Filed to story: I Slept With My Ex's Father (Olivia & Dylan) Book PDF Free
Farley navigates the stairs as easily as Fred Astaire and comes to meet me. “Olivia Lombardi, how are you, darling?”
He kisses me on both cheeks and then eyes my mask. “Ah! The swan. Good choice. Goes with your-” He gasps as he takes me in. “Stunning outfit! Do a turn for me.”
I do so, trying to ignore any other eyes that might be looking my way.
“You look divine.”
“I wasn’t sure if I should choose one or…”
“Of course, you should, why wouldn’t you?”
I try to smile, but I’m not sure it doesn’t come off as a grimace instead. “I’m working tonight, aren’t I?”
“First of all…” Farley touches my shoulders, adjusting me toward the closed double doors across the entryway. “Everyone is required to wear a mask tonight. It’s part of the mystique.”
I nod. “The mystique, of course.”
“And second of all…”
Through the doors, the sounds of a live jazz band hit me for the first time. And as the doors open, my chin falls. The lights make the nightclub look like a smoky cabaret right out of the twenties.
“No, you aren’t working tonight. You’re our guest.” Farley pats my shoulder.
I do a double-take. “Seriously? I thought you…”
“I want you to get a feel for the club, for the people you’ll be dealing with.” His smile is mischievous. “This is your welcome to New York. Now come on, put on your mask…”
I do so, allowing the “mystique” to take over.
“Perfect. Now, go get yourself a drink, and I’ll catch up with you later. Remember, tonight we’re anonymous. Masquerade and all. Ha! So, for as long as this lasts, you are…” His hands slide down my arms. He guides my wingspan away from my dress and marvels at me with an excited smile. “The Swan Princess!”
I giggle. “Is that how I should introduce myself?” I have no idea what is going on, but this is the man who hired me, so I’ll play by his rules tonight.
“Yes. For this one night a year, we are only who we portray. I’ll be asking around for you later, princess.” Another kiss to both my cheeks. “Ciao, bella.”
And Farley is gone. I watch him go, marveling at what a character he is.
Is everyone larger than life here?
I look back to the open doors.
It’s now or never, Olivia. Let’s do this.
The second I step into the club proper, I am transported.
The doors open up into a well of conversation couches and cabaret tables facing a giant stage. At the center of it all is a dance floor where people are clinging together, enjoying the freedom found through their hidden identities. A long bar flanks one wall, behind which bartenders flit around like they’re doing a choreographed ballet. A metal balcony rims the room.
To my left, another staircase also leads upstairs to what appears to be a secluded VIP area that seems to have open access tonight.
“Cocktail?” A server bends a tray my way. A garden of champagne flutes full of red, bubbling liquid.
“What…what is it?”
“Lion’s Roar,” he says without further explanation.
I grab a glass and thank him, even though I’m a bit concerned about the contents of the flute.
After taking a sniff at the drink, my mouth waters a bit, so I take a sip, and holy heaven, it’s delicious. Bubbles of champagne, tart of cranberry, heat of cinnamon, and… Is that whisky?
This drink is dangerous.
If I indulge too fast, I’m going to be wobbling all over the place.
Now wielding my cocktail, I guess it’s time to mingle. But I don’t know what to try first or where I would even fit in. Although that’s the power of the mask, I suppose. I fit right in anywhere simply because tonight, we’re all free to be whoever we want to be.
If only that were my life every day.
No, I refuse to think about my problems, I refuse to drown under the weight of my life.
Happy thoughts, Olivia. Happy thoughts.
It’s been so long since I’ve been able to have those.
The dream is to be free. Free to live the way I want, to be able to go out and grab a coffee wherever and whenever I feel like it. God, wouldn’t that be the life…
How crazy is it that something as simple as going to grab a cup of coffee is my definition of having a life?
Oh, and finding love.
The sigh that escapes me is soul deep.
There is no way I can let anyone in my life, let alone my heart any time soon.
But this is a fantasy time, a fantasy place, and even if just for tonight, I can dream. I can hope.
My eyes start to blur as reality tries to crash this bubble, so I lean my head back.
No crying tonight. This is a happy day. I have a new job. I may be able to solve my problems more easily. I may be even able to-
Two men descending the staircase grab my attention. One in a bumpy green mask and the other…
Good god, the other.
Though his face is obscured by a mask of fiery feathers, something pulls me to him. He’s the definition of tall, dark, and handsome, looking like he stepped out of the pages of Vogue.
Despite the low lighting, the slight salt of gray at his temples is clear.
To my shock, when he reaches the bottom step and surveys the club, his eyes snap to me.
Obsidian eyes that might as well have been uprooted from the Earth’s core.
The corner of his lips turns upward.
My heart starts to sink into my stomach. And even further down.
I’ve never felt so much want for a man I haven’t even spoken to, but goddamn, something about him…
His smirk is interrupted when the man following him down the stairs smacks right into his back. My firebird turns around and they start to bicker.
My firebird? What the…
Get it together, Olivia. The last thing I’m here for is a dalliance with one of the club members.
It’s no crime to look, but one look from him warmed my insides to an impossible degree. That man, whoever he is, is dangerous.
I need to walk away, fast.
I straighten my back and start walking to the dance floor where I can disappear into the masked mass of people. It is also where I can learn about the VIP crew attending this exclusive masquerade as well as what makes the Hill
Club tick. There is no better time to learn so I can be at my best when I start tomorrow morning.
However, the more of this Lion’s Roar I drink, the harder it is to quell the heat that one look from a dark-eyed man set off inside me.
DYLAN POV
The swan disappeared right after I saw her.
I could tell she was a bird based on the detailing of feathers so much like my own. The white stood out even further against her black waves of hair. Combined with her whole air of elegance and beauty, there would be no other bird she could be than a swan.
Of course, Solomon had to bungle all that by slamming into my back and setting me off-kilter.
I guess it’s my fault I couldn’t contain my temper enough not to snap at him. Because by the time I turned back around, my swan was gone.
You’d think a woman in all white wouldn’t be hard to find in our little club where most everyone gravitates toward dark tones and gaudy glitter. However, no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to spot her.
She may as well have been a figment of my imagination.
“Brooding, are we?”
I look into the face of a younger man, who despite his princely mask, I recognize as Mason Lotts. My son’s best friend of many years.
