by Lucy Leroux
She stepped closer to the picture he had drawn of a fairy in the garden. More masculine drawings of animals and transformers surrounded it, but the fairy was still there after all these years. She looked up to find Colman watching her quietly. His stare was unnerving, despite his friendly avuncular appearance.
“Calen says your mother was half-Irish. Do you know where her people are from?” he asked.
“Um, not really. Her mother lived in Kilkee in Clare County before she moved here. But I’m not sure if that’s where her family was from.”
Colman nodded. “We’ll have to look into that.” He walked over to an overloaded closet and dug around until he pulled out a thin book. “Do you and Calen plan on having children?” he asked bluntly.
Maia nodded a little too emphatically. “Yes, he wants them right away.”
“Seriously?” Colman’s face was a study in surprise.
“Yes.”
“So you’re trying for kids now?” he asked.
Maia flushed red, but she nodded again. This time, Colman gave her a genuine smile and handed her the thin volume. It was a Christmas-themed children’s book. Next to Santa was a female elf with orange-gold hair and blue eyes.
Maia looked down at the book with her mouth slightly open. She caught Colman looking at her and snapped it shut as she sat down on the bed to flip through the book. The colorful pages showed how Angelina the Elf saved Christmas.
“He probably doesn’t remember, because he wasn’t much older than little Darren junior, but his mother used to read him that book almost every night. It was his favorite. After she died, I put it away. She used to tell him other stories too. Fairy stories. I thought he had forgotten all about that. But I guess there are some things you don’t forget.”
Maia’s mouth twisted wryly, and she nodded. “I guess not.”
Chapter 23
Maia decided not to give Calen the book right away. Christmas was a few months away, and though she had several things in mind for gifts, she wanted to give him the book on that day. If all went well, she would be pregnant by then, and that would add another gift to the pile.
Of course, she could be pregnant well before then at the rate she and Calen were going.
Unless he came home from one of his clubs too late, he made love to her at least twice a night during the week and more often on the weekends. His high sex drive had taken some getting used to, but as time went on she had grown more confident in her own sexuality. She kept up with him with gusto now.
She had even started to daydream about having a little baby, too. She blamed Darren’s adorable little ones for taking her vague fantasies of future children and turning them into a full-blown case of baby lust.
Since she had alerted them to it, little Darren’s deafness had been confirmed, and now a nice young man came by every weekday to teach the toddler and his mother sign language. They were also exploring the possibility of a cochlear implant.
Calen had explained that his son’s inability to respond to him had caused Darren to neglect his son. A teenage cousin acted as nanny for him, which might have explained why no one had realized why the baby didn’t respond when spoken to. Darren senior hadn’t liked for people to think his son was mentally deficient, so he’d actively discouraged other family members from spending time with him.
Maia had thought that was shameful, and Calen had agreed, but Darren hadn’t listened when he had tried to discuss it with him before she came along. Their already tense relationship contributed to that. Darren treated everything Calen said with suspicion.
“Why? How did all of that start?” she asked him one night after they had made love.
In the darkness of their bedroom, Maia felt him shrug. “It’s been that way for years. Since I decided not to go into business with the family.”
“But wouldn’t that have made Darren more comfortable and easier to get along with?”
Calen scoffed. “You’d think so, but he’s insecure. I think he could have dealt with being third in line after me, but this way is somehow worse for him. Everyone knows that if I ever changed my mind, Da would give me Darren’s place in a heartbeat. He resents that, but my reassurances that I want no part of the business only seem to make things worse.”
Maia mulled that over. “Maybe it’s because he interprets your refusal as a slight to what he and your family do.”
Calen laughed. “The irony is that a lot of what they do is legal these days. Just not all of it.”
After that, Maia hoped the situation between the cousins would improve. Little Darren’s diagnosis seemed to make Darren more mellow. He could deal with a deaf son a lot better than one that was mentally disabled in some way. But Maia could still feel the tension between Darren and Calen when they saw each other. She and Calen went to Colman’s place for dinner every other week. And, inevitably, at least once during the night, he and Darren got into it. They never came to blows, but it was a near thing sometimes. There didn’t seem to be an easy fix for what was wrong between them.
Halloween came and went with a flurry of activity. Calen took her to two different parties, one at his club Sylph in New York and one that Liam and Trick threw at the Caislean New York. Both Maggie and Peyton were in attendance and the three of them had a lot of fun drinking and dancing. At least until she noticed Peyton’s stricken expression when they walked by Liam dancing with some skinny blonde.
Liam’s date was some other hotelier’s daughter, and he seemed very interested in her. Aching with sympathy, Maia did her best to distract her new friend. The fact that she herself had been getting unpleasant looks from another woman herself at the party only increased her determination to leave. Maia convinced Calen to take the three of them back to his club. Once they were back at Sylph they promptly lost Liam and his date. Peyton didn’t mention it later, but she gave her a tight hug at the end of the night.
