The second I walk out that door, I know my dad is going to go take his weekly nap. Flashing my own grin, I say, “Will do. Try not to work too hard while I’m gone.”
I walk down to the café, a bounce in my step, my pink sandals kissing the sidewalk as I go. Peeking in the window of the café, I see that our favorite corner table is available. Opening the heavy door, I race in to grab it. I’m just about to put my hand on the back of one of the open chairs when a heavy shoulder bumps into mine.
A deep voice mutters, “My apologies.”
Recognizing the voice instantly, I freeze. Turning as slowly as a deer seeing the flash of an oncoming headlight, my gaze meets Eli’s.
I blurt out in surprise, “What are you doing here?”
There’s a fleeting smile on his face, a moment where it seems he’s glad to be seeing me, but then his dark brow narrows. “Excuse me?”
My tongue, always thick and fumbling in his presence, mangles my words. “I mean... I meant...I just haven’t seen you since you joined the Brotherhood and moved to the Village. When was that? A year ago?”
He gives me a queer look. “I’m visiting my parents. I do that from time to time, you know.”
I ramble as I do when I’m nervous. “Of course you do! How silly of me. I was just super surprised to see you, that’s all—”
“Who’s this?” My words are cut off by the velvety voice of a shockingly gorgeous woman. Her brown skin glows, her high cheekbones are dusted in gold. Her deep brown eyes lock on mine.
Her long fingers, decorated in gold and silver rings, slide over Eli’s shoulder, a possessive move I envy her for. She stands snuggled up to his side and croons, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
I’m stunned into silence, her beauty casting a spell on me.
Eli turns to her and smiles, making a stabbing pain tear through my heart. “Cascade, this is an old friend of my family’s. Charlotte Greene.”
She holds out a hand to me, and I take it, dumbly shaking it up and down like a robot. I manage to squeak, “Nice to meet you. Are you guys... like... together?”
Eli gives me a curious look, perhaps perplexed by my lack of manners. “Yes, she’s my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for about six months.”
Socially awkward much, Charlotte? Despite my humiliation, I study the beautiful face of Eli’s girlfriend, thinking I’ve seen it somewhere before. “Cascade. Why does that name ring a bell?”
“Cascade Jackson. Have you heard of me?” she asks, giving me a knowing smile.
When she says her full name, it hits me—Cascade Jackson, one of the most revered African American women in Hollywood, known for her part as Princess Dahlia, the captain of the ship on the hit sci-fi show, Stargazers. My dad, a true science fiction nerd, has never missed an episode.
I clap my hands in delight. “Oh, my gosh! You’re famous. My dad loves your show. You’re his favorite character. He still can’t get over the time you discovered the time transport lunar rock and saved the galaxy just before the alien knights overtook your ship—”
Eli cuts off my words. “We’ve got to eat now. We’re due to my parents in an hour. You’ll have to excuse us, Charlotte.”
I want to get a picture with her for my dad, or an autograph—something to prove I’ve met Cascade in person. But Eli gives me another look and I wilt under his firm gaze. Giving a little wave, I say, “I’d better let you two get on with your day.”
Cascade’s eyes are kind. She shoots me an empathetic look. “It was nice meeting you, Charlotte. I like your dress.”
“Thank you.” I look down at my pink outfit, now seeming extremely childish next to her own soft gold sundress.
I go to sit at the table as originally planned before bumping into Eli, but to my surprise, he’s already placing their tray down on the tabletop. Knowing Eli, if I asked him for the table, he’d give it to me but I feel I’ve already interrupted them enough.
Giving Cascade one last glance, I scurry away to the front to the deli, eager to get her sympathetic gaze off me.
I grab the only other empty table, one with little room in a high traffic thoroughfare, and wait for Emily.
She’s late. She’s never, ever late.
I pull my phone from my purse and check my messages. There’s one from her.
Dearest Charlotte, I’m so sorry to do this but I must postpone our date till next week. Something’s come up here, and I can’t get away. Xoxo, Emily.
