Rosie is in the locker room when I enter, and I freeze, worried that I’m going to get an earful. But I don’t. She doesn’t look happy exactly, but not angry either. “You and Mr. Andrews?”

“Yeah.”

“I can see why. I had a crush on him when I first started too,” she laughs. “Never did that, though.”

I make my way to my locker and grab my stuff, not exactly sure what to say. Luckily, she’s the one who leaves first. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Is that it? If that’s the only reaction I’m going to get, then I’ve been worrying a lot for nothing. I pull out my phone and text him.

I’ve changed my mind. Want to go on that date? Hint: I have the night off tomorrow.

I’m almost to my car when the response comes through.

Tomorrow night it is. Seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.

And a few seconds later.

Wear something sexy.

I roll my eyes.

As if I would wear anything else.

I can almost hear him laugh.

That’s my girl.

* * *

My doorbell rings at exactly seven. I guess punctuality is another thing to add to my growing list that I’ve never noticed before. But then again, you don’t have to be punctual at a club that you own. Opening the door to my apartment, I feel my jaw drop.

I’ve seen Cole in button downs and suit pants, but never an actual suit, and the effect is…wow. It’s perfectly tailored, emphasizing his height and the width of his shoulders. He looks like he stepped out of the pages of a men’s fashion magazine and it’s making my mouth water. “Hi,” I say, more than a little breathless.

“Hello.” His eyes travel up and down my body, and I blush. I pulled out all the stops tonight, digging out a little black dress that I haven’t worn in years. It’s a little tight in the bust and hips, but I’m wearing it anyway because I know that Cole will like it more because of that. “You look beautiful.”

I step aside to let him in, and he comes face to face with Brownie. “Hey girl,” he says, crouching down to her level. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She’s pretty much back to her usual self, though I still see her stepping gingerly from time to time. Brownie has always been wary of strangers—especially men. I rescued her when she was a puppy after she’d had some bad experiences. So I nearly pass out on the floor when she immediately wags her tail and comes over to him, jumping up on his shoulders to sniff and lick his face.

Cole laughs, patting the top of her head, telling her she’s a good girl, and Brownie loves every second of it. He’d told me he was a dog person, but seeing it is different. I’ve always thought that you can tell a lot by the way a person treats animals, and the kindness Cole is showing Brownie right now is speaking volumes.

“I’d love to stay and hang out with you, but if I do, we’ll miss our reservation.”

“Where is our reservation?” I ask, grabbing my keys and giving Brownie a final scratch on the head.

Cole grins. “Italian.”

The restaurant is gorgeous with a great view of the skyline. There’s a table waiting for us on the balcony. The evening sun warms my shoulders, and I’m glad that we decided to do this. It feels strange, though, everything is so bright, so normal. I’m used to seeing him in the vivid colors and shadows of Club Deep. Seeing him in this kind of light is different. I like it.

We order, the waitress bringing us a bottle of wine at Cole’s request.

“Okay,” I say. “Now that we’re out of the club, you have to tell me the story.”

“What story?”

I laugh. “The one about how you came to own a sex club. A wildly popular one, too.”

“It’s really not that interesting.” He takes a sip of his wine.

“I still want to know, though.”

He tilts his head, thinking. “Well, Julian, Hudson, and I, we met while we were all in college. But we didn’t meet at college. By random chance we ended up at a play party. I’m grateful for that now, because we were so young and had no business really being there. But the ratio of the party was terrible. We ended up talking and drinking the whole night. Left the party and went for pizza.”

“Pizza is sometimes better than sex,” I interject. Cole raises an eyebrow and I clear my throat. “I mean, not with you, but with some people.”

“I’m going to come up with games comparing sex to pizza now. You know that, right?”

I toast him with my wine glass. “Naturally. You were saying?”

“We went out and talked. And a lot of what we talked about was the party, how it hadn’t been handled well. How we hadn’t found any parties or clubs that seemed perfect. A lot of them were too specific, too much into one kink. The three of us are all different, but we wanted a place where we could all fit in and have what we wanted. So we just kind of hatched this idea of the perfect sex club, where anyone could come, no matter the kink. Within reason.

“It was a joke at the time, but we became friends. And when we all graduated, we decided that we were going to work towards that goal. We spent a couple of years looking at other clubs to see what worked and what didn’t before taking the plunge.”

“Why here?”

“Vacationers,” he says. “We found that people are more likely to seek out something different when they’re on vacation, and Phoenix is a huge tourist destination. So we always have new faces along with the regulars.”

I nod. “Smart.”

“Thanks.”

“Those clients I served the first night. Who were they? I didn’t realize a club like this could have clients.”

Cole’s face darkens immediately, and I wonder if I stumbled on something that I shouldn’t have. “They were potential investors.” He sighs, his shoulders falling. “I guess my story wasn’t totally complete. There were four of us. But last year,” his jaw tightens. “Last year we found out our fourth partner had been embezzling from us. Making the books look like we were profitable, and actually taking all of the money.”

A pit forms in my stomach. “I’m so sorry.”

He shrugs like it’s nothing, but I can tell it hurts him more than he’s letting on. “He disappeared with the money. The club does well, and day-to-day we operate in the black, but he left us with some huge debts and holes in our safety net. Bringing in new investors would help, but those men you met, I don’t like them. Neither do the others. We won’t be inviting them to buy in.”

I nod, a little relived. I didn’t like the vibe that came from them either, and I’m not a fan of anyone who grabs women because they feel like they can.

“Anyway,” Cole says, smiling. “You owe me your story now.”

I wince. “Which one?”

“The story of how you came to look for a job in my club.”

“Oh,” I say. “That one. It’s not a fun story.”

He echoes my words. “I still want to know, though.”

The sigh that works its way out of me is all too familiar. It’s what happens whenever I think about my old job. I’ll keep it simple. “I worked in marketing. I had a job as an assistant at a company that I really loved. The person I was working for was one of the best—people all over the country love her work. Unfortunately, being great at your job and being a good boss aren’t the same.”

Cole grimaces like he can see where this is going.

“I tried. I really did. But it seemed like nothing that I did was ever good enough, or perfect enough. She was too controlling. In the end she fired me.” I reach for my glass of wine and take a large sip.

“I’m sorry,” Cole says softly.

I wave a hand. “It’s really fine. I was having panic attacks almost every day from the stress. I haven’t had one since I stopped working for her. Plus,” I wink at him, “I’m very happy in my new job.”

“Good to hear. I also hope that you think that the three of us are good bosses.”

“Don’t worry. You guys are great.” My smile is nothing but genuine.

While we eat, we fall back into that friendly banter that rules our interactions at the club, and I think we’re both glad to be on familiar territory. The food is delicious, and the only downside to this dress is that I can’t eat as much as I want to. “I don’t think I could eat another thing.”

“Maybe later?”

“Maybe.”

“Good,” he says. “Because I have dessert at my place.”

I make a face of mock horror. “Going back to your place on the first date? Mr. Andrews, you’re very scandalous.”

“So is that dress.”

I nod, giving him the point and finish the last of my wine. “Okay. I’ll come to your place, but no promises about dessert because I’m already bursting.”

He chuckles. “Fair enough.”