by Tara Rose
“Why? Is there something special about it?” Jake’s voice sounded neutral enough, but she sensed an undercurrent that she couldn’t put her finger on.
Ava glanced around. No one was in the shop. She came out from behind the counter and motioned them upstairs. If anyone came in, the bell above the door would ring and she’d go downstairs. Once they were in the percussion room, she pointed toward the flyer. “This is Leo’s real name. He’s the guest conductor.”
They exchanged a glance, and suddenly Ava knew. She didn’t know how, but she knew. “Oh my God.” She took a step back. “You found him and you didn’t tell me. How could you do that?” She recalled the tone of Jake’s voice the morning she’d brought him the baklava, after she’d mentioned that Leo’s family was Greek. “How? How did you figure it out?”
“Just hang on,” said Jake. “We didn’t—”
“Hang on? Hang on?” Ava couldn’t breathe. There were spots in front of her eyes. Her gut hurt like someone had punched her, hard. “You lied to me. You kept this from me.”
“No, we didn’t.” Gary’s eyes and voice were filled with desperation, but she couldn’t listen any longer. Nothing they said would make this right or take away the pain. “We weren’t entirely sure it was Leo, and since you’d asked us to leave it alone, we did.”
“But you looked in the first place.” She shook the flier in his face as tears spilled down her cheeks. “You looked anyway. You searched for clues. Why? Why did you do that?”
Jake’s eyes darkened. “Dammit, Ava. The man is a pig. He should be held accountable.”
Gary crossed his arms and planted his feet as if he were ready to make a stand. “I agree with Jake.”
“Oh, wonderful. You’re both in on this.”
“What he did to you wasn’t right,” said Jake.
“I don’t disagree with you. But I didn’t want to be the one to out him.”
“No one has done that,” said Gary. “And you don’t have to do it, either. But this is your chance to put him behind you forever.” His voice was quiet and soft, but his words stung as if he’d shot them from a crossbow on a fire-tipped arrow. She stared at him, unable to form a coherent thought. Was he completely out of his mind?
“He’s right,” said Jake. “We’ll go with you. It’s time you had your say so you can leave it in the past where it belongs. You have a right to confront him, sweetheart.”
“You’re both insane.”
Gary shook his head. “No. We just want you to have a chance to confront him for what he put you through. You never did that.”
She didn’t know how to respond. Words like “deception” and “betrayal” flitted through her mind.
“And we owe you an apology for looking in the first place.”
Ava had to avert her gaze as she tried to make sense of it all. She understood why they’d gone snooping. And to be fair, it wasn’t difficult to figure out who Leo really was. He’d chosen a scene name that anyone who had gone to college with him could have stumbled upon. His damn ego wouldn’t even let him hide that much.
They hadn’t really betrayed her, and they hadn’t deceived her. They’d simply neglected to tell her what they’d found. She couldn’t blame them for that. And she knew at the core of this, they had her best interests at heart. Gary was right about one thing. She’d never confronted Leo. She’d simply left. And she knew now that she’d been right the day she and Julie had talked. She wasn’t completely over this. The only way she was ever going to be over it was to have her say face-to-face with Leo.
“So what do you propose I do? Drive to Indy and confront him?”
Jake nodded. “Yes. Exactly.”
“I can’t.”
Gary pulled her into a tight embrace. “Yes, you can. And we’ll be with you. You have more strength in you than you know.”
She clung to him, desperate to believe that.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ava went through the motions the rest of the week at the shop, putting on a happy face for the residents of Racy, but her mind churned with indecision every time her thoughts wandered toward next Friday night. And they did that way too often.
The only thing that kept her focus off Friday night were the lessons. She’d discovered no less than a dozen budding string players in Racy, and the youngest one was only ten. She offered them each a month of free lessons in the hopes they’d continue playing. The school board might have the power to cut music for these kids during their classroom time, but that didn’t mean they could erase the passion they had.
Ava spent a lot of time with each one explaining discipline and drive, and how important it was to make a practice schedule and stick to it. She told them about Berklee and the opportunities it had afforded her, and she told them how fulfilling it had been to play with an orchestra that was able to give back so much to the community.
If any of the students wondered how a gifted cello player who had graduated from one of the top music schools in the country had ended up in Racy, they didn’t show it. Ava kept the focus of her teaching on the music itself, and what it could bring to their lives, even if all they did was play their instrument a few times a week.
By the time Friday rolled around, she had mixed emotions. Clearly this had been the right decision. To come here and open this shop. But how was she going to do this? How was she going to look Leo in the eyes again? Couldn’t she just go on like this, doing what she loved and pretending Leo didn’t exist?
Before she’d even shared her misgivings with Jake and Gary, Gary had asked Kari and Alexa for help in watching the shop so he and Jake could take Ava to Indy, and Alexa had volunteered her help, along with Peppi Rodriguez, Luke’s youngest sister. Peppi worked at Tye Me Up part-time and was wonderful with customers. Kari in turn had enlisted help from Annalise for Tye Me Up that night so she wouldn’t be there alone. The guys had done everything possible to ensure she went to the concert.
