Page 1 of Secret Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #3)

Prologue – Ashley

T wenty years ago…

“Where are you guys going? Can I come?”

My sister Ariel and her two best friends stopped in the doorway, all three of them looking over their shoulders at my question. They were all so grown up and cool.

Ariel looked irritated at my question. As usual. My sister didn’t like me too much. She thought I was a pest.

“No squirt, we’re going to a movie.”

“A movie for grown-ups,” Grace emphasized, clearly as annoyed as my sister.

“That’s not fair!” I protested in a voice that even I recognized as whiny.

Why didn’t my sister want to spend time with me? She always acted like she was better than me, and her friend Grace was kind of snobby too. They were so selfish keeping all the fun for themselves.

Of course it was Maeve who wanted to make me feel better. Crossing the foyer, she squatted down in front of me, giving me a kind look. I loved Maeve. She was so pretty and nice. Much better than my stupid sister.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t take you this time, Ashley,” Maeve said. “It’s a PG-13 rated movie, and they won’t let you in. But how about sometime soon we’ll have a movie night together here at your house and we’ll make popcorn and watch whatever you like?”

That was one of the things I liked about Maeve. Even though I was only eight and she was fifteen, she never treated me like a baby.

“Do you promise?” I asked.

Maeve held out her hand, her pinkie finger extended. “I pinkie swear.”

I held out my much smaller pinkie and crossed it with hers, looking up into her eyes adoringly. “Pinkie swear,” I repeated.

Maeve stood up, then gave me a wink. “We’ll see you soon, okay Ash?”

I nodded. “Okay Maeve.”

As she left with my sister I made myself a promise: someday Maeve would be my best friend instead of Ariel’s. And then I’d show everyone that I was more than just an annoying little kid.