wall. “What the fuck are you doing inside my restaurant, Duke, with our guests about to arrive and the staff watching?”

  Duke sagged, wincing at the pain he must feel in his back. “Uh, having a little fun?”

  Stefan held out a hand to help Damen to his feet. Damen took it with reluctance, his face red and glasses askew. Stefan figured Duke had humiliated him, and the relationship had gotten that much worse between them.

  “Fun?” Creed snapped. He glanced down the hall. “Back to work!”

  The employees scrambled to obey. Creed pointed to Damen and Duke.

  “In my office now.”

  Stefan followed. He was the last inside and shut the door. The space they had originally shared before his and Damen’s offices were constructed was spacious, but with four big men in it, he felt a bit cramped. He took up a spot in the far corner and listened to the proceedings.

  “Creed, I don’t understand how you can give this bum a job,” Damen complained. “He’s never going to be serious, and frankly, he doesn’t deserve it.”

  Creed parked on the edge of his desk, arms folded over a chest swollen with his suppressed rage. “Whether he deserves it or not, he’s family. We never abandon family.”

  “Oh come on. There’s a limit to how much you let him use you.”

  “No, there’s a limit to my patience,” Creed growled. “You talk about the restaurant like you care about it, but then I find you fighting in front of the employees.”

  “What the hell makes you think I started it?”

  “Because Duke’s all mouth unless you come at him. Are you saying you didn’t?”

  Damen swore and pushed his hands into his hair. Stefan marveled at his oldest brother. Creed was pretty good at knowing all three of them. If he didn’t have anger issues, he could probably do everything that Stefan did. Stefan had always admired Creed’s strength and his steel will. Yet, he also knew Creed’s huge heart and his unwavering loyalty to family. Creed loved family like nothing else. Stefan could have told Damen there wasn’t anything Duke could do except maybe hurt Shada that would make Creed abandon Duke.

  “He pissed me off,” Damen admitted after a few minutes.

  “I liked the way you were before, Damen,” Creed said. “Since you married Heaven, you seem more apt to physical defense. Do you think she’d like that?”

  Damen’s eyes widened. “You’re lecturing me?”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Fine, I get it, but you can’t tell me you trust Duke.”

  “Trust him? Hell no.”

  “Hey, cuz, that’s cold.” Duke seemed more amused than offended.

  “You’re a screw-up, Duke,” Creed said. “We both know it, and I’m going to ride your ass until you get it together. I’ll come to your place and drag you out of bed if you even think of missing a day of work. And if you try that shit again you pulled in the hall, I’ll make you sorry. See if I go down as easily as Damen.”

  Duke held up hands in surrender. “Gotcha. I’ll keep my nose clean from here on.”

  Both Creed and Damen looked doubtful, and Stefan had to admit he felt the same. He doubted Duke was ready to reform, but like Creed he had a lot of hope that it would come one day. He agreed with Creed that Duke could learn a lot about taking responsibility for his life, but he also liked Duke’s carefree spirit.

  Creed’s gaze shifted from their brother and Duke to him, and Stefan straightened. His oldest brother frowned at him. “Stefan, I want to talk to you.”

  “Uh, later.” He zipped to the door and grabbed the knob. “Our shift is starting.”

  “Fine, tonight after closing.” Creed called after him, but Stefan kept moving. He would use the rest of the night to think about how he would put off Creed’s questions. Under no circumstances would he tell the man Damen called The Bear about his wife.

  Chapter Five

  Stefan’s fingers raced over the ivories, and his heart beat faster as the scale climbed higher. He leaned forward, shut his eyes, and leaned back again with the rhythm pulsing through his being. The cheers commenced on the last note, along with enthusiastic clapping in one particular corner. He checked and started to find Tyjon grinning back at him.

