One Night of Trouble (14 page)

AJ nodded.

“Why?”

He was as bewildered as she was, and he struggled to vocalize his emotions. “I like spending time with you. I like more than just the sex part. We have fun together, don’t we?”

“Yeah, we do.” She paused. “But…I don’t know. I’m going to be super busy if my dad lets me run the new shop.”

“I know. And I’m not suggesting we make things any more serious. I just want to keep doing what we’re doing. If you’re too busy to see me, just say so and we’ll hang out on a night when you’re free. I won’t push you to give me more than you’re willing to give.”

Her forehead crinkled. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to keep seeing me? I thought I wasn’t your type.”

Her quiet remark nearly did him in. His chest clenched, aching as he realized he’d hurt her when he’d implied that she wasn’t someone he would consider dating. But he hadn’t known her back then, not the way he knew her now.

“I won’t lie. You’re not like the women I’ve dated in the past,” he admitted. “They didn’t dress like you, or challenge me like you”—he had to grin—“or fuck like you.”

She smirked. “I am phenomenal in bed, I know.”

“Damn right you are.” He paused. “I’m not thinking about the future. Let’s just take it slow and see where things go.”

Brett went quiet, doing what she always did whenever she was deep in thought. Bit her lip, wrinkled her forehead, fidgeted with her hands. It was so fucking adorable, and at that moment, he knew with certainty that he’d made the right decision by broaching the subject.

He wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Brett Conlon yet.

“Okay,” she said. “We’re dating.”

The evil smile she followed up with sparked his suspicion. He’d learned never to trust her when she got that look on her face.

“And as my new boyfriend, your first order of business is to give me an orgasm,” Brett announced. “A really good one, too.”

“An orgasm, huh? And a
good
one, to boot? That’s asking a lot.” He slipped his hand beneath her dress and stroked one firm thigh.

“It’s a daunting task,” she agreed. “I mean, you’ll have to work very hard. We both know your skills aren’t up to par yet.”

“Up to par? Fuck that.” In one swift motion, AJ dropped to his knees and wrenched her panties down her legs. “I don’t shoot par, Brett. With me, you get a hole in one. Every. Damn. Time.”

Then he buried his face between her thighs and proved it to her.

Chapter Fourteen

“One year.” Two words. That was all Brett’s father uttered as he settled in her chair and crossed his big arms over his big chest.

It took an outrageous amount of willpower not to squeal in happiness. Or give a fist pump and spin around like a little kid. But Brett did her damndest to control her excitement, especially since her father was staring at her with that super-serious, super-stern expression.

“You have one year to show me what you can do,” Jimmy Conlon continued. “I’ll be working with you during the first month to teach you everything. Payroll, management, stock, all that boring stuff.” He cocked his head in challenge, but Brett wasn’t the slightest bit fazed.

She’d done it. It had taken six long months, but she’d finally proved to him that she could be trusted.

“I’m going to love every boring second of it,” she vowed.

His lips twitched. “I think you actually mean that.”

“I do.” She flung herself at the chair, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders to hug him tightly. “Thank you. I promise I won’t let you down, Dad. By the end of the year, Conlon Ink North will bring in more money than the other two locations combined. Just you watch.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, princess. Running a small business is a lot harder than you think. With that said, I do believe you’ll work your butt off to make it happen.” He got up from the chair and pulled her up with him, his voice going brusque. “I know I’ve been hard on you, but that’s because you’re my little girl. I guess that makes your old man a hypocrite, though. I let the boys run wild, because that’s what I did when I was their age, but I expected more of you.”

“I know.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you.”

Her shame was reflected back at her in her dad’s eyes. “I might have judged you too harshly,” he admitted. “I mean, when Mikey was your age, I bailed him out of jail on a weekly basis.”

“Really?” she said in surprise.

“Oh yeah. I’m surprised the kid didn’t turn out to be a criminal. But I wanted better for you, princess. We both know you get your stubbornness from your mom, but your wild side…that came from me, and I tried to hammer it outta you. I didn’t want you to end up like me, I guess.”

“I’d be
proud
to end up like you,” she said fiercely. “You’re smart and successful and you raised great kids and had an amazing marriage. What more could I want?”

“I was a punk before I met your mother,” he said gruffly.

“But you grew up.” She paused. “I’ve grown up, too. I promise, I’m going to make you proud.”

“I already am proud.” He ruffled her hair, and his indulgent smile warmed Brett’s heart. “I love you, princess.”

“Love you, too, Daddy.” The excitement returned, making her bounce on the balls of her feet. “So what now? When do we start?”

