by Lola Kidd
“I could say the same. I assumed you were someone who followed the rules and did what was right.”
“What’s right?” she scoffed. “Right is giving your family the benefit of the doubt. What you’re saying is right by the law, but not right morally.”
“How is following the law not moral?” He couldn’t believe his ears. She was trying to take the moral high ground by arguing for breaking the law. “I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree.”
“Are you going to drop it?”
“Yes. I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
“I mean, are you going to drop it forever? Even if you think there’s something here. You aren’t going to go home and try to find evidence to support your theory.”
He pressed his lips together. He was curious now. He wanted to look up the stolen shoes and see when the theft had happened, and if there was even a chance that Mary was wearing stolen property to the ball. He didn’t think anything would come of it, but he couldn’t not follow his hunch. That wouldn’t be right.
“You’re not going to let this go,” she said.
A tear ran down her left cheek. He wanted to brush it away, but he couldn’t move. He didn’t want to do anything else wrong, and going to her felt wrong.
“I think I should leave. Get back to my family.” She walked onto the grass. “I’ll take an Uber home. Thank you for inviting me.”
That set him in motion. “Wait. You don’t need to go. We can work this out.”
“We can’t.” She shook her head sadly. “We’ll never see eye-to-eye on this, and I can’t trust you if you’d ever think about turning my sisters in to the police or even investigate them. It isn’t right.”
He was speechless again. All he could do was watch her walk away across the grass and out of his life.
Chapter Thirteen
She should have known better. This was going to be a long and painful work day. Why hadn’t she quit?
Because she needed the work. They needed the money, and she didn’t want to quit because things were complicated.
That’s all it was: work. Just one job for an hour. All she had to do was stick this out until they had another big contract. But she knew that was going to take time, and in the meanwhile, she’d be in pain for those three hours a week.
It was worth it, she told herself.
She’d started this job to help the twins, and she was going to finish it. She was a big girl. It was only three out of the 168 hours each week.
She’d asked her sisters about the shoes as soon as she got home from the ball, and they’d told her that they’d bought them. They hadn’t stolen them, and she believed them. Connor was the one in the wrong here, and that was that. All that was left was for her to keep doing her job as usual. Return to her normal life.
So what if she had to see her ex for a few hours? So what if she had to clean his kitchen and scrub his floors?
That wasn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone. He wasn’t even really her ex. They hadn’t even really dated, and they hadn’t slept together—they’d just had one heavy makeout session. That wasn’t that big a deal. It was nothing. Nothing at all. Teenagers did more than they had. It didn’t matter that she’d gotten to know him and he’d called her his mate.
It was nothing.
At least, that was what she told herself as she sat in her car in front of his house.
Strangely, the most humiliating part of this was having to go in past the security guards. She felt like they were all watching her, that they all knew. She could have been a resident in this place if things had gone well, and now she was back to being a servant once more.
It was for the twins, she repeated to herself. It was for her family and gaining her own freedom. Once this was taken care of and the company had other contracts, she’d be able to move out and not worry about the house falling apart.
She could do this. She was a strong, independent woman. She could do it!
She opened the door to Connor’s apartment and strode to the kitchen counter. She slapped the key down hard enough to make the salt shaker tremble.
“I thought you’d want this back.” Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. Too high-pitched, too fast. She couldn’t get herself in check. Good thing he was far enough away that he wouldn’t see her shaking.
He nodded, with a quick glance in her direction. “Thank you. I’m going to head out now. If you wouldn’t mind, could you make sure to close the front door on your way out?”
She nodded and swallowed. He gathered his papers without looking at her anymore and left his apartment.
Alone, Mary took a shaky breath and began her work. She was able to lose herself in the scrubbing and mopping, and she got through the kitchen before her cell phone rang. It was Gina.
“The girls want to know what’s going on, and I do too,” Gina said without a greeting. “You’re going back to work at the Hansen mansion?”
“We still have a job to finish.”
“I told you I’d take care of that. It’s too weird having you clean up after your boyfriend and getting paid for it. Your father wouldn’t approve of me letting you be treated like some kind of prostitute.”
“I’m not his girlfriend.” It hurt to say the words.
“You don’t have to hide it from me.” Gina laughed. “The girls haven’t stopped talking about him. I know you two are an item.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” Mary said more strongly. “He isn’t my boyfriend, and we aren’t dating. It was just a little fling, and it’s finished now. I know my place. I know who’s loyal and who isn’t. I found out that he doesn’t like me as much as I like him.”
That was the truth, and she needed to keep reminding herself of it. Being around his place and being able to smell him was enough to make her think about changing her mind. Giving him another chance. But that wouldn’t be smart. It would only lead to more heartbreak.
