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CHAPTER

TWENTY

brEE

I still had the task of getting him home without some Copperhead fan feeling entitled to his time and getting stupid when he couldn’t give it.

The best I could come up with were those red-eye tickets that’d helped us bring his mom back to Charleston without too much peopling.

The next night after the funeral, I got Reece into the car, locked up Char’s place, and drove us to the airport.

And I felt like a complete moocher when I had to use his credit card to purchase our tickets, but first-class seemed like the only way to keep the lowest profile, even on a red-eye. First-class, however, was out of my price range, especially now that I found myself without any job at all.

For the most part, the people that were around that time of night kept their heads down, eyes locked on their phone screens, trying to ward off the rest of humanity just like us.

Still, I kept a baseball hat pulled down over Reece’s brow to keep his anonymity.

A man noticed him and started over toward us, but I shot the guy a death glare, shaking my head.

The man stopped abruptly, took in the state of Reece, nodded once and left us alone.

At least there was some empathy left in the world .

The morning after we got back, Reece started pulling away.

Not physically leaving the house—he slept the day away, which he needed, so I didn’t take offense—but emotionally?

He became this ghost drifting through the rooms. He stopped coming down for dinner.

He only went to the bathroom or got a drink when he thought I was sleeping and the rest of the house was quiet.

We’d officially overstayed our welcome. Now I had to tell Claudia.

All of it.

The proposition.

Benny’s school.

The sole reason we moved in here in the first place.

How. Humiliating.

That night, I cried in the bathtub—biting the washcloth so Benny wouldn’t hear me. Claudia had taken him out for ice cream after school, and I stayed at the house, pretending to fold laundry, though all I wanted to do was to curl into a ball and disappear.

I missed Reece. God, I hated that I missed him.

My phone buzzed again. Dane. Deleted without a glance.

If he had something to say, he could go through the court like he was supposed to.

But no, he kept calling. Leaving voicemails full of venom.

You’d think he’d want to shake things up a bit instead of leaving the same three over and over again. Today he went with:

“You’ve got Reece now. What do you need my money for?”

But I didn’t have Reece. And no matter how ‘ broken ’ he thought my son, my Benny made me a better person.

Five years of therapy payments covered. I could figure out how to make the sixth and beyond when that time got here. For now, I needed to think about covering my rent. Well, that was an easy fix. I’d make rent no problem if I went back to Slits.

In the morning, I caught Claudia while making coffee. It was now or never for our talk and under the circumstances, it couldn’t be never.

“Claudia, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

Her eyes searched mine, gentle but steady. “What is it?”

“It’s about me and Reece. I… This is so hard.”

She pulled me over to the table. Why were things like this always easier to get through while sitting down?

Claudia pressed a hand to my cheek, giving me the courage to keep going.

“Baker and I… What people saw? It wasn’t real.

Not really. We had an arrangement. He needed me to help make things easier for Char.

She wanted him settled. We gave her settled.

In return for my help, he opened a trust to pay for Benny’s school for the next five years. ”

“I can understand why you’d agree to that. But are you so sure you’re faking, he’s faking?”

The stupid, hot tears started spilling. “I stopped being fake a while ago but Reece is ready for us to leave now.”

“I wish you’d told me.”

“Please don’t be mad. I couldn’t. The agreement had to stay between us.

And it was a really good arrangement. We agreed there wouldn’t be feelings, because he didn’t do relationships and after Dane, I didn’t need another man messing up my life.

I couldn’t do that to Benny. But Baker offered a whole lot of money that I needed for my boy.

I thought it would be easy. I was wrong.

He treated Benny like his own. He accepted you as a part of the family without question.

He treated me like I mattered.” My throat felt thick. “I fell for him, Claudia.”

She blinked, surprise flickering across her face before it softened indulgently. “I know that.”

“I broke the agreement and I hate myself for it. Do you have any idea what it’s like to fall for a man who couldn’t—or wouldn’t —love you back?”

“Gladly, no. I lived a carefree life until Mr. Grazia. He was the love of my life. ”

“Well, it sucks. So I kept it all inside. Doing what I had to do. Pretended it was just business.”

I let my hands fall to my lap, feeling the weight of the secret loosen just a little.

“But now, Char’s gone. And with her passing, the arrangement is over. Reece is pulling away. He doesn’t want to keep pretending, and I guess, neither do I.”

Her hand found mine, warm and steady. “That’s a lot to carry on your own. I’m glad you told me.”

I nodded, swallowing back the lump in my throat. “I hired movers. I’m taking the furniture and Benny’s things back to our apartment. I want to keep his schedule steady, keep some sense of normalcy for him.”

“I understand. But are you sure he wants you to leave?”

Even though it broke my heart to admit it, I knew the truth. “When was the last time he talked to you? It’s the same for me and Benny. My boy will be fine with you and me as his constants, but Reece’s silence screams he wants to be alone.”

Her eyes softened. “You’re doing what’s right for Benny. And for you.”

“I just wish it didn’t have to be like this,” I said quietly. “I wish I could have fought harder. But sometimes love isn’t enough.”

Claudia got up to pour us both a mug of coffee. She poured a glug of creamer in each then sat back down, taking a sip of hers. “You’re stronger than you know, Bree. And you don’t have to do this alone.”

For the first time in days, I felt a flicker of peace. The secret was out, and maybe that was the start of something real—whatever that might look like.