  Stefan scanned Marquette’s, and he came upon Damen’s curious gaze and then Duke’s knowing one. His cousin grinned big and then looked pointedly at Tyjon. The man actually thought he was gay. Stefan didn’t care one way or another. He doubted Damen or Creed would cut him out of their lives if he were gay. The fact that Tyjon was Talicia’s brother did concern him. He had never visited the restaurant before tonight.

  Tyjon wore some type of glossy material slacks that clung to his hips and thighs and a long-sleeve shirt with a white panel at the front and golden floral print along the sides and sleeves. As was his style, he stood out in the crowd. Even if he dressed more conservatively, Stefan was sure the man would be seen. His big personality radiated in a room. Tyjon could be a performer, but it seemed he had no interest in doing anything other than finding a boyfriend. Stefan knew Talicia had spoiled her brother from their interactions together when he visited.

  When his set ended, Stefan prepared to rise, but Tyjon and a beautiful brunette rushed toward the piano to head him off. He sank down on the stool once more and smiled a greeting. Tyjon beat the woman by a few inches and rolled his eyes at her.

  “Uh-uhn, boo boo, he’s mine. Get lost.”

  The woman’s cheeks pinked.

  “Don’t be rude,” Stefan admonished him. “Hello, I hope you enjoyed the food and the music.”

  She held out a hand to him, one already holding a slip of paper carrying her number. Then she eyed Tyjon. “Give me a call when you get the chance, Stefan. I’d love to talk about your music.”

  Tyjon made a rude noise, poking his lips out. “His music, yeah, I’m sure that’s what you want you from him.”

  “Well, neither do you,” she snapped and stomped away.

  Tyjon chuckled. “I have to give it to her. Girlfriend had backbone. Whatever.”

  “Ty, what are you doing here?” Stefan cast his voice low but kept a pleasant expression on his face as if Ty was a stranger.

  Tyjon glanced around the restaurant, taki
ng in the chandeliers, the landscapes on the walls of an age long gone, and the expanse of white tablecloth-covered tables. “I wanted to see what it was like since I know my sis won’t come. She doesn’t know what she’s missing. This place is bougie, way fancier than the club. Plus people dress up to eat. They crazy.”

  “You’re dressed up,” Stefan said, amused.

  Tyjon snapped his fingers and spun left and right as if Stefan had asked him to model. “I know, right? I read on your website that there’s a dress code. I refused to wear a tie, and they actually gave me one at the door. Can you believe it? I chose this red one because the others were ugly and clashed with my outfit.”

  “Stefan, who’s your friend?” Duke strode up and clapped a heavy hand on Tyjon’s shoulder.

  Stefan opened his mouth to speak, but Tyjon cut him off. He dipped a hip in Duke’s direction and raised his chin, lashes fluttering. “I’m Tyjon. I heard about this restaurant and the yummy men that work here. I wasn’t disappointed. So, um, you got a boyfriend?”

  Duke smiled bigger. “No, but I’m not looking.”

  “Not into guys or just not looking right now?”

  “I love women too much to switch sides.” Duke shrugged. “But Stefan might be interested.”

  “Stefan isn’t gay.” Tyjon said it with too much assurance and then bit his lip. Stefan suppressed a groan.

  Duke eyed Tyjon and then Stefan. “You happen to know?”

  Tyjon stuttered. “I mean, my gaydar knows these things. I’m never wrong.”

  “But you thought I was a minute ago.” Duke’s color rose, and Stefan laughed, relaxing a little.

  “I think you bruised my cousin’s ego, Ty. Let him off the hook.” Stefan could kick himself for using Tyjon’s nickname just now, but Duke in his annoyance didn’t appear to have noticed. He vowed to be more careful and was grateful to Tyjon for not revealing their connection. Tyjon keeping the secret surprised him, especially because Tyjon had admitted he didn’t like Stefan. Perhaps he did so to protect his sister, who was more important than either of them.

  “Well, damn, why can’t a guy have a little fun?” Tyjon complained. “I hoped you were in the mood to try something different. What’s your name, big boy? I won’t give up hope just yet.”