by JN Welsh
“That wasn’t smart. I could have been a killer or worse.” Luke’s jaw tightened and his eyes trailed the length of her body, settling on her exposed legs. After a moment, his eyes scanned up to her breasts before locking in on her eyes.
“My intercom’s kind of broken.” The tension in her shoulders returned and she clutched at her robe. She closed the door. “You can have a seat in the living room. I’ll just change.” Leona hurried to her bedroom.
She was too exposed and needed armor quick. She was angry and aroused and pissed at herself for feeling both. What the hell is he doing here? Whatever you do, don’t bring up that contract.
She dressed, tied her hair in a tight ponytail, and was back in her living room within minutes. Luke sat comfortably on her couch, waiting.
“The infamous Peaches, I presume?” Luke pointed to the fish bowl atop a bookshelf.
“In the filet.”
He grunted his affirmation, then tilted his head in recognition. “You’re playing my music.”
She was happy for the change in subject. “I like to be educated about my clients.”
“Do you like it?” His genuine eagerness slowed her movements.
“Yes. I do.”
Relief relaxed Luke’s features, and she was surprised by the effect of her opinion. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you.” Luke did a double take and his eyes rested on the silver beam. “Is that a stripper pole?”
Leona’s ears warmed and, despite her brown skin, were likely as red as the roof on Peaches’s little fish pagoda. This was the reason not everyone was invited into her home. The last thing she needed was Luke having the impression she was some sex freak entertaining men in her living room with a strip tease. She didn’t want to explain that the best strength-training workout she ever experienced was from doing the swings and flips on the silver pole.
Leona sat opposite Luke. “It is. So, what are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?”
Luke pulled his eyes away from the pole to again focus on her. “I can be resourceful, too.”
“I see.” She folded her hands and waited.
“This tour means a lot to me. The fans have been begging for a tour like this. For me, their experience is the number one priority.”
“Okay.” Leona wondered what bomb Luke was about to drop.
He leaned forward in his seat. “I wanted to run some ideas by you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Some of my fans are aspiring DJs. I want to give them a chance to compete for an opening act at my shows.”
“A contest?”
“Yeah. We have forty dates, so we can do forty spots.”
Leona mulled it over. “I wouldn’t suggest forty spots, though the number does have marketing potential. You want to sell out some big venues. I suggest reserving those spots for more familiar artists and DJs at the bigger shows. That will help boost attendance. However, we can see about the smaller venues and other types of pre-show entertainment.”
Luke nodded in agreement. “Good point. Give me an example.”
Leona thought he might be testing her but it didn’t matter. She was an idea-generating, example-giving machine. “At some of your concerts, we could set up a small secondary stage for the runner-ups by the vendors or even at the entrance as people come in. Our team will be stretched, but I know just the contractor to set this up. For the major winners who perform on the main stage before you, they can submit video and a demo of their set. We need to pick aspiring DJs who are good and can overcome stage fright, as well as invite runner-ups in case someone completely flakes. Losing it in front of twenty to ninety thousand fans could get ugly. Do you want to judge the entries or do you have judges in mind?”
Luke’s hand went to the hair on his chin. It was a posture Leona named his pensive pose. “Yes to all,” he said at length. “I have a list of people who would be great judges but I’d like to make the final call.”
“Shoot me an email on the judges and I’ll get the team on it,” Leona proposed. This was her first real conversation with Luke that didn’t involve an outburst of some sort and it was a refreshing change. “Was there something else?”
Luke scratched his head. “When this tour starts, things are going to get crazy. I need to get back to California. I’m a big surfer. If we can arrange it so that I have maximum time there during the break, that’d be great.”
“Of course.” Like her, he was banned from sex on tour. In addition to surfing, he no doubt wanted the freedom to get his fill. “I’ll go over the schedule with Tommy and organize it.”
Luke looked her up and down. “What’s your relationship with Abe?”
“Relationship? He’s my boss. My mentor.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I bet.”
Leona frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, Leona. You opened the door half naked.”
She choked at the implication. “Why is that your concern? My personal life is none of your business.” She stood and crossed her arms.
Luke did the same, towering over her. “You didn’t deny it.”
Leona forced herself to keep her anger in check. “Was there anything else?”
“If not Abe, then who? Are you back with Paul?” he asked.
“Whoa. Paul?” Leona’s heartbeat pounded against her rib cage and her voice climbed an octave. “You don’t know shit about my history with that man.”
“I know more than you think,” Luke said.
Leona tilted her head back to see him. “Something you read on the Internet, no doubt. It doesn’t matter. It’s not your business.”
“Why don’t you just answer the question? Confirm or deny it.”
She was so close to him their bodies touched and she pointed at his face, which was a blur from their proximity. “I don’t have to discuss my relationship, past, present, or future, with you or anyone.” Each time her chest inflated her breasts grazed his torso.
“Leona.” His face softened and his lids lowered to her lips before his mouth covered hers.
