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Nova pouted and reluctantly stuffed the remnants of her food into her face, hitched up her backpack, and raced to the sidewalk to catch her bus.
Once Stella and I were alone again, she turned to me. “What were you doing for eight months if you weren’t dating?”
“I don’t think you want the specifics, but I’m pretty sure you’re old enough to figure it out.”
Stella blushed. “So what made it official after that long?”
“I mean, you’ve met him. You know what he’s like. Plus, one of my friends gave me a come-to-Jesus talk about letting someone like Luca slip through my fingers.”
“Your friend isn’t wrong. Good partners are hard to find. Bring him on Sunday. The girls obviously already know him, but you can introduce him in this new capacity. Should the girls call him uncle?”
A bolt of panic shot through me at the idea of integrating Luca that deeply into my family. “That really goes against my one-day-at-a-time policy, which probably means that I should allow it.”
“What do you mean?” Stella asked, assessing me quietly.
“You and Mom haven’t exactly given me a lot of faith in relationships, and Dad’s a whole other fucked-up ball of wax in that department. I’ve been avoiding relationships. I put Luca in this little box, put down rules, tried to keep it as casual as I could, but it’s like…being with him fills in all these cracks and empty spaces I didn’t know were there, and I don’t feel so broken when he’s there.” I sucked in a breath, my throat clogged with emotion. “That scares the fucking shit out of me, Stell.”
“You’re not broken,” Stella insisted. “You’re wonderful, and I’m so sorry I contributed to that. I don’t know that I’ll ever be with anyone after Rodney. I don’t know how to bounce back from that and trust anyone again, so I think I get it, even if it’s not the same. Luca seems good for you, though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Stella agreed. “You’ve seemed…steadier the last while. I understand you being scared, but don’t let the parents and me ruin this for you. You deserve someone who’s going to catch you when you fall, and Luca seems pretty good at catching.”
I laughed, feeling lighter now that it was out in the open. “You have no idea.”
Arthur’s office was the fullest I had ever seen it. He sat at his immaculate desk, his pack of three wealthy alphas at his back, Auggie and I each perched on a corner of the desk, Walter sitting in a chair in front of us, and three security guards at the door.
Walter was supposed to be focusing entirely on Arthur, but his gaze kept sliding to Auggie. He and I were both dressed to perform tonight, which served as both a reminder of what Walter’d lost and a distraction so he’d be more amenable to my requests.
“Reinstating you isn’t something I had ever considered,” said Arthur to Walter. “You put one of my performers in danger and that’s not something I take lightly. The actions taken by the two men you vouched for to get into my club could result in a criminal investigation.”
Walter paled. “What happened? I never got details.”
“Nor will you,” Arthur snapped. “Selene has been gracious and I expect you to make it up to her if you ever want to see the inside of this club after today.”
Auggie slid onto Walter’s lap, and the alpha looked up at him like he’d hung the moon. “You want to help, don’t you? I’ve missed you.”
Bless Auggie. He knew how to play that man like a harp.
Once Walter was done mooning over Auggie, he turned to me. “What do you need?”
“The list isn’t short, but I’m sure an alpha of your caliber should have no issues accomplishing all of it.”
I laid out the list of demands I had concocted that would get Rodney out of my life without fucking over Stella and the girls.
Walter read over it carefully, every so often glancing up at me. “I’ll have to involve a few lawyers to get the contracts laid out if you don’t want him to be able to renege on any of these.”
“I know. Can you handle everything?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem. I have to arrange with some regional managers and check for space. Are you targeting him for a specific reason?”
“Kevin’s already gone back to Chicago. Rodney is the only one left with regular access to me. If you can get Kevin permanently out of my hair, you’re welcome to do that.”
“No,” Arthur snapped. “He’s obligated to do that. If I catch wind of any of the people you brought in harassing any of my performers, past, present, or future, your ban goes back in place permanently with no option for recourse. You introduced the problem, so you manage it.”
“All right, I guess that’s fair.” Walter laced his fingers with Auggie’s, and I caught my bestie’s eye roll over top of Walter’s head. “I’ll make sure Kevin stays incentivized to stay in Chicago. I’m sorry I ever brought them here.”
“You should be sorry,” Auggie admonished.