“A fling? That’s not what it looked like,” Gina said. “We all saw the pictures in the paper. I saw you two at the house, and so did the twins. He was enamored with you. He thought you were his mate. What’s changed?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Mary bristled. “Sometimes people just don’t work out. It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal.” Gina said. “You don’t look at someone like you two looked at each other and fall out of love that fast. I know that look. It was how your dad looked at me. That was love.”
“It wasn’t. And it won’t hurt the business. He assured me that we can go back to a regular working relationship, and he’ll still give me a good review. I do great work. Our relationship has no bearing on that.”
Everything was taken care of, and as soon as she could afford to let someone take her place here, she’d be done with him completely. It was finished, and that was that.
One day, she’d have a funny story to tell her grandchildren. The time she’d almost become a billionaire’s girlfriend. The time she’d almost married the most handsome shifter in the world.
Whoa. Her thoughts were getting carried away. Almost married? Who was she kidding? They had barely dated, if you could call it that, for two weeks. How had she let herself go head over heels so fast? She’d never been this reckless before. Never with a client, either.
“I can come in and relieve you. I’m on my way there now,” Gina told her. “And don’t tell me no. Let me do this for you. You shouldn’t have to clean his apartment.”
Mary’s eyes filled with tears. That would be nice, but it wasn’t practical. “I’m already here, and he’s already left. It’s really no big deal. Let me finish this time, and I’ll let you come next time.”
Mary could hear Gina passing the phone from one hand to the next as she considered the idea. “Fine. But I’m not happy about this.”
“It’s okay. It really isn’t that big a deal. Thanks for taking over for me, though. This is very thoughtful of
you.”
“Even if he doesn’t like you, please know that we love you very much, and we appreciate everything you do for us. It doesn’t matter what any billionaire shifter has to say. You’re a very special woman. I’m so happy to have you in my life.”
The call died abruptly as Gina hung up.
The lump in Mary’s throat was boulder-sized. She needed to take a minute to compose herself. She was very glad Connor had left her alone for the hour.
Gina had never said anything so nice. Mary knew she’d never hear the same in person, but it was exactly what she needed right now.
Maybe she didn’t have a mate for life, or a man she could trust to take care of her and her family, but at least she had a family who loved her. That was more than many people had, and she’d always be grateful for it.
No matter what Gina did, she was still Mary’s stepmother, and she did love her. She might not be able to easily express it in words, but she still loved Mary.
After the nice call, Mary cleaned the apartment with more vigor. This was the last time she was going to be cleaning at the mansion, and she was going to do the best job she could.
“You’re still here?”
Mary looked up, startled. Connor had come in while she was cleaning under the sofa cushions. She was so wrapped up in getting every nook and cranny clean, she hadn’t even noticed.
“I’m almost done here,” she told him briskly.
“I was thinking that you should probably keep the key,” he told her. “It’s much easier if you can let yourself in. That way I don’t have to be here to let you in every time.”
“I won’t be coming back.” She concentrated on getting the crumbs and hair cleaned up from the couch. She didn’t dare look at him for a reaction. She hoped he was sad, but she feared he’d be relieved that he didn’t need to see her again.
“Understood.” Connor sighed. “I really hate to have to find a new cleaning service. You really were the best I’ve ever found.”
His last sentence hung in the air between them. If she was the best, why couldn’t he stand by her when she needed him?
Mary wanted to scream, but she held herself together. “You don’t have to fire us. I won’t be coming back, but Gina will take over your cleaning services.”
“Oh.” He went to the counter and grabbed the key. She held out her hand, and he pressed it into her palm, lingering for a second. “You did a really great job.”
“Thank you.” She looked up and met his eyes for a second. He meant what he’d said; she could see that in his eyes. He wasn’t happy that she wasn’t going to be there again.
“I’d be happy to give you a recommendation to anyplace else. I’ve already recommended you guys to a few of my friends, and so has my mother.”
“Thank you.” Mary couldn’t say more. Too much emotion was making it hard for her to think.
This was it. This was the last time they were going to see each other face-to-face. She should have made it more special, but all she could think to do was get out of there soon as she could.
“Would you like me to leave while you finish?” he asked after a minute of awkward silence.
“I’m pretty much done. Thank you for the recommendations and for the kind words.”
She gathered her supplies and left the apartment quietly. She shut the door as softly as possible and held her head high while she walked to her car.
When she was alone, her shoulders sagged, and she relaxed into the seat.
It was done.
Things were only going to get better from here. She’d made the right decision, as much as it hurt her. He couldn’t stand by her and her family, so she would never be able to trust him. It didn’t matter how much she liked him. Their relationship had been fun while it lasted, but now it was done.
The faster she forgot about him, the better.
Chapter Fourteen
Connor couldn’t shake his bad feeling. Since the last time he’d seen Mary, it felt like his whole life had gone into the toilet.
