Be My Hero (Forbidden Men #3)(119)

Some days I was grateful to Eva for the deal she'd made with her dad. As the new owner of Forbidden, I only had one job instead of two. Cleaning up all the mess after the shooting had taken up so much time, I'd had to quit my position at the garage, which was fine because now that things were beginning to settle back into place, I could be with my family more.

Other things were better as well. Tink and I had found a bigger apartment in a better neighborhood, closer to Reese and Mason. And not just a bigger apartment, but a three-bedroom apartment so Julian and Skylar each had their own space and their own cribs, away from our room. We could be as loud as we wanted to be.

Though I think the kiddos missed sleeping together because sometimes Tink and I still couldn't get them to settle down at night until they were snuggled up next to each other.

We'd also hired a lawyer to help us adopt Julian. The state had allowed us to keep him as foster parents after we'd gone through a couple classes. But he still wasn't ours for good.

But most of the time I was grinding my teeth in frustration for all the hassle Eva had put me through by making that deal with her dad. I had so much more responsibility now; it was crazy. Sitting in my office—which had been completely redesigned and moved to another room in the past few months after the murder-suicide—I was trying to figure out schedules and fix an incorrect order plus fill out all these freaking legal forms I didn't even know existed until I became a club owner when a knock on my door had me lifting my head.

It was a Thursday, so I had to hurry because I still didn't have a new bartender to replace me to help on ladies' night. I'd already lost the two I had hired, because neither of those had worked out. So, I was stuck working the floor every Thursday.

The guy I found lingering in my doorway looked youngish with waves of dark hair and bright grass-green eyes.

"I'm looking for . . . Pick?" he said as if he were sure he had my name wrong.

I nodded. "That's me. How can I help you?"

Shifting his weight from foot to foot and appearing nervous, he held out his hand when I stood up and approached him.

"Sir, I'm Asher Hart. And I—"

"Have we met before?" I frowned as I moved closer. He looked so damn familiar.

He faltered, even more antsy as he blinked. "No. I don't think so."

"Hmm." I studied him harder as he went on.

"Anyway, my buddies and I just started this band. We're kind of heavy metal with a folksy twist and call ourselves Non-Castrato. I think we'd really fit in with the Forbidden crowd."

I arched an eyebrow, making my brow ring pull a little. "Oh, you would, would you?"

We'd never had a live band before, didn't even have a deejay or an area appropriated for music. But the seed he planted was already making my head spin with a sudden flurry of ideas.

"Yeah," he went on, looking excited. "You guys have been getting really popular lately. Just imagine what holding a few gigs for local groups would do for you." Then he added, "We could play for free."

I grinned and shook my head. This kid was quite the salesman. But still . . . "I'm sorry, Hart, but I haven't even considered bringing bands in here. I'm still trying to find another bartender right now."

"I could bartend," he said helpfully, his eyes full of hope. Then he shrugged, and his lips lit with a rueful grin. "I mean, if we're not going to be paid to play, I'd have to make money somehow. On the nights we're not singing, I can mix drinks."

His enthusiasm warmed me, but I only sat back down in my big-ass boss chair and folded my hands together under my chin as I studied him. "You must not have a woman."

The question seemed to catch him off guard. "Uh, no. Why?"

"You just promised all your nights to me. That's not going to leave a lot of time for anything else."

A slow grin spread across his face. "Are you saying I'm hired?"

"Of course you're hired," a new voice answered from the doorway. Eva swept into the room, looking so amazing she damn near glowed. Going to Hart, she took both his hands and beamed up at him. "I think the idea is wonderful. We could do so much if we put up a stage and sound system. And with your enthusiasm, I already know exactly who to put in charge of that. Welcome to Forbidden."

When she went to hug him, I bristled and pushed to my feet. I wasn't upset because she was barging in here, making decisions. Aside from watching our kids, she doubled as my partner in running the business. In fact, she usually took care of filling out all the legal forms I hated, though I was still trying to learn how to deal with them, anyway.

No, I was upset because Asher Hart seemed a little bit too enthusiastic about hugging her back. His eyes looked glazed when she pulled away and grinned at him.

Taking her hand, I pulled her to my side and wrapped a propriety hand around her waist. "She's taken, by the way."

Hart glanced between the two of us. "I kind of figured that out when I spotted your name tattooed on her."

"What?" Startled by his declaration, I twisted back to Tink and caught her chin before turning her face until I could see behind her ear. When fresh, black ink stared back, spelling out my name, I sucked in a breath. "Shit, you really did it."

She winked up at me. "I didn't want any of your glimpses not to come true."