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“Anything having to do with my family is a bad thing, Bastian. You know that.” Garrick said.
“I’m surprised you came back to Kassel, given how you feel about them. I mean, why go through all that?” Bastian said.
Garrick grabbed hold of Bastian’s elbow, pulling him around toward him.
“This is my hometown. This was my mother’s club before my uncle ripped it away. I wasn’t about to let anyone tear it down. My brother might not get that, but you should.”
Bastian pulled his arm free.
“I do, Garrick.” He cupped Garrick’s cheek. “I do, really. But you’re gonna have to loosen your grip on that shit. If you don’t want to forgive your uncle, that’s fine. He’s dead anyway. But Ash isn’t his father. And Peter couldn’t’ help that his own father was allowed to stay in the business. Those men aren’t in charge. It’s you and your cousins, and you can make this town yours in your own way.”
Garrick’s jaw clenched. Knowing Bastian wasn’t wrong didn’t change his irritation about it all.
Bastian moved his hand behind Garrick’s neck, squeezing gently.
“Would you allow Peter to blame Ariella for what Ursa is up to? Because when he hears this whole thing, he very well might put some blame at her feet.”
“Fuck no. Ariella’s innocent. At least she was, until all of this bullshit. Now she’s got a whole world of evil on her shoulders.”
“Exactly.” Bastian squeezed Garrick’s once more. “Now, let’s get our girl and get the fuck out of here.” He turned on his heel and waltzed into Ariella’s dressing room.
“I messed up that last song,” Ariella said when Garrick walked in. Bastian was plucking out the few pins being used to hold her hair back from her face.
“You were fucking awesome. If you missed a word, no one heard it.” Garrick unzipped the garment bag hanging from the door and pulled out the dress she’d worn on the way in. A long-sleeved, gray wool dress. He brought it to her. “Go change. I want to go home.”
She caught his eye in the mirror.
“You look mad. Are you mad?”
Garrick forced his features to relax. “No, Princess. I’m just tired.”
Bastian tossed the last bobby pin onto the dressing table and moved out of her way so she could get down from the chair. Stopping in front of Garrick, she turned her back on him, pulled the massive curls from her neck, and pointed at the zipper.
“Can you get that for me?” She asked.
He grabbed the little metal tag and pulled it down the teeth as gently as he could. His instinct was to rip the damn thing from her, but he didn’t want to ruin it. As he finished unzipping her, he noticed a red spot on her back. He lightly touched his fingers to it.
“Does this hurt?” He asked, pressing on it.
“What? No, why?” She tried to look over her shoulder at what he was touching.
“It’s fine.” Bastian brushed Garrick’s hand away. “A little fabric burn. She’s fine.”
Ariella’s blush blossomed again, and she gave a small smile.
“I’m gonna change in the bathroom. I have to pee anyway.” She rushed into the adjoining room and shut the door behind her.
Garrick turned to face Bastian.
“Did you two fuck while I was gone this afternoon?” He asked, trying to force his question to sound light, but there was a heaviness to it that he couldn’t control.
Bastian’s eyebrows shot up. “You sound angry about it.”
“So, you did.”
“Yeah, we did.” Bastian tilted his head. “It’s never been an issue before.” He paused. “Is it an issue now?”
Fuck yeah, it was.