She wasn’t upset with them for snooping online. They’d confessed how Jake had found a man he believed was Leo, and as Ava had guessed, it had been by tracking down the many articles about him in his undergrad college newspaper, where he’d always been referred to by his nickname of “The Lion.” But neither Jake nor Gary had mentioned it to her because they hadn’t wanted to upset her.
While she agreed with their reasoning, she told them she would have preferred they’d come to her with the information right away. They sent her a dozen roses each for five straight days, begging her to forgive them. She had, of course, after wrangling a promise out of them that they would never keep anything like that from her again, and she in turn would never do it either.
“This trust has to work both ways,” she said. “You two are experienced Doms. You know I’m right.”
They’d agreed, and Ava had put the incident out of her mind. But what she couldn’t seem to do was put Leo out of her mind. She didn’t miss him or regret having left him. Not even close. But she was terrified to see him again because she didn’t know how he’d react. What if he belittled her in front of Jake and Gary? What if one look at him sent her back to that dark place where she’d thought so little of herself that she’d let him humiliate her and chip away at her self-esteem? What if seeing him on stage brought all that back? What if he were arrogant enough to try and pick a fight with Gary and Jake?
Jake and Gary kept reassuring her that they wouldn’t leave her side for one second, and that Leo wouldn’t dare pick a fight he couldn’t win. They assured her that they believed in her, and they knew she could do this. She knew they were doing this to help her and only had her best interests at heart, but she wished there was another way to accomplish the same thing without facing Leo in person again.
As the week wore on, her reasoning returned to the conclusion she’d previously drawn. This was the only way she’d ever put this behind her forever. And since she was head over heels in love with them both, and wanted her life to include them both, there was no room for Leo. There never had b
een. It was time to lay the ghosts to rest.
* * * *
Ava had only been to a symphony concert once before in Indy, but she learned Friday night that Gary had been to several, so she and Jake were happy to let him drive. Ava had gone to Chicago with the guys earlier in the week to buy a new dress, and she knew she looked stunning in it. By outside appearances alone, she looked happy, healthy, and very much in love with her two sexy Doms. Would Leo see through all that and sense her fear?
They each wore tuxes, and she’d never seen either man look more handsome or sophisticated. Heads turned as the trio walked to their seats, and Ava smiled inwardly at the admiring glances several women gave Gary and Jake. Her men were gorgeous and she knew it.
They had seats in the stage terrace section of the Hilbert Circle Theater, and Ava had no clue how Gary had scored them, but she was grateful he had. They were right in the center, and she had an unencumbered view of the stage. Tonight they could pretend they were royalty, and Ava tried to keep that attitude front and center.
She wasn’t prepared for the visceral reaction of seeing Leo step onto the stage. He was an imposing man, and the aura he gave off once he took the podium was exactly as she remembered it from their scenes. Leo the Dom and Dimitri Gianopoulos the musician and conductor were one and the same person. It was easy to see now how once Jake and Gary had found Dimitri’s bio online, it hadn’t been a huge stretch for them to put two and two together.
She tried to concentrate on the music, which she loved, but her nerves were raw. She held on to Jake’s and Gary’s hands through most of the concert, and all their palms were damp by the time the audience stood to give the orchestra and Leo a standing ovation. They deserved it. Under his direction, they sounded as good as any world-class orchestra she’d ever heard. She couldn’t dismiss his talent in bringing an ensemble together to make musical magic.
Jake and Gary rose, and by the time they’d led her to the corridor with backstage access, her legs trembled. She was sure she’d throw up long before she had the chance to do this. A security guard stood ahead, arms crossed and a dark scowl on his face. Ava breathed a sigh of relief. He’d never let them back there. Now they could return to Racy and this would all be over.
Gary approached the man and spoke to him for a few seconds, and Ava watched in disbelief as the guard eyed both her and Jake, then waved the trio through.
“What did you say to him?” asked Ava in a stage whisper.
“I have connections.”
“You do?”
He grinned at her. “Why does all this shock you so much? Where do you think I found my band members?”
She nodded because her mouth was bone dry and she couldn’t have spoken regardless. It had never occurred to her that Gary still knew people in the music community, and guilt washed over her as she realized how little she knew about the days when he’d been trying to find his big break.
As they approached one of the dressing rooms, several voices and a familiar laugh drifted into the hallway and she stopped in her tracks. “I can’t do this.” Her voice came out in a harsh whisper.
Jake placed a hand on each shoulder and gazed at her with what could only be called love. Ava had to blink back tears.
“Please don’t make me do this, Sir. I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” He kissed her gently on the lips. “I know you can. You’re the strongest, bravest woman I’ve ever met, and I am crazy in love with you.”
Ava stared at him, certain she’d hallucinated his words. She swallowed hard as a huge grin spread across Jake’s face.
“Yeah, guess I should have saved that revelation for another time, but I wanted you to know it before you confronted him.”
