AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laughed at her exuberance. “He didn’t seem like the Armani type.”
“You’re not skirting around telling me every juicy detail.”
“Nothing happened. He was just very protective.”
“Hmmm…”
“I’m serious.”
“That definitely means you fucked him.” The expression on her face was devious.
“Charlotte!”
“What?” she huffed, giving me a pouty face. “I’m just looking out for your best interests.”
“Sure you are.” I rolled my eyes, suddenly needing more than just a glass of wine.
My cousin took a sip of her drink, her face furrowed to the point I was concerned she was having an attack of some kind. “I’ll get it out of you one day. I say take the job. What do you have to lose?”
She was right, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous about doing so. Every good event in my life had been followed by black clouds.
“Unless you’d prefer working with me.” The change in her tone was odd, as if she was trying to warn me to stay away from whatever she’d fallen into.
“No. As long as I’m not involved in the kinky side of their club, I’m okay with working for him.”
She nodded, glancing toward the window a few seconds later. “Let me know if by any chance there’s another job in the fancy joint for me.”
I moved toward the couch, sitting down. Only then did I realize she had a bruise on her cheek that she’d done a very good job covering up with makeup. When I reached out, she pulled away, laughing.
“What happened?” I asked, curling my fingers and pressing my hand into my lap.
The sudden shimmer in her eyes yanked at my insides. “I was a bad girl.” While she continued to laugh, keeping her face turned away from me, my gut told me she’d found herself in a very difficult position.
“Talk to me.”
“Nope,” she said, her expression brightening. “This is a celebration. You’re going to knock them dead, kink or no kink. But I’d consider allowing him to tie you to a cross, flogging your ass.”
“Charlotte! I’m not that kind of girl.” Even as I made the statement, a little tremor of excitement coursed through me.
She lifted her glass and for the first time since I’d arrived in Miami, I noticed how much pain she was in, her eyes haunted.
Charlotte noticed I was staring at her and jerked to her feet, holding her arm as she walked toward the window. The sudden tension between us was unusual. We used to tell each other everything, our conversations on the phone and sometimes in person going late into the night. We’d shared our passion for boys, thoughts on our futures, and so many hopes and dreams that we’d almost built a fantasy world around us. She was so different it scared me.
“Charlotte. Tell me what’s going on. You can’t possibly afford this place on your own.”
“It’s Char. Remember? Charlotte apparently isn’t sexy enough.”
Exhaling, I headed toward the window, keeping enough space she wouldn’t walk away. “You’re too sexy for your skin.”
She flitted a look in my direction, her laughter more like I remembered. When she wiped tears from her eyes, I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but she wouldn’t let me get but so close. She’d shove me away, telling me for the fifteenth time how fabulous her life was. I knew better but not knowing what she was going through left me in a difficult position.
“I think Jameson is a good guy from everything I’ve heard. Don’t allow this opportunity to pass, cuz.” Her statement was said in a kind of reverence that unnerved me even more.
“I’m going to find out if they need another waitress.”
“Ha. You’d do that for me?”
“We’re family. Right?”