“Tomorrow, nine a.m. I want you at the new site with me. The grand opening is in a month, so we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Tomorrow we’re talking to the contractors, and I want to meet with a few artists, too.” A frown suddenly marred his lips. “You should know—Mathis stopped by with a résumé yesterday.”

Brett froze.

Troy
? He’d applied for a job at the new shop?

“Are you serious?” she exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, I made it clear there’s no chance in hell I’d let him work for us. But I’m not thrilled that he’s back in the picture, princess.”

“He’s not. I swear. He stopped by a couple weeks ago when Rob and I were closing up, and I told him exactly where I stand. I have zero interest in seeing him ever again. I’m with AJ now.”

And she wasn’t even lying. Figure that one out.

Brett still couldn’t wrap her head around the notion that she and AJ were officially dating now—and that she wasn’t freaked out about it.

She hadn’t wanted a relationship. A clear head and a new lifestyle were all she’d been interested in, at least before AJ Walsh had snuck through her defenses and made her reconsider.

When she was with him, she felt…centered. Not like in her past relationships, when she’d been wholly consumed, too caught up in them to notice the chaos she was causing and the mistakes she was making

It was different with AJ. When she’d cooked him dinner the other night, he’d actually
thanked
her. And when she’d canceled their plans yesterday because she had to work on a design for a client, he hadn’t tried coercing her into blowing off work for him. He’d just accepted that she was busy and wished her luck on finishing the sketch, which was something Troy never would have done in a million years.

She didn’t know why she’d found a balance with AJ that she hadn’t found with anyone else, but she sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

“Anyway,” her dad said, “I need to take off now. Gotta pop over to Mikey’s shop and help him out. One of his artists called in sick.” He tweaked a strand of her hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Nine o’clock sharp.”

“I’ll be there.”

The second her father was gone, Brett let out a whoop and broke out in a happy dance. If anyone had peeked behind her curtain, they would have laughed their asses off, but she didn’t care how silly she looked. She was going to run her own tattoo parlor. She’d
done
it, damn it.

She hurried to the counter and grabbed her phone, needing to share her excitement with someone. “The shop’s mine!” she blurted out the moment AJ answered the phone.

“Well, damn!” His deep voice slid into her ear and brought a rush of warmth to her heart. “That’s great news, baby. See, I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

Brett rested her hip against the counter. “I’m so relieved,” she confessed. “But I’m kind of nervous, too. My dad and I are hiring artists tomorrow. I have no clue how to interview people!”

“It’s easy,” he assured her. “I do it all the time when I’m hiring bar staff. I can give you some tips if you want. Questions you should ask, that sorta thing.”

A wave of gratitude swelled in her stomach. “You’d really do that?”

“Absolutely. But first, I have to take you out to celebrate.” Hesitation rippled over the line. “I know we were planning to go for dinner later, but can you meet up earlier? I’m having drinks with my partners and their girlfriends at the club tonight, just a private friend hangout. If you want to come by, we can celebrate with the guys for a bit, and then have dinner and celebrate some more.”

He wanted her to hang out with his friends? Whoa. He really
was
serious about this dating thing.

The invitation was slightly unnerving, though. AJ’s friends were used to seeing him with “wholesome” girls, and Brett wasn’t sure what they’d think of her. What if they hated her?

At the same time, she was curious to meet them. Not just because AJ talked about Reed and Gage all the time, but also because she was dying for more glimpses into his life. For weeks he’d been compartmentalizing—their fling in one corner, the rest of his life in the other. And she’d been cool with that. No point in getting attached when things were just temporary.

Now that they were dating for real, all bets were off.

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” she answered. “I’m actually done at six today. I only have two clients, and Rob’s new apprentice is handling the walk-ins so I don’t have to stick around. What time should I come?”

“Seven thirtyish okay? We can do drinks for an hour or so, then catch a late dinner?”

“Awesome. I’ll see you later then.”

“Brett?” he said before she could hang up. “I’m proud of you.”

Brett was touched beyond words as she set down her phone.
Two
people had told her they were proud of her today. It’d been a long time since she’d heard those words once, let alone twice.

The rest of her day flew by. Whether from giddiness or excitement, she didn’t know, but it felt like seven thirty rolled around in minutes rather than hours.

She’d stopped by her place to shower and change, and as she approached the club through the staff door in the back, a strange prickle of nervousness poked at her. She’d worn a strapless black dress, her trademark leather boots, and a shock of red lipstick, but suddenly she felt overdressed. Or maybe underdressed. Hell, she had no idea what AJ’s friends would be wearing. She didn’t know what to expect from them, either. She remembered Reed from high school, but they’d never exchanged a single word back then, and who knew what this Gage guy was like. And AJ’s ex-girlfriend. Crap. She’d be there, too.

