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Could she be enough for Eric? For Scott? Last night had been life changing, but they’d carried her out of their special sanctum because they didn’t think she could handle it. Megan’s doubts screamed and mocked her like they always did. Best to think about something else than lose herself in a tornado of crazy thoughts.
“How many employees work at the TBK offices?”
“Around the country? Six hundred thirty-three.”
“Wow. That’s pretty exact, Eric.”
“It’s important to me to be exact.” He stopped at the top of the stairs. “Look at those mountains, little one.”
Little one. Why did her knees want to buckle every time he called her that? “They’re beautiful.”
“Let’s walk to the office today.”
“Sounds wonderful. How far is the building?” She hadn’t gotten to get a good view of the street their mansion was on the day they’d brought her here, being so nervous about their proposal.
“Two blocks. Five-minute walk. Ten-minute saunter.”
Saunter wasn’t a word she heard often back in Dallas. It bespoke of an earlier age, an age of gallantry, which Eric had by the bucketloads.
They walked past his car and down the drive to the road, which ran between the Knights’ place and another mansion across the street. “Who lives there?”
The place was ultramodern in styling, like giant blocks with walls of glass, and what parts of the walls weren’t see-through were crisp white. In front of the place was a long rectangle pond. She couldn’t see it from here, but she would bet there were koi in lots of the glass and crisp white walls. The landscaping had a cool Asian feel.
“Number Two, O’Leary Circle. Jennifer Steele does.”
“Alone?”
“She lost her husband Bill to cancer twelve years ago.”
“Any kids?”
“Bill had a daughter from a previous marriage, but I’ve never met the girl. I don’t think she and Jennifer get along.”
“Sounds like she’s had a tough time.” Money might make someone’s life easier, but obviously heartbreak was the universal leveler whether rich or poor.
“Jen is tough. She’s the unattached queen of the subs at Phase Four. She’s gotten many offers by Doms to take their collar, but she has refused them all.”
“Collar?” she asked.
“Part of the life.”
“Like a wedding ring?”
Eric nodded. “And more.”
Megan could just imagine what the “more” meant. “I’m not surprised men wouldn’t want someone who has a place like this.” She pointed to the massive house. Looking to her right, she saw the road came to a dead end. “I see we go left.”
“We do.” Eric could be a man of few words at times. At other times, he could be quite talkative, like when he was with Gretchen.
The grade was uphill, and she wondered if she should’ve worn tennis shoes instead of stilettos. As they walked up the road, they came to the circle that gave the name to the whole lane. The mansion that bordered it was massive, four stories high. It looked more like a gothic castle than anything she’d ever seen before. Of course, the massive dragon statue in front of it told her who resided inside.
“And that is Number One, O’Leary Circle.” Eric smiled, which was not common for him. “Ethel, Patrick, and Sam live there.” His tone reminded her of how he talked to Gretchen, laden with affection.
“It looks like it could use a moat.”
He stopped walking and stood in the middle of the street, facing the fairy-tale place. “Don’t tease. Patrick has plans drawn up for one, but Ethel has put her foot down.”
“How big is it inside?”