Maia never found out who the unpleasant woman at the hotel party was. She assumed it was someone Calen used to date, but he didn't speak to the woman and she didn’t want to ask.
****
The weeks slipped by quickly as Mrs. Calen McLachlan. She had a full and busy life with a wider circle of friends than she’d ever had. Though she didn’t see Tahlia that much, she and Chang spent a lot of time with Maggie and Peyton. With her bodyguards discretely in tow, she attended various outings with them—brunch and shopping expeditions.
And eventually, after being repeatedly baited and teased by Maggie and Peyton, Calen finally made good on his promise of a girls-only night at Siren. Unfortunately, it was a disaster from the start.
The first sign it was going badly happened when Calen refused to stay home.
“I’m not going to get in your way, nymph, I promise. I’m going to be all the way upstairs in the manager’s office the whole night,” Calen said.
They had been arguing about it for ten minutes. Sighing, Maia relented. There was no way she was going to win. Calen did own the club.
“Will you at least ask Davis and Stephens to back off a little? They’re so intimidating, and their presence distracts Maggie and Peyton. It’s hard to relax around them.”
“Nymph, half of their job is intimidation. They need to be visible in public so people know you’re protected,” he said, putting his hands on either side of her head.
He kissed her softly, but Maia made an effort not to weaken the way she usually did when he touched her.
“Please, Calen. I just want to have fun. And they’re bringing some of their other girlfriends with them. It’s hard to explain the presence of two huge bodyguards,” she said, tugging at his hands.
Calen relented. “Okay. They back off tonight. But they’re still going. I’ll assign Stephens to the security office for the night. He’ll monitor your group over the camera feeds. Davis will still be guarding you, but discreetly. It’s the best I can do.”
Maia knew that was the best deal she was going to get. “I’ll take it,” she said cheerfully, certain the eveni
ng was going to be a blast.
But the outing started on a sour note when the car Calen ordered arrived with Maggie, Peyton, and their two friends. Jane seemed nice, but Shelly was a bitch from word one.
“So your Calen’s wife,” Shelly said nasally, looking her up and down disparagingly.
“Hi,” Maia said, settling into the car uncomfortably.
She hadn’t expected the other girl to be so sour. Gratefully, she accepted a glass of champagne from Peyton and tried to not to let her dismay at Shelley’s reception show on her face. She tried to talk to both Shelly and Jane, but only Jane responded politely to her questions. Shelly, on the other hand, spent the ride whispering in Jane’s ear while looking at Maia from behind her own glass of champagne.
She’s sneering at me.
Suddenly Maia felt small and ugly as she watched the tall and exotic Shelly adjust her electric blue handkerchief top. Lips pressed into a tight line, she tugged on the hem of her comparatively modest green silk dress.
“I’m so sorry about her,” Peyton whispered in her ear as the car arrived at the club. “Shelly’s just jealous. She’s been trying to catch Calen’s eye for years and failed miserably. But we thought she was over him. She's been saying she is for over a year now. I had no idea she would act like this. Maggie and I will make sure she behaves herself, or we’ll leave her at home next time.”
Maia thanked her a little weakly, but after that, she was oversensitive and self-conscious. Inside the club, it got worse. She started noticing how the other woman at the club looked at her—particularly the staff and women she assumed were regulars.
Everyone was curious about Calen’s bride and judging from the dismissive looks she got, most of the women found her lacking. They were obviously asking themselves what someone like him saw in her. After trying and failing to have a good time at the roped off VIP booth Calen had reserved for them, Maia escaped to the bathroom to regroup. She hid in the stall for a while until she realized how cowardly she was being.
When she left the stall, there was only one other woman in the bathroom, a stranger in a short, fire-engine-red dress and matching spiked heels.
“Hello,” Maia said, confused when the woman blocked her path to the sink. “Can I help you?”
The woman drew back her head and sneered. “I can’t believe he married you. Look at you. You’re nothing!”
The blood drained from Maia’s face. Was this one of Calen’s ex-girlfriends? She was about to ask, but before she could utter a word, Davis swept in. He moved between a stunned Maia and the woman and swept the stranger away with a hand on her arm.
“Hey! Let go,” the woman said, struggling in Davis’ grip.
But the bodyguard marched her out with a firm hand. He came back in a minute later. “Are you all right?” he asked, concern all over his strong blunt features.
Maia looked down and shrugged. “I doubt that’s the last time something like that will happen. I think I’m better off skipping girl’s night altogether from now on.”
First there had been that rude woman at the Halloween party and now this. How many more of Calen’s castoffs was she going to have to deal with?
Davis frowned. He started to say something, but Maia waved him into silence and walked back out to the table. She sat down and grabbed her still-full drink, downing it in a single pull.
“That’s the party spirit!” Maggie laughed, reaching over to clink glasses with her.