Brett swallowed to bring moisture to her dry mouth and ran a shaky hand through her hair. Okay. Enough. She was not the kind of woman who worried about what other people thought of her.

AJ had wanted her to come, and that was all she ought to care about.

She texted AJ to let him know she was outside, and a minute later, the heavy metal door swung open and Brett was being tugged into a pair of warm, muscular arms.

He hugged her tight, then kissed her until she was utterly breathless. “Hi,” he said huskily.

She smiled. “Hi.”

“So how does it feel to be the new manager of Conlon Ink, North End location?”

“Incredible. How does it feel to be the boy toy of the new manager of Conlon Ink, North End location?”

“Frickin’ awesome.” His green eyes twinkled. “By the way, you look gorgeous.”

Brett’s nerves dissolved like sugar in water. Yep. Screw what his friends thought. The blatant admiration on AJ’s face was reward enough for showing up tonight.

“Come on, everyone’s already here,” he said, taking her hand. “Reed just cracked open a bottle of Dom.”

“Oooh, you’re bringing out the good stuff tonight.”

He grinned. “Only the best for my angel.”

“Bull crap. I was a last-minute addition. You were gonna get fancy regardless.”

It was jarring to walk through the club without feeling the
thump
of a bass line beneath her feet or encountering a cacophony of voices in the main space. Brett had questioned AJ and his partners’ business plan when he’d explained that Sin was closed Monday through Wednesday. It seemed like a waste of profit potential to her, but apparently the tactic had only boosted Sin’s reputation for being hip and exclusive.

Voices wafted out of the second-floor VIP lounge as she and AJ ascended the staircase. Another jab of nervousness stabbed her belly. This was it. Her first “appearance” as AJ’s girlfriend.

The two couples sitting in the padded red booth looked harmless enough. One of the men—Reed, she realized—had his arm slung around the shoulders of a pretty woman with strawberry-blond hair. The other, a guy with intense gray eyes, had a blue-eyed brunette in his lap and was whispering something in her ear when AJ and Brett approached.

“This is Brett,” AJ announced, resting a possessive hand on her hip.

Introductions quickly went around, and then Brett found herself seated next to AJ, as the brunette—Skyler—climbed off Gage’s lap to pour her a glass of champagne.

“Why do you look so familiar?” Reed studied her face, as if trying to place her.

“Brett went to school with us,” AJ told his friend. “She’s Rob Conlon’s sister. You remember Rob, right?”

“No shit, you’re Rob’s sister? How’s that guy doing?”

Brett was momentarily distracted by the other man’s ruggedly handsome face. Reed’s grin only emphasized the masculine planes and crinkles of humor around his vivid blue eyes. She remembered him being a lot scruffier back in the day, and definitely not as buff. But all the men in the booth were built in the same lean, muscular way. She would have loved to see them in a fight. AJ, especially. She got the feeling he’d look extraordinary behind the chain-link walls of an MMA cage.

“He’s doing good,” she told Reed. “He runs our family’s tattoo parlor in Southie.”

When she said the word
tattoo
, she noticed Darcy staring at her arms, and the tiny frown on the blonde’s face raised Brett’s hackles.

“Did your brother do those for you?” Darcy asked. Her tone was pleasant, but Brett detected a cool note beneath the surface.

“He did the stars. My dad did the angel, though.”

“That’s serious talent right there,” Gage spoke up, impressed. “What’s the name of the shop?”

“Conlon Ink.” She took a hesitant sip of champagne. Sometimes she had a beer or two with AJ when he came by, but for the most part, she hadn’t been drinking much lately, and the last thing she wanted was to get tipsy in front of AJ’s friends.

Gage nodded. “I’ve heard of it. You guys have a good rep.” He gestured to the elaborate black flames inked on both his arms. “Got my ink done at Razor’s. You know them?”

Her spine stiffened, but she hoped nobody had noticed. Troy worked at Razor’s, or at least he had six months ago. The fact that he was handing out résumés put his current job status in question. Not that she cared.

“They do good work,” she said vaguely.

Darcy spoke up again. “So you and AJ went to high school together… How did you two reconnect?”

“We ran into each other here, actually.”

“And now you’re dating.” This time, the other woman’s iciness was impossible to miss.

“Now we’re dating,” Brett confirmed.

She couldn’t help herself—she met Darcy’s eyes in challenge, silently daring her to object or contradict or who the hell knew what. It was obvious AJ’s ex wasn’t thrilled about Brett’s presence, but the blonde didn’t take the bait. She simply picked up her glass and took a dainty sip.