Page 26 of Doubling Down

Eric smiled. It was so obvious that Lake had a crush on the rich casino owner. When Jesse Lambert attempted any interaction with Lake, the big bouncer would fidget nervously and could barely talk. “Did you talk to him?”

Lake shook his head quickly. “No! I couldn’t do that. He’s such a busy man.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a moment to say hi.”

“No, no,” Lake said.

Eric knew he was not getting through to the other man. “If you say so. I better get in there for our meeting.”

Lake smiled again. “It’s puppy night! You could stay and play with them if you want.” Lake always encouraged Eric to get involved with the club as if he could sense Eric’s curiosity. Maybe after he had Ezra’s permission, Lake would be someone that they could reach out to and ask questions.

“Not tonight,” Eric told him. “I need to get home after this.” He had two guys and a sweet little girl waiting.

“They sure are cuties.” Lake glanced longingly toward the glass entrance.

“When’s your break? Maybe you could take it with a few of the pups.”

Lake nodded. “I might do that. I don’t want to scare them though.”

Eric cupped the right side of Lake’s face. The puckered scars under his palm. “You are not scary. You are a beautiful person, and the pups love you. I’ve seen how happy they are when you have time to play.” He wasn’t lying. Eric might not have personal knowledge about the lifestyle, but he could read people.

Closing his eyes, Lake leaned into the touch before straightening up. “You’re right. We had fun last time.”

“Good.” Eric brushed his lips over Lake’s forehead. It was too familiar. Hopefully he wasn’t crossing a line but since bringing Ezra home, Eric’s latent Daddy instincts were riding him hard. “Be good.”

Lake beamed. “I’m always good!”

“I know.” Eric stepped away. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll get the door,” Lake offered.

“I got it. Thank you, Lake.” His entire mood had been lifted with the small interaction with the big bouncer. Yes, he had to bring Ezra and Brandon sometime. They would fit right in here.

Eric strolled through the front entry of the club, spotting Jesse Lambert easily. The billionaire sat at a four-person tablealone with a glass and a crystal decanter full of brown liquid sitting in front of him. Jesse Lambert frowned as he stared toward the front of the club.

“Mr. Lambert,” Eric greeted before sitting next to the other man.

“I’ve told you to call me Jesse,” Jesse said.

Eric nodded. “Everything okay?”

Jesse’s gaze landed on him. “Fine.”

That wasn’t convincing at all. “Did something happen?” Eric had been working all evening and he hadn’t heard of any disturbances. He’d spent hours in front of the security monitors looking over every inch of the casino floor.

“No.” Jesse shook his head. “Sorry.”

When Jesse’s eyes went back to the front Eric followed his line of sight. Straight to where Lake stood talking to a male couple. The big bouncer in his baby blue lace camisole tucked into a pair of tight black jeans had caught Jesse’s attention all right.

“Is it Lake? Did something happen with him?”

“He’s…” Jesse looked back at him. “Do you know him well? You seem very familiar with him.”

Eric did not laugh. Or smirk. Although he really wanted to. Jesse sounded like Eric felt on the inside. “I didn’t know him before I started working here. He’s a sweetheart though.”

“He seems very well liked,” Jesse commented.

“From what I’ve observed that’s true.”

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