He was sure they weren’t right for each other, but his lion wasn’t taking no for an answer. The last time he saw her, it had wanted him to chase after her and tell her how he felt.
Not that it would do any good. They couldn’t trust each other. She wasn’t willing to meet him halfway.
His phone rang, and it was like the universe was listening to his thoughts. It was Melody.
He considered not answering, but he hadn’t broken up with the twins. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Can you come pick me up?”
“What’s wrong?” His lion was on high alert. “Where are you?”
“You know the old Donnelly barn? I was here with a few friends, and I’m really drunk. My friends and I don’t want to ride with a drunk driver. Can you please come get me? And don’t tell Mary. She’ll kill me.”
“I’ll be there in a flash.”
He didn’t even have to think about his response. Mary would find out, but he knew how invaluable it was for a teenager to have a safe way home. He was glad Melody trusted him enough to consider him her safe person, even though they barely even knew each other.
Even if Mary didn’t trust him, her family did. That counted for something.
He took his time, obeying all the speed limits as he drove. He wanted to set a good example, and he needed time to think about what he was going to say. He didn’t know if he should yell at Melody or offer her a place to stay for the night.
He quickly nixed that idea. It would be strange to ask her to stay. Maybe he could take her out for some food to let her sober up and open up to him.
It wasn’t lost on him that this was also a way to stay connected to Mary. There was no way he could get through this whole thing without talking to her at least once, even if it was just a text.
It might be torturous, but he couldn’t let her go, at least not all the way. His lion wasn’t ready for that yet, and if he could help with the twins, he was glad to keep talking to her. He’d stop hurting eventually, and his lion would get over her one day.
When he got to the Donnelly barn, Melody wasn’t outside. He searched the familiar property where the rundown barn cut a spooky figure in the dark night. The barn had been used as a petting zoo forty years ago. The place had closed down after three or four years, but the barn hadn’t been torn down. Now, it was a sickly brown and was missing most of its doors. It was still popular with the local teens.
He found Melody around back. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets and hung her head. “Can you help me find Hilary? She went out into the woods, and she hasn’t come back.”
“Did she go with anyone?” His lion was starting to get antsy. Had someone taken her out to the woods and done something to her?
“Nothing like that. There’s a tool shed that we use as a bathroom.” Connor involuntary gagged at the thought, and Melody laughed. “Gross, I know, but we have to go somewhere. Most of us don’t go inside the thing. We just go outside to keep the bathroom in one area.”
Melody led the way while Connor reflected on how things had changed since he was young. Things seemed to be different for these kids. He had always gotten drunk at someone’s lake house and had never spent long enough at the barn to need to use the bathroom. It had only been a fascination during the summer when he and his friends were sixteen and seventeen, and not much longer. By the time he was Melody’s age, he wasn’t coming here anymore.
It occurred to him that she was handling her liquor much better than he had at her age. She didn’t even seem drunk to him.
“Don’t be mad,” Melody told him, stopping abruptly.
He stopped short to avoid bumping into her. “Why would I be mad? I came to get you, but I’m not going to be angry at anything. Even if you throw up in my car on the way home, I won’t be mad. I just want you to be safe.”
“You’re so freaking nice. Anyway, I’m not drunk. I don’t even like drinking,
but if I did, I wouldn’t come here. This place is so freaking lame.”
Melody pointed toward the shed. Now that they were closer, Connor could make out a very angry Mary who was standing with Hilary.
“We didn’t know any other way to get you guys to talk.”
Connor shook his head and started to back away. “This isn’t cool. This doesn’t concern you two, and I don’t appreciate being tricked. I know you guys want to help, but real life isn’t a sitcom. We can’t fix everything this easily.”
“Don’t leave,” Melody implored him. “Could you just talk to each other for a minute?”
“There’s nothing to say,” Connor said. “We’ve said all we needed to, and we’re both done.”
His lion didn’t agree. He was having a hard time making his feet move, because his lion didn’t want to take a step away from its mate. It still had a lot of things it wanted to say to Mary. It was still sure she was Connor’s mate. It still hadn’t accepted that she didn’t want to be with him.
She looked as beautiful as ever, maybe even more so. Anger had brought color to her face. Even in her leggings and pajama shirt, she was still one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.
Connor longed to brush her blonde hair away from her face and take her in his arms, protect her from feeling disappointed in the twins. He wanted to take care of all of this for her. She should be at home in bed right now, waiting for him to get home with the girls. She shouldn’t be standing outside a shed that teenagers used as a bathroom.
“We’re going home now,” Mary told the girls sternly. “I can’t believe you dragged Connor all the way out here in the middle of the night. You think he doesn’t have better things to do? You both need to apologize.”
Hilary put her hands on her hips. “No, you apologize. Maybe Connor should apologize too. I don’t know who needs to apologize, but one of you two obviously needs to.”