“Anyway, Rob told me you have a new boyfriend.”
Brett’s head swiveled in the direction of Rob’s curtained-off station. Seriously? Already? She’d been working with her brother all day, and she certainly hadn’t seen or heard him talking to their dad. Clearly he’d found a way to sneak in a phone call without her knowledge.
And people accused women of being gossips.
“Yeah, kind of,” Brett answered, keeping her tone vague. “It’s still very new.”
“Well, I don’t need to meet the guy to know I approve.” Her father looked beyond thrilled. “The Ten Grand Touchdown! Fuckin’-A! I can’t believe he’s coming to the house tomorrow. I’m making steak and garlic shrimp in his honor.”
His enthusiasm would have made her laugh if she didn’t feel so damn guilty. She hated deceiving her father, even more than she hated disappointing him.
She’d always been nothing but honest with her family, though her open-book mentality was probably one of the reasons she was forever on their shit lists. If she’d been a better—or more willing—liar, she wouldn’t be in the boat she was currently in. Her family would be blissfully ignorant to all the immature things she’d done in the past. Her brothers wouldn’t be on her case all the time.
Her father wouldn’t have had to bail her out of jail last year…
The incident brought a clench of shame, along with a rush of anger, because she truly hadn’t done anything wrong that night. Troy was the one who’d gotten plastered and picked a fight at the bar. Brett hadn’t consumed a drop of alcohol, but when the brawl had escalated, the cops had carted her off with Troy and tossed her in the drunk tank right along with him.
God, the disapproving stare she’d received from her dad when he’d picked her up that night was still burned in her brain like a cattle brand. And she still remembered the sting of tears when he’d proceeded to blame himself for not “raising her right.”
But he was so fucking wrong. After Brett’s mother had died of cancer when Brett was seven, Jimmy Conlon had stepped up to the plate to raise their children. Dealing with the boys had been easy, but Brett knew he’d had a tough time relating to his only daughter. Her father was a man’s man to the core, yet he’d done everything in his power to shower Brett with the love and attention she’d craved. And all those girlie-girl activities she’d demanded they do together? God. He’d indulged her every whim, just so she wouldn’t miss out on what the other girls her age were doing.
“Aw, what’s this about?”
She jerked when she felt her dad’s finger on her face. He gently brushed away the sheen of tears she hadn’t even realized were there.
“Why are you crying, princess?” His brown eyes narrowed. “Did your new man do something to hurt you? Because if he did, I will break every bone in his body and—”
“No, of course not,” she assured him, swallowing the lump of emotion obstructing her windpipe. “I was just thinking about all that girly stuff you used to do with me when I was a kid. You know, the tea parties, and playing dress up, and…” Her throat closed up again.
“Don’t forget the Barbies,” he said gruffly. “I sure haven’t.”
“You were such a good dad.” She blinked away her tears. “You still are, you know.”
Embarrassment colored his cheeks. “Where’s this coming from, princess?”
“I don’t know. The memories just popped into my head.” She wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt, then shot a discreet look at the computer screen. Eight twenty-five. Damn.
“Got somewhere else to be?” her dad teased.
She was the one blushing now. “Kinda. I’m meeting AJ soon. He owns a nightclub downtown and I promised I’d stop by to visit him.”
“Wide receiver and business owner? Shi-it. I like him even more now.”
“Just a business owner. His football days are behind him,” she said, then peeked at the clock again.
Her father chuckled. “Oh, get out of here already. You’ve got one foot out the door as it is.”
Brett answered in her most professional voice. “We don’t close until nine, Dad. The job is my first priority.”
“We won’t go bankrupt if you cut out twenty minutes early. Besides, you’ve already been here ten hours.” He ruffled her hair. “Go. I’ll close up with your brother.”
“Are you sure?” She didn’t want to give him another reason to find fault in her, but he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
“I’m sure. Go have fun.”
With a burst of excitement, Brett grabbed her purse from the counter and made a dash to the door. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget to bring your man!” he called after her.
She stopped to toss him a grin. “Jeez. I think you love him more than you love me, and you haven’t even met him.”
“Ten grand, princess. Ten grand.”
Brett was laughing as she hurried out of the shop. For all the headaches they gave her, her family was one of a kind. She was lucky to have them, which only made her feel worse that she hadn’t lived up to their expectations in the past.
But that would change. She’d already eradicated any and all bad influences from her life—first and foremost being Troy. Their relationship had made her lose focus of what mattered to her, and she still wanted to kick herself for letting him take over her life the way he had. The jerk had used her for free tattoos and a place to crash, blinding her with his gorgeous looks and winning smile.
She wouldn’t get fooled again. Nope, her next relationship was going to be with a man she could trust. Someone she could talk to, count on. Someone with substance.
Until then, she had three more weeks with AJ to look forward to. Three whole weeks to explore the mind-blowing sexual connection she hadn’t seen coming.
And God, she couldn’t wait to start exploring.
…
The male voice crackled through AJ’s earpiece as he slid two bottles of Heineken across the counter to a customer.
“You’ve got a visitor,” Jerry, who manned the club’s security booth, informed him. “I sent her up to your office.”
The way AJ’s libido roared to life, you’d think Brett was standing naked in front of him instead of tucked away in his upstairs office. Last night should have been enough to satisfy the dark, restless urges for a while, but nope, twenty-four hours of pure, carnal fucking had barely scratched the surface.
He needed more, damn it.
Ignoring the ache down below, AJ headed to the register to make change for the customer. Then he signaled to Henry that he was ducking out and took off for the narrow staircase leading upstairs.
A glance over the railing revealed that Sin was already packed—a very encouraging sight, especially considering the night was still young. In the three years Sin had been in business, the club’s clientele had tripled. These days, people lined up around the block to gain admittance, while Sin’s owners happily reaped the rewards.
AJ had brought up the club’s success to his father during their phone call earlier, hoping it might sway his parents’ less than positive opinion about his line of work, but he shouldn’t have bothered. No amount of bragging would convince them he’d made the right choice by not going to work with his dad. His stake in Sin was simply another black mark against him.