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  She always talked about Lloyd, until she realized he was more interested in me than her. As soon as she found out we were dating, she never brought him up in conversation again—didn’t even ask how we hooked up or anything.

  When she was out of the room, I took a step forward, folding my arms, glaring. I didn’t even know what to say to him. What could I say? It wasn’t like I hadn’t done anything wrong before.

  “What?” he finally bit out, walking to his side of the bed. “You’re really upset over this?”

  “In our house, Lloyd?”

  He gave a derisive laugh. “I think you mean my house.”

  I frowned.

  “Oh, come on, Marlena. It’s not like whatever this is between us is real anyway. It was fun at first, but we had a deal. You marry me, I take care of your mother, give you whatever you want, and you’re fine. The passion has faded.”

  “That’s not the only reason why we have this agreement,” I retorted.

  He laughed. “Oh, yeah. I marry you to please my father, grow a rep, bear a child to keep the bloodline going, and finally have him sign his gas company over to my name so he can retire and so I can get out of the airline business.”

  “That doesn’t matter, Lloyd! You brought her to our house! To everyone else, I am your fiancée! How many times have you done this, huh? How many times with her—or other flight attendants with Redwire, for that matter?”

  He stared at me like I was delusional. “Marley, are you kidding me right now?” He held his hands out, frowning now. “If you were doing your job, I wouldn’t even have her here! Sex with you is fucking boring! You put no effort into this anymore. It’s like I’m fucking a goddamn wall or something. I thought I could keep it up and only be with you, but I can’t. I need more.”

  I bit my bottom lip hard, knowing I couldn’t say what I really wanted to say. That he was a fucking jackass, just like Vin said. He was a jerk—always had been. I just dealt with it because I had to. Because I needed this.

  “Did you enjoy your time with your mother?”

  He walked to the closet, taking down his robe and sliding into it. When he stepped back out, he gave a blatant stare, like he was waiting for me to respond.

  “What did you do to him?” I whispered, not blinking.

  “What?” he asked, like I was stupid. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?”

  “Do to who!”

  “To Vincent—your brother! What did you do to him?”

  “I didn’t do shit to that jerk! What the hell are you talking about?”

  “He said it’s your fault, you and your Dad’s, for the alcoholism and drug abuse.”

  “My fault?” He broke out in laughter. “Wow. Wait—was he there giving you a sob story? Why were you around him anyway?”

  “I ran into him,” I lied.

  “Ha. Yeah. That’s bullshit. I’m sure he ran into you on purpose. He’s trying to get you to feel sorry for him. Let me tell you something about Vincent, Marlena.” He stepped towards me. “Vincent is a manipulative, desperate sack of shit. It’s not my fault he’s a fucking drunk. It’s not my fault he’s ruined his life and is now opening up some shitty club that will probably go out of business before he can even dip his toes in the water.”

  “It’s a nice club,” I stated.

  “You were there?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why?”

  “I wanted to check it out. He invited me. He’s a nice guy and I don’t understand why you hate him so much.” He stepped even closer but I stepped back, giving him a cold, hard look before I walked to the closet. I pulled down some clothes and stuffed them in a spare suitcase. He sucked his teeth and groaned, leaning against the frame.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

  “Leaving.”

  “You have nowhere to go, Marlena.”

  “Oh, I have a place.”

  “Where? A hotel?” he asked, like he was bored.

  I ignored him, stuffing a few more things in. When I was done, I rushed past him, bumping his shoulder to purposely force him out of my way.

  “Marley, would you just stop!”

  “Fuck you, Lloyd,” I spat, rushing towards the door. “Since this is no longer real, why does it matter what I do or where I go? Hell, if you want, you can even call Wendy back, get her to keep sucking your worthless cock!”

  He laughed a laugh that pissed me off, and it was in that moment when I realized why Vin disliked Lloyd so much. I knew he could be arrogant and rude, but not this arrogant and rude. Not to the point where I wanted to punch him right in his goddamn throat. His smug smile made every single one of my nerves tingle. He was acting like I was to blame for his behavior—like he was innocent.

