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Had Martin displeased his father, or had he simply stopped trying to win the man’s approval in ways that made for good photo ops?
“How old are you, Martin?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Not that much older than me.”
“Far older.” His gaze swept over me again, but this time it lingered in certain areas, and those areas weren’t as immune to him as I wished they were. “You’re too young for me,” he said. “But though you don’t believe it yet, I see a kindred spirit in you.”
“How?”
He thought I was like him, this cold, dangerous man? I couldn’t fathom it.
“We’re both orphans, though we have families.” His brows rose. “Are we not? Your father is gone. Your mother now too.”
“You have parents.” My brow crinkled. “Both alive. Both in the same household.”
“They simply reside at the same address.” He leaned back and stretched out long legs draped in expensive wool. “I lived there too once. Miranda still does, but it isn’t a home. It’s a showplace, and we are his trophies.”
“Oh.” My lips rounded, and my heart went out to him.
“We’re alike, dear Addy, because we were forced to adapt to the hostile environments we grew up in.”
Wow. “I guess I can see that.”
“You and I feel strongly, but we learned too young that our emotions make us vulnerable, so we protect our hearts.”
Martin plucked the single rose from a slender vase in the middle of the table.
“Most only see the beauty of the bloom.” He caressed the perfect red bud, and I shivered. “I see beauty in the thorns necessary to protect it.” Laying the rose beside my plate, he said, “I see the beauty in you, Addy.”
Was my heart like his? I’d never thought so. Seeing him in this light, I felt warmth toward him that I’d never felt before.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Martin was handsome, confident, and powerful. I’d noticed, and to my shame, I’d experienced a tug of attraction.
His expression softened as he apparently read my mind. “Eat your food, my dear. Let’s talk of more pleasant things. You love music ... I love music too. It’s one of the reasons I opened this club.”
The sound of ABCR doing their warmup trickled in over the speakers in his office. But the band was in the background of my thoughts. With Martin being so open like this, I couldn’t focus on anything else.
“I didn’t know that.”
“There are many things you don’t know.” He grinned. “Many that most don’t know, but I’m willing to share them with you.”
“Why me?” I took another bite of my steak and leaned forward.
“You’re beautiful and intriguing, loyal to those who earn your confidence, and trustworthy.” His gaze drifted over my features, and I suddenly felt dizzy as if I’d consumed his wine. “Why shouldn’t I want you to know me?”
Why not get to know him? It would be a smart move.
After I left his office, I considered everything Martin had said. Dinner had been cut short because he had a visitor, an important one.
Back on the club floor, I watched the leader of La Rasa Prima entering Martin’s office, along with his second. My mind whirling from what I’d learned, I returned to my position behind the bar.
Teresa guided me through the remainder of my shift. She kept me busy, almost busy enough not to stare too many times at Collin onstage with his guitar. Tugging my arm each time, she refocused me. My world upside down, it was up to me to hold on. To keep from falling, I kept telling myself that I’d done the right thing, though it felt all wrong.
“I’ll type in the amounts if you read them out to me,” Teresa said, standing beside me at the computer.
Finally, it was almost closing time. I scanned the nearly empty bar for Rachel. I hadn’t seen her since ABCR completed their set.
