He moved right through the wall of people surrounding the bar, and suddenly, there were two stools available. I don’t know how he did it, but luckily no one around us appeared to have been too violently displaced.
Tonio came over and Knox spoke to him tersely. “Don’t take your eyes off her.”
“I won’t.”
Tonio was true to his word. The only time he let me out of his sight was when I needed to use the restroom, and even then, he got one of the waitresses to take me back to the staff bathroom rather than letting me wait in a long line.
Maddie left a little after midnight, refusing Tonio’s offer to call her a cab.
The twins performed one more routine—an older one they knew like the backs of their hands—and it made me sad that the premiere of the dance that Denver had worked so hard on had been ruined.
At last, the audience cleared out. Between Tonio and Knox, they got everyone out the door and either into their own cars, a designated driver’s, or a cab or Uber.
I was talking with Tonio as he straightened up behind the bar when I felt a large presence behind me. Knox’s huge hands settled gently on my shoulders, and he leaned in close. “Are you sure you’re okay, princess?” His fingers started to knead my tight muscles, and it felt heavenly.
“Hey, that’s my thing,” Tonio complained. “You give Emma hugs—I give her shoulder rubs.”
I smiled at my favorite bartender but didn’t ask Knox to stop. Then I realized I hadn’t answered his question. “I’m okay, honestly. But can we go home soon?”
Home.
That word echoed inside my head. When I’d first moved in with the guys, I thought of it as their house. Now it felt like my home, too. I couldn’t remember exactly when that had changed for me.
“We could take you home now, if you’d like, or we can wait for Austin and Denver.”
I frowned and looked over at the hallway that led backstage. “They should be out soon, right?” Most of the other strippers and waitstaff had already left.
“They’ll be out in a bit. They had to meet with someone,” Tonio said.
That seemed odd. “They meet with people at two in the morning?”
“Sometimes.” His eyes flickered past me to Knox. “What happens is, sometimes an audience member bribes the backstage manager for a chance to talk to the twins.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. Austin and Denver expended so much energy during their act. I couldn’t imagine them wanting to stick around afterward.
Again, Tonio exchanged glances with Knox. “Well, they usually pay at least a couple hundred bucks, and the twins get a cut.”
“Do you know who’s back there with them?”
“No,” Tonio said.
Wait, was it a woman? That thought didn’t sit very well.
Knox spoke up, his strong fingers still working on my shoulders. “Why don’t you let us take you home? You’ve had a stressful night.”
“I’m okay.” I wasn’t sure if stressful was the right word, but there had certainly been a lot of surprises tonight. “Honestly, seeing Austin fly through the air over the heads of all those women shocked me almost as much as that awful man grabbing me.” It still seemed a bit surreal. He’d gotten so much height it almost looked like he’d launched himself from a trapeze.
Knox’s fingers stilled and he lowered his head, resting it gently on the back of mine. “I should’ve been there.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said instantly. “You were breaking up a fight.”
“Don’t blame yourself, man,” Tonio said. “We’ve known for years that there should be more security on Fridays and Saturdays, but management’s too cheap to spring for it.”
I reached up and placed my hand over one of Knox’s. “You can’t be in two places at once.”
“Wish I could’ve.” His voice was a soft breeze on my hair.
He sounded so sad that I knew I had to cheer him up. “Guess what came today?”
I fished my book out of my purse.
As I’d hoped, it got Knox’s attention, and he moved to my side. “It looks great.”
I grinned. “Thanks. I have an excellent cover designer. He doesn’t charge much, either.” Knox had not only taken the cover photo, but he’d designed the rest of the cover, too.
He smiled as he turned a few pages. “It looks really good.”
When he was done, he held it out to Tonio, but the bartender didn’t take it. “I already saw it.”
“You did?” I said, surprised. “But the package came after you all left for the club.”
Tonio grinned. “Two young ladies approached me earlier and asked me to sign the book for them.”
“What?” I think my jaw actually dropped. “They just happened to have copies?”
“They belong to Austin and Denver’s gym,” Tonio said. “Those guys have been telling everyone they meet about your book, didn’t you know? And the women ordered copies because—”