12. Club Shadow - Jules
That night, Lesley shows up twenty-five minutes past eight because she’s never given much consideration to punctuality. I’m dressed in the red number she said I should wear, my face made up, club-style. Right before we head out the door, she talks me into doing one shot with her—just to loosen me up.
“You are rocking that dress,” she says as we make our way down the road toward the club. Her brown eyes lower, taking in my legs then my feet. “Especially those shoes.”
The heels are a nice touch but not the most practical for walking. My feet ache when we arrive at Club Shadow. After standing in the long line of people waiting to get inside, we reach the front, and I hand the bouncer my ID. It’s been so long since I felt this good about myself. Confident. Sexy. Ready to have a little fun with my bestie. Yep, the pre-club shots we threw back before walking down here are kicking in.
The bouncer lets us inside, and the place is packed. As I follow Lesley through the crowd, I take it all in. The long bar taking up the back wall, and the stage to our left. Blue and red lights beam down from the vaulted ceiling, and that’s when I notice the second floor. It’s dark up there, obviously a private place for VIPs since a bulky guy is manning the bottom of the stairs, where a rope sections off the space from the rest of the club.
“I heard the owner is here on Saturday nights,” Lesley shouts above the rock music as she scores us two seats at the bar. After we settle in, she takes in the scene. A throng of people crowd around the stage, dancing and belting out the lyrics along with the lead singer. Tattoos sleeve his arms, and his hair falls into his eyes as he owns the mic. Sweat dampens the front of his tee under the hot lights.
Lesley grabs my shoulder then points with her free hand. “That’s the owner. What did I tell you? Hottie at four o’clock.”
Swerving my attention to where she’s pointing, I feel my heart stop. The guy Lesley is hoping to get a few minutes with is Cash.
And he’s heading directly for us.
For me.
But as soon as he comes within a few feet of us, I realize it isn’t Cash—it’s Kaden. I’m not sure how I know the difference, but I do. My heart resumes beating as he stops in front of me, his warm smile taking hold of his face.
“Hey, Jules.”
I don’t need to glance at Les to know she’s staring at Kaden and me with her mouth hanging open, stunned at this new development. I’m also stunned. In fact, I’m so shocked that I can’t get my vocal cords to work.
Lesley saves me by leaning forward and extending her hand. “I’m Lesley,” she says above the guitar solo that’s ripping through the club.
Kaden tears his eyes from me long enough to greet her. “Nice to meet you, Lesley.” He winks at her before settling his attention on me once more. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You too,” I say automatically.
He leans forward, and his arm brushes my shoulder as he gestures for the bartender. “Hey, Shane! Give these ladies whatever they want tonight. It’s on the house.”
“You got it, boss.”
The music falls silent, and the band announces a short break. Kaden slaps the countertop before stepping away. “We’ll catch up in a bit, okay?” he says to me. “I need to take care of something, but I’ll be back, so don’t go anywhere.” He disappears between the bodies, and through my stupor I hear the bartender ask what we’re drinking.
“Vodka and cran,” Les says.
“I’ll stick with water.”
“You sure, sweetheart? You heard him—it’s on the house.”
“I’m sure, thanks.”
After the bartender goes off to fetch our drinks, Lesley turns to me and grips both of my arms. “I had no idea you knew the owner.”
“I don’t really know him.”
She quirks a brow. “Well, he seems to know you.”
“Okay, I met him once. He’s my boss’s brother.” Just thinking about Cash gets my blood pumping. Our run-in today at the market left me in a state of chaos. That whole encounter feels like a dirty secret I’m keeping.
“Wait, hold up a minute. Are you saying that hot-as-fuck man is related to those Montgomerys?”
“Kaden is Cash’s twin.”
“Jesus, Jules. Imagine being the bologna in that sandwich.”
I imagine it all too well, but Kaden isn’t part of the picture, which leaves me baffled. How the hell can two men who are near replicas of each other, down to the timbre of their voices and the storm in their eyes, affect me so differently?
“Control yourself,” I say with a nervous laugh, hoping she won’t catch on to how I’ve imagined all kinds of things with Kaden’s brother. “You’re here for business, remember?”
“Damn straight! You’ve gotta talk to him for us. It’s obvious he’s into you.”
“Talk to him…?” No way is she asking what I think she’s asking.
“Yeah, hook the band up. Please?” She bats her long lashes at me. “If anyone can get us a gig here, it’s you.”
Fuck. After everything Les and the guys have done for me, I can’t tell her no. But the thought of asking Kaden for anything fills me with unease. Just like she picked up on Kaden’s interest only minutes ago, I also felt it from the moment we first met at Mont Center. If only he were Cash.
If only Cash weren’t married.
If only…
“C’mon, Jules. Pleeeease. I promise I’ll never call you Julie Bean again.”
I burst out laughing. She called me that once, and after learning that it was a pet name my sister gave me, she swore to never do it again. “No need to pull out the big guns, Les. I’ll talk to him.”
She dances in her seat, squealing her excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is meant to be—I can feel it.”
Shane places Lesley’s drink on the counter before setting a tall glass of ice water in front of me. “Sure I can’t get you anything else?” His mouth is wide and sensuous, and if I weren’t so hung up on a man I can’t have, I might find the bartender attractive.
“I’m sure.”
