James smiles mildly and humors me, knocking it back and putting the empty back in my hand. “Thanks.”
“No sweat.” I catch him off guard and sling my arms over his wide shoulders, hugging him hard, hoping he feels my love for him. He is literally the only person in this world who can fix Beau. I know it. Danny knows it. Zinnea knows it. Even Beau knows it deep down. He can’t cave. He can’t be anything less than The Enigma right now.
James returns my embrace, dipping a little to accommodate me, holding on to me as tightly as I’m holding him. It takes everything in me not to cry on him.
“I have to go,” he whispers, not breaking away, but instead waiting for me to.
I nod and release him. “Find her, okay?”
He nods and strides off. “Tell Danny I’ll meet him at Hiatus.” The door closes behind him, and a few moments later, Otto appears from the corridor to the office, cursing as he goes after James.
“I told him not to fucking leave without me.” He swings the door open and slams it behind him, just as Goldie stomps out too, also hauling the door open and slamming it behind her. It makes me feel significantly better knowing James isn’t out there alone.
But Beau is.
I am going to seriously kick her ass when she gets home. If she gets home. I flinch and throw a prayer skyward, to a god I don’t believe in, and head back to the kitchen. I walk in to find Esther and Danny on the far side, alone, close, talking in hushed whispers. They both see me and shut up. And doesn’t that piss me off? What am I being kept in the dark about now? I look between them, my expression fierce. “What’s going on?” I ask, not confident I’ll be told but wanting them to know I’m not stupid. Or happy.
Esther looks at Danny and nods, and he steps forward, looking a little awkward. “Mum’s found a school for Daniel,” he says. I look straight to Esther in my shock, as if I need confirmation that I’m not hearing things. She nods. What? I’ve hoped for it, many times, but I thought regular schooling was out of the question. “I don’t want you to get too excited.” Danny comes to me, taking both of my hands. “But it looks promising.”
My heart leaps with joy. “Where?” I ask. “How many kids go there? What’s the name? Is it mixed sex? Because it’s important for him to be with boys and girls.”
“Whoa.” Danny laughs. “The principal can answer all the questions we have when we visit.”
“We’re visiting?” I cry, excited. “Like regular parents visit regular schools to see if they want their regular kid to go there?” I inhale, something coming to me. “Wait, what did you tell the principal you do?”
“Well, obviously I didn’t tell him that the chances of me falling onto America’s Most Wanted List any day is rather high.”
“That’s good,” I say, looking into thin air, thinking of all the things Daniel will need. Bags, books, pens, sports equipment. We’ll need to go shopping. “When are we going?”
Danny smiles at my enthusiasm and drops a peck on my nose. “I’ve some business to clear up first.”
“We shouldn’t mention it to Daniel until it’s definite,” I say. He’d be broken if I gave him this and then took it away. Danny smiles as he goes, reading my thoughts and fears. If the principal does find out Danny’s who he is, Daniel won’t be getting into that school. Simple. I will do everything in my power to make sure the principal thinks Danny shits rainbows and goes to church every Sunday. Will they check that? If he goes to church? I need to speak to Father McMahon.
“Come with me a minute,” Danny says quietly, taking my wrist and pulling me out into the hallway. He has a quick check around before he speaks. “What do you know about Pearl?” he asks.
“What?” I ask, my forehead bunching.
“She’s been asking after Brad.”
“Ohh,” I breathe. “You too, huh?” I look past him to the kitchen. “James was asking too.”
“I think that’s one of the reasons he fucked off to the hotel and fucked his way through fuck knows how many women.”
I look at Danny, disgusted. “He did what?”
He shrugs, like it’s standard. Standard. “Wait, did you tell Pearl?”
“Yes, I fucking told Pearl. We need to nip that in the bud.”
Is he for real? “What, like you’re trying to nip Otto and Esther in the bud?” I ask. “Because that’s going well.”
He blinks, surprised.
“What are you?” I rant on. “The love police?”
His surprise morphs into irritation, and I roll my eyes dramatically, not doing myself any favors, but . . . screw him. “Rose, we hardly know her.”
I laugh hysterically. “You didn’t know me.”
“She’s twenty-one.”
“Don’t forget the small matter that she’s a foreigner.”
“She’s British,” he says, confused.
“Precisely.” I poke him in the chest and immediately apologize for it when he withdraws, grunting with pain. Damn it. “I’m sorry.”
“Forgiven.”
“Anyway, your little plan to put her off Brad may have worked,” I tell him. “She looked appalled when I told her Hiatus is a strip joint.” Innocently, of course.
“Good.”
I suppose Danny’s right. Brad’s not a one-woman kind of guy. Pearl’s young, naïve. Brad will only hurt her. I sigh. I would say Pearl should be kept away from this world, but she’s already exposed to it. Already in it. “You’d better go.” I reach up on my tippy-toes and kiss his scarred cheek. “James said he’d meet you at Hiatus.” I turn and head back to the kitchen, but he grabs my sweater and hauls me back to him, draping me over his arm. I let out a surprised yelp and find his eyes.
“You know the best thing about having a fiery marriage?” he asks, and I smile, despite myself. I love making up with him. I sickly love sparring with him. Bickering. Arguing. Fighting. It’s the reasons why we fight that I hate. I grab his cheeks and land a big kiss on his lips, and Danny quickly takes it deeper, introducing his tongue. I lap it up on a contented hum and swallow every magical sound of pleasure he makes until he returns me to my feet, turns me by my shoulders, and sends me away. I hear the front door close and go to the window in the kitchen that looks out onto the front, seeing him sliding into the passenger seat of one of the Mercedes. Ringo’s at the wheel.
“This kitchen gets busier and busier,” Esther says as Brad strolls in with a face like a slapped ass. He’s suited, but the sling supporting his shoulder takes it from classy to creased.
“Morning,” I say, casual, going to the chopping board and picking up half a lemon.
He grunts, looking at the girls at the table as he passes them, not uttering even a hello. Pearl looks down at her coffee, and Anya looks at me, her thick, beautiful, naturally shaped eyebrows high.
“I think Pearl and Anya should come work at the club,” I say, nibbling the corner of the lemon.
Brad freezes, looking at me in horror. “I don’t need any staff.”
“Umm, actually, I recall Mason saying he’d lost a few girls.”