Page 24

Madison

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"Wait, dating?"

I turn away from Eleanor, pretending to fiddle with my coffee. I hate having to lie to her, but how can I explain that I'm about to sign a six-month contract to be the sugar baby of a Greek billionaire?

"He's my boss's brother."

"Madison, look at me."

I turn back to face her, even though I don't really want to at the moment.

"You're not doing anything illegal, are you?"

"No, Mom. He's a good person, and he's going to help us."

"I'm not liking this story. Are you going to be with this man just to keep the twins from being taken away?" she asks, getting straight to the point.

"No, but he offered to help," I lie again, laying more paving stones on the path to my own personal hell. "And I can't say no."

I've decided I'm going to tell Zeus about the babies. When I thought we'd only be together for a month, I figured I could hide my family's problems, but if it's going to be six months, the whole story changes. No matter what commitment I have, I spend time with Brooklyn in the hospital on Sundays. That's when I talk to her and update her on how things are going.

I've already noticed that Zeus's controlling nature will extend beyond what we do in the bedroom, and I don't want him thinking I'm deceiving him with another man.

"This doesn't seem right," she says.

"And what would the other solution be?" I ask, trying not to lose my patience. "Look, I'm not with him against my will, Mom. In fact, he's the first man I've been attracted to since I became an adult."

She comes closer and hugs me. "But he must be a very wealthy man, my love. Wealthy and experienced."

"And handsome too, to make matters worse."

"I don't want to see you suffer, Madison."

"I'm not going to fall in love with him. You can rest assured. But it's time for me to live a little."

"What does this help involve?"

"He's going to secure the house we need and give me a work contract as if I were his assistant. If Mrs. Mirtes finds out I dance at a nightclub, she'll have the upper hand to take the babies away from us."

As if they know we're talking about them, the two of them start cooing together.

"No one's taking my little darlings. Auntie will never let that happen," I promise, crouching in front of the twin strollers and kissing their chubby little hands. "Everything's under control, Mom."

She keeps staring at me, and I can see a thousand questions she wants to ask in her eyes. Unfortunately, I have no guarantees to offer her except that I'll do everything in my power to keep our family from being torn apart.

As if it knows we’re talking about Zeus, my phone rings with the song I chose for him.

"What's this young man's name?" Mom asks.

"He's not a young man . . . um . . . he's a man. Zeus Kostanidis."

She laughs as if I've made a joke, but when she sees that I'm not teasing her, her eyes widen. "Your employer is from that Kostanidis family? The Greek billionaires?"

"Yes. Ares Kostanidis owns the nightclub I work at. And my . . . um . . .” I stop, unable to repeat the lie. "The man I'm seeing is Zeus, the older brother."

"Older by how much?"

"I don't know yet—I didn't ask—but definitely over thirty."

"Madison! Rich, handsome, and much older is not a good combination, child."

She has no idea that handsome doesn't even begin to describe my Greek god.

"Just a moment. I need to answer." I unlock my phone.

"You took a long time to answer."

"I was talking to my mom. I'll be down shortly. Two minutes. Bye." I put my phone in my bag as I say,"Mom, he's downstairs. He's going to give me a ride before my shift at the nightclub to see a house he thinks might be suitable for us to move into, but then . . .” I feel my face burning. "I won't be home tonight. In fact, I'll only be back on Sunday to go to the hospital."

"Madison, you don't need to be ashamed to talk about these things with me. You're young, beautiful, and healthy. My concern isn't about hypocritical morals but about your heart."

"My heart is well-guarded, Mom." I grab my bag, kiss the babies' heads, and then hug her. "There's no chance I'll fall in love with him."

"Oh, really? How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm a smart girl. Only a fool would believe in a fairy tale with a man like that. Princes don't exist."

I rush downstairs, telling myself that my anxiety is due to my OCD, which doesn't like it when I'm late, but my traitorous heart contradicts me in the blink of an eye because as soon as I see Zeus getting out of the car, it feels like it's about to have an attack, racing very fast.

"Do you make a habit of being late?" he asks without even saying hello, guiding me into the car.

The neighbors don't even bother hiding their curiosity when they see us, but the line of bodyguards keeps them from getting too close.

I get in without paying any attention to his grumpy tone, and he follows. Just like last time, he leans over me to fasten my seatbelt, but before he can do it, I hold his face and kiss him.

"Hi. Good afternoon, Zeus. I'm fine, and how are you?"

Instead of playing along, he grabs me by the back of my neck and kisses me so intensely that a jolt shoots to the center of my thighs. "Much better now, you bold thing," he says when he finally pulls away, but not without finishing fastening my seatbelt.

"Sorry for being late. I'm punctual, I keep my word, but my mom—well, she's actually my stepmother, but she raised me—she started asking questions. I don't ever spend the night away from home, and I only get home late from work, so I had to tell a lie."

"A lie?"

I look outside, suddenly embarrassed. "I said you're my boyfriend."

He doesn't say anything, and I turn to look at him, checking whether he's annoyed that I've given us such a serious label.

His face is expressionless, but his eyes watch me as if trying to decipher my soul.

"Look, it's not like I told her we're engaged," I try to joke, but he doesn't smile. "I just couldn't stay away from home without a reason. I've never done that before."

"Never?"

"No. Like I told you, I'm not good at trusting, and it's not just men but anyone."

"I don't see any problem in telling your mom that we're dating."

"Even if we're not?"

"What else are you going to call me?"

I whisper so only he can hear, trying to hide a smile. "Sugar daddy."

"Oh, Madison, I'm going to enjoy punishing you for every bit of cheekiness."

Excitement tickles my stomach."I can't wait, Zeus."