  “Fine. Go. But remember what you have because of me, Marley. I took you in, provided for you. I gave you what you wanted. Don’t forget that.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” I rushed down the hall, hurrying down the stairs, grabbing my other suitcase by the door, and rushing out of it. I hopped into my car, tossing both suitcases in the backseat and then hurriedly starting the car up.

  I drove away, to the only place I knew Lloyd wouldn’t find me. I could have gotten a hotel, but I needed a place that would keep me sane and help me think.

  There was only one place in Texas that could provide that, and it was a place Lloyd knew nothing about.

  My art studio.

  • • • • •

  I arrived in no time, thankful there was a pull out couch set up in the first room, as well as a small kitchen for me to cook in. It wasn’t very big, but it would work. It was sad to say, but I stayed in the studio for two days after the argument with Lloyd.

  I was angry, and not to mention I kept getting call after call from Lloyd. He left voicemails, demanding to know where I was. I didn’t answer. I was pissed, painting and sculpting my frustrations away.

  I couldn’t get too self-righteous, though. I’d done things with Vin, his own brother. Things Lloyd didn’t know about, and I hoped he never would, or I was sure this deal would have been off, and he would have found another woman to marry.

  The sad thing was, I wasn’t hurt by Lloyd’s actions or the fact that he was technically cheating on me right under our own roof. I was more upset over the fact that he was so full of himself. Bringing her to our house? Right in the bedroom we shared? And not even apologizing about it?

  It was low. Really low. And it kind of stung.

  Being in Texas made me angry. Mrs. Harris called too, wanting to meet up and talk about the wedding, and we did. We met at a restaurant downtown for an hour. She didn’t ask about Lloyd, so I assumed he hadn’t told her I wasn’t home, but she did ask about Vin.

  “Vin told me he ran into you while you were in California,” she said, stirring a spoon in her tea.

  I pretended his name didn’t make my breath dwindle. “Oh—yeah, I ran into him at the hospital during one of my mom’s treatments.”

  “He didn’t fill me in on why he was there. I’d hate to ask this, but he wasn’t drunk or anything like that, was he? Did he hurt himself?”

  “Oh—no, Mrs. Harris. Of course not! His friend had an accident and needed stitches and Vin brought him there.”

  Relief washed over her face, as clear as day. She sighed. “That’s great.”

  I watched as she sipped her tea. “Lloyd has told me about Vin’s drinking problem and how he was in rehab.” She swallowed hard, eyes wide on mine. “I think he’s really trying now. He doesn’t want to go back to it. Every day seems like a fight, but he’s winning. So that’s good.” I smiled as widely as I could, pretending I was just giving a small ounce of hopefulness for her, but it wasn’t just for her. It was for myself too. She returned a genuine smile and I knew she believed me.

  “Oh, you are such a sweet girl,” she cooed. “I’m so glad my son will be with someone so caring. If only Vin could find a woman as darling as yourself, then maybe he’d really forget all abo
ut his troubles.”

  Her statement really threw me off, but only because she had no idea that Vin actually did have me once.

  There was only one more month left until the wedding. I wasn’t ready. It seemed the closer I got to the date, the more terrified I became.

  It was dumb to agree to this, but I couldn’t lose my mom. Not yet. I’d lost someone close to me before and it hurt. It hurt so damn much. Vin was right, but I didn’t like talking about it because I couldn’t. I wasn’t strong enough for that yet, which was another reason I left California in the first place.

  I couldn’t face the truth.

  I hated the truth.

  But where the truth lay was the only place I could really be myself, so that night, I logged onto the computer, booked a flight, packed up my things, cleaned the studio, and then walked out the door, driving straight to the airport.

  I was going back to the one place that caused me both happiness and suffering.

  To the one place I really could call home, despite its many ruins.

