“Oh my God,” Mia said, bouncing in her seat as she clapped.
And she’s the sober one, I thought with amusement.
“You should totally do that! You’d be awesome.”
“You really think so?” I asked, my eyes drifting around the table.
“Every time Dalia comes to town, she asks whether you can give her a dance lesson,” Eleni said.
“Really?” I adored my niece, and not just because we looked alike and shared a passion for dance. She made me think about what it would be like to have my own little girl someday. After my talk with Blake last night, I couldn’t deny the thought kept creeping into my mind.
“She says you’re the best dance teacher she’s ever had,” Eleni confirmed.
“That’s so sweet.” My stomach still lurched at the thought of handing my father a resignation letter, but I couldn’t deny I was excited about the possibility of branching out on my own. “But you guys know my father would go ballistic if I quit.”
“It’s your life,” Catia said. “You have to do what will make you happy.”
“Besides,” Eleni said, “he didn’t disown Damon for going into business with Blake.”
Just hearing Blake’s name made my heart trip. God, I had it bad for that man. I didn’t want to tell Eleni the only reason Demi had supported Damon’s decision was because he wanted a relationship with his granddaughter. That would just create unnecessary friction in my family, and I didn’t want to be the cause of that. Besides, I already had enough drama in my life. I sure as hell didn’t need any more.
“I have to give it more thought before I make any definite decisions,” I said, nodding my thanks to the handsome waiter who refreshed our drinks. “I’m going to do a bit of the preliminary work this weekend, you know, try to come up with a plan, see what kind of space is available nearby.”
Eleni curled her hand around my forearm. “You should talk to Damon about it. You know he’d help you.”
I had no doubt he would. I’d often told people Damon was my best friend and staunchest supporter, but I wanted Blake to be a part of the process. If I was going to build this business, I wanted it to be with the assistance and guidance of the man I loved. “Actually, I’ve already talked to Blake about it. He thinks it’s a great idea.”
Mia smiled. “Blake, huh? Given how tense things were between you two at the barbeque, I wasn’t even sure you’d still be talking to him.”
Ugh, I’d walked right into that one. “Of course we’re still talking.”
I took a sip of my margarita, followed by another. And another. Until all eyes were on me, no doubt wondering why I was downing my drink like a dehydrated cast-off in the desert.
“You know how it is with me and Blake,” I said when I realized they were waiting for me to elaborate. “We may get annoyed with each other, but we always kiss and make up.”
The girls all grinned at each other.
“Just how much kissing has been going on?” Kara said. “That’s what we all want to know.”
Apparently my little secret wasn’t so secret after all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Liar!” they all said in unison, followed by a chorus of loud giggles.
I didn’t know how they knew about Blake and me, but they clearly did. I felt my face heating up. “I don’t know what you think you know, but—”
“Damon walked in on Blake ordering flowers for you,” Eleni said, her eyes shining with amusement. “He told him that you two are…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You know.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know how I felt about Blake telling my brother about us before I had the chance. I hadn’t specifically told him to keep it from my brothers, but I would have liked to have been the one to tell Damon, if for no other reason than to assure him that I was going into this relationship with my eyes wide open. I gaped at Mia as panic set in. “Deacon doesn’t know about this, does he?”
I could just imagine my big brother going over to Blake’s house and threatening him… or worse. I didn’t want to cause a rift between them. Even though Deacon could be opinionated and overbearing at times, he was still my brother, and I loved him.
“Don’t worry,” Mia said. “I just found out about this tonight, and I promise I won’t tell him if you’d rather talk to him first.”
“You were the last one here tonight,” Eleni said. “I didn’t know your relationship with Blake was a secret. I assumed everyone already knew. Do you hate me for opening my big mouth?”
“Of course not,” I said, giving her a one-armed hug. “In fact, I’m kind of glad you did. I’ve been dying to talk to someone about it.” I wiggled my fingers, inviting them to bring it on. “Okay, girls, me and Blake. Am I crazy or what?”
“You’d be crazy not to,” Catia piped up. “That boy is hot.”
“Oh, he’s not a boy.” Kara laughed. “He’s all man.”
Even though I’d asked for their opinions, it bothered me that my cousins were talking about Blake as though he were some random guy who’d caught their eye.
“Okay,” Mia said, holding her hands up. “We can agree that Blake is hot…” When I gave her a dirty look, she shrugged. “What? I may be married to your brother, but I still have 20/20 vision.”
Since I knew Deacon was the only man for Mia, I didn’t feel threatened. But the gorgeous single women at the table concerned me. How pathetic—I was jealous of my own family. That was how I knew Blake was different from the other men I’d dated. Possessiveness was a foreign emotion to me, and now it seemed to dog me everywhere I went. If it wasn’t his ex-lovers rearing their gorgeous heads, it was some other woman lusting after him. I hated feeling this way, as if I always had to look over my shoulder in case someone was trying to steal my man.
“But what I want to know,” Mia continued, “is is it serious, or are you just having a little fun?”
“Yeah, we want details.” Kara raised her glass before taking a big swig of alcohol.