Sighing, I slump down in my chair. My lunch is canceled, my day ruined, and I’ll never, ever live down my awkward introduction to Eli’s stunning girlfriend. I sit, sulking. Every so often, I sneak a glance at the lovebirds. She’s leaning in, laughing at his remarks.
He’s staring at her in the way every straight woman on this planet wants a man to look at her.
Once, when I look up, I catch him staring at me, an almost wistful look in his eyes. But taking another look at his gorgeous girlfriend, I realize I must have imagined it. As I always do when it comes to Eli.
I’ve never quite managed to shake the hold Eli has on my heart.
I’ve dated plenty of men; I even thought I was in love with a few. Boys from high school, men from college. I even had one naughty fling with a professor, which was the closest I’ve ever gotten to finding myself a daddy dom—if they even exist off the screen of my Kindle.
How does one release themselves from a lifelong crush on a man they will never be with? I tear my envious gaze from them—it hurts too much to see them in their happiness. I stare out the window.
Awhile later, as they’re leaving, Eli approaches my table. “You alright?”
I say, “Yes. I was meeting someone but they couldn’t come.”
His brow furrows. “You want us to stay with you, so you don’t have to eat alone?”
Not wanting to put them out, I smile and say, “No, no. I’m fine but thank you for offering.”
He passes with a wink, calling, “Be good.”
Cascade walks behind him through the narrow aisle. When she passes, she slips something into my hand. Leaning down, she whispers, “For your dad.”
I smile up at her as she leaves, and she gives me a wink in return.
When they’ve gone, I glance down at what’s she’s given me—it’s a small photo of her and the rest of the Stargazers crew in their uniforms, a big moon behind them. She’s signed it: For Charlotte’s dad, with all my love. Cascade Jackson.
My dad is going to flip! Cascade’s generosity of spirt touches me, brightening my mood. I trace my fingertip beneath her words, underlining them. “What a gem. Lucky Eli.”
And lucky Cascade.
What I wouldn’t give to have Eli Bachman look at me the way he looks at her. Which will never, ever happen, not in a million years. Even if he didn’t already look at me as a pesky little sister, now with stunning, successful Cascade in the picture, I’ve no chance at all.
Not that I ever really did.
“Are you going to order, or just take up space?” A nasty voice interrupts my thoughts. I look up to find a grumpy-faced woman standing with her hands on her hips. A small man cowers behind her, starting at me curiously. “Well, are you eating, or just sitting? Me and my husband need a place to sit.”
“Actually, I think I’ve lost my appetite. Have at it.” Slipping the picture into my purse, I stand from my seat and exit the deli.
It’s too soon to go home. My dad will be asleep for another hour. Crunching numbers alone after the time I’ve had—the thought is too depressing. What I need is a little ice cream therapy.
Crossing the street to Scoops, my mind is already running down the list trying to choose a flavor. I reach the precious little shop, its red and white striped awning welcoming me. Hungrily, I stare down the lengthy menu that’s posted to the window. “Let’s see, will it be Chocolate Cherry Blast, or Cookie Crumble?”
Deciding on a double scoop of Cookie Crumble, I glance through the window to see how long the line is. A punch in my gut knoc
ks the wind from me as I spy Cascade and Eli standing beside one another, waiting by the counter to be served. “Of course! Could this day get any worse?”
They’ve ruined my lunch and now, my pity party ice cream. I should just head home and get back to work, tapping my fingers across the keyboard alone, while I listen to my dad snore in the other room.
Before I go, I can’t help but give one more glance to the stunning couple.
Only... now there’s a look of unease on Cascade’s face. Her hand is slipping from Eli’s, and she’s backing away from him as if she’s just seen a ghost. I can’t read his lips, but he’s upset, his brow creased, his hands open before him, as if pleading with her.