“Holler if you change your mind,” he says before moving away to tend to other clubbers.
I turn my attention on Lesley again. Sipping her drink, she looks at me with teasing eyes.
“What?” I ask, raising a brow.
“You’ve got ‘em eating out of your hand tonight, Jules. What’s your secret?”
Mentally, I scoff. Maybe I’ve got a flashing neon sign on my forehead that says only interested in unattainable men. Seems like it’s human nature to chase what you can’t have. “I’m not the only one. A certain brooding guitarist only has eyes for you.”
She almost chokes on her drink. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
The mirth in her expression disappears, and I almost feel bad, except that turning the conversation on her takes it off of me.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she says, but as she sets her drink down on the counter with a frown, I know that she knows exactly what I mean.
“I’m talking about Zan.” I soften my tone. This must be a touchy subject for her, otherwise, she would have told me by now. Just like I would have told her about Cash…if the situation weren’t so sticky. “He’s got it bad for you, Les. And I’m not blind. I’ve seen the way you look at him too.”
She facepalms with a groan. “If you’ve noticed it, then the guys probably have too.”
I shake my head as the band members return to the stage. “I don’t think so. The only one who might have picked up on it is Leo, but that’s only because he knows you as well as I do.”
“That’s the worst-case scenario! Garen probably won’t give two fucks, but Leo will give Zan hell if anything happens. It could tear the band apart.”
“Is that why you haven’t done anything about it?”
“Well, yeah. That, and Zan and I haven’t really…talked about it.”
Kind of like Cash and me. We both know the attraction is there, but neither of us are willing to put it into words because the two of us can’t be.
It’s then I realize that Les and Zan are also in a forbidden situation. Leo is protective—make that overprotective—and he won’t handle his bandmate hooking up with his little sister very well.
Lesley’s attention darts over my shoulder, and when I turn I find Kaden heading for us again. She grabs my hand and squeezes. “We’ll talk about my lack of a love life later. Go work your magic.”
With a gulp, I hop down from the barstool and meet Kaden halfway. The first strains of a haunting rock ballad begin, and I shout above the speakers. “Is there a place where we can talk?”
With a nod, he gestures for me to precede him toward the staircase leading up to that mysterious place on the second floor. Just like his brother, he’s a gentleman and allows me to go first. The hired muscle at the bottom of the stairs nods at Kaden as he steps to the side to let us pass.
My heart gives a nervous thump behind my breastbone as we climb the stairs to the VIP area. The space is in eerie shadow, yet inviting too, with scattered comfy sofas and chairs grouped together. I spy the stage from the edge of the railing, and the dance floor looks like a zoo of a party from this angle.
Kaden ushers me to a couch and doesn’t sit until I do. He settles next to me, keeping a respectable distance, yet close enough to have a conversation over the music, which drifts up to us at a tolerable level.
“What’s up?” he asks.
As I meet his eyes—eyes that look so much like Cash’s yet they’re not—I wring my hands in my lap. “I hate to ask this, since you hardly know me, but my friend would sacrifice her firstborn to land a gig here.”
Tilting his head toward the busy floor below, he asks, “Your friend down there?”
“Yeah. She’s in a band. They’re really good. I’ve heard them play. If you’d consider talking to her—”
“I’m happy to give them a listen,” he interrupts, “if you’ll go out with me.”
I blink a couple of times before I’m able to find words. “Like a…a date?”
“Exactly like a date. You know, where two people go to dinner or a movie, or all the above.” He’s teasing me, his eyes bright and crinkling around the corners. For a second, I can almost forget he’s not Cash. The feeling is fleeting, and so alarming that I unwittingly scoot away from him by a few inches. Going out with Cash’s twin would just be…
A whole new level of low. Sick and wrong. I can’t look at Kaden without thinking of his brother and wishing he were him. And I like Kaden too much to do that to him. I don’t know him well, but he seems too nice to jerk around. He’ll never be a substitute for Cash.
“I…I can’t. I’m sorry.”
He leans toward me, invading my space in a non-threatening way. “It’s only one date, Jules. I won’t bite, I promise. Unless you want me to.”
Jesus, what am I getting myself into?
“You’re my boss’ brother,” I point out, hoping that will deter him.
“That’s true, and I can’t help that. Is Cash an ass to work for? I can try to look less like him, if that will help.” His eyes are laughing at me again. He’s at ease in his own skin, confident in his charming smile and flirtatious personality. Normally, it might work on me, but the problem isn’t that Cash is a mean boss.
Quite the opposite, actually.
And that’s the problem, but I can’t tell Kaden that.
“One date?”
“One date,” he says.
“As friends.”
“I’ll take it. Maybe once you get to know me, you’ll want to be friends some more.”
I can’t help but laugh. This man is too likable. But worry is already nagging me because I know I can’t offer him more than friendship.
“Okay,” I say with a bit of reluctance.
“Fantastic. I’ve got a thing next weekend that I’m in desperate need of a date for.”
I cock a brow. “You? Desperate?”
He puts his hands up. “Okay, okay. Desperate is pushing it a little. But I’d love for you to come along. Say around seven on Friday?”
Before I can give him an answer, he rises to his feet. “Looks like I need to talk to someone about a gig.” With a wink, he gestures for me to precede him back down the stairs.
Shit. What did I just agree to?