Free Unbreak Her Heart: A Billionaire BWWM Love Story by Lacey Legend Page B

so well at the theatre took on a trendier look for the club. Every man in the club watched her with desire as she walked with Brad to the back room. Their path led past a huge dance floor and Aliyah wanted to get out on it but she knew that they would first need to say their hellos to the man who had granted admittance to this fashionable night spot.
    The back room was dimly lit and furnished with tables and chairs but there were sofas around the edge of the room. A portly man was half reclined on one of the sofas with a small dog cuddled up next to him. “You remember Fluffy, don’t you?” Gavin said.
    “Of course I do!” Brad scratched Fluffy behind the ears. “How are you doing, old man?” Gavin was obviously close to Brad’s age, but his girth lent him the look of an older man.
    “I can’t complain.” Gavin smiled at his friends. He was an attractive man with big, brown eyes. His dark brown hair and smooth white skin had allowed him to attract many lovely ladies even though he was anything but fit. “I got bored spending the family fortune and decided to open this place. I thought you’d never come and see it. I know you’ve got… ahhh… a lot of… responsibility and stuff. Oh, never mind. Let’s not talk about any of that . Who is this young lady?” Gavin’s face looked surprised and a bit confused. Brad shifted uncomfortably and shuffled one foot. His eyes met Gavin’s in a knowing glance that neither man wanted to hold. They both looked down and wracked their minds for a way to change the subject.
    Gavin’s hesitation and emphasis on words was lost on Aliyah, who was looking around at wonder. This was the most exclusive club she had ever been to. The walls almost looked like they were made of some kind of metallic Play-Doh. She didn’t want to speculate why. The furniture was trendy and seemed to be chosen more for looks than comfort, except for the back room where Gavin liked to sprawl out with Fluffy and reign as king of his domain until he got bored with it and hired someone to manage it while he moved on to other interests.
    Aliyah and Brad had a nice time talking with Gavin. During their stay in the back room they met two NBA players, four NFL players, an actor who had just come home from shooting in Paris, most of the members of Brad’s favorite band, and, oddly, a man who was trying to invent a new kind of table that could be hidden under the floor with the push of a button. Aliyah tried not to laugh when he was introduced because she knew that Gavin considered him to be one of the most important people in the room and she wanted to be polite to this kind man who was obviously a good friend of Brad’s. After a round of drinks and a polite amount of conversation, one of the football players asked Aliyah to dance. She was relieved to find that Brad wasn’t a jealous man. She raised one eyebrow and looked at him. She didn’t feel that Brad owned her, but she did want to be respectful of the man who brought her here. Brad winked at her and joked with the football player who was twice the size of Brad in spite of Brad’s height of six foot three inches and broad chest and shoulders. “Just watch yourself with my girl, buddy. I’d hate to have to settle this outside.” The player laughed and slapped Brad playfully on the back.
    Aliyah thought to herself that Brad was a real man whose self-esteem didn’t rely on posturing or acting a fool around other men. This was a man who could hold his own, but could also recognize the strengths of others and laugh at himself. She had a feeling that a friendship would be sealed and that they would be attending plenty of football games together in the future to watch their new friends.
    On the way to the dance floor, their new friend said, “I don’t know if you caught my name. I’m Leo.”
    Those were all the words that were said before they were on the dance floor. Aliyah was very glad that Leo didn’t try anything. They both knew how to dance