She gives him one last glance, then rushes toward the door. I take a step back so she won’t see me as she bursts from the shop. She’s through the door, running down the sidewalk. Just as Eli comes through the door after her, I hear her call over her shoulder, “Do not follow me, Eli Bachman!”
Eli stops in his tracks, hovering just outside the door, only feet from me. He runs his hands through his thick dark hair, a look of despair crossing his face.
Do I step forward? Announce myself and offer condolences? See if he wants to talk? Or slink off into the shadows, already having bothered him enough for one day?
As I’m stuck making up my mind, he spots me. Again, he seems happy to see me, I think, but the look quickly melts away. “Hey there.”
“Hey yourself. What just happened?” I ask.
He runs a hand through his dark hair, leaving it achingly disheveled. “Cascade was going to meet my parents today. Everything’s been going so well between us. Then we saw you and...” His words trail off and he lifts his hand, gesturing toward me as if his hand motion explains my involvement in his fight with his girlfriend.
He’s left too much room for my overly romantic imagination in the lack of his response. Does he mean he saw me and realized he loved me and then told her it was over?
It can’t be.
But maybe.
My heart beats double time as my mind fixates on this impossible scenario. “And then what happened? After you saw me?”
“She started asking questions. About how our families know one another and what our fathers do for a living. I didn’t want to tell her I was a part of the Brotherhood—not yet at least—she only knows me as Eli Tatum. I just needed more time to prove to her our cause is worthy before I laid it on her that I’m a Bachman. But she wouldn’t accept my vague answers. I came clean.”
Eli once told me there are two types of people in the state of New York: those who will do anything to become a Bachman, and those who will never, ever get involved. Looks like Cascade is a member of the latter group.
Which means the two of them will never, ever work.
I give him an empathetic look, asking, “And she ran for the hills?”
He heaves a sigh. “Exactly.”
“I’m sorry if seeing me—”
“Not your fault, Charlotte.”
“Well, I’m sorry she broke up with you. I really liked her.”
“She’s... wonderful. Kind and funny but you know what? Maybe it’s for the best. A relationship begun in dishonesty will never last. I should have introduced myself as Eli Bachman when I met her and let the chips fall where they may.”
It’s none of my business, but when did that ever stop me? I ask, “When were you going to tell her?”
He gazes off in the direction Cascade fled. “Today. After she met my parents.”
Despite my own hurting heart, I feel for him. But even if I put my own desires aside, the logistics of a Bachman and a civilian will never work. “I don’t mean to overstep, but didn’t someone tell me that there are only two types of people in this state?”
He flashes me a grin. “Those who want to be a Bachman, and those who don’t?”
I laugh. “I believe I heard a very wise young man say that, once.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, staring down the street. “Apparently not wise enough to keep from tangling himself in a relationship that had no chance. At this point, I should just resign to being single. Rockland’s going to give me grief when he hears I’m no closer to settling down.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“It’s nothing—just they’d rather we Brothers be married than single. Unfortunately, none of my relationships last more than a few months and the string of ex-girlfriends I have is longer than the train ride I’m going to be taking back to the city.”
Maybe because he’s been dating the wrong girls.
I hold back my opinions, instead asking, “If you’re taking the train, how’s Cascade going to get home?”
“Her limo is just around the corner. We took it here. The question is—how am I going to get back to the Village? I left my driver and car in the Village. She was my ride.”
I offer, “I could drive you.”
Eyeing me warily, he says, “Thank you but if I remember your driving skills correctly, I’ll be much safer on the train.”
I shrug. “Who hasn’t hit a few mailboxes in their day?”
He smiles. “Me.”
“No, I don’t suppose you have.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go after her. Apologize one more time, then go break the news to my poor parents—your son has broken it off with yet another woman and there will be no grandchildren in your future,” he jokes.
Softly, I offer, “You’ll find your match, one day.”
“We’ll see.” His gaze lingers on mine. Leaning down, he places a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Goodbye, Charlotte.”
When he pulls away the flesh of my cheek is tingly, warm, and the only thought in my mind is I want him to kiss me again.
