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At first, I’d been horrified I’d allowed myself to do—or not do—what I’d just done. But that first night alone paid for all the bills we’d accumulated since Jesse had been diagnosed.
Fivethousanddollars. For standing there and keeping myself to myself.
And to afford my kid's excessive hospital bills, I would do just about anything, which was the truly scary realisation.
I agreed to repeat visits inRisquéwith the two mystery men—men in loveless political marriages who had fallen in love with one another, despite the obstacles—every couple of weeks until I’d paid all the debt from Jesse’s treatment. We’d even had enough money to take a trip to Florida, where we drove through the Keys for ten glorious days.
And I’ve no doubt that Vaughn was behind it. Ensuring I was involved in a setting with as little discomfort as possible. That I was in no way involved intimately. That I didn’t have toperform.
He’d found a way to give me the money to pay for my kid's cancer treatment without making me feel like a charity case. And for that, he’ll always have my friendship and my gratitude.
So while I do trust him, I need a moment to be sure I’m doing the right thing. If I go down this path, there’s no coming back. I need to be sure I can live with the repercussions.
My hesitation makes him narrow his eyes. “Come on, sweetheart. If you need someone looked into, you know I’m your man. For the low, low price of a blowie, I’ll—”
“Vaughn!”
He chuckles at my shriek. “Spit it the fuck out then. You’re killing me here.”
Fuck it.
“Noah Spellman.”
He sits back in his chair, scratching his messy dark hair. “As in the owner of Spellman Sounds,Noah Spellman?”
I nod, and he scrunches up his face in apparent distaste. “That man is as clean as a whistle, sweetheart. You’ll find sweet fuck all in a search.”
Pinning him with a dark look, I lean forward until my stomach hits his desk, willing him to understand just how much I need this. “Everyone has skeletons, Vaughn. Some are just more adept at burying theirs down deep.”
He exhales heavily, tipping his head in assent. “Fine. I’ll have a guy dig into him.” He pierces me with a stare. “How deep are we talking now, sweetheart?”
I answer without hesitation. “Back to before he was who he is now.”
“Okay, but this shit will take time. You’ll have to be patient.”
I smirk sadistically. “I’m well versed in patience, Vaughn. I can wait forever, so long as it means he gets what’s owed.”
Vaughn whistles before standing and offering me an arm, which I take. “I’ve never seen this side of you. Have to say, sweetheart…” He shoots me a devilish wink. “It makes my cock twitch in my fucking pants.”
I roll my eyes and bump his hip with mine.
Incorrigible man.
“I see right through you, Vaughn Burton. You can take my word for it that someday, you’ll meet your match and when that day comes…” I trail off, and he looks down with mirth on his face.
“And when that day comes,what?”
I swallow my smirk to deadpan. “And when that day comes, I’ll be right here when you fuck it all up.”
His guffaw echoes through the busy changing area where employees are scrambling to change, either before or after their shifts, and all eyes land on us when everyone stops dead in their tracks.
“Get back to work, ladies.”
His words make everyone kick it up a notch, and he leans down to whisper in my ear, “Spoiler alert, sweetheart. All men fuck up. It’s an ingrained character flaw.”
He unlinks our arms, patting my shoulder almost awkwardly before he turns to go back upstairs, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll text if my guy finds anything.”
