“Good,” Natasha said with an answering smile.
“I know I’m not as good at this as your son, but should we give it a try?”
Natasha’s eyes closed as she nodded.
“You could tell me about Russia,” Haley said, easing the older woman to her stomach. She unfastened the neck of her gown, and rubbed lotion between her hands. The lights were already dim in the room and Khadija had shut the door. The heart monitor beeped but otherwise, the room was peaceful. “What was it like?”
“Cold,” Natasha said. “Grey.” She sighed at Haley’s first touch. “But when we danced on stage, it was like another world, a beautiful world of color and possibility.” She breathed for a few moments as Haley worked on her shoulders, then sighed again. “It wasn’t an illusion. Dancing did bring possibility.”
“Because you met your husband when you danced.”
“Yes. My Marco.” Natasha smiled without opening her eyes. “And we had a son.”
“Does he look like his father?” Haley asked, because she couldn’t resist.
“They could be brothers. So much alike, but so many years apart.” She licked her lips. “I miss him so much, my Marco, but that isn’t enough to make me ever wish I hadn’t met him. He was everything to me.”
Haley nodded at the familiarity of the story. “It sounds like you lived a love story.”
“It was. It is!” Natasha’s eyes opened. “And have you lived a love story?”
Haley shook her head. “Not me. My mom and dad did, though, and my big brother.”
“And you want one, too.”
Haley frowned at this conviction that she must want the same thing as her mom and Natasha had. She ducked the question instead of replying. “Isn’t it hard, though? When it ends?”
“It never ends,” Natasha said with conviction. She raised a hand to her chest. “He’s here, in my heart, all the time, giving me strength and helping me go on without him.” She gestured to the room. “He’s here, in my dreams, talking to me, telling me that he’s waiting for me.”
Haley wondered. “Waiting for you?”
Natasha nodded. “Marco says we’ll be together again soon.” She sighed. “I know it’s true, but Damon, my boy Damon, will be alone. That’s what really breaks my heart.”
And there was nothing Haley could say to that.
Something was wrong.
Ty didn’t know what it was, not exactly, but Damon had changed. He didn’t know Damon well, so he was uncertain what to make of his partner’s impassivity. Damon had shown up for his shift at the club, as Ty had insisted, but didn’t seem to enjoy himself and didn’t interact much with the patrons. Ty had the impression that Damon was fulfilling a duty or marking time.
Ty wished he knew Damon better, but the other man had always been a bit of a mystery to him. It had been Kyle who had met Damon on his intense survey of potential competition, and it was true that Damon was an excellent coach and trainer. His artistic talent had been unexpected and his ability to completely nail a design was what had brought him into the partnership. Damon had boundaries, though, and Ty wasn’t even sure how well Kyle knew him.
Ty watched Damon surreptitiously at the club. The other man stood on the far side of the dance floor, arms folded across his chest, gaze flicking over the patrons as they danced and partied. He was pumped up and looked imposing, but not very friendly.
Did he resent taking a shift so badly? Ty had checked the schedule and Damon hadn’t worked a Friday night in the F5F club since April.
He knew he’d struck a nerve when he’d accused Damon of not pulling his weight, but wondered what was going on.
“Hey, what’s with the assassin?” one of the patrons asked, indicating Damon. He shared Kyle’s ready smile and an easy confidence, but had dark hair and striking blue eyes. Ty had noticed him dancing earlier, charming women left and right, and had wondered if Kyle had another brother he didn’t know about. “He looks like he’s ready to kill people with his bare hands.” Ty couldn’t argue with that, because it was true. “He’s totally trashing the mood.”
“We had to change the schedule around, no big deal.”
“So Cassie could have a night off,” the younger man said with a nod. “She’s been here pretty much every night since Kyle went to San Francisco.” He indicated Damon. “He’s not here often, but I’ve never seen him looking like that.”
Ty refrained from comment on Damon’s mood. “You come here often, then?”
“Every night you’re open,” the guy said with a nod. “It’s the best place to dance in town. The most beautiful women around.” He watched one do a solo on the dance floor, admiration in his expression. “My home away from home.” He sighed. “I’d live here if I could.”
Ty saw the opportunity to plug their new venture. “You will be able to, soon. We’ll be selling condos in the tower above F5F.”
The younger man laughed. “Like I could afford that! Great idea, though.”
“I’m thinking that you and Kyle must get along well.”
He laughed again. “He calls us twins tragically separated at birth.” He turned and offered his hand. “Hunter Tate,” he said. “You’ve got to be Tyler McKay, the money guy.”
“Do I?”
“Oh yeah, I can smell it on you.” Hunter took a deep breath and grinned. “Too bad none of it will stick to me.”
Ty chuckled because he knew he was supposed to.
“This isn’t your idea of a good time any more than it’s his.” Hunter backed into the wall beside Ty when Ty didn’t reply. “You should hire someone to work the club,” he said. “I mean, with Kyle and Theo out west so much, someone needs to take the lead here and keep it happening. That’s not going to change when you open F5F West. You need someone who loves it here.”
It was such an obvious pitch that Ty couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “Let me guess. You have the perfect candidate in mind.”
Hunter laughed, not in the least bit troubled that Ty had seen through him. “You’ve got that right. I do love this club. I pay to be here all the time. I belong to the gym, too. To be paid to be here would be like heaven on earth.” He grinned. “You could throw in one of those condos as part of my compensation.”
Ty was amused that the younger man was so forthright. “Well, send us a résumé and we’ll think about it,” he said, not wanting to give too much encouragement. It was a good idea, but he wanted to find out what Kyle knew about Hunter.
“No problem.” Hunter pulled out his phone. “I just happen to have my résumé all ready. Why don’t you give me your email and I’ll send it to you?” He looked up and met Ty’s gaze, confidence in his eyes.
“What a coincidence you had a chance to talk to me.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence any more than I believe in luck,” Hunter said. “Luck is made. I want to work at F5F. How would any of you know that unless I told you?”
That was true enough. Ty gave Hunter the email for the club and told him they’d think about it.