“Okay, Allie-gator. I’m gonna do my best to support you, just like I always have. But from afar. I’m not coming to the club to cheer for you like a recital.”
I feign shock, letting my jaw drop dramatically. “You’d better not. I remember how you were! Clapping the loudest and the longest like it was an audience participation competition. It’d be hella awkward for you to do that at Petals. Though some of the girls would probably love to meet you.”
His smile falters, and I realize it sounded like I was going to set him up with one of my friends. “I didn’t mean . . .”
“I . . . can’t,” TJ says, babbling a little over me. He takes a deep breath and looks at me carefully. “Look, I don’t want to talk about her and all that shit right now. How about you tell me more about Dominick instead?”
He’s trying to sound casual, but a warning siren starts going off after the disaster we had at dinner. I try to think positive, though, because TJ is asking, maybe open to understanding from my point of view, even if he and Dom are never going to be best buddies.
Even still, I double-check. “You sure?”
He lets out a dramatic sigh and shrugs. “If you’re hanging out with him, I want to know more. I didn’t think you’d be with . . . a guy like that.”
Okay, so not exactly open-minded, but baby steps. I try to gather my thoughts. “We met at Petals. He owns the club and a bunch of other businesses.”
I choose my words carefully because as far as I know, TJ doesn’t know the full story of who Dominick is. And if he’s struggling to accept the little things like his owning a club, the bigger stuff like his being The Boss is a definite no-go.
“He said that at dinner too,” TJ says warily. “How many businesses? Which ones?”
“I don’t know,” I reply evenly. “We don’t really talk business.”
TJ raises a brow but nods, letting it go for the moment, and I continue. “We made eyes at each other for months, so much that the other girls would tease me about it. But he was a total professional until I came in and asked to stop being an employee because of my stuff here.”
“Then he asked you out?”
I think back and laugh. “Well, not exactly, but we did have dinner that night. It was the start of something more for us.”
TJ hums darkly. “Is that when the guard dogs start following you around?”
I see where he’s going, and I set my hand on TJ’s shoulder, trying to relieve his worries. “It’s not like that. The guys had been following me for a while before then. There was some drama at the club a while back, nothing to do with me, but I got caught up in it and Dom started having his guys check in on me. It was a bit awkward when I realized what was going on, but while Dom’s not a classical romantic. His heart was in the right place. He wanted me safe. They tried to stay invisible, but when I found out, we decided to just be open about the whole thing. So now I know which guy is my detail for the day and we’re friends. It’s just a nice thing he does, and it gives him peace of mind to know I’m protected.”
“But they’re his employees, his guys, so their loyalty is to him,” TJ says carefully. “You have no privacy, no say-so, and you’re just giving that up willingly?”
“Sounds like your life in the military,” I counter but then answer him honestly. “I’m not doing anything sneaky, so I don’t see the big deal.” I shrug. “Really, who cares?”
“Do you know where he is every second of every day?” TJ asks a little more forcefully. “Do you have a team of guards reporting to you about his whereabouts? Or is that just one-sided?”
I blink, remembering when Dom had said that’d be potentially dangerous information for me. “I don’t know where he is 24/7, but I don’t need to. I trust him. He’s good to me, TJ.”
TJ snorts derisively. “Sugar daddies usually are. Are you sure he’s not sleeping with the other girls at the club too?”
His words are venomous, poison, and my palms itch to slap the shit out of him. Instead, I settle for smacking him in the shoulder and getting up to pace. “Fuck you, TJ. Dom’s not that kind. He understands fucking loyalty.”
Ouch, perhaps there was venom in my words too, but they get through, and he reaches out, grabbing my wrist. “I’m sorry, Allie. I was over the line.”
But the damage is done and I’m mad at TJ’s continued dismissal of how good Dom and I are together.