Playing for Real: Paolo's Playhouse, Book 5 (5 page)

“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes at Ben. If she was a sub and in the lifestyle she’d be called a brat.

“I don’t want you to scare him away with questions about his new girlfriend.”

“Like I could scare this guy away. I was keeping him company.” She jumped off the stool. “You can have your guy talk now and I’ll take care of the rest of our customers.”

Paolo and Ben both watched Piper sashay away, her short skirt bouncing. Paolo glanced up and saw the pure affection on his best friend’s face. “I like her a lot, Ben.”

“Yeah. She’s a keeper.”

“I am happy for you, my friend.” It was all Paolo had ever wanted, to find a woman to build a life with. Would Julianne be that woman?

“So what’ll you have tonight?” Ben asked.

He’d thought to pound some shots to take his mind off fucking Julianne, but now he knew it was futile. There was no alcohol strong enough to get her off his mind. And he didn’t really want to be drunk. He wanted to be clear-headed, remembering everything about her. “Ginger ale.”

“Right.” Ben brought him the glass, then refilled a few beer mugs before he came back over to Paolo. “So?”

“Julianne is wonderful, Ben. Perfect.”

“They’re always wonderful at the beginning,” his best friend reminded him wryly. “You always have this glow when you first meet a new woman.”

Glow?
“This one is different.”

Ben sighed. “You always say that too.”

Just because Ben was right didn’t make Paolo want to hear it. “Fuck you,” he growled. He stared at the ginger ale and wished he’d ordered whiskey, straight up.

“I hope this woman is the one for you, but remember, I’ve had to listen to you make excuses for every woman since Holly.”

“And so I give up?” Paolo snapped. “Go back to the clubs and be happy flogging and fucking nameless subs?”

“No, man, that’s not what I meant.”

Paolo’s anger drained out of him quickly. Ben had been his friend for too long to stay mad at him, especially when he was looking out for Paolo. “You had your share of lousy relationships too. You did not give up before you met Piper.”

“No, I didn’t, but I didn’t jump in with my heart wide open when we’d just met.”

“I…fuck…”

Ben leaned closer. “Speaking of Holly…she’s been in here a few times in the past couple weeks, looking for you.”

“I heard she was back in town.” He’d ignored her voice messages. Made sure he was unavailable at the Playhouse. “I’ve been trying to avoid her.”

“You can’t do that forever.”

“I can try.” The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was his ex-wife and their mess of a marriage.

Piper came back to the bar with more orders, letting Paolo off the hook for a few minutes. Or giving him too much time to think. He should probably go home, but he was used to being up all night at the Playhouse. He wasn’t tired enough yet for sleep to give him relief.

“Why didn’t you bring her here with you tonight?” Piper asked while she waited for Ben to get her drink order. And here he thought he was off the hook. “I want to meet her.”

“It is probably a little early for that.”

“No, it’s not. If you don’t want to introduce your girl to your friends, does that mean there’s something wrong with the girl? Or with the friends?”

Did women have an entirely different brain than men? Where did they come up with these things? “That does not even make sense. If we keep dating, of course, you will meet her.”

“You can’t blame me for being curious. I want to hear all about her.”

“Do you not have work to do?”

She glanced around them so quickly she couldn’t have checked every table. Or then again, maybe she could have. “Everyone’s good right now. Tell me something about her.”

“She is an interior decorator. She’s tall and slender with fiery hair and bright green eyes.”

“What do you like most about her?”

Women.
Paolo was going to shoot off a quick answer, but paused for a moment and thought about the question. “She gets all sassy when she’s nervous and she thinks it’s a weakness, but she’s really strong and brave.”

“Wow. I’m impressed. You didn’t mention her boobs or ass.”

Paolo laughed. “Those are impressive too.”

“I knew it.” She bounced on her stool. “We have to double date sometime.”

“When the time is right, Piper.”

Piper tipped her head like she was studying him. She put her hand over his. “You’re a great guy. There’s a woman out there for you. If you really like this new woman, I hope she’s the one. But if she’s not, you’ll find the right one. I’m sure of it.”

Paolo leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks.”

“Hey,” Ben called out. “Don’t try to horn in on my girl.”

“I would not think of it,” Paolo replied with a grin. He had one of his own.

Maybe.

Julianne was more than a little scared at how fast she’d submitted to Paolo. How fast she gave over her body to him. How much she loved it. How desperately she wanted more. As frightening as it was, something soul-deep told her it was right.

But a voice in the back of her mind screamed out a warning. She couldn’t let this go on too long, couldn’t let herself get used to his control over her.

Or get used to him taking care of her.

She would always take care of herself. Julianne had made that vow years ago when she saw how lost her mother had been when Julianne’s father walked out on them. Her mother had no backbone and no skills to make it on her own. Julianne made sure she’d been able to take care of herself from an early age. She might agree to being a sexual submissive, but she’d never allow anyone else to have a say over the rest of her life.

After Paolo left, she wandered into her bedroom. She wished she could call Stacey and talk things out with her, but for all the time they’d spent together, they’d never talked about sex. Julianne could never tell her that Paolo gave her an orgasm while she was sprawled across his lap. Or that he’d tied her up with ropes. Bound her with chains. She’d never admit to anyone she wanted more of that. More bondage. More sex. Yes, more submitting to his dominance.

How could she ever make this work?
 

She kicked off her shoes and carried them into her closet to place them back in their shoe box. Julianne stared at the rows of boxes she’d arranged to keep things neat and tidy in the small space. To keep things where they belonged, so they didn’t interfere with the other stuff and make a mess.

And she knew she had her answer.