I knew what kind of dirt they were digging for—the dirty, dirty kind. “He makes me happy.”
A chorus of sighs and groans rang out, and I knew my response had been too sedate for their liking.
Just to make them a little crazier, I added, “We get along great. I think we’re very compatible.”
Kara rolled her eyes. “We all wanna know one thing: is he amazing in bed or what?”
I felt as if I was blushing from head to toe when I took another drink.
“I have to admit, I’m curious about that myself,” Mia said, lowering her voice as she leaned in. “Deacon said he was into some kinky shit. Is that true?”
Suddenly all eyes were on me, and Catia and Kara’s mouths were hanging open like eager puppies, awaiting my response.
“Let’s just say he’s incredible and leave it at that, shall we?” I didn’t have a lot of experience with the whole kiss-and-tell thing, mainly because I hadn’t spent enough time kissing to pen a tell-all, but going into detail about the intimacy Blake and I shared felt wrong.
“Does that mean he’s talked you into experimenting?” Eleni asked, nudging my arm with her elbow.
Since she was on her third glass of wine, I could blame that question on the alcohol, but my future sister-in-law could never be accused of being shy or demure. “No comment.”
“Ah, come on,” Catia said. “That’s not fair. You gotta give us something.”
“Fine.” I sighed. “Let’s just say you can’t believe everything you hear. Some reports are grossly exaggerated.”
Mia bit her lip, holding back a smile. “I bet one thing hasn’t been exaggerated.”
“Oh yeah,” Kara said, fanning her face. “Did you see him after he got out of the pool at Mia’s barbeque? Oh. My. God.”
My jaw dropped as I stared at my cousin. “Were you actually checking out my boyfriend’s junk?”
The girls erupted in laughter.
Catia said, “Ha, I knew we’d get you to tell us the real story if we pr
odded enough.”
Apparently I’d just labeled my relationship with Blake in front of my family. Which meant I had to push my little chat with Deacon up to the top of my to-do list. I loved Mia, but she wasn’t great at keeping secrets from her husband.
Chapter Twelve
Tiana
My palms were sweaty by the time I stepped off the elevator on the top floor of Deacon’s office building the next morning. I’d thought about calling first but feared he would demand to know why I needed to see him. I decided to rely on the element of surprise instead.
“Hi,” I said, smiling at my brother’s receptionist. “Does he have a minute to see me?”
“Sure,” she said, gesturing to the half-open door. “He’s between meetings right now. Go on in.”
“Thanks.” I must have seemed anxious because the middle-aged woman gave me a reassuring smile before returning her attention to the computer screen.
I knew I was being ridiculous. Deacon was my brother. He loved me and wanted me to be happy. But if he threw another roadblock in our path, I feared Blake might decide a relationship with me was more trouble than it was worth, and I would lose him. After a deep breath, I pasted on a wobbly smile and tapped on the door.
Deacon looked up, his frown transforming into a grin when he saw me. He stood and came around the desk to meet me. “There’s my little sister. How have you been, sweetheart?” He enveloped me in a hug.
I took a moment to just bask in his strength, to find the courage I needed to spit out the reason for my visit. “I’ve been good,” I squeezed his hands as I pulled back to look at him. “I had a great time with your wife last night. Have I told you lately how lucky you are to have her?”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Deacon said, backing up a step to perch on the edge of his desk. “I already know she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” His expression softened even more when he flattened his hand against his chest. “You don’t even know what it means to me to finally be having a baby with the woman I love. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. I so wanted what they had. With Blake. “I’m so happy for you guys. No one deserves it more.”
Deacon smiled. “I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about my perfect life. So what’s up?”
“Um…” I threw my over-sized designer handbag in the guest chair and paced the small room. “Actually, there’re a few things I wanted to talk to you about.” I wanted to get Deacon’s take on my plan to open a dance studio. Since he was a brilliant businessman who didn’t believe in sugar-coating the truth, I knew he would give me an honest answer.
“I’m all ears,” Deacon said, crossing his arms.
Having my brother’s undivided attention was nice, since it was so rare, but I was nervous again. If he shot down my idea, it would make me think twice. I needed support and encouragement more than anything right now. “You know how much I’ve always loved to dance.”
“Sure.”
I stopped pacing long enough to face him. “I’m thinking about opening my own dance studio. Is that crazy?”
The look of surprise on Deacon’s face would have been funny if it didn’t make me even more uneasy. “I’ve never heard you talk about this before. Are you saying you’re not happy working for Dad?”
“We haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately.” He would know why, soon enough. “He’s on me about dating Christos, and I’m just not interested.”
Deacon nodded. “I can’t say I blame you, sis. That guy’s a total kiss-ass.”
I smiled. Blake had said the same thing, which shouldn’t surprise me. I’d often thought Deacon and his best friend were eerily similar, even though they grew up in very different families. “Yeah well, Dad doesn’t think so, and you know how he can be when he gets his mind set on something.”
“Like a half-dead dog on the trail of an old bone. You just want to kick the damn thing to put it out of its misery.”