  It wasn’t here. It was there. Home would always be there, no matter how much pain it caused me and no matter how far I ran.

  VIN

  For the first time in years, I was dressed to impress—and at my own will.

  I wore a white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, and believe it or not I even had a fucking tie on, a sleek silver one. My pants were a navy blue and I wore a black belt with it, a silver buckle to top it off. My hair was actually styled for once: parted, gelled, and combed.

  I clipped the Rolex around my wrist and then stood in front of the floor to ceiling mirror in my penthouse, checking my appearance. The scruff on my jawline wasn’t straggly. It was cleaned up and trimmed by a barber.

  This wasn’t like me, getting all spiffy like this, but for tonight it was a must. This was my night. Our night. The grand opening that would either make me or break me. This was my club, and I had to represent.

  My cellphone rang and I walked for it, picking it up when I saw it was Zay.

  “You ready, man?” he asked when I answered.

  “Yeah. I’ll be there in ten.”

  “Vin, you won’t believe what I’m seeing, man.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, tucking my phone between my ear and shoulder and grabbing my keys.

  “Just . . . you gotta see this shit for yourself. Hurry up.”

  He sounded uncertain. I frowned, but kept my voice steady. “I’ll be there soon.”

  I hung up and marched out the door, ready to tackle the grand opening night, whether it was filled with hundreds of people or only three.

  • • • • •

  Zay was standing near the bar, adjusting his bowtie when I walked through the back door. His dreads were tied back for once, not hanging loosely around his face. He was clean, wearing a black vest, a blue bowtie, and jeans. He was serious about tonight, like I needed him to be. Good.

  “Dude, what was that shit on the phone?” I asked when I met up to him at the bar.

  “Oh, Vin! There you are! Shit, you will not believe this,” Bethany said, eyes wide as she stepped out of the office with her cellphone in hand. She had on a tight red dress with black stilettos, her hair pulled up into a tight, sleek ponytail. For once she wasn’t dressed like some high school kid.

  “Believe what? What the hell is going on?”

  “Come with me.” She grabbed my elbow, nearly dragging me with her to the front door.

  “Fuck. Please don’t tell me not many showed up,” I mumbled, swiping a hand across my face.

  “Oh, they showed up all right.” She pushed the entrance door open, walked past Pablo and a newly hired bouncer, and then she stepped aside, folding her arms with a satisfied grin on her face.

  I stepped out beside her, but my eyes were already fixed. I took the back road and parked behind the building, so I missed all of this.

  But holy fucking shit.

  The line started from the door and went all the way down to the fast-food chicken restaurant nearly a block away.

  I smiled down at Bethany. “This can’t be happening right now!”

  “Oh, it’s happening! Look at all these people, Vin! Look! This is happening!”

  I looked again, absorbing—soaking it all in. This couldn’t be fucking real, yet there they stood, chatting amongst themselves. Some were taking selfies and others were calling their friends to ask where they were. A few were too eager, staring at us, ready to get inside. I even saw familiar faces, people who attended Zay’s house parties years ago.

  “The promoters really came through,” she said, stepping closer to my side. “You should be proud.” She walked past me and back to the door. “Come on. We’re opening the doors in about fifteen minutes.”

  I followed her back inside, where Zay was already standing by the door, holding his hands in the air like he was fucking proud. “What did I tell you, man? We fucking did it!” I laughed and we clapped hands, giving each other a quick pat on the back and a brotherly hug along with it.

  “Shit,” I sighed. “We fucking did it.”

  “Hey, Emily!” Bethany yelled at one of the bartenders with a blonde pixie cut and a sleeve tattoo. “Pour us each a shot of our best tequila! We have to celebrate this before the floodgates open!”

  She did a small shimmy, hurrying towards the bar. Zay turned with me, following after her. “Don’t worry. I’ll take this shot for you,” he said, picking up the extra shot glass when we reached the counter. He downed both of them back to back and I laughed when he winced from the burn. When he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, I knew he was ready.

