I understood all of it, and the fact that Isaac and Jules were both so devoted to each other, despite being scared to admit their true feelings, only made me fall for them even faster.
I’d made a promise to my sweet boy, though, and now I needed to de-escalate the situation—for everyone’s sake—before things really did get out of hand.
“Diva,” I began, gently setting Isaac on his feet so I could stand up from my chair. “I know you’re upset, and we’re going to talk about that, but we can’t do it here. It’s not the right place or time for the conversation we need to have.”
“I told you, no one wants to hear what you have to say,” she snapped. Then, to Isaac, “Come on, sweetie. We’re going home. I don’t know what he’s told you, but we don’t have to put up with any of his shit, okay?”
I wasn’t a masochist. It wasn’t fun hearing her rail against me, but I could and would take whatever she needed to dish out… for now. She was seething, but more importantly she was hurting, and it was clearly going to take something a little more drastic than my calm words to actually get through the fog of her anger and fear.
Diva reached for Isaac’s arm… and my heart broke for her when he flinched away from her, huddling against me as the pain of betrayal flashed across Diva’s face.
I needed to fix it for her. Soothe her. Let her know she was loved.
But first, I had to get her tolisten.
“Boo,” Diva said, her hand flailing as he backed away.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Isaac said softly. “I’m staying with Daddy.”
Her mouth dropped open and then closed again with an audible snap. I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, or if everyone else in the room had gone completely silent, but it felt like one of those proverbial pin drop moments in my head.
No, it wasn’t my imagination, someone had even turned off the music, the queens on stage crowded to the edge of it and watching us avidly as, for a few excruciatingly long seconds, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
And then all hell broke loose.
“You!” Diva pointed a glittering dagger of a fingernail as she started moving toward me again, quickly closing the distance between us until we were standing toe to platformed toe. “You’veturned him against me? Poisoned his mind? Howdareyou! I ought to—”
“Diva,” I said sharply.
That was enough.
People were craning their necks and getting up out of their seats to see what was going on, Isaac was trembling, and while I loved Diva’s fiery nature and truly gave no fucks whatsoever what anyone else thought of the scene she was making, I couldn’t give her what she needed with an audience.
I set Isaac away from me, leaned into Diva as she prepared to unleash more of her outrage, hooked an arm around her waist, and hoisted her over my shoulder in one quick motion that pulled an audible gasp out of… well, everyone.
Diva went completely silent, her body still and rigid over my shoulder… for about half a second. Then she started pounding on my back and kicking her boots in the air, escalating everything she’d been throwing at me while she’d been on her feet by a factor of ten… thousand.
Again, I was ready.
Mostly ready.
I’d never actually wrestled a lioness before, but I was pretty sure it would have been a similar experience. She tested both my strength and my will as I took Isaac in hand and marched them both to the nearest elevator, but she never tested my patience.
And my commitment to being her Daddy?
Every obscenity that flew out of her mouth, every bruise I’d sustain from the short journey to my suite, only strengthened that. I would be as strong as I needed for her, because she was worth it. Everything Diva did was a performance, and this outrageous display was just an extension of that driving need to be seen and heard.
I saw her.
I heard her.
And I was more than prepared to withstand the full force of her anger until it burned itself out.
Or until I could help her quench it.
I set her down as soon as we were inside the elevator, and she immediately backed up against the wall, glaring at me with a ferocity that made me thankful there weren’t any sharp objects within her reach.
It also made me ache to wrap her tight, as I had with Isaac, and let her know that it was going to be okay.