She could have it both ways. She could give up control to Paolo sexually and still keep the rest of her life her own. All she had to do was keep her time with him tucked in a neat little box, completely separate from her real life.

The next morning she kept picturing Paolo in her workspace while she was finalizing the plans for the Olsen house. The young couple had been a joy to work with, not like some clients who expect the impossible, insist upon high end designs and products and then balk at the cost. Julianne didn’t mind working with clients who had modest budgets. She could often blow them away with what she could accomplish with little money. She enjoyed the challenge.

Maybe she should consider her relationship with Paolo as another challenge. Embrace it and use it and control it. It was what she did best.

Her mind was still full of Paolo, distracting her from her work. She was grateful when her business line rang. “Designs by Julianne.”

“Miss Barnes? My name is Ingrid Stevenson. I’m opening a small retail shop and really need some help on the decorating end. Do you work with commercial space?”

“Absolutely. I recently completed a project at a new coffee shop on Main. The Coffee Café, do you know it?”

“Yes. I was there a few days ago. I loved the color scheme. And I was telling my husband about the cool art on the walls. Such a great combo of quirky and welcoming.”

“Thanks. I love coming up with the perfect look for my clients. I’d be happy to meet you at your shop and talk about what you have in mind.”

“Would tomorrow be too soon? My husband thinks we should paint the walls white and be done with it, but I want to make a statement.”

“Of course you do. Let’s see. Tomorrow? Wednesday.” She ignored the way saying the day out loud was a reminder that she’d see Paolo tomorrow night. She glanced up at the calendar on the wall. She was meeting the Olsens early. “I’m free late morning. How does eleven work for you?”

“Perfect. It’s a small space in the left corner of the Warehouse. Do you know where that is?”

The Warehouse. Was everything going to remind her of Paolo? “Yes. I know it.”

“Great. It’s the only empty space on the first floor now, but it won’t be empty for long. Oh, I’m excited.”

Her open enthusiasm made Julianne smile and when she met Ingrid Stevenson the next morning, her excitement was contagious. As the curvy blonde described her plans for the long, narrow space, Julianne filled her notebook with measurements and ideas, the necessary and the hoped for.

“My husband is not at all sure that an accessory shop stands a chance in this economy, but I’m lucky that he’s willing to indulge me.”

They hadn’t talked budget yet, but Julianne could tell by that comment and the designer clothes and tasteful gold jewelry Ingrid wore, that money shouldn’t be a stumbling point. However, if the husband was financing his wife’s business and didn’t think an interior decorator was necessary, the money for her services might not be in the budget.

“I’m no business expert,” Julianne said, “but I think your shop should fit in well with the other businesses that are already here.”

“Exactly.” Smooth gold bangles slid on Ingrid’s arms as she waved her hands. A matching gold choker necklace nestled along her collar bone. “I want The Finishing Touch to draw traffic from the restaurants and clothing stores here.”

“So…jewelry, bags, scarves?” Ingrid nodded. “It sounds as if your stock will have a lot of colors, a lot of detail. You’ll want to keep the wall color simple, something that won’t clash with any of the merchandise on display.”

“Richard was right, wasn’t he?” Ingrid asked, wincing. “Plain white walls?”

Julianne smiled. “Not necessarily white, but definitely a neutral.” She nodded to a niche in the one wall. “Maybe we could use a bold color as an accent on that section.”

“Oh good. But no quirky wall art either?” Ingrid sounded so disappointed.

“What do you think of displaying your beautiful stock as the wall art?”

“I like the sound of that.”

They spent the next hour or so going over ideas and timelines and the generous budget Ingrid quoted her. They were laughing together when the door opened and a mountain of a man with thick gray hair walked into the store.

“Julianne, this is my husband, Richard.”

Richard Stevenson shook her hand, then held it briefly in both of his. His steady gaze swept over her as if he was looking for something in particular. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“Very pleased to meet you too.” She eased her hand from his grasp.

Ingrid raised gracefully onto her tiptoes to lightly kiss him. “Paolo was right,” she said softly. “I like her. She has some great ideas and she really gets what I want the shop to be like.”

Julianne froze. “Paolo?”

“Yes. Paolo Mancini? Our landlord? He said he knew you.”

“Paolo owns the Warehouse?”

Richard chuckled, his deep voice reverberating in his broad chest. “Among others. He didn’t tell you?”

“No. But then I haven’t known him for long.”

“I’ve known Paolo for years. My friend sometimes hides behind that charm of his.”

“He can be very charming,” she said, although she wasn’t sure why she was talking to this stranger about Paolo. He seemed to have that same kind of commanding presence that Paolo did. But if Richard was a friend, maybe she could learn a little more about the man she would be spending time with. “I didn’t know he owned more than the Playhouse itself.”

“Didn’t he tell you he began investing in real estate when he was still in college?” His dark brown eyes held her fast.

“Well…we don’t really talk about that kind of thing,” Julianne mumbled, feeling her face heat up.

“Men love to talk about themselves,” Ingrid said with a grin. “Or maybe that’s my husband.”

Paolo hadn’t shared much information about himself with Julianne. She hadn’t expected him to. Or for this business call to turn personal. She certainly hadn’t expected Paolo to infiltrate her real life.

“Are you two dating?” Ingrid asked brightly. “Richard didn’t tell me that.”

“Um, we only met last week.” She still wasn’t sure if they could call what they did dating. “I’ll have to thank him for the recommendation. I’ll pull some ideas together and email an estimate to you, does that sound good?”

“Sure.” Ingrid looked at Richard. “I love her ideas.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, pet. I knew Paolo wouldn’t steer us wrong.”