Rialto (Unbreakable Bonds 8)

Looking around, Ian spotted an open table off to the side of the dining area and waved Hollis over to it. As Hollis moved toward the table with the box, Ian hurried to Carla as she was already walking toward him with a questioning smile. “Could you get me some scissors, please?” She nodded and scurried off as fast as she could in her black pumps.

Ian joined Hollis at the table, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. The Cincinnati Edge was a highly read magazine for the city that had regular features on important events within the city as well as its movers and shakers. Lucas had already had two write-ups in the magazine, including a big, glossy spread on his wedding almost two years ago.

When the editor reached out to Ian last spring asking if he’d be willing to sit down for an extended interview, Ian had been over the moon. The reporter had been so pleasant and funny that Ian had no problem talking about Rialto, the men he considered his family, and his sexy husband-to-be. The interview was just supposed to be about him, Rialto, and a little hint of the new restaurant he was opening at the end of the year, but it had all coincided with his wedding, so the reporter and photographer had also attended.

As a result, the three-page article turned into a massive eight-page spread with beautiful glossy pictures of his restaurant, home, and wedding. It was gorgeous and positively glowing. The reporter made his life sound like a fairy tale from a veiled rough start straight to the happily ever after.

And Ian couldn’t argue with it. Sometimes he looked at his life, and it all seemed too good to be true. He’d been so lucky to have found Lucas as well as Ashton Frost and Rowan Ward. Those men were his cornerstone from which all the happy parts of his life had been built.

He worked hard for his success. He studied hard to become a great chef, and he’d studied even harder under Lucas’s tutelage to be a great business manager. He’d managed to get over his past so that he could have an amazing life with Hollis. The magazine article was a stunning reminder that he’d achieved his dreams and so much more.

As they stood waiting for Carla to bring over the scissors, Hollis stepped behind Ian and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him in tight while pressing a kiss to his jaw. “So proud of you, baby,” Hollis murmured.

Ian huffed a soft laugh. “We’ve already seen the article. It’s been on newsstands for nearly two weeks. These are just our copies for the restaurant.”

“And I’m still proud of my sexy, rising-star husband.”

“Oh, God. The cute! It burns!” Carla teased as she approached them with a shiny pair of silver scissors in her hand.

Hollis straightened, only partially releasing Ian as they turned at the sound of her voice. “You’re just jealous that Valerie hasn’t made an honest woman out of you yet.”

“And I’m fine to work at Valerie’s speed,” Carla said, her expression smug. “She’s moved into my house and she’s never getting out again, even if we never get married.”

Ian accepted the scissors and smiled. “That’s my girl.”

“Yes, trap her in your kinky lesbian web.”

“Ian, your husband is insane.” Carla stepped closer as Ian cut through the tape securing the flaps of the box.

“That’s why I love him.” He put aside the scissors and pulled back the flaps to reveal two neat stacks of the magazine. On the cover was a picture of Ian lounging at a candlelit table at Rialto. He’d chosen a Prada suit for the Rialto photo shoot and gone for something more casual at home. His entire wedding party had been dressed in Armani tuxes for the event, even if he’d had to threaten Rowe with physical harm to get him into the suit in the first place.

“Oh wow,” Carla whispered in awe. “They look beautiful.”

“You don’t think it’s too pretentious to have them in the lobby for the guests?”

“No,” Hollis said immediately.

“Definitely not,” Carla added. “Your loyal customers will be excited for you, and everyone will feel a little more special because they managed to get a table at your restaurant.”

“It all feels like a crazy dream.” Ian reached into the box and started to grab a stack of magazines for Carla. She would be able to artfully decorate the restaurant’s small lobby with them and keep more at the hostess stand to replenish as they disappeared.

Before he could get his fingers around them, there was a burst of noise from the front of the restaurant. They turned as one to see a bunch of men in what looked to be body armor, with weapons drawn, surge into the restaurant and immediately fan out. Customers enjoying their lunch gasped and cried out in shock.