The next day I walked into Slits. Jeans, sweater, no makeup. Let them see me as I was.

I braced myself for the usual: “You want your job back? I get a date.”

But Leon—the big boss—was there .

“Bree?” He grinned. “You want back in?”

“I do.”

“Done.”

Easy as that. McLovin glared at me the whole time I filled out the paperwork. But he couldn’t hold my job over my head and that, at least, felt liberating.

“The new girl, Charmaine, called in sick. We’ll need you tonight.” McLovin sneered. He thought he had me. I saw it in his beady, little eyes.

“That’s fine. I’ll be here. What time?”

“She took over your shift, but she’s got some training up to do, so Leon and I were talking about moving her to the day shift until she was ready.”

“Now we don’t have to hire someone new to fill the spot,” Leon said. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.” That wasn’t a lie. I needed a job and Leon, at least, welcomed me with open arms.

Given we didn’t have too much furniture to move, and I hired movers for all the heavy lifting, when I got back from Slits, all my attention went to setting up Benny’s room with Claudia’s help.

They went across the hall to her place when it was time to get going.

I fished an overnight bag, stuffing it full of my costumes, makeup, and hair products.

Before I left, I knocked on Claudia’s door to give my boy a goodnight hug and kiss, then I headed for work once again.

The girls were happy to see me. I went super heavy with the makeup because even if we weren’t together now, I didn’t need anybody recognizing “Baker Reece’s girlfriend” dancing at a strip joint.

It still didn’t embarrass me, but he’d done so much for us and yeah, I loved him.

The last thing he needed was to be surrounded by scandal so soon after losing Char.

Couple the makeup with the mile-high hair and I felt pretty good about it all.

My phone said it was go time. I squared my shoulders, going over my old routine in my head as I made my way over to the waiting area.

The bass thumped like a second heartbeat as I stepped out onto the stage, my stiletto heels clicking on the polished floor counting it down.

Slits hadn’t changed. Same violet backlighting, same sticky floor near the bar, same damp heat of too many bodies in too little space.

But the crowd? They changed when I appeared in the spotlight.

Cheers went up before the music even dropped, and there—front row, middle seat, wearing a red flannel and his signature camo baseball cap—was Don. My biggest fan. He stood up so fast, he nearly knocked his drink over.

“Holy hell, she’s back!” he yelled, already pulling a wad of bills from his jacket, like he’d been saving it just for me.

I gave him a slow smile, then turned my back and rolled my hips in a teasing figure-eight.

That was all it took. The crowd erupted like it was a playoff game.

Men (and a few women) surged toward the stage with fists full of cash, and I hadn’t even unzipped anything yet.

Apparently, Charmaine really needed to work on her routine if they were this excited to see me back.

The beat dropped, hard and dirty. My fingers slipped up the back of my thighs, catching the edge of my black, lace fishnets. I let it ride high—just enough—and threw a wink to Don. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

He was already tossing twenties onto the stage like they were confetti. “Damn, Sapphire!” he shouted. “Missed you, girl!”

Strutting to the pole, I gripped it high above my head and swung around low and slow, letting my curls sweep across my bare shoulder as the lights flickered hot pink across my skin.

Every time I popped my hips, bills hit the stage.

It was raining money. Fives, tens, twenties.

One guy threw a fifty, and I made a point of crawling to it, arching my back like the stretch of a cat before I plucked it from the stage with my nails.

Don let out a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a prayer.

I eased down into a perfect split, letting my hands trail up my thighs, and the crowd lost their minds. The DJ even stopped mid-beat to shout into the mic, “Y’all better make some noise. Sapphire is back !”

It was chaos. The good kind. The kind that made me money.

Hands stayed respectful, reaching only to tuck bills carefully into my garter, the top of my boots, and one—brave soul—into the lacy strap over my hip. I made eye contact every time, rewarded them with a slow grin, a tilt of my head, a whispered “Thank you” that always made them shiver.

Don stood up again and yelled, “Best damn night of my life!” The whole time I’d worked here before, I’d never seen the man so animated. He usually just sat there rubbing one out and tossing me cash. I liked this new version of the man. It made the dance fun.

Throwing a hand to my chest, I gave him a little bow, lips parted just enough to make the whole gesture sing.

I shimmied my hips in front of him before moving back to the pole, wrapping my legs around it and falling into a handstand without touching the floor.

The bikini top came off, revealing the shiny, plastic pasties.

Then I somersaulted my legs over my head and slid down into another split.

In. The. Zone.

By the end of the song, the stage looked like a green sea. I crawled around the stage picking up the bills, blew a kiss to the crowd, and sauntered off into the dark wings with my chin held high and hips still swaying.

I’d come back for the money. And by God, I’d gotten it.

Still… it didn’t hold a candle to waking up with Benny’s head on my shoulder or Reece’s arms around my waist .

But for tonight? I was Sapphire, and the world was right at my feet.

Back in the dressing room, I picked up my phone. Nothing from Reece. Not that I’d expected him to text. We were done. But hope springs eternal and all that BS. It seemed I needed more closure. I did the responsible thing and typed one message—not for him, but for me.

Hope you’re doing well. Take care.

I hit send and turned my phone face down.

No hard feelings.

Who was I kidding?

I’d fallen in love with Baker Reece.

And once again, I’d fallen for the wrong man.