“That’s right, son,” I told him, studying his face as my assistant brought the table out.
We were supposed to be setting up for my regular bits, a quick sleight of hand while I helped myself to anything and everything this young man had in his pockets. Behind the stage, Sly was setting up for one of his sword acts.
But I had a feeling the standard sleight of hand wasn’t going to work as well this time around.
My assistant Dina came striding out in her sharp, sleek dress—a column of sparkling blue. She had a wheeled table in front of her.
Theatrically, I stepped forward and held up my hands. “Ladies…gentlemen…pardon me while I make plans for after the show.”
Dina stopped in a huff and planted a hand on her hip, going along. “You only wish, LeVan!”
“Oh, come on, honey…”
Closer to her now, I bent and murmured in her ear. “We’re swapping out. Bring out the cards…” I continued to murmur, keeping it fast and short.
She signaled that she understood—then jerked back, gaping at me. “Why in the world do I work with you, LeVan? I swear…” With that, she spun and stalked off, hips twitching in a way that made the sparkles on her dress throw shards of light all over the stage.
Going back to the kid who’d been selected to come on stage, I smiled at him, reaching into my jacket. “So, do you like cards?”
His eyes lit up. “You know I do, LeVan!”
The audience started to laugh.
They’d seen the same thing I had and I bit back a curse. There was something different about this kid, but the world wasn’t always nice to people who were different.
And this kid wasn’t a kid, either.
I could see fine lines fanning out from his eyes. He was probably closer to my age than I’d realized.
“Come on…let me show you one of my favorite tricks.” I whipped my hand out of my jacket—and a bird flew out.
The dove flew off to the left, not caring that his act was playing a little bit earlier than normal. As long as Pietro got fed, that was all he cared about.
My friend from the audience burst into bright laughter.
It was infectious, and thankfully, most of the audience who responded did so in the same way.
Keeping everything on a bright and easy note, I walked him through the trick, even going so far as to show him how to do it—on the easy scale.
The audience responded the way I’d hoped and applauded like mad, even when he went back to his seat, pumping his arms like a champ. I lost track of him as the darkness wrapped back around the audience, cueing up for the next act.
“Now…let me pull a rabbit out of my hat…” I grinned at them, then pulled a hat out of thin air.
One thing we did with our show was bring any and all participants backstage for a brief meet and greet.
I didn’t much care about meeting anyone but the kid—
Not a kid, I corrected myself.
But I’d wanted to meet him.
Normally I got names from everyone I brought on stage, but I’d been too busy working the audience, him, the stage, all of it to keep anyone from reacting in a way that would’ve simultaneously pissed me off, hurt him, and ruin the show.
Searching for him, I sipped on my ginger ale and made the rounds for what was taking on the typical cocktail party atmosphere.
None of us ever drank at these things.
We also didn’t flirt, didn’t take anyone’s phone number…this was purely for PR, a rule we’d set up a long time ago.
“That was sooooo sweet the way you handled that.”
The gushing, overly sweet yet utterly fake tone of her voice caused me to tighten my jaw briefly, but I tried to relax and not show my reaction so clearly on my face.
Looking over, I saw David’s fiancée standing there. I couldn’t remember her name, nor did I care enough to jostle my brain and reach for it. “Handled what?” I asked blandly. Before she could answer, I cupped her elbow and started to walk. “Your fiancé did fantastic tonight. I hope you’ve congratulated him. The crowd loved him.”
“Oh, but of course…” She beamed at me, her wide brown eyes glowing. “You know, I was hoping to talk to you about that. Was there anything…” She paused then, trying to slow our pace.
Wasn’t having it. I knew just where this was going. I’d been down this road a time or three.
“I’m afraid I can’t offer you any pointers, ma’am. Now if he wants to ask, he’s welcome to, but this sort of thing works better from one artist to another. I’m sure you understand, and no, it won’t work better if we talk about it in private so you can explain it better. I’ve had it explained all sorts of ways and it always boils down to the same thing.” I gave her a polite, cool smile, but it wasn’t real. It said everything my words hadn’t—I know your game. We all do.
We came to a halt and she tilted her head, studying me.
The smile fell away from her eyes as well.
“You should be more friendly,” she said, laying thicker on the drawl. “You never know where it will get you later in life.”
“I don’t rely on my friends to get me places, thanks.” I let go of her arm and gestured to David. “There’s your fiancé now.”
I turned to go and had almost reached Mac and Sly when a shriek rang out.
“You stupid boy! And you…if you can’t control him better, why do you even take him anywhere?”
I didn’t have to look to know who it was—or who the boy was.
But I looked anyway.
For a moment, though, the world fell away.
It literally…just…fell away, like the world’s greatest magician had just pulled the world’s greatest illusion and I’d never seen it coming. It was an almost beautiful unmasking, really, the way the veil of time peeled back and I saw the kid—the kid—as who he really was.
Nicky.
Taller, broader through the shoulders—the body of a man. A man’s face and a man’s body, but still those child-like eyes. And now, those child-like eyes were wide with horror and humiliation as he gaped at the woman in front of him.
