She could do this. Taking charge of her life wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as hard as it was in her head. Ivy fired off one more resume, closed up her laptop, and left the coffee shop.
Walking down to the beach, she checked the chime on her phone. She frowned. It was another weird message. “Saw that you’re posting again. You need to stay quiet.”
She wondered if it was from Bethany. The influencer was paranoid, and maybe she was worried that Ivy would share some behind-the-scenes stuff. She scoffed. Her meltdowns weren’t that interesting. She called her former client and left a message, reminding her the last invoice was overdue. Walking up to the condo, she wondered where Gabe was and if he knew she had posted online. She wondered what he would think.Maybe if he sees that I’m trying to get it together, he’ll continue to unthaw.
Last night had been intense, rough, and left her wanting more. It wasn’t the action of a man who didn’t want her.
She still loved him. But she wondered if Gabe could let her love him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – GABE
“Yougottoadmit,it looks good,” Nick Laurent said, his dark eyes peering through his steel wire-rimmed glasses.
Gabe shrugged at his best friend and fellow Bandit Brother. They were standing on the newly opened staircase in Club Bandit and had a direct view of the stage and the entire club, except for the hallway beside the bar that led to the private rooms. The new space had a playroom with a large window. People could stand outside and take in the scene, and there were plans for four private themed rooms up here.
“I’m surprised Zee didn’t add more bedrooms,” Gabe said.
“There are enough morning after rooms in the hallway. This was an excellent compromise.”
When Zee took Club Bandit from the founders’ only private status to open to the public, he hadn’t been a fan of the decision. He liked private spaces where he knew everyone, and though Gabe didn’t know every founding member well, he knew them on sight. The biggest problem that had come out of making Club Bandit open to the public was the cry for more morning-after rooms. But Zee didn’t want to run a hotel, so those rooms were reserved only for founding members, whose fingerprints could open the locks. The increase in demand is what brought Zee to open up this third level and create extra space.
“I guess. What is Marrock building down there?” Gabe gestured to their friend.
“Some kind of new torture contraption,” Nick said.
“Going to get a close-up.”
As Gabe came down the stairs, it looked like a metal privacy screen. “You’re building a gate?”
“No,” Logan said. “It’s going to be a cage around a bench.”
“It’s kind of weird.” Gabe crossed his arms, peering at the contraption.
“Going to stand there or just offer commentary?”
Gabe jumped on stage and held the frame steady while Logan screwed in a padded leather board across the frames.
“She can sit here. There will be a rail midpoint,” Logan explained. “So I can tie her to it. I can’t wait to dole out punishments on this thing.”
“If it holds weight,” Nick commented. “It looks like something that belongs in my Grand-Mère’s garden.”
“Just wait until it’s done,” Logan said.
“Some punishment,” Zee said. The owner of Club Bandit came from the stage’s wings, dropping a toolbox by Logan.
“Funishment, whatever, a thing to torment my submissive on,” Logan said.
“Hey, Gabe. Seen Ivy lately?”
Gabe ran his hand over his face. Guess he could tell them. “She’s been at the condo for the past couple of nights.”
“You came to your senses.” Logan grinned.
“I don’t know. We’re not exactly back together.”
It had been hell to stay away from her. She left him stir fry in the fridge and a ready-made protein drink.
He enjoyed seeing her towel on the towel rack. He liked smelling her shampoo in the bathroom and the lingering scent of French-pressed brewed coffee when he came home.
