Page 74 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

AVERY

O n Wednesday, I meet Maggie late at night for drinks. “Thanks for coming out,” I tell her gratefully. “I could really use a friendly ear.”

“If you hadn’t called me, I’d have called you,” she laughs. “I’ve been dying to hear about the sex club. Start at the beginning. Tell me everything. Leave no detail out. Did you run into Kai and Maddox?”

Wow. The events of Saturday seem so far away. So much has happened since then. “The club was… interesting,” I murmur, my cheeks heating as I remember my evening. “Forget that for a second. My father called me on Monday.”

She sits up. “Your father called after all these years? What did he want?”

“My mother has cancer.”

“Shit.” She squeezes my hand. “Avery, I’m so sorry.”

I nod, swallowing back the lump in my throat.

My mother still hasn’t called me back. The cancer diagnosis must be hard on her, but I wish she’d talk to me.

Let me help. I know it’s selfish for me to focus on my emotions when she’s dealing with something so difficult, but I feel left out and unwanted.

“There was an experimental procedure that the NHS wouldn’t cover. He called to ask for help paying for that.”

Something flashes across Maggie’s face, but it’s gone too quickly for me to decipher it. “Really?”

“Yeah. I could only think of one way to raise five hundred grand in a hurry. Sell my engagement ring.”

Maggie takes a sip of her wine. “The one you wouldn’t sell to pay for your own education.”

“I took it to a jeweler’s,” I continue. “That’s where things got complicated.” I fill her in on the rest of the story. Being arrested by the detectives, questioned at the police station for hours, and finally, running into Victor just outside.

Her eyes go round. “Victor was in DC?”

“Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. So he made me have dinner with him, and more or less tried to hold the ring hostage to make me get back together with him.”

“What. The. Fuck.”

Even retelling the story makes me shiver. “But Maddox and Kai came over later that night, and Maddox gave me five hundred grand.”

“Whoa. Back up a bit. Maddox and Kai, your long-lost crushes from ten years ago, show up at your door with half a million dollars? What am I missing?”

Wincing, I tell her about the arrangement. Fourteen evenings at Club M in exchange for five hundred thousand dollars. “I know what you’re thinking,” I tell her. “But I’m going to pay Maddox back. This isn’t what it looks like.”

Maggie signals for another round. “You have no idea what I’m thinking,” she says. “I’m wondering why I never seem to meet men who swoop in like Prince Charming and save me from the dastardly villain. Do you feel rescued or resentful?”

“Rescued. It is a bit fairy-tale like, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She sighs dreamily. “They’ve loved you from afar for ten years, and now, when you need them the most, they’re there to save you.”

If only. “I wouldn’t go that far. I get the sense that Maddox is rich enough that he won’t miss the money.”

Our drinks arrive. Maggie waits for the waiter to get out of earshot. “Five hundred g’s without a second thought. Who is this guy anyway?”

“Maddox Wake.”

She leans forward. “Maddox Wake, the photographer?” she asks. “Kiki Wake’s son? The guy in the middle of all that family drama last year?”

“Huh?” I think back. The bartender at Club M, Kiera, had said something about Maddox’s brother taking him to court. I had been curious, but I’d resisted the temptation to look it up, telling myself firmly that it was none of my business. “I guess so? I’m not sure.”

“You don’t know the story?” She sounds faintly surprised.

“I guess that makes sense. I don’t really follow DC society tabloid gossip either, but I have a client who couldn’t stop talking about it.

Stuart Wake was a wealthy businessman. When he died, he left the bulk of his estate to his two sons.

Gage and Maddox. However, less than a week after the will was read, Gage took Maddox to court, claiming the will was invalid because Maddox was illegitimate, the product of an affair that Kiki Wake had had.

Gage claimed that she had deceived her husband and that Stuart Wake erroneously believed that Maddox was his son. ”

“Seriously?” God, that’s awful. “He said that about his own mother?”

She nods. “The way I hear it, it was quite the scandal. It dragged on for a year, but eventually, the suit was dismissed, and Maddox inherited his share.” She shakes her head.

“I think it was a lot of money, but still. Can you imagine how horrible it must be to learn that your own brother cares more about money?”

“Bloody hell.” I bury my face in my hands. “He gave me a crapload of money. He probably thinks I’m a gold-digger. Maggie, I’ve got to pay him back.” Whatever is happening between the three of us, I don’t want money to interfere.

“What about Victor?” Maggie asks. “What do you think he’ll do next? Do you think he’s going to press charges?”

I shiver, and goosebumps rise on my skin.

“I have no idea. I left a message for the detective handling the case earlier today, but so far, I haven’t heard back.

The wheels of justice don’t move especially quickly, I guess.

” I groan. “Lawyers are expensive. If I want the ring, I’m probably going to have to hire one.

I don’t know what to do. I really want to pay Maddox back. ”

“Why did you never sell the ring before?” Maggie looks curious. “I was your roommate. I know how hard you worked to pay for your education. But you never once mentioned selling the ring. In the beginning, I thought you were sentimental.”

“I just didn’t want to give Victor an opening to reenter my life,” I say ruefully. “And of course, it happened anyway.”

My friend takes another sip of her wine. “Why is he here?” she asks. “I thought he lived in London.”

“Surrey. Close enough. I didn’t ask, and he didn’t volunteer the information.”

She frowns. “It just seems like a very convenient coincidence, that’s all.”

“I guess.” I take a long sip of my wine. “I don’t really want to talk about Victor. I’m hoping I’ve seen the last of him.”

“Okay. But can I ask you one more thing? You didn’t like talking about your marriage, and given the circumstances, I don’t blame you.

But the one thing that’s always puzzled me is this.

Your parents own a home in London, right?

Why didn’t they sell it to pay off your father’s debt? Why did you have to get married?”

“It was mortgaged to the hilt,” I reply, remembering my father’s words. “He only borrowed money from the mob as a last resort.”

“Hmm.” She doesn’t look convinced. “And ten years later, it’s still mortgaged to the hilt, even with rising property values, so much so that your father couldn’t raise three hundred thousand pounds?”

I glare at my friend. “What are you suggesting, Maggie?”

“You know what I’m saying. Your father called you after seven years of ignoring your existence, and the only reason he called you is to ask you for money. You’re not their bank, you know.”

That’s too close to my own feeling of being their ATM, and it gets my back up. “I don’t begrudge my mother anything.”

“Avery, I love you like a sister. You’re smart. You’re sharp. You don’t miss things. But you have an enormous blind spot about your parents. They ignore you for seven years, and the moment they call and tell you to jump, your response is ‘how high?’ Sweetie, were they even grateful?”

My father hadn’t sounded even the slightest bit grateful, and my mother still hasn’t called me back. Once again, her questions probe a bit too close to my traitorous thoughts for my comfort. “Doing the right thing isn’t a blind spot.”

She gives up. “Fine,” she says, holding up her hands. “Let’s change the topic. Thank you for doing the stress management workshop, by the way. I really didn’t want to cancel on them and piss them off. They’re a well-paying regular client.”

“No problem,” I reply, happy to talk about something other than my parents. “I had some time today and flipped through my old notes. I’m ready for stressed-out doctors.”