Her hand went to his neck and she pulled him so hard his lips crushed hers. She responded to the feral passionate charge his lips sent through her body and whimpered a cry laced with the desire for more.
His tongue tussled with hers and his taste was drugging. His hand went to her ponytail and yanked the tie free, and the relaxed feel on her scalp made her lean into him as his hand messed her hair. She was about to climb him when he abruptly let her go.
Neither one of them spoke; they just stood there breathing. Reality brought her back to the room hard and fast. She’d just kissed Luke. She’d kissed her client. Oh my God, no.
“That—” Luke started, but she didn’t want to hear.
“That will never happen again.” She stomped toward the door. She opened it, fanning her hand to hasten his exit. “Good night.”
Luke shook his head and lumbered out. He turned to say something to her, but Leona shut the door in his face.
* * *
That didn’t go as planned. Luke hailed a cab.
“Where to?” the cabdriver asked.
“The Metro Hotel.”
He had wanted to smooth things over with Leona. Once on the road, they needed to work together. Things started out okay, but why he pushed her about her relationships was beyond him.
Who am I kidding? He wanted to know who, if anyone, occupied her bed. When she didn’t come forth with the information he deliberately touched a tender nerve. Paul Reese.
Leona made him pay for it, too. She was fire when she unleashed her anger, and even more beautiful. And that hair? He couldn’t stop himself from kissing her full lips and twisting his fingers in that thick mane. His dick still twitched and he released a few buttons on his shirt. Leona was off-limits,
and not only because of the contract they signed.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Tommy. His agent was no doubt anxious to hear how things went with Leona. He picked up.
Tommy bypassed all salutations. “How’d it go?”
Luke stretched. “Great.”
“That bad, huh?”
“It wasn’t as bad as you think. We had a moment where things were going well.” They had, and the way they collaborated was effortless.
“But?”
“Forget about it, man.”
“You lost your temper, didn’t you? No, let me guess, you started asking her questions you had no business asking.” Tommy knew him too well and though he yelled, Luke knew Tommy only had his best interest in mind. “Which would you rather have? A friend or an enemy?”
Luke scratched his head. “I hear you, man.” Tommy was right, but when he got around Leona his feelings were in competition and even he didn’t know which would win out—anger and stress, or exhilaration and optimism. All he knew was that he needed to keep his distance and not ever think about kissing her again.
“It’s cool.” He arrived at the hotel and fished for his wallet to pay the cabbie.
“It better be cool, Luke. The time is fast approaching where Leo will be all you’ve got.”
Chapter Eight
Leona climbed out of the subway and walked to her parents’ house in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. As she approached, she witnessed her brother, Mitchell, maneuvering a heavy hot water tank.
Mitchell stopped fussing with the object when he saw her. “Hey, little squirrel.”
“Whaddup, Mitch-match?” Leona embraced his large frame and lifted to her toes to kiss his cheek.
“The parents have me moving shit as usual.”
She laughed. “That’s what they bred your ass for.”
Taking after her father, Mitchell stood just around six feet. He had a little weight on him, making him an intimidating force.
He peeked into her goody-filled bag. “What’d you bring?”
“Chocolate hazelnut bread pudding.”
He touched the pan. “Oh dip, it’s still warm. I can’t wait for dinner to be over.” Mitchell rubbed his hands over his belly and did a little dance.
“I know, right?” Leona joined him. “Let me get it inside before it doesn’t make it.”
Upon entering the house, she was hit with the delicious, savory fragrance of seasoned food. The combination of thyme, sage, and onions that her mother used when roasting always took her back to her childhood. Her stomach reacted with a growl and her taste buds began to salivate.
“Mom?”
“In here, dear,” June Sable’s melodic words carried from the back. Moments later, her mother’s short, full figure entered the kitchen.
Leona bent to kiss her cheek. “I see you got Mitch-match on slave duty.”
“Don’t say that.” Her mother frowned and the lines creased her cherubic face.
“I’m teasing, Mom,” Leona assured. “Where’s my father?”
“In his chair. Where else?”
Leona put the bag of goodies on the kitchen table. She found her father, Samuel Sable, in the living room. He rested in a brown La-Z-Boy with a cup of tea sitting on a side table next to him.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Sweetheart.” He greeted her, excitement in his outstretched arms.
Leona embraced him and kissed his cheek. “What are you watching?”
“The news.” He made a kissing noise even though his lips didn’t reach her cheek. “I’m always checking things out.”
A pang of remorse hit her heart. Her dad had often watched the news but when she and Paul had broken up, he patrolled the channels to keep up with Paul’s rants about her.
“Things lookin’ good, Dad?”
“A-OK on the home front.” He gave the thumbs-up.
Leona was relieved. She’d boycotted any screens having the potential to deliver Paul’s nonsense. “I brought bread pudding.”
“Oh. I’m sure that will be wonderful.”
“You know it, Papa Bear,” Leona said. “I’m going to help Moms with the cookin’.”
“Okay, dear.” He again monitored the television screen.