I laughed as I relaxed. Telling him wouldn’t be so bad. Deacon would understand. He’d take my side and support me. I hope. “We had it out yesterday and he said some things that…” I twisted my hands, trying to ignore the pain I felt every time I thought about my father’s words. “Well, they hurt.”
Deacon scowled. “What the hell did he say this time? I swear, we need to get a muzzle for that old fool.”
If only it were that easy to silence our father. “He just made it pretty clear that I’m not all that important to Starkis. He said you and Damon are the ones who should be running the company.” I cleared my throat. “And I’m pretty inconsequential. So I figured, if he doesn’t need me—”
“Hold on a minute,” Deacon said, raising his hand. “He actually said that to you? Was he drunk?”
“No.” Demi had been known to tip a few before noon, but he hadn’t been under the influence when we talked. His anger may have influenced him, but that was no excuse for the things he’d said to me. “He meant what he said. I have no doubt about that.”
“Wow.” Deacon ran a hand over his mouth. “I’m shocked. You’re one of the few people he usually sensors himself with. It’s not like him to be so harsh with you.”
“He was angry with me about Christos.”
Deacon narrowed his eyes, as though he sensed there was something I wasn’t telling him.
“And we kind of got into it about Blake too.”
He still hadn’t told me whether he thought my business idea was a good one, and I wanted to get his take on that before delving into the Blake discussion. I couldn’t be sure he would still speak to me after he learned I was dating his best friend.
“Why would you argue about Blake?” Deacon fisted his hands on either side of his thighs.
I noted his knuckles were turning white. Definitely not a good sign. “He thinks there’s something going on between us.” Before he could ask, I blurted, “There is. We’re dating.”
“Define dating,” he said slowly. “And it goddamn better not mean what I think it does, Tiana, or I’m going to—”
“I’m in love with him.” Oh God, did I really just say that? “And he feels the same way.”
“Like hell he does!” Deacon roared. “That guy doesn’t know the meaning of the word. He has no idea how to treat a nice girl like you. All he dates are who—”
“Stop!” I didn’t want to hear Deacon lecture me about Blake’s past, especially since he had no right to talk, given his reputation before he met Mia. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m not asking your permission, Deacon. I’m telling you the way it is.” I sounded much braver than I felt. Inside I was trembling.
“Is that right?”
Uh oh. He’d adopted the face that told people they were at the top of his hit list.
“Why bother telling me at all, if you don’t need or want my opinion?”
“Because you’re my brother, and I love you,” I said, my voice softening. “And Blake’s your best friend.”
“Not anymore, he’s not.”
“Please don’t say that,” I said, groping for something, anything that would make Deacon see things from my perspective. But short of telling him what a gentle and attentive lover his best friend was, which I didn’t think would go over well, I couldn’t think of a single thing that would wipe that scowl off his face.
“One thing,” he said, holding up his index finger. “I ask him to do one thing for me—stay the hell away from you—and he can’t even do that.”
“We can’t help the way we feel about each other,” I said desperately. “That would have been like asking you to stay away from Mia. Could you have done it?”
“Don’t you dare compare what I feel for Mia to what that bastard feels for you. He just wanted to get in your pants. Now that he has, he’ll discard you like all the rest.”
God, that hurt more than the time I’d caught my heel on the area rug in my parents’ entrance and did a face-plant on the marble floor. “You don’t know th
at.”
“Don’t tell me I don’t know him,” he said, thrusting a finger at me. “I’ve known him for over fifteen years. I’ve watched what he does to women, the way he uses them for sex and—”
“It’s not like that with us,” I said, feeling tears building in my eyes. I so wanted to believe in Blake and me, but I couldn’t deny Deacon’s claims scared me. He was Blake’s best friend. He’d known him a lot longer than I had and probably knew most, if not all, of his secrets.
Deacon tipped his head back. “God, how can you be naïve? It’s always like that with Blake. Why the hell do you think I didn’t want you to get involved with him?”
“You’re wrong about the way he is in the bed—” I cut myself off as soon as I saw the color rising in his face.
Deacon looked as if he were about to bust an artery all over the floor. I was just trying to assure him that Blake hadn’t treated me like all the others. He treated me with respect, like he really loved me. But did he? After Deacon’s rant, I didn’t know what to think anymore.
“Are you telling me he took advantage of you?”
“No!” Heat crept up my neck, prompting me to wrap my hand around it to cool the burn. “It was definitely consensual.”
“I’m going to kill him.” Deacon walked around the desk, reaching for his keys.
I ran around the desk and grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to kick the shit out of my so-called friend.”
“Please, don’t do this,” I pleaded, holding his hand. “What we have is different. He treats me—”
“I don’t care,” Deacon said, shaking me loose. “I know him. I know what it leads to and where it always ends, and he’ll do that to you over my dead body.”
I knew trying to stop him was hopeless, so I watched him storm out of the office. I fired off a quick text to Blake. Deacon knows about us. Hide.
My phone pinged with a response immediately. Not likely, sweetheart. Don’t worry. I can handle your brother.
Tiana (Starkis Family #3) Page 13