Page 20 of Vail

“I know the male form very well. That’s where I’m comfortable.”

She hummed. “I guess you do.” Her eyes drifted to where Jordan stood near the back door, talking to Barry. I would have been happy if Barry stayed, but Jordan had him on detail outside. According to Jordan, there couldn’t be too many people watching over us tonight.

Turning back to Kayli, I focused on her. Staring at Jordan would only cause me to worry, wondering what was going on. I had enough of that with the party tonight. It was starting in minutes.

The front door opened, the bell ringing. I didn’t want to be startled by someone coming into the building, so the bell was a must. It wasn’t like the building I was in before that resembled a home. No one visited me there except Jordan.

Vail stepped through the door in a navy suit that fit his body perfectly. I made it, so it damn well better. Both Vail and Jordan, as well as Dexen, would be wearing my designs tonight. And me, of course. There were a few reporters here who Jordan knew. They would run features about me and my business. They’d mention Vail and Jordan but keep the articles positive. Jordan wanted this night to be about me and no one else.

I was drawn to Vail like a magnet. My hands immediately went to his lapel to run my fingers over the expensive material. “This looks so fucking good on you.”

“That’s because you made it. You do amazing work, Hart.” Was it wrong I still got a little weak in the knees when Jordan and Vail called me that?

“How did I get so lucky?”

“I’m the lucky one.” Vail leaned down to kiss me. There were too many people around and last-minute details I had to tend to, so I broke the kiss far too soon. “I still wish you would have let me cater it.”

“I wanted you here with me, not feeding people. Besides, Irene is enjoying herself. Wait until she gets all the other men here. She’s going to have fun mothering everyone.”

Not only were JJ, Dexen, and Greer attending, but so were Jordan’s nephew, Perry, and his partners. Romeo and Dash would be here too. Tristan was already buzzing around, helping out where needed.

Two of the members of Ruined & Relinquished were having a commitment ceremony this weekend with the third in their relationship. I didn’t want my party to coincide with their celebration, even if mine was public and theirs was only for a handful of people to know about. That was why I had mine when I did.

Luckily, Dash was going to be here. I’d only briefly met him once. Romeo had walked down here twice to see how I was doing. In reality, he was checking on Tristan, who wanted to be involved in my work. The more Tristan was here, the more he learned, or so he said. The only knowledge he gained from me was probably how to be a scattered mess, although he did help with Jordan’s clothes.

More guests trickled in as I made myself busy tending to the final preparations. This was a full relaunch of my business.

I didn’t know everyone who arrived. Some were people Jordan knew who worked for him in high-ranking roles in his legitimate businesses. He introduced me as they entered. Others were faces I’d seen before, like Dr. Alton Keeley, Jordan’s personal physician.

When I first met him, I was too sick to take in just how attractive he was. Now though, hot fucking damn. Alton was in a black suit with a baby blue button-down beneath it, sans tie. The top buttons were undone, revealing the tiniest bit of chest hair. His blond hair was combed back from his cleanly shaven face, showing off a sharp jawline.

“Hartley, it’s nice to see you again,” he greeted, offering his hand, which I shook.

“Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. I enjoy watching businesses thrive in East Dremest.” Alton owned a medical practice that was affiliated with East Dremest Hospital. “I’ll browse what you have on display. I could always use more clothing, especially more comfortable ones.”

That was another thing I did for tonight. There weren’t only suits on display. That would have been boring. Instead, I had samples of everything from soft knit sweaters to slacks to lounge pants. I was still trying to get Jordan to wear those. Vail had a pair and, oh my god, did they do wonderful things for his ass. If no one ever bought them from me and I strictly made them for Vail, I was perfectly okay with it.

“If you see anything you like and want to commission, let Hazel know and she’ll take down your information. Eventually, I’ll have a storefront, but I want to build up my customer base first so I can fund future developments.”

“That’s smart. You don’t want to grow so fast you can’t handle it.”

“Exactly.”

How I went from working out of a place with drafts and creaky floorboards to having a beautiful studio had everything to do with Jordan. Sure, he was heavy-handed. He swooped in and told me I was moving in with him. And I let him do it. My lust-filled brain ruled. I was falling for him even back then.

Alton shifted his gaze from me to over my shoulder. I turned to find Raiden standing along the wall with his eyes holding Alton’s. Whatever their history was, only they knew. But it was obvious there was something between them.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Alton said. I thought he’d walk toward Raiden. Instead, he made his way to Jordan.

I didn’t have time to think about them because the next group through the door had Jordan abandoning Alton’s approach. Jordan moved through the growing crowd toward Perry Altair Jr. and his partners. It was easy to recognize Perry. He was in the news enough due to being a prominent business owner and wealthy as hell.

Jordan searched me out and waved me over, doing the same to Vail.

“Vail, Hartley, I’d like to introduce you to my nephew, Perry, and his partners, Dominic and Peyton.” There was only a slight hesitation and a barely-there growl when he said Peyton’s name.

Peyton nodded, while Dominic shook our hands.

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