Instead, he turns to leave in the direction Cascade took off, no doubt with hope in his heart that he’ll persuade her to change her mind.
I want to tell him to come back, to forget his beautiful Stargazer princess and go with me to get a double scoop. Instead, I call out, “Good luck!”
Without turning to face me, he lifts his hand in the air in a dismissive wave.
It’s too painful to watch him leaving me. I turn and head in the opposite direction of Eli.
Walking home, I contemplate his situation. If Cascade isn’t up for Bachman life, there’s no sense in the two of them dating—it would never work out. Eli is a practical man and within a few hours, he’ll realize that and resign himself to let her go.
But who will be his next conquest?
Surely after this heartbreak, he’ll take more care in choosing. He won’t begin another relationship knowing it has a dead end—he’ll be sure the girl he falls for desires the life of a Bachman Beauty. That she’s cut from the cloth of the strong, submissive mafia wife.
And Rockland wants him wed.
A tiny ray of hope bursts in my heart.
Maybe, just maybe, one day Eli will be open to a woman who loves the lifestyle, who is currently employed by the family, who longs to be a Bachman. There’s a chance he’ll trade his serious, successful beauties for something else. Someone a little plainer and sillier perhaps, but a woman who loves him, who’s been deeply devoted to him for—well, for forever.
Someone like... me.
My mind is whirring like the insides of my dusty old computer, processing my thoughts and my confusing emotions, all while hatching a plan. Eli Bachman will have to settle down one day. And maybe, just maybe, I could be the one to capture his attentions.
I dance down the sidewalk, right to the front door of my parents’ white colonial. Upon entering, I find my father in the living room, snoozing on the couch. Smiling to myself, I tiptoe over to him. Taking the autographed picture from my purse, I prop it up against a vase on the coffee table where he will see it when he wakes up. I head to our office, ready to get to work tallying the Bachmans’ accounts.
Trying to focus as I work over the numbers, my mind wanders, beginning to tally other, more important things..
. like my chances with Eli Bachman.
He and Cascade are done. He’s resigned himself to being single. But he’s never unattached for long.
I must slip inside the door to his heart during the short time that it’s unoccupied.
Eli took care to spank me the night of the gala, wanting to correct me and protect me. There was no mistaking the hardness of his cock against my hip. He did not balk when I called him Daddy. Instead, he called me good girl, and kissed me.
Even someone as inexperienced as me in the ways of love at the time could not mistake that kiss for a chaste, sisterly one. There was a spark between us, and when he pulled away, the evidence was written in his gaze.
Of course, he friend-zoned me afterwards, but looking back on all the facts of that night, I don’t think he was being entirely honest with himself.
I have to speak to Eli in person. Tell him of my feelings once and for all. But if it’s here in our hometown, I hold no hope in him seeing me in any other way that the pesky little friend of the family that tagged along everywhere he went.
I must speak to him within the walls of the Village. Dressed in class and elegance, the shadow of a Beauty. He must see how well I fit in, how all along it was me who was meant to be with him.
Will my plan work?
Probably not.
But I’d rather make a total fool of myself than have to live the rest of my life wondering... what if.
I just want a chance—any chance—to be the next woman he loves.
But how will I get inside the Village? I’ve heard their security is second to none. That the technology they possess is beyond anything the military owns.
That trespassers are shot on sight.
But there are many ridiculous rumors swirling around the family. They bathe in gold coins. They drink the blood of their enemies. They have shrunken heads of the men they’ve killed lining the walls of their basements.
All fanciful urban legends born out of the family’s secrecy. There’s no truth behind the unnerving tales. At least, Emily says so.
The Bachman Village was established a few centuries ago, when you could still buy huge tracts of land. The founders purchased what is now city blocks, building their brownstone businesses like a huge, protective wall, surrounding what would become their precious, hidden town. There are black gates strategically placed between some of the shops so that their sleek black cars can travel from the Village to the city.
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