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."
I grinned and kissed her hard and long.
Remembering we had company, I glanced up to find Hart watching us in amusement. "So, when can I start?" he asked.
"Tonight." I was starting to tell him every new bartender needed to get broken in on a ladies' night, when I suddenly realized where I'd seen him before. The tat behind Eva's ear brought the glimpse back into my mind. Hart was the deejay who was going to play at my wedding reception.
Realizing he would have a bigger role in my future than I'd first realized, I smiled at him. "Yeah, I think you're going to fit in just fine. Wear at tight, black T-shirt and jeans and show up before six when we open."
A grin spread across Hart's face. "Will do, boss."
After he disappeared from my office, the woman with her arms wrapped around my waist gazed up at me with absolute adoration. "So I'm guessing you're not pissed at me for hiring him on the spot. I just felt a good vibe from him."
I leaned down to rub my nose along hers. "Don't worry. I got the same vibe. We definitely have us a new Forbidden boy."
"And he's definitely hot enough to fit in," she answered, her unique blue eyes gleaming with mischief.
I narrowed mine. "Oh, you think he was hot, huh? That why you were so eager to hug him?"
She laughed, spilling out that sound I loved most in the world. "No, I hugged him so you'd turn all jealous and caveman and pull me away from him."
"You are one devious woman," I murmured. "Is that the only reason you came in today? To make me prove how crazy I am about you? I thought you were staying home with the babies."
"I was but . . . " She yanked open her purse and pulled out an official-looking envelope. "This came in the mail, so I dropped the kids off with Reese and came straight here."
My stomach roiled with instant unease. We'd gotten too many official letters lately. After her father's death, his will had stipulated Eva get a nice chunk of his inheritance that she was forced to share with her newly widowed mother. But her mother had been fighting for more of the money, so she'd hired a lawyer, to which we'd had to put our new lawyer to more work to fight back.
Eva had said she didn't want any of her father's money, but I thought he owed it to her, and more. For Skylar, Julian, and our future Chloe, she'd decided to keep it.
"It's from social services," she said, surprising me.
I hadn't thought we'd get word back about Julian quite so fast. A new worry gnawed at my gut as she stuck her finger in the slit and opened the letter. Tightening my arms around her, I held my breath as she quickly scanned the single page.
Her eyes lifted to mine, sober and unsmiling. I almost started sobbing right then. We hadn't been granted the adoption, had we? We were going to lose him.
Then tears prickled her eyes. "They said yes. Oh my God. They said yes. We can adopt him."
"What?"
"We can really keep him." Hugging me, laughing and crying at the same time, Eva began to jump up and down and screech her excitement.
"Oh, shit." In a split second, I was crying with her, tears of joy streaming down my face.
Hauling her up off the ground, I spun my woman in a circle as I sobbed into her neck. As we held onto each other tightly, I wondered why this moment hadn't been in any of my glimpses. I didn't know if I'd ever felt quite this happy and relieved before.
But I guess Madam LeFrey hadn't wanted me to see too much. Damn witch had made me sweat it out. Which only made me appreciate the moment more.