Then I couldn’t even see him, because another woman pushed him gently behind her.
“Thea,” I whispered.
And then I had to lunge forward to get between David’s rude as fuck fiancée and the woman I loved.
29
Thea
So…fate had smiled on us—or at least it had decided not to shit on me.
I’d been hard pressed not to grab Nicky’s hand when he jubilantly shot up in the air, waving his hand when LeVan asked for a volunteer. If he saw us now…
But it hadn’t happened.
Those bright lights on stage probably made it hard for him to see too much of anything. When it swung our way as LeVan gestured toward Nicky, I held up my hand, blocking the light—but blocking me from him, too. We were close enough that if he’d been looking, he might’ve recognized me and I didn’t want to blindside him like that while he was performing.
How in the world he’d chosen Nicky out of that entire theatre, I had no idea.
But I went unnoticed.
That was right up until the show ended and a uniformed security guard appeared at the end of the aisle.
He held out two plastic corded tags. “Backstage passes for the meet and greet, ma’am. Courtesy of the Knights.”
I blinked at the sight of them. “Excuse me?”
“Everyone who gets called up on stage gets passes for him and his party—or hers.” He flashed me a smile. “You’re a party of two, right?”
He glanced at Nicky as he asked.
“Yes, we are,” I responded, not even thinking.
He turned one of the plastic tags over to me, then the other to Nicky. “Hold tight onto that,” he advised Nicky. “It’s going to get you backstage to meet the Knights.”
“The Knights…” Nicky blinked, processing this. “You mean all the magic guys who were on stage? I get to meet them all? Not just
LeVan?”
“You sure do.” The man’s smile widened a fraction and he clapped Nicky on the shoulder. “It’s going to make your night. Now…if you two will follow me?”
Nicky grabbed my hand and started to tug me along behind him while I was still in that processing stage.
I was going to see LeVan.
After too many years, I was going to see LeVan.
After I went and cut him off without a word, after I went and cut him off and sent Naomi to him with a letter and a bit of hope that he’d wait, I was going to see LeVan. Naomi was such a trooper for indulging me. She’d be my closest friend for years to come, I was sure.
But LeVan.
Christ, was I being completely naïve about the plan I’d hatched?
Oh shit.
It was just as much my fault as Nicky’s.
I was nervous as hell and while Nicky would never be able to understand algebra, he was a genius at human nature—he understood emotion and fear, and he, somehow, understood that I was nervous about seeing LeVan.
“Why are you nervous?”
But he didn’t understand the why.
“I’m not,” I lied after he’d pushed me for an answer a second time.
We’d been offered cocktails, but I’d declined, asking for water for both of us. The last thing I needed was alcohol lubricating me when nerves were already taking care of the job.
“But you are,” Nicky said. “You keep doing that funny thing with your hand you always do when you’re nervous.”
That funny thing was a bad habit—making a fist with my left hand over and over again. Flex, release, flex, release. I realized I was doing it even as I thought about it and made myself stop.
“I’m fine, Nick—”
“There he is!” Nicky said, nudging me. “Look, Thea.”
I had to force air into my lungs.
It wasn’t working.
I felt like I just might pass out.
I tried again.
“Thea!” Nicky grabbed my arm and shook me like he used to do when we were kids and he wanted my attention.
Pulling free, I held up a hand. “Just give me a second, Nicky.” I’d turn around in a second. I really would.
“But he’s going to—” Nicky, his own nerves feeding off mine, started to shift from one foot to the other, and he flung out one hand, gesturing to LeVan.
Or tried to.
What he ended up doing was bumping into the woman who came striding through the crowd carrying a drink. His hand bumped hers and some of the cocktail splashed out.
“Damn it,” she snapped, looking down at her dress, then at Nicky. “Can’t you be more careful?”
“I…I’m sorry,” Nicky mumbled. He looked at the napkin he still held from the water he’d guzzled almost immediately. “You want my napkin?”
He shoved it out and ended up smacking his hand against hers as she went to wave down one of the servers.
“You stupid boy!” She huffed out a breath.
Red exploded in front of my eyes, nerves gone, any lingering hesitation gone.
She had not just—
“And you…if you can’t control him better, why do you even take him anywhere?”
Gently, I nudged Nicky aside, putting myself in front of him while he started to mumble under his breath. “Excuse me, did you just say control him? He’s a person, thank you very much.”
“He acts like a fucking animal! He ran right into me! Look at my dress! It’s ruined!” The petite blonde gestured to her dress.
Automatically, I looked.
I saw nothing but a couple of splotches that might’ve been from her drink. Behind me, Nicky’s mutters were getting louder. “It’s okay, Nicky,” I said softly, reaching back to catch his hand. I was going to have to get him out of here.
So much for finding LeVan.
I couldn’t do it now.
And even though I knew I had to focus on my brother, that obnoxious twit continued to flail her empty hand and finally, I saw a couple of drops of red wine dotting the deep rose material. “Do you see? This dress is Armani. Do you even know who Armani is? He’s a Roman designer.”
