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“Uh, pretty sure this place is closed,” I say dumbly.

“For now.” With the others huddled around me to hold back the wind, Kai hands me a small velvet box.

There’s a fleeting moment of panic in my chest. Gifts with my exes meant bullshit apologies and meaningless sex. Touch without comfort until the next time they disappointed me. A glimpse of the sun before they smothered it with clouds.

“Breathe. It’s a good thing,” she promises, wrapping my shaking hand around the gift. Lacey rests her chin on my shoulder in support.

“You know we’d never hurt you,” Mellie says, shifting close enough to lean her face against my arm. “Open it, Daph.”

Breathing through the fear, trusting my friends, I do.

The little silver key looks so innocuous on a bed of velvet. So why the hell is my heart pounding?

Lacey tips it into my palm. “We decided you need a push to restart your life, so we found one for you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s a storefront,” Mellie squeals, eyes bright and bouncing on her toes. “You’re going to open a brick-and-mortar Nymph in Seaport, babe!”

Holy fuck.She actually bought me a store. That sneaky little shit.

“I don’t—how?When?”

“We contacted the owner the day you left the assholes. Took a bit, but we finally got agreeable terms.” Kai shrugs like it’s no big deal. Like they didn’t do something so fucking insane that I can hardly breathe.

“I can’t afford this. Not with the bride payment.”

The sadness that sweeps me is unmatched by anything I experienced with Pack Parker. It’s looking at a dream, being so close you can smell it, and having it ripped away.

Mel grins. “Sure, you can. With the right investors.”

Oh. My. God.

My stomach free falls out of my ass.No.

Kai clamps a hand over my mouth when I try to protest, sending Lacey into giggles. “With all the love I can muster, shut up. Business is good for all of us. Audio’s taken off better than Lacey ever expected and Mellie’s the top operator in the tri-state area. We have more than enough money, Daph, and we want to use some of it on you.”

I’m floored. Honored that they’d do something so wonderful when I’m not sure I deserve it.

“I can’t pay you back.”

The bridewealth will take every cent from pawning the jewelry, all my savings, and possibly my firstborn child. It’s worth it to get out of my exes’ grasp, but things are going to berough.

Lacey brushes me off. “We’re not worried about that. You’re at the ceiling of what you can do with an online-only presence. A storefront will give you a chance to expand.”

I know this because I’m the one that said it last year after another marital disappointment and a fifth of vodka. Online is good, but some people need to try things on before they buy because of sensitivity or mobility issues. Plus, a physical shop makes sense when I focus on designs that are accessible for everyone.

And now, because of my friends, I have exactly that.

A vision of myself inside a clean store, lights warm behind the glass and people milling about fills my head. Holidays and birthday sales, anniversaries and bachelorette parties. Sex and kink education classes.

A safe space. A community of my own.

My atelier.

My eyes burn as I look at a future that doesn’t hurt to imagine. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes.” Maverick smiles behind Kai, kind and gentle and wonderful. “We couldn’t help you before. Let us do it now.”