“Welcome to Luxe Boutique. How may I help you?” a petite blonde woman greeted us.
“Hi, I’m umm… here to see Tristan.”
Her brows raised a bit. “Are you here for an interview or…”
“Oh, no. I’m just an… old friend.” I smiled politely because she was watching us like she was skeptical.
After a moment of staring at us, she switched off to the back. Two minutes later, a very tall man, whom I recognized from the photos as Tristan’s husband came out. He had about five inches to my six-foot-two frame.
“Who are you and what do you want with my husband?” His tone was laced with animosity.
Before I could open my mouth and tell him anything, he had the front of my shirt in his grasp. I pushed Will behind me and shoved Tristan’s husband back a few feet.
I didn’t know what the fuck his problem was, but now I was ready for a fight. When he started making his way toward us again, I followed suit. I wasn’t about to let him just attack me again.
Will tried to step around me to get in between us. “Stay back, Will,” I ordered him.
He grabbed my arm, tugging me back. “No! We didn’t come here for this.”
“I know that, Will. But I’m not about to let him attack me.”
Will opened his mouth to say something, but a raised voice cut him off.
“Allen?!”
When I gazed at the hallway near the back, I saw Tristan standing there with his hand over his mouth. His eyes brimmed with tears. He made his way over to me, but his husband stopped him before he could get close.
“Tris, I told you to stay in the back.”
Tristan was trying to pull out of his husband's hold. “No, it’s okay, babe. This is Allen.”
His husband turned back to me with wide eyes before refocusing on Tristan. “TheAllen?”
Tristan nodded, and his husband released him. Before I could get a word out, he quickly made his way to me and wrapped me in a hug. I was kind of thrown off, but still wrapped my free arm around him. When he pulled away, he wiped a few tears from his face.
“H-how did you find me? And where have you been? I tried finding you and came up empty every time.”
“It’s kind of a long story. Do you have somewhere we can go and talk?” I asked him.
“Yes. We can go to my office.” He grabbed his husband's hand and led us to the back. Once we stepped into their office, Tristan waved his hand toward a sitting area in the room. “Oh, and by the way, this is my husband, Myles.”
Myles chuckled nervously, turning to me. “I apologize for my approach out there. After everything Tristan’s been through, I didn’t know what to think when Brielle said an old friend was up front asking for him.”
Now it all made sense why he came out guns blazing, and honestly, I couldn’t blame him. “It’s water under the bridge. You didn’t do anything I wouldn’t.” Tristan’s gaze snapped to Will, and he smiled at him. “Tristan, this is my fiancé Will.”
Will and Tristan shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Will,” Tristan said.
“Likewise,” he replied with a small smile.
Tristan returned his attention to me. “Seriously, how did you find me, Allen? And why did it seem like you disappeared off the face of the earth when I looked for you?”
I chuckled because that was my intent when I changed my name and joined the club. I didn’t want Sire finding me at all. When he first popped up, I was confused about how the hell he found me. But Sara told me that if he had access to my Social Security number, it didn’t matter what I changed my name to. Knowing Sire had never handed that documentation over to me,I figured that must have been how he found me after so many years.
“Well, like you, I changed my name when I turned eighteen. I joined a motorcycle club, and I go by Tech now.”
I wanted him to stop calling me Allen. That name no longer existed to me.
“Tech? That suits you. You were always breaking into Sire’s office, hacking into his computer.” Tristan laughed.
