“Absolutely. But first, I have to take you out to celebrate.” Hesitation rippled over the line. “I know we were planning to go for dinner later, but can you meet up earlier? I’m having drinks with my partners and their girlfriends at the club tonight, just a private friend hangout. If you want to come by, we can celebrate with the guys for a bit, and then have dinner and celebrate some more.”
He wanted her to hang out with his friends? Whoa. He really was serious about this dating thing.
The invitation was slightly unnerving, though. AJ’s friends were used to seeing him with “wholesome” girls, and Brett wasn’t sure what they’d think of her. What if they hated her?
At the same time, she was curious to meet them. Not just because AJ talked about Reed and Gage all the time, but also because she was dying for more glimpses into his life. For weeks he’d been compartmentalizing—their fling in one corner, the rest of his life in the other. And she’d been cool with that. No point in getting attached when things were just temporary.
Now that they were dating for real, all bets were off.
“Sure, that sounds like fun,” she answered. “I’m actually done at six today. I only have two clients, and Rob’s new apprentice is handling the walk-ins so I don’t have to stick around. What time should I come?”
“Seven thirtyish okay? We can do drinks for an hour or so, then catch a late dinner?”
“Awesome. I’ll see you later then.”
“Brett?” he said before she could hang up. “I’m proud of you.”
Brett was touched beyond words as she set down her phone. Two people had told her they were proud of her today. It’d been a long time since she’d heard those words once, let alone twice.
The rest of her day flew by. Whether from giddiness or excitement, she didn’t know, but it felt like seven thirty rolled around in minutes rather than hours.
She’d stopped by her place to shower and change, and as she approached the club through the staff door in the back, a strange prickle of nervousness poked at her. She’d worn a strapless black dress, her trademark leather boots, and a shock of red lipstick, but suddenly she felt overdressed. Or maybe underdressed. Hell, she had no idea what AJ’s friends would be wearing. She didn’t know what to expect from them, either. She remembered Reed from high school, but they’d never exchanged a single word back then, and who knew what this Gage guy was like. And AJ’s ex-girlfriend. Crap. She’d be there, too.
Brett swallowed to bring moisture to her dry mouth and ran a shaky hand through her hair. Okay. Enough. She was not the kind of woman who worried about what other people thought of her.
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.