She’s right, it is. No expense spared. I didn’t hold back a bit of luxury—only the best for her. And I’ll keep giving her my best for as long as she’ll put up with me.
Hudson hands her a folder. “Inside is a list of interested chefs and their resumes. There’s also the information for the business’s bank account, which has been generously cushioned by your fiancé. And Zander hired Boris Marquis, the famous restaurateur, to guide you through the opening process. And we’re all here to help in any way we can.”
She clutches the folder to her chest. “This is too much, you guys.”
“I hope every day from here on out feels like too much. I plan to spoil you senseless for as long as we both live.” I grab her hand and kiss the inside of her wrist. “Now, come on, let me give you a tour.”
“Hey, we get free food, right?” Kingston says as he follows us to the front door.
“No way,” Hudson says. “You’ll have to pay, but I’ll get free food because I’m her favorite. Isn’t that right, Jordan?”
“Of course! You all get free food for life—holy crap, look at this place!” Jordan spins in a slow circle, looking around the space.
“Not the best business plan to be giving away free food,” Hayes says, delivering the truth but with a smile.
She chews her lip. “Good point.”
“Come on,” I say, pulling her behind me. “I want to show you the jazz stage.”
Jordan
My life took a sharp turn the day Alexander found me wounded at the base of a ravine. Life kicked my ass for the first twenty-seven years. Since Alexander, fate is finally on my side.
I’m not saying there haven’t been struggles. A relationship with a man as complex as Grizzly certainly comes with its growing pains. But the pay-off for the hard work is worth it. He’s my best friend, my life partner, more than I could’ve expected in a future husband. He’s my whole heart.
Life’s upswing is so much more than Alexander. My restaurant is a success. People book weeks in advance to get a table, especially on jazz nights. And although the hours are exhausting, I have a team of managers that can handle anything on the nights I insist on getting home early.
Alexander and I never spend a dinner apart. If he has a dinner meeting for North Industries, he takes them to Jordan’s. If he’s off for the night, he eats with me in my office, or I take off early, and he cooks me dinner at home.
But on this Tuesday night, as I sit at the bar with Kingston, I wonder if my luck has changed when I see Lincoln and Darin walk into my bar.
They find a spot just a couple of seats down from where Kingston drinks himself into a coma.
“An office job. Yuck!” he slurs and runs a hand through hair that is totally out of place after he’s been running his hands through it for the last hour. “Why do I have to work for North Industries? He said I had to, or he’d stop paying me a salary!” His unfocused eyes swing to mine. “How fucked up is that?”
I watch Lincoln and Darin order a drink from Kenzy, the bartender.
“You’re not even listening to me.” Kingston drops his pretty face to the bar.
“I am,” I say and rub circles on his back.
I texted Alexander twenty minutes ago, telling him that his youngest brother was a drunken mess, and he texted back that he’s on his way. What is taking him so long—
“Jordan?” Darin smiles at me from down the bar. “Is that you?”
Kingston’s spine snaps straight, and he turns to the two men from my past.
“Darin, hey…” I jump off my stool and circle around to stand between them and Kingston. “Long time.”
“Holy shit, Jo.” Lincoln comes off his stool and stands close. Too close. He looks mostly the same except for his hipster beard and dark-rimmed glasses, which must be for show because he’s always had twenty-twenty vision. “How are you?”
“She’s fine,” Kingston’s voice comes from over my shoulder, sounding surprisingly sober. The heat of his tall body hits my back. His hand slides to my hip, and Lincoln eyes the possessive hold. “More than fine.”
Lincoln’s gaze darts to my left hand resting on the bar, where my engagement ring shines proudly.
“Wait up,” Darin says. “Jordan’s on the River. Is this place named after you?” He chuckles as if the very idea is ridiculous.
“Yes, it is actua—”
Kingston stumbles, and I push back to keep him upright. “It’s her restaurant, numbnuts.” The scent of bourbon on his breath burns my eyes. “Who is this idiot?”
“Kingston, these are some old friends of mine. Darin and Lincoln.”
Darin puts out his hand to shake, but Kingston stares down his regal nose at it while pulling me deeper against him.
I notice that Lincoln is watching Kingston closely, specifically his hands on me.
“Are you guys here to drink or stare?” My future brother-in-law sways on his feet.
Lincoln scowls at me in disappointment.
He’s judging Kingston’s behavior? Ha. What an asshole.
“How’s Courtney?” Petty? Sure. But who the hell does he think he is passing silent judgment on my choices? Even drunk, Kingston is a million times better human than Lincoln is at his best.
“I don’t know. We broke up shortly after Chubby’s closed down.”
I frown, maybe a little exaggeratedly. “Sorry to hear that.”
Darin sips from his drink and manages to look ashamed. Good. Fucker.
I hook my arm around Kingston’s lower back in preparation to walk away. “I can’t say it’s been nice seeing you both again. We should go—”
“Uh-ohhhh,” Kingston says with a girlie giggle. “Daddy’s home.”
I look over just in time to see Alexander’s intense hazel eyes zero in on Lincoln. He walks toward us with all the stealth and confidence of a predator stalking his prey. Lincoln doesn’t notice him until Alexander is close enough to reach for my hand.
“Hey, Grizz—”
He covers my mouth with his and kisses me with the kind of attention that makes me forget we’re in public. I feel the bar press into my back, and he forks his fingers into my hair, fisting it at my nape. He nips at my lower lip and pulls away enough to turn and look at Lincoln. “Am I interrupting?”
I’m breathing heavy and ready to suggest he prop me on the bar and have his way with me.
Kingston laughs, and the sound drips with satisfaction at his brother’s possessive public claim.
I press lightly against Alexander’s chest, and he moves back enough to pull me under his big arm and to his side. “You remember Lincoln,” I say dryly. “And this is Darin.”
Alexander’s jaw tightens at seeing the two men together. He knows about how Darin helped Lincoln and Courtney hide their affair. “I’m glad you two are here,” he says, making me, Darin, and Lincoln do a double-take in surprise. “I hoped I’d get the opportunity to thank you.” Even though Alexander’s words are kind, the tone and tenseness of his jaw say he’s far from happy. “If it weren’t for you assholes fucking everything up for my fiancé, I may never have met her.”