Gary moved close to her, and Jake took his hands away so that Gary could cup her face. He smiled at her in the special way he always did when he was about to say something sappy, and now the tears did come. She couldn’t stop them. But they were tears of joy that Gary gently wiped away. “I love you, too. You know that. Surely you know that by now. And I believe in you as much as Jake does. You can do this. I know you can, or I wouldn’t have allowed this to happen tonight.”
“Thank you. Both of you. I love you, too.” She reached over and grasped Jake’s hand. “Both of you. So very, very much. I should have told you that but I was afraid. I’m not afraid anymore. I love you both.”
Gary embraced her, holding her tightly as she shivered from the overwhelming joy coursing through her body, and then he kissed her lips. Jake pulled her into a tight embrace, kissed her again, and then he took her hand and led her toward the partially open door.
Jake knocked on the door, and Ava grabbed Gary’s hand with her free one. She squared her shoulders, and when Leo’s voice called, “Come in,” she crossed the threshold hand in hand with her Doms.
There were five people crowded into the tiny room. Two men that Ava recognized as Doms and friends of Leo’s from Chicago, and two women that she’d never seen. But her gaze focused on Leo and stayed there.
He didn’t look any different than the last time she’d seen him, but it struck her that she’d never noticed before how cold his eyes were. She was so used to Gary’s sparkling blue eyes and Jake’s warm gray ones that she’d forgotten the dull, hard look that Leo bestowed on everyone.
His jaw literally dropped, and she could feel the triumph in both Jake’s and Gary’s hands. Leo made no pretense of checking her out, but she didn’t care. Let him look. She was his loss, and she wanted the prick to know that.
Jake let go of her hand and moved forward, extending his own. “Jake Malloy. I believe you know my uncle Preston Malloy. He works out of our Chicago office.”
Ava resisted the urge to raise her brows. That was news to her. Jake was playing the family card. Good for him.
“Oh…yes. Yes, of course I know Preston.” Leo shook Jake’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
It was so rare to see Leo caught off guard that Ava found renewed strength. Her legs no longer trembled, and she relaxed her shoulder muscles for the first time since leaving Racy earlier.
“This is Gary Reed.”
Gary and Leo shook hands but didn’t speak.
“And you know Ava, of course.”
Leo gave her a long, searching look, but she didn’t avert her gaze. He was no doubt probably trying to figure out if she’d told Jake and Gary about them, but she kept her face neutral. Let him sweat it out.
“How are you?” he finally asked. “You look well.”
“I’m happy.” That was the most honest thing she could have said. She was happier right now than she’d ever been in her entire life.
“Could the three of us have a moment of your time?” asked Jake, cutting his gaze toward the others in the room. “In private?”
Ava’s heart hammered in her ears. She had wondered how they were going to pull this off. Jake’s aura was all alpha male and Leo wouldn’t miss that. But he also wouldn’t be intimidated by it.
The two faced off, and only someone who knew Leo as well as she did would probably catch the tiny muscle twitch in his jaw. At first, she thought he was going to refuse, but then he nodded and whispered to the two women.
They left, along with the men, and Jake closed the door behind them. “Ava has some things to say to you.”
Leo’s grin was predatory and it didn’t reach his eyes. Ava had seen the same look on his face so many times, it didn’t unnerve her now. He couldn’t hurt her ever again.
“I’ll bet she does. But shouldn’t she say them to me in private, as you just insisted?”
“Not a chance,” said Jake, holding Leo’s gaze.
“We stay with her,” said Gary.
“And who exactly are you both to her?”
Ava was about to say that was none of his business, but Jake spoke first. “Her Doms.”
Leo couldn’t hide his surprise. He tried to rein it in, but all three of them noticed before he regained control of his reaction. “I see. May I also assume,
then, that you know my history with Ava?”
“We do,” said Gary. “But she didn’t give us your real name. We figured that one out on our own.” He actually winked, and Ava nearly laughed out loud.
“How clever of you.”
Gary kept the grin on his face even though Leo did nothing to hide the sarcasm in his voice. When he glanced at Ava again, his eyes were colder than she’d ever seen them. “All right, then. Have your say.”
She’d rehearsed this speech a dozen times. She’d even written it down and read it out loud to Jake and Gary. But now that she was here, facing him for the first time since that horrible, fateful night, the words she thought she’d need to say to him sounded empty and pointless in her mind. They were no longer necessary.
She’d expected the memories to overwhelm her, but they didn’t. They were still there, but they held no power over her soul now. She began to wonder if they ever had. She felt nothing. It was as if the seventeen years she’d been this man’s toy and plaything had simply disappeared. How does something like that happen?
Ava gave Jake and Gary each a quick glance, drawing strength from the intense, loving expressions on their faces. She took a deep breath, and then she said the one thing that as far as she was concerned, summed it up succinctly and spoke louder than the two-page speech she’d prepared. “You no longer have power over me.”
Leo blinked a few times then frowned. “That’s it? That’s what you came here to say?”‘
“Yes.”
“You left me like a coward when I went out of town.”
“Were you expecting an apology from me?”
She’d never seen him so flustered, and it sent her heart soaring. All these months she’d been afraid of him, and for what? He was only a man. And right now, she’d thrown him so off balance that his usual composed demeanor had cracked.