  This was our night.

  It was finally time to witness our dreams come to life.

  • • • • •

  For it being our first night, the turnout was fucking incredible.

  Bethany gave me the numbers and we were at 212 guests. Club 7-1-9’s capacity was 225 and, trust me, there were many more waiting at the door.

  We refused to fill the place up too quickly. It was 225, but the club seemed too crowded for the 212 already inside. Plus, we wanted the people walking or driving by to wonder why there was a line outside the door, and what made this place so special. The more intrigue, the better.

  I stood on the top floor, arms folded, watching some of the guests dance on the dance floor, others surrounding the bar, getting fill after fill. The DJ was playing a song by Kid Cudi, one that reminded me of the house parties, and I couldn’t help myself. I smiled.

  It. Was. Fucking. Lit.

  I spotted Zay standing behind the bar, whipping up a few drinks. He’d said earlier he would help if things got too hectic. It was good that he was, otherwise he would have been drinking them instead.

  “This is great, right?” Bethany popped up beside me, and I glanced sideways at her, nodding.

  “Yeah. Much bigger turnout than I thought.” I folded my arms, focusing on the crowd on the first floor. VIP was behind me, enjoying themselves behind the opaque gold curtains we had installed.

  “You don’t seem so happy about it,” she laughed nervously.

  I focused on the crowd, the bar. I was more than happy about this, but there was a certain someone I wanted here, to witness all of this.

  I shrugged it off, sighing. “I’m fine. This is great. Come on, let’s go over those numbers again.”

  I turned and met at the stairs, letting her walk ahead of me. When we were on the first floor, I spotted Zay at the bar, but someone was talking to him now, making him laugh. A woman. A familiar-as-fuck woman.

  She wore a lavender one-shoulder dress that clung to her curves, showing off that full figure. Her hips were round, her gold jewelry shimmering, her hair freshly done, layered and still cut in the bob that revealed the L-shaped birthmark on the back of her neck.

  I heard her laugh over the music and knew exactly who she was without having to see her face.

  Bethany was trying to say something to me, but I h
eld up a finger. “I’ll be back,” I said over the music.

  I didn’t wait to see her reaction. I walked straight for the bar, pushing through the thickening crowd.

  When I met up to it, Zay’s eyes pulled up to mine and he grinned. “There you are, brother! How’s the view from up there? Fucking amazing, right?”

  I ignored his questions, swinging my eyes right over to Marley’s. She tilted her head, smiling up at me, picking up her drink. “Hey, Vin!”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, folding my arms.

  “It’s opening night! I couldn’t miss this!” She looked around, smiling. “There are so many people. I’m so happy for you guys!”

  “Thanks, Bob Marley!” Zay smirked.

  I ignored him.

  She looked at me, eyebrows drawing together. “Was I not allowed back? Pablo let me right in with no problem.”

  “Nah. It’s fine. Enjoy yourself.” I knocked on the counter, eyeing her briefly before walking to the office. Bethany followed me right in seconds later and before she could shut the door, I saw Marley still standing there, staring right at me, only now she wasn’t smiling. She was frowning.

  MARLEY

  He was in the office with her for a long time.

  I sat at the bar with another glass of Jack, pretending I was okay as Zay talked about how he got in touch with a few promoters.

  The door of the office opened after my third drink and Bethany walked out, her thumbs tapping away on her cellphone. The door was wide open, the blinds drawn now. Vin stood there, checking his phone too.

  I sighed, finishing the rest of my drink.

  “Excuse me.” A deep voice sounded behind me and I looked over my shoulder. There, stood a tall guy with chocolate skin, similar to Zay’s, his dimples on display, brown eyes sparkling.

  I turned a little. “Yeah?”

  He laughed, like he was nervous. I fought a smile, dipping my head, trying to catch his eye again. “I, uh, hope this doesn’t sound too forward but I’ve been watching you from upstairs for a while, sitting here, moving with the music like you want to dance but have no one to dance with.”