Page 12 of Beneath Your Beautiful
My diet wasn’t as strict as it used to be, and my current workout sessions were a joke compared to the grueling hours I’d put in before, but I still didn’t see the need to fill my body with junk.
“I saw Seamus earlier,” she said, and winced like it physically pained her to mention his name. “He asked if I’d heard from Connor.”
Seamus Vincent. My father’s name didn’t strike fear in me. Not anymore. But if he got to Connor before I did, that would be bad. Connor wasn’t built like me, and I didn’t mean size and bulk. He wasn’t made to get his hands dirty. Connor was smart and sensitive. An artist. Sometimes I still thought of him as a sweet little kid with an innocence I tried to protect at any cost. But growing up in our house was a bad dream you couldn’t escape no matter how hard you tried. Even though Connor rarely had a hand laid on him, it was no less soul-destroying. I wore his designs on my arm and my back. He used to keep his sketchbooks hidden under the mattress. Otherwise, they would have been ridiculed and torn to shreds. The name-calling didn’t roll off Connor’s back like he’d pretended it did. He’d internalized it, took it to heart, and believed every word.
His opiate addiction began when he was seventeen, but I’d been too busy chasing my dreams to notice the signs. When I was twenty, I made my UFC debut and dedicated all my time and energy to becoming the best, but it came with a price. I’d gotten Connor out of my father’s house, but I was rarely home, so he’d been left to his own devices. By the time I’d found out he was in trouble, he’d moved on to heroin, and the shitty part was Ava had needed to clue me in. How the fuck had I missed something so obvious? To say I failed him was the understatement of the century.
Ava tucked her pale purple hair behind her ear. “Tell me about this girl you hired.”
“Did you book that band?” I couldn’t remember their name. Ava dealt with all of that.
“All taken care of. It’s on our website, Twitter, Facebook…all the stuff you never look at.”
“The building reg—”
“The file’s on your desk. What’s the deal with Eden?” she prompted, tapping away on her phone while she spoke.
“No deal. She needed a job. We needed a bartender.”
Ava smirked and kept typing.Tap. Tap. Tap.Most likely, she was promoting the bar, making it sound like the place everyone needed to be even if they didn’t know it yet. “Did Eden play the damsel in distress card? You’re a sucker for that.”
I wasn’t a sucker for it, unless it was genuine. Eden didn’t do it intentionally, but it had happened. I chuckled at the memory, and Ava’s brows hitched up like the sound was foreign to her. “Are you planning to be her white knight?”
I was nobody’s white knight, but when Eden crashed into my life, all my protective instincts had kicked into overdrive. Her eyes were clear and bright. Her face was unguarded, giving away all her emotions. If she had lied to me, I would have been able to read it on her face in an instant. But she wanted a fresh start, and I’d do my best to see that she got it. The best thing I could do for her was keep her safe from guys like me, and all the other wolves who would be hounding her.
Christ. What was I thinking? Did I need another person to worry about? Hell no.
Chapter Six
Eden
Aguy with shaggy blond hair and earbuds tucked in his ears joined me outside the door of Trinity Bar where my knocking had gone unanswered. He was good-looking in a pretty boy way, and I guessed this could be Hailey’s sunshine and light. He looped the headphones around his neck and folded his hands as if in prayer. “There must be a God. Heaven just sent me an angel.”
I laughed at his corny line, and he rewarded me with a grin.
“You need to use the secret knock.” He whipped out his phone and sent a text.
“Are you Zeke?” I asked.
“My reputation precedes me. But I know we’ve never met because I’d remember.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“I’m Eden. The new bartender.”
“Whoa.” He held his hand over his heart and staggered. “Didn’t see that coming.” He held up a hand and bowed his head. “Just give me a minute to recuperate.”
I couldn’t help but laugh again. “You okay now?”
“Yeah. The shock has worn off.”
“Why is it such a big deal?”
“I’m just messing with you. The T-shirt gave you away.” I looked down at the T-shirt I tied in a knot at my belly button. I paired it with cut-off jean shorts and plain black motorcycle boots. Trailer trash meets vintage shop. “Killian told me about you, so I guess we should stick to a professional working relationship.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
Zeke snapped his fingers. “Damn. Now you’ll always be the one who got away.”
“I have a feeling you’ll get over it.”