She returned to the kitchen to find her mother stirring a pot.
“Where’s Isabelle?” her mother asked.
“She’s finishing something for the magazine. She’ll be here soon.” Leona took over for her mother and stirred the pot.
“This will be our last Sunday dinner for a while since you’ll be going on that tour.”
She gave her mother a quick hug around the shoulders. “I’ll be back during the break.”
Sunday dinner with her family had been her anchor after her rocky breakup. Paul had never attended these dinners so she didn’t associate her parents’ home and Sunday dinner with his absence.
“How are things with that young man? The DJ. You’re working well together?” Not like that Paul fellow was implied.
The truth was she and Luke’s working relationship was more grueling than Navy SEAL boot camp, and ever since they’d kissed she’d been even more on edge. “Things are manageable for now, but enough about me, Mom. How are you?”
“I had my physical and the doctor says I could stand to lose a little weight. So, I started walking in the park every morning with Mrs. Murray from next door.”
“That’s great. You should bring Daddy along.”
Her mother scoffed. “Your father? Walk in the park?”
The thought of her father walking in the park was a stretch, but she suggested it anyway. “He needs to be more active, too.”
“Yes. You’re right.”
“What’s for dinner besides this gravy I’m stirring?” Leona lifted the spoon to check the consistency.
“Pot roast, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, and salad.”
Leona wished it were time for dinner already. “Mitch-match must have done cartwheels.”
Noise from the front entrance disrupted their conversation.
“Hello, Sables.” Izzy’s bustling energy further lifted the mood in the kitchen. She kissed Leona’s mother. “Sorry, I’m late.”
“That’s okay, dear. I’m just happy you could make it to Leona’s last Sunday dinner.”
Leona rolled her eyes. “You make it sound like you’ll never see me again.”
“I know, sweetheart, but... Mitchell Sable!” Her mother’s raised voice made everyone turn to look. “You get those filthy hands out of that pot, right now.”
Mitchell jumped and clanked the pot closed. “Jeez, Mom.” He left to wash up.
Leona and Izzy giggled.
“You girls set the table and then relax with a glass of wine. We’ll eat in about ten minutes.”
Leona and Izzy grabbed items along their way to set the table.
“We need to get started on two bottles straight away. One for you and one for me.” Izzy peeked to make sure Leona’s mother wasn’t listening.
“I heard that,” her mother called.
“Sonic hearing, that one. So, is DJ Luke still a handsome devil?” Izzy’s eyebrows dashed up and down several times.
“Devil is the key word.” Leona slid a bottle of red wine out from the nearby wine rack.
“He can’t be that bad.” Izzy opened a cabinet and reached for a few dinner glasses, placing them on the table.
Leona worked on the bottle, the sound of the cork popping. “I don’t know what the deal is. Sometimes his behavior is fine, and then other times he acts like I’m the root of all his problems in life.”
“You said things went weird after you mentioned your past clients. Do you think he has issues with one of them?”
Leona poured wine for them. “Paul, for sure
. He brought him up in a conversation. The way he pressed me about him pissed me right the fuck off.” Leona’s voice muted as she cursed and conveniently omitted their kiss even though the very thought raised her skin temperature.
“What did he ask you?”
“If we were back together. Like I’d ever go back to that asshole.” Leona cringed.
“Leona?” Her mother’s warning tone came from the distance.
“Sorry, Mom.”
Izzy sipped on her wine. “Really, Leo? You have no idea why a good-looking bloke is asking you if you’re still in a relationship with another good-looking bloke?”
“It’s more than that. It was the accusatory way he asked the questions.” Leona swallowed a gulp of sweet Shiraz. “This would be better slightly chilled.”
“Give us a bit of ice.”
“Classy.” Leona frowned at the request. She stuffed the wine in an ice bucket, grabbed a few cubes, and plunked them in Izzy’s glass.
“Luke’s a guy. Sounds like he’s feeling out the situation.” Izzy swirled her glass, the ruby liquid sloshing to the rim.
“He’s my client. I just want to do a good job.” She was in a high stakes situation and needed success with this tour regardless of Luke’s behavior or absurd conditions. Leona had also omitted the details about the addendum for fear that Izzy would lose her shit and seek Luke out.
“You’re amazing, Leo. You’ll win him over.”
“Dinner is ready, everyone,” her mother called.
Mitchell wandered into the dining area a few seconds later. “I’m ready to eat.”
They gathered around the dining room table as her mother said grace and then sat down to their family meal. Leona relished the banter between her parents and buffoonery between her, Mitchell, and Izzy.
Soon, she and Izzy readied themselves to leave. Leona had work to do for the tour and packing to start.
Her brother hugged her goodbye. “The bread pudding was a hit, little squirrel.”
“Thanks, Mitch-match.”
“Always a pleasure, Sables.” Izzy kissed everyone as she made her way to the door.
“You be safe, sweetheart, and use your relaxation techniques when things get challenging.” Her mother held both her hands. “Show them how we Sables get the job done.”