“Thank you,” Tonio said. “I really appreciate that. But there’s just no way I can put together 150 grand.”
I slumped back in my chair and Denver looked defeated.
Then Knox spoke up. “I can.”
For a moment, we all stared at him. “You can do what?” I asked.
“Get the money,” he said. “Or, actually, I’ve already got it.”
Austin was staring at Knox as if he’d never met him before. “Did you sell a photo of a celebrity getting a blow job? Or giving one?”
“No. I trade stocks.”
“What?” several of us said
“I trade stocks online. What did you think I was doing all those hours on my computer?”
“I thought you were editing nature photos,” I said.
“I thought you were watching porn,” Austin said. “So, are you like a day trader?”
That was a term that didn’t mean much to me, but Knox nodded. “I make all kinds of trades.”
“And you’re good at it?” Tonio asked.
“Very.”
We were silent for a moment, trying to process everything.
Then Tonio spoke up. “Want to buy a building?”
Knox nodded. “If I can work here, then yes.”
“Hell yes you can work here,” Tonio said, hope brightening his face. “I’m hoping all of us can. You too, Emma. You can work here part time, working with clients and giving us the female perspective on the wedding biz, and then write the rest of the time.”
Excitement built up inside me. “And Tonio can be the manager, and the twins can do lessons and training. And Knox can be the head of the photography department.”
“And the bouncer,” the big man said to my surprise.
I cocked my head to the side. “A wedding bouncer?”
Austin snorted, but Knox was serious. “If there are going to be people in and out of here, there will always be a few assholes. Especially if you have young women here. What if someone installs a spy cam in the changing room? What if someone puts their hands on a girl like that creep did to Emma? I want to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Tonio nodded, thinking over Knox’s words. “Looks like we’ve found our Chief of Security.”
“Then I’m in,” Knox said.
We all turned to look at the twins. They were eyeing each other, probably holding an entire telepathic conversation. Then Denver smiled. “If you can get the building, then we’re in.”
Elation flowed through me, but I needed to be sure before I jumped up and down screaming. “He’s not going to get the building in two days.”
“But he can talk to the owner. Tell him about the down payment. And he can start a business plan,” Austin said. “All those classes must’ve taught him something.”
“They did.” Tonio grinned, more optimistic than I’d seen him in a long time. “Ladies and gentlemen… or should I say future partners, shall we head home? There’s a lot we have to do in very little time.”
We all got to our feet, gathered up the rest of our stuff, and headed out. But I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one with an extra spring in my step. And a big smile on my face.
There was a chance we could stay together. That’s all we’d needed—just a chance.
We could do the rest by ourselves.
27
Epilogue I
Emma
“Happy new year!” Austin exclaimed, giving me a long, lingering kiss. I kissed him back enthusiastically, even though it was only eleven o’clock.
“You’re an hour early,” Denver said from his place on the sofa. “It’s midnight in New York, not here.”
“Time zones are a scam,” Austin said, making me giggle. Of course, with the amount of champagne flowing around our home this evening, a lot of things seemed funny.
“I want to give you a New York kiss, too,” Tonio said. I was more than happy to oblige him. I ran my fingers over his bare chest, tickling him. Then I grabbed him by the black necktie he wore around his neck. It was a real necktie, too, not the stripper kind the twins used to wear.
Our lips met, and I ground myself against him, laughing when I felt his rising interest. “No fair,” he whispered, before nibbling along my neck. “There’s not much room to hide an erection in silk boxers.”
I grinned. I’d been upstairs writing all afternoon, and when the guys called me down to dinner, I’d found them all wearing black silk boxer shorts and black bow ties. While I was torn between amusement and arousal, they explained to me that it was a holiday and thus the ties. “Otherwise, we’d be dressed too casually,” Austin explained. Knox had looked adorably embarrassed in the outfit, but he’d done it for me.
And I’d done my part by running upstairs to change into something skimpy. Denver had come to make sure I picked out something nice, but I think he just wanted to watch me change. Which he did.