Page 52 of Masked

He laughed and tossed his hat into a chair as he sat in the other one. “It’s not a problem. I was just surprised.”

“I’m just as surprised as you.”

“So… you knew Noah before you came into the club. I just didn’t realize how well.”

Her heart skittered, and she rubbed her hands down the front of her shirt, certain they were covered in sweat. “I… yes. Well… it’s complicated.”

He chuckled. “I’m making you uncomfortable. Did Noah not tell you what we talked about?”

She shook her head. “Only that he trusted you to keep me safe if it came to that.”

“And now you’re not sure how much he’s comfortable with you telling me? Is that right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

“I’ve known him for a long time, but he doesn’t talk about his ex or the kids he adopted very much. But Parker and Noah have the same last name. It’s easy to put two and two together and figure out that you’re dating your ex’s dad.”

Her face heated, and she put her hands on her head, stretching her arms as she tried to figure out the best response.

“I’m not judging. I’m really not. But the Jaspers are kind of a big deal. There’s a reason his shitty ex never remarried. She wants to stay a Jasper.”

Reva stared at him open-mouthed. That was not information she needed.

“Look, this is really awkward for me, and I’m not sure how to get around that. Can we talk about the educational outreach program instead?”

He leaned forward and squeezed her hand. “Soon. We need to go over a few things first. If Parker shows up again, call me. You’ve already got my number. Use it.”

“He was here ten minutes ago.”

Gage sat up straighter. “What did he want?”

Reva let out a sharp laugh. “To tell me I could move back in, and he won’t even raise my rent.”

He quirked one eyebrow upward. “Well, how nice of him.”

“I told him off, and the receptionist added him to a list. Or she told me she did. That might have been to scare him.”

“She’s a good receptionist. You should keep her.”

Reva smiled. “We will, I’m sure.”

“If it gets to where you don’t feel safe, we’re going to put a security detail on you. The team will be small and mostly invisible. And the man who runs the security firm we would use is a founder of the club, so everything you do with Noah would be safe.”

Her cheeks turned hot again, and he leaned forward once again to squeeze her hand. “Your kink and sex life is private. But I’ve been friends with Noah for a very long time and I’m aware of his usual arrangements with women. I’ll never pry, but if it comes down to your safety, I may know more than you’d like me to.”

That eased her worry. At least she wasn’t talking to someone who was completely clueless about things. “I promise I’ll call you if he shows up. Unless I’m with Noah. He’ll handle it if we’re together. God, I’m an idiot. Why am I doing this?”

Gage laughed. “It’s either because you really want to get some good revenge on what sounds like a shitty ex. Or you like Noah a lot and want this with him. My suspicion is that it’s the latter, and the former is just a secondary benefit. But don’t overthink it. The best things in life are the ones we never expected.”

There was a wistful smile on his face, and she got the sense he was speaking from experience. Was there someone special in Gage’s life? She would have to ask Noah later.

“I’d like to do a deep dive into Parker’s background. Is there anything interesting I’ll find about the two of you that you would like me to keep to myself?”

Reva laughed. “If you’re asking about the nature of our sex life I can assure you that Parker is whatever one step more boring than vanilla is.”

“So, he’s plain yogurt. Got it.”

“He was cheating on me for the majority of our relationship. I’d love to find out if he was seeing her before we got together.”

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