Gianna lifted her hand and waved. When she did, Tiana’s heart broke. From their first meeting in Brewed Awakenings until today, the difference in the woman was staggering. She didn’t look like the same person. She looked like a shell of herself.
Jessie then continued introducing Gianna to Julianna and Ivy, connecting the dots through each of the men. As if on cue, a ripple of laughter rose from the stage where the “co-chairs” were being announced by the mayor. All five were standing shoulder to shoulder, all forced smiles and matching pocket squares, waiting for the applause to fade before being dismissed to join their tables. When the men did finally descend, they were serenaded with applause for their efforts, as they had already doubled what the initial goal had been.
Niko arrived at their table last. He looked tense, but he covered it well, his stride slow and deliberate, the smile on his face genuine enough, but not wide enough to get a dimple. Hetook the seat next to Tiana, the one with his name on it, and nodded a greeting to everyone, but especially to her. Their knees almost touched beneath the tablecloth.
The first ten minutes were agony. All of her senses—smell, hearing, even her skin’s awareness of warmth—were trained on his every move. The polite conversation at the table did little to distract from the fact that the last time she’d had a conversation with him, she’d found out he’d done a ton of wonderful things for her, and she’d been ungrateful.
All week he’d tried to speak to her, but she’d been dodging him like she was Neo in the Matrix. Now that he had her beside him, she thought he’d take advantage of it. He was, to his credit, not pushing for a confrontation. He hadn’t even addressed her directly. He laughed at the right moments, answered the questions tossed his way, and didn’t once try to corner her for a private talk.
This restraint, of course, only made it worse. It would be easier if he tried to “fix” things. His silence meant she had to sit with the discomfort a little longer.
“Hey, you wanna know something funny?” Brock leaned forward and spoke to the table at large, his words slurring slightly. “Tiana and I used to be together, and so did Gianna and Nicky C. What a small world, huh? It’s like we’re an episode of Wife Swap.”
Tiana could tell that Brock had been drinking. A lot. The only thing worse than Brock Bartlett was a drunk Brock Bartlett.
She had firsthand experience of how badly things could end when Brock got in these moods and then added alcohol. She saw the look in his eye. It was the ‘fuck it, I have nothing to lose’ look. He was pissed that his plan to buy her building hadn’t worked. He was also pissed because he thought the People magazine article that came three days ago announcing his engagement to Gianna was going to “break the internet” his words. It hadn’t.
What made much bigger news were the paparazzi shots of Tiana and Niko. They had a couple of photos of Niko, her. and Pops leaving The Cove when they didn’t stay for the family dinner, those looked extra cozy because she was ill, so Niko was hugging her, and she was basically just cocooned in his arms. They had paparazzi shots of him dropping her off at the studio, of them co-teaching, pictures of them at the pub quiz, multiple pics of them going in and out of the Airbnb together, and also of Niko picking up Pops from the hospital when he was discharged. She wasn’t able to go because they were worried about her still being contagious. Random shots of them around town.
She had no idea where all the shots had come from, but there were a ton. She knew it was only a bigger story because it looked like they were trying to hide something. People always wanted to know something more if it was a secret.
That was why Brock had a wild look in his eye right now. Why he was ready to burn this thing down. Tiana felt her anxiety levels reaching critical mass, but she was trying her best to stay calm, if for no other reason than she wanted to be able to ensure Brock didn’t bait Niko into doing something stupid.
It felt like the walls were closing in on her. Like she couldn’t breathe. Her lips were tingling. Her fingers were tingling.
Beside her, anger radiated off Niko so strongly she was surprised she couldn’t see the waves in physical form. Niko Costas was known for three things—well, four if being sexy counted as one, but if not, then three things: his incredible arm on the mound, his womanizing ways, and his temper. He had a tendency to fly off the handle.
Even if he’d gotten it somewhat under control, Brock could get under anyone’s skin. He could incite a Buddhist monk to violence. That wasn’t hyperbolic. Six years ago, they were in an airport, and Brock was in a particularly bad mood. He kept trying to pick fights with her, so she decided to go to thebathroom and wait till it got closer to when the flight boarded. When she returned, with five minutes to spare, both Brock and a Buddhist monk were being detained by security. She’d always wondered what he could have possibly said to provoke him because even in the security video it showed the monk lunged at Brock first, which is why Brock wasn’t charged.
“Did you guys know?” Brock asked again to the table at large when no one at the table answered the first time.
Niko leaned forward, clearly about to say something when Jessie reached out and placed her hand on his. He immediately relaxed and sat back in his chair.
Damn. That was impressive. She wondered if she would ever have that much of an effect on Niko. That one touch and she could calm him down.
Jessie leaned her forearms on the table, her fingers intertwined as she stared directly at Brock. Tiana noticed Zach and Niko’s demeanor instantly change as they exchanged a knowing look them behind Jessie’s back. It was clear they thought she was going to handle business.
She was glad they had faith in her because she knew Brock, and she was concerned this could get ugly.
“Yes, Brock, I thinkeveryoneat the table, in the room, and in the country,” she spread out her arms, “is aware of that fact sinceyoudecided to include that piece of Niko Costas trivia in your People magazine article.” She tilted her head to the side casually. “When I read the article and saw you brought up my client’s name once, I thought it was strange, but then you didn’t stop. Do you know how many times you brought up Niko’s name in that article?”
Tiana’s heart rate tripled. She could see what Jessie was doing, but Brock didn’t typically do well when he was pushed into a corner. She felt her leg start tapping. It was one of her oldest anxiety ticks.
“Niko Costas was namedsix times,in your engagement article. And here you are again, talking about him. And remind me,youwere the one who attached yourself to this fundraiser, were you not? We did not invite you here. This is his grandparents’ hometown. He grew up?—”
“You don’t know what thefuckyou’re talking about.” He leaned forward, seething.
That got Zach’s attention, and he leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table. He just stared at Brock. It wasn’t even a particularly threatening stare. But all the energy at the table shifted, and Tiana felt like her head was floating away from her body.
“Brock, the execs from Rolex are here.”
Tiana heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Mr. Bartlett had placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. She hadn’t even seen that the Bartletts were there. Of course they would be.
Brock immediately stood up, his chair legs scraping loudly and his silverware clanking. Gianna began to stand as well, but Brock spread his fingers apart and flicked his wrist towards her. It was a gesture Tiana had seen hundreds of times. It meant,stay where you are, donotfollow me. Gianna immediately sat back down.
Mr. Bartlett smiled at the table, and when he saw Tiana, his smile widened. “You look beautiful tonight, Blueberry.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bartlett.”