“Actually, yes, I know who Giorgio Armani is—I’ve met him. Personally—and he’s Italian.” Sniffing, I eyed her up and down. “Your shoes are Armani, sweetheart, but that dress is straight off the rack. You didn’t even bother to get it fitted right. And it’s not ruined. If you don’t know how to get red wine out of a dress, then you’re not mature enough to be drinking it.”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening.
I ignored her. Turning to Nicky, I tried to catch his eyes. “Look at me, honey. Calm down.”
He was beating at his thigh, a precursor to what might come if I didn’t calm him down. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go—”
“You nasty—”
“Don’t even think about it.”
That voice.
Deep, rich, smooth as molasses and just as sweet, it rippled and poured all over me and I had to suppress a shiver. It was hard to believe, but LeVan Vanderbilt’s voice had gotten even better with age. From the corner of my eye, I saw him glide in front of me—and I saw his hand come up just as Rose Dress went to throw her red wine in my face—and while I might not have been wearing Armani anything, I was wearing a pair of Louboutins and a dress of my own design.
“Security is going to escort you out,” LeVan said, standing slightly at an angle to me as he spoke. “If you behave, you can stay in the hotel. If not…well, David can decide if he wants to join you or not. He’s welcome to remain at the party, but you just had your ticket revoked.”
He’d cut his hair. I’d noticed it earlier and wondered when he’d done it. All the promo material around the hotel still showed him with the long, heavy dreadlocks, but now his hair was cut short, close to scalp. It didn’t matter. He was still as beautiful as an angel, carved by the hand of a master.
“Thea. It’s the Magic Man.” Miraculously, Nicky had calmed down almost completely, now twirling an overlong lock of hair instead of smacking his fist against his thigh—or his head.
“I know, buddy. Are you good?” The question came out of habit more than anything. My gaze was still on LeVan, the air in my lungs shrinking away to nothing.
LeVan turned then, the movement almost obscenely slow. I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a breath before looking back at him.
He’d started growing at thirteen and hadn’t stopped until nineteen, topping out at a lean and sexy six foot three. Not petite by any stretch of the imagination, I stood five eight in my bare feet and I’d deliberately picked a pair of heels that would give me another two inches, but he still had five of them on me.
“Hi, LeVan,” I said, ignoring the chaos coming from behind us as security escorted Rose Dress away.
LeVan just stared.
Then he moved.
A second later, his mouth was on mine and I wrapped my arms around his, leaning into him like nothing and no one else in the world existed.
Dimly, I heard a couple of people whistle, maybe even a whoop or two.
But nothing mattered but the feel of his mouth on mine and the hand that had arrowed into my hair.
He held on like he’d never, ever let go.
And I was just fine with that.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
This was always the hardest part.
Leaving Nicky at the center wasn’t the same thing that our mother had done and I knew it. They were preparing him to be independent and inside, he already had his own apartment. Come morning, his counselor would join him and together they’d go to the communal kitchen where Nicky would prepare his own breakfast.
He was going to be able to take care of himself, like I’d always hoped—like my father would’ve wanted.
But that meant I had to stay out of the picture a lot of the time. The daily visits were fine, but I couldn’t be there twenty-four seven, or even twelve-seven.
Tonight, though, kno
wing that LeVan would be coming over in a very short period of time, it felt even more like I was becoming my mother, dumping my special needs brother on someone else so I could live my life.
But you’re not, I reminded myself. You’re doing this for him, not you.
Nicky hugged me enthusiastically, laughing as he said, “I can’t wait to tell Marcus that the Magic Man kissed you. You know him.”
“You do, too, Nicky. You’ve known him a long time.” We’d watched some of his shows together on TV, hoping that would help smooth things over when LeVan reentered Nicky’s life—or, hopefully reentered Nicky’s life. Change wasn’t something he handled well. He was still asking about Melody and if we were certain she was really dead and if he’d ever go back to Sunny Vista. “You remember him, right?”
“Yeah.” Nicky nodded, but he didn’t care about TV shows or even the fact that LeVan used to show him magic tricks when we were younger. He cared about here and now, like always. Evidence of that was given by the way he turned to meet Marcus, his evening shift counselor.
A moment later, he was striding inside, talking animatedly about the show and how I’d been kissed in front of a whole, big room.
Yes. I’d been kissed in front of a whole big room…one full of people, and I hadn’t cared in the slightest.
Even now my mouth buzzed and as I walked to the car, I reached up to touch my lips, remembering how he’d done the same when he pulled away, tracing the bow of my upper lip before cradling my face to kiss me once more, slower, softer.
“I’ve been waiting to do that for years, pretty lady.”
My throat ached, the burn of tears I’d held back for so long threatening to rise up.
“Not now,” I told myself.
I’d refused to cry when my mother had made her threats, when I’d had to choose between my brother and my lover, during all the nights when I’d longed for LeVan. I wasn’t going to cry now that we finally had our chance.
You will never be with him, Dorothea. Not as long as I’m alive. Not if you want your brother to have care with any standard of decency.
Risk Me (Vegas Knights Book 2) Page 16
