Page 148 of Perfect Pitch

I can’t prevent the snort that escapes. “Seriously? You’re asking me that? You really want to know?”

He glances over his shoulder at the men following us—one of whom I know intimately. “The chances are astronomical, Austyn.”

“True.” We approach the local barbecue joint. Beckett holds the door open for me before we slip inside. The hostess’s jaw drops when she realizes who just walked in. A low whine erupts from her chest as we wait to be seated. When she appears to be frozen, my hunger drives me to impertinence. Reaching around the hostess stand, I snag a few menus as well as some wrapped silverware. Spying two free tables, I jerk my head in their direction.

My father smirks as he saunters in my direction. “Impatient little thing, aren’t you?”

I retort, “I’m hungry.”

I set the booth for the two of us—me and Beckett—and the one behind us for Mitch and Kane.

Beckett’s face softens when he sees I’m not crowding us all into one space so he and I can have as much privacy as we can amid the restaurant to talk. Before I answer my father’s original question, our harried waitress approaches to take our drink order. After she drops two glasses of water on our table, I take a sip before saying, “I answered an ad for a roommate. It happened to be his brother’s place.”

Beckett sputters, “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. Complete happenstance.”

“That’s crazy. The odds of that are ludicrous.”

“Tell me about it.” Contemplatively, I stare off into space before refocusing my attention on him. “I guess I’d been living there a month or so before I met Mitch?”

He reaches over and squeezes my forearm. “And how are you handling knowing that he works for me?”

I debate for a moment about sugarcoating my response, but Beckett’s been missing most of my life. He needs a crash course in the real me, or he’ll never survive. I wait for him to lift his water to his lips before I state calmly, “Let’s just say I was less than pleased.”

He winces. “Want to elaborate?”

I drum my fingers on the table before declaring bluntly, “The repercussions for lying to me denied him access to my body. I assume it was a strong enough threat as he’s sworn never to do that again.”

Beckett swallows repeatedly. Then he says, “Now, I don’t know what to say.”

I lean back against the booth and wave my hand.

Beckett takes it for the invitation it is. “On the one hand, I’m in awe over the strong woman Paige managed to raise. On the other...”

“Yes?”

He winces. “I’m contemplating ripping his dick from his body for it coming close to my baby.”

I burst into laughter. “Beckett, I haven’t been a baby in quite some time.”

I’m completely unprepared for my father to murmur, “Kid, I just found out you existed. I can’t promise these overprotective feelings are going anywhere any time soon. Cut me some slack.”

Torn between wanting to leap for joy and mourn the years we’ve lost, I decide we’ve had enough of the maudlin. I change the topic to the condo I am moving into. “With the notoriety I’m gaining, plus the convenience to all the clubs—other than Redemption, it made sense.”

Beckett laughs softly. I shoot him a quizzical look. He explains, “I have a number of rental properties around the city for investment purposes.”

“Really? Any better than this?”

“None. It’s an incredible location.”

“You know it?”

“I should.”

“Why?”

“I own the building.”

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