Page 112 of After Midnight
She gave me a half-smile, the gesture not quite reaching her eyes. I watched her carefully as she began to wipe down the menus with antiseptic, scrubbing them harder than needed.
"Hey—" I grabbed her hand gently holding the rag. "You know you don’t have to do that, right? That's why I have staff."
"I know," she sighed. "But it's okay. I don’t mind."
"ButIdo." I took the rag and menu from her hand setting it on the table. "I don't want every time you come here, you end up helping out." I pulled her towards my chest by her wrist. "I just want you to relax, okay?" I smiled looking down at those beautiful brown eyes.
She exhaled against me and nodded with a soft smile. "Okay," she replied softly.
"Okay—?" I dipped my head, brushing my lips against hers.
"Yes," she whispered kissing me gently.
My arms moved from her wrist to wrap around her waist. "Now—tell me what's on your mind? You were good earlier but now you seem distracted."
Her lips pressed together tightly, and she let out a sharp breath. "I don't want to lie to you Remy," she whispered.
"Then don't," I replied gently. "I can take it."
Kissing me again she gently removed herself from my embrace. "Umm—" she exhaled, eyes dropping down for a moment before lifting back again to mine. "Bishop is…a client of mine." Another deep breath. "Former."
I blinked slowly. "What?"
Her eyes closed briefly. "He was a client of mine. Came to see me a few times a week."
My mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Finally— "Did you know he was married?"
She nodded. "It's not my place to question what the men do outside of the house. I'm just there to fulfill a fantasy. Create an 'experience'—" she air-quoted. "Nothing more, nothing less."
I stared at her, trying to make sense of the words that were coming out of her mouth, but my mind wasn't catching up fastenough. This man had sat at my table in my restaurant, eating my food while his wife sat, smiling obviously.
Was that why he asked about the dessert?
Of course it was. Shit like that wasn't a coincidence.
"Remy?" Gianna's soft voice pulled me from my thoughts. I looked over at her. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Her apology surprised me.
She clasped her fingers tightly in front of her. "I'm sorry that my other life keeps intruding withthislife. " Her shoulders dropped slowly. "You're a great guy. I know this shit isn't what you need in your life." She shook her head slowly looking down.
"Yeah," I shrugged. "But—it's what I signed up for."
Her head lifted.
"Come here." I held out my hand.
Taking it, she allowed me to pull her back towards my chest. "I know all this is…weird. For both of us," I admitted. "And I can't lie—that shit is uncomfortable when I think about running into another client of yours."
Her eyes flashed with sadness.
"But—" I cupped her chin gently with my fingers. "It doesn't change anything with us. Not my feelings and not my plans to keep you in our lives. I still want it all with you. I've never walked away from what I want, Gianna and I won't start now."
Her chin trembled slightly in my chin, as her eyes shimmered with tears. "How are you this…perfect?" she whispered.
"I'm not perfect, baby." I thumbed the tears under her waterline. "I just think you're worth fighting for."
I guess that did it, because her face twisted and the tears started zig-zagging down her cheeks.
