AJ had wanted her to come, and that was all she ought to care about.
She texted AJ to let him know she was outside, and a minute later, the heavy metal door swung open and Brett was being tugged into a pair of warm, muscular arms.
He hugged her tight, then kissed her until she was utterly breathless. “Hi,” he said huskily.
She smiled. “Hi.”
“So how does it feel to be the new manager of Conlon Ink, North End location?”
“Incredible. How does it feel to be the boy toy of the new manager of Conlon Ink, North End location?”
“Frickin’ awesome.” His green eyes twinkled. “By the way, you look gorgeous.”
Brett’s nerves dissolved like sugar in water. Yep. Screw what his friends thought. The blatant admiration on AJ’s face was reward enough for showing up tonight.
“Come on, everyone’s already here,” he said, taking her hand. “Reed just cracked open a bottle of Dom.”
“Oooh, you’re bringing out the good stuff tonight.”
He grinned. “Only the best for my angel.”
“Bull crap. I was a last-minute addition. You were gonna get fancy regardless.”
It was jarring to walk through the club without feeling the thump of a bass line beneath her feet or encountering a cacophony of voices in the main space. Brett had questioned AJ and his partners’ business plan when he’d explained that Sin was closed Monday through Wednesday. It seemed like a waste of profit potential to her, but apparently the tactic had only boosted Sin’s reputation for being hip and exclusive.
Voices wafted out of the second-floor VIP lounge as she and AJ ascended the staircase. Another jab of nervousness stabbed her belly. This was it. Her first “appearance” as AJ’s girlfriend.
The two couples sitting in the padded red booth looked harmless enough. One of the men—Reed, she realized—had his arm slung around the shoulders of a pretty woman with strawberry-blond hair. The other, a guy with intense gray eyes, had a blue-eyed brunette in his lap and was whispering something in her ear when AJ and Brett approached.
“This is Brett,” AJ announced, resting a possessive hand on her hip.
Introductions quickly went around, and then Brett found herself seated next to AJ, as the brunette—Skyler—climbed off Gage’s lap to pour her a glass of champagne.
“Why do you look so familiar?” Reed studied her face, as if trying to place her.
“Brett went to school with us,” AJ told his friend. “She’s Rob Conlon’s sister. You remember Rob, right?”
“No shit, you’re Rob’s sister? How’s that guy doing?”
Brett was momentarily distracted by the other man’s ruggedly handsome face. Reed’s grin only emphasized the masculine planes and crinkles of humor around his vivid blue eyes. She remembered him being a lot scruffier back in the day, and definitely not as buff. But all the men in the booth were built in the same lean, muscular way. She would have loved to see them in a fight. AJ, especially. She got the feeling he’d look extraordinary behind the chain-link walls of an MMA cage.
“He’s doing good,” she told Reed. “He runs our family’s tattoo parlor in Southie.”
When she said the word tattoo, she noticed Darcy staring at her arms, and the tiny frown on the blonde’s face raised Brett’s hackles.
“Did your brother do those for you?” Darcy asked. Her tone was pleasant, but Brett detected a cool note beneath the surface.
“He did the stars. My dad did the angel, though.”
“That’s serious talent right there,” Gage spoke up, impressed. “What’s the name of the shop?”
“Conlon Ink.” She took a hesitant sip of champagne. Sometimes she had a beer or two with AJ when he came by, but for the most part, she hadn’t been drinking much lately, and the last thing she wanted was to get tipsy in front of AJ’s friends.
Gage nodded. “I’ve heard of it. You guys have a good rep.” He gestured to the elaborate black flames inked on both his arms. “Got my ink done at Razor’s. You know them?”
Her spine stiffened, but she hoped nobody had noticed. Troy worked at Razor’s, or at least he had six months ago. The fact that he was handing out résumés put his current job status in question. Not that she cared.
“They do good work,” she said vaguely.
Darcy spoke up again. “So you and AJ went to high school together… How did you two reconnect?”
“We ran into each other here, actually.”
“And now you’re dating.” This time, the other woman’s iciness was impossible to miss.
“Now we’re dating,” Brett confirmed.
She couldn’t help herself—she met Darcy’s eyes in challenge, silently daring her to object or contradict or who the hell knew what. It was obvious AJ’s ex wasn’t thrilled about Brett’s presence, but the blonde didn’t take the bait. She simply picked up her glass and took a dainty sip.
Despite the small victory, Brett got the unsettling feeling that it was going to be a very long hour.
…
“You okay?” AJ studied Brett’s face as they entered her apartment.
He’d had to cancel their dinner reservations because Brett had changed her mind about going out. She’d suggested they order in instead, winking as if to imply that it was for sex purposes, but he’d seen right through her.
“I’m fine,” she said, the epitome of noncommittal.
She was lying. He knew she wasn’t fine. And he knew why.
“Bull,” he said softly. “You’re upset, and I don’t blame you. Darcy was acting…” He trailed off, unsure how to phrase it.
“I think the word you’re looking for is bitchy.”
She bent over to unzip one boot, which caused her dress to ride up her thighs. Her koi fish tattoo peeked out enticingly, but he forced himself to stay focused. He watched as she kicked each boot onto the mat in the front hall, her previously casual body language stiffening to reveal the hurt she’d been trying to hide.
“I don’t know what got into her,” AJ admitted. “She’s not usually so…”
“Bitchy?” Brett supplied.
Fine. He’d call a spade a spade. Darcy had been bitchier than he’d ever seen her, and for a woman who was usually sweeter than cherry pie, AJ had been shocked by the sudden personality shift. Darcy’s hostility toward Brett had been palpable, so much so that Reed had even apologized to AJ in private before he and Brett had left Sin.
Was Darcy jealous?
The thought had occurred to him somewhere between the first and last barbed remark she’d tossed in Brett’s direction, but it made no fucking sense to him. He and Darcy had only dated for five months, and any idiot could see that she was madly in love with Reed. Since she’d started dating his best friend, she’d given AJ no indication that she still had feelings for him. Which made her antagonism of Brett completely baffling.
“God, you can’t be that clueless.”
Brett’s grumble interrupted his train of thought, making him frown. “What do you mean?”
“Your ex-girlfriend doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.”