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Ari rests one hand on mine, giving it a squeeze. “I wish you'd told us about London and how expensive it is. I thought you were doing so well I didn’t think to ask if money was tight.”
“That isn’t your burden,” I say. “And I was doing okay.”
They each give me the same pointed look. “Charli, you were an escort for twenty-four hours, not that I’m judging you.” Imogen holds up both her hands. “But we would’ve helped.”
I smile at her. “I know that, but you know I’ve always been independent. I never like taking charity or owing people…”
“You wouldn’t owe anything.” Her tone is soft. “The fact you thought you had to do that to get money fast, I’ll be honest, it shocked me at first.”
“I know. And to be honest, when I was with Alistair, I knew I really didn’t want to be an escort. I’m sure Neve has great clients and all, but that wasn’t for me.” I told them all about Neve and my friendship with her. “But then me and Alistair made an agreement; I’d be his sugar baby if I agreed not to go work back at Élégance.”
“Holy shit,” Ari whispers. “So he didn’t want you sleeping with other men from the get-go.”
I shake my head. “Definitely not. He’s been protective and possessive ever since. At first, it was about spending his money and feeling good. He liked it. He insisted on it and got mad at me when I didn’t spend enough. It’s like it turned him on to spoil myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love beautiful things. It was amazing to go into designer stores and buy anything I wanted, but after a few weeks, I realised I was falling in love with him and it became less about the money and more about him.”
“It is kind of romantic.” Ari swings her gaze to Imogen who seems on the fence about it all. She might have her own Russian billionaire, but she’s still the most conservative out of all of us.
“And you know he feels the same way?” she queries.
“Yes. He confessed his love first. Right after we had that fight.” I told them all about the fight we had and they agreed he shouldn’t have smashed the phone or tricked me like that, but it did show he cared about me. I know Alistair would never hurt me.
I know he has tried relationships before and they’ve failed. Nobody really wanted to ever get to know the real man under the suit. That’s where all the good stuff is. The stuff I want more of. The stuff I’m begging for.
“So what’s next?” Ariana asks. “You love him and he loves you, but he lives in London.”
I nod. “I know. My life has been in Seattle for so long that I barely remember what it’s like to live anywhere else. We discussed it and I’d love to come back frequently, if we were to make a life in the UK, and commute back once a month. We'll get an apartment here.”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Imi beams. “Then we’d get to see you often.”
“Ideally, we’d like to spend half our time in England and half our time here, but that may take a little bit to sort out. Alistair is always looking to expand the business.”
“I’m happy for you,” Ari says. “If it’s what you want.”
I smile giddily. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. It just so happens that he’s my ex-stepdad. The press will have a field day.”
“What does he say about that?” Imogen looks sympathetic.
I shrug. “He doesn’t care. I haven’t met his parents yet, so that’ll be an interesting conversation. But he’s more than willing to weather the storm.”
“That speaks volumes.” Imogen’s gaze softens. “We just want to be sure you’re making the right decisions.”
“He looks after me. I can’t say that we haven’t had our ups and downs. I’m sure we’ve got plenty of hurdles to jump over, but I want to do it with him. I’ve never felt this way before.”
Ari claps her hands together. “I never thought I’d ever see the day you settled down.”
“Me either,” Imi admits. “But I’m really happy for you. You seem so… different. You have this glow about you, this spring in your step. I like it.”
I feel my chest expand with so much love for these girls. They’re my tribe. “We talked a lot. About my mum and all the shit that went down. And stuff with Grandma that I’ve not been able to ever talk about. It’s cleared a lot of things that were blocking me from ever thinking I was worthy of being loved.” Tears well in my eyes. “It’s taken me this long to really realise that I am someone special and I’m lovable, even if I talk weirdly and always say the wrong thing at the wrong time.”
“Oh, Charli!” Ari pulls me into a hug. “Don’t ever think that you’re not special or lovable. We’ve been loving you since we met when you were that lanky, skinny, hot as fuck bitch from Australia who all the guys wanted.”
I laugh, wiping my tears. “They wanted me for the volleyball team, because I’m tall.”
Imogen laughs. “You keep telling yourself that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys the whole truth. To be honest, I was a little ashamed to confess I started at Élégance. I had no idea it would be the most empowering thing I’ve ever done.”
“Hey, everything happens for a reason,” Ari says, pulling back to push my hair off my face. “We love you and always have, don’t ever forget that.”