When Calen emerged from the manager’s office a little later, Maia had more than enough alcohol inside her, and she was spoiling for a fight. She hadn’t told the other ladies about the bathroom incident, but she was sure Davis had told Calen. And she was right—Calen came by their table with a peace offering.
“Compliments of the management,” he said magnanimously as a waitress set up two ice buckets filled with champagne at their table.
The girls hooted and hollered in celebration and thanks, but Maia didn’t say anything as Calen studied her carefully.
He leaned over. “You okay baby?” he asked. He sounded worried. She nodded and he smiled, reassured. “Enjoy the champagne ladies. I’ll be back in an hour to collect my wife, so make the most of it,”
“Oh, come on, Calen,” Maggie said. “It’s still early!”
“I’ve lent her to you long enough. One more hour, then she’s all mine again,” he said, stopping for a kiss before walking away with a wave.
Maia felt cold inside as her husband kissed her in front of everyone. It felt like he was putting on a show for their audience. She bypassed the champagne and ordered a second cosmopolitan, which was quickly followed by a third.
Chapter 24
From across the crowded club floor, Timur watched McLachlan stop by the table full of pretty girls to offer the group champagne and say hello to his wife.
His wife.
The fucking Mic had married her. Maia Dahl was now Maia McLachlan. And according to Peter and his father, she was now out of his reach.
He had been arguing steadily with the pair about the bitch. His father had finally listened to his concerns, but it was too late. Colman McLachlan had refused their offer to reacquire the girl. But that didn’t mean he was giving up.
Viktor was watching him watch the bitch. The beast wasn’t happy. He didn’t say anything—he usually didn’t. But Timur could feel Viktor’s judgment weighing on him, daring him to get up and go after the girl right now, so he’d have an excuse to drag him back home like some petulant child. His babysitter hadn’t wanted to bring him to the club tonight. Viktor had actually opened his fucking mouth to complain in that voice that sounded like he was chewing gravel and nails. But Timur was still the Komarov’s only son. And he was only watching. For now...
Timur had wanted to see the newlyweds together with his own eyes. His men had notified him as soon as the two had left McLachlan’s castle in the sky. When they didn’t go to the Caislean to their regular dinner and had come to the club instead, he’d made Viktor bring him here. The effort had been worth it. From what he could see, getting his hands on the girl might not be as hard as he thought.
There was trouble in paradise. The girl had been downing drinks for an hour, staring blankly, and avoiding the eyes of the other women. Even he could see her tension from way across the room.
The fancy clothes and expensive champagne weren’t enough to make her happy. She was just another ungrateful bitch.
Then McLachlan emerged from his office upstairs. He joked with the girls at the table and then took Maia away, bodyguards in tow. The possessive way he touched her told Timur everything he needed to know about their relationship.
The girl’s unhappiness was the key. If she disappeared at the right time, then everyone would think she’d run away, that she’d gotten tired of being McLachlan’s pampered prisoner. Then he could take care of her the way he should have as soon as they’d caught her in the woods.
All he needed to do was pick his moment.
Chapter 25
The hour was over before she knew it. As promised, Calen came back to the table to say goodbye to the others before he quickly ushered her towards the car. Maia allowed herself one small satisfied sniff when he didn’t even bother to look at Shelly as they left, despite the other woman’s effusive parting.
As they approached the penthouse, Maia’s sense of outrage finally lost steam. She started to question her right to be angry. It wasn’t as if she could confront Calen about his past. It wouldn’t be fair to do that to a normal boyfriend or husband. And given how they had come together, she might not even have a right to question his future.
If Calen grew bored and indulged in an indiscretion with some slutty club girl, what could she do? Sitting back and turning a blind eye to it didn’t sit well with her…but it wasn’t like she could leave him. She’d be trapped in a bad marriage for the rest of her life.
It was also bothering her that she couldn’t hide anything from Calen. Under normal circumstances, he would never kno
w that one of his exes had tried to confront her. Even Peyton, as unfortunate as her situation was, was able to hide how she felt when she saw Liam with someone else.
But with her minders Davis and Stephens shadowing her every move, Maia could never hope to keep any of those humiliating moments from her husband.
****
Calen watched Maia anxiously as Davis drove them home from Siren. It was two a.m. and he was tired. He had spent most of the night in his office teleconferencing with his other managers in Vegas and Miami. Both of those clubs were experiencing problems with different suppliers, and a new competitor had opened across the street from the Vegas location. He wasn’t worried about the club’s viability, but he had still taken steps to promote the club’s profile, including organizing a series of celebrity DJ’s to come in a few times a month for the foreseeable future. But none of those annoyances was bothering him as much as Maia’s silence.
He’d been worried when Davis had told him one of his former hookups, one that didn’t even look familiar when Stephens had pointed her out, had tried to harass Maia by cornering her in the bathroom. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, but Davis had been able to intercede before Maia was confronted on the other occasion at the Caislean Halloween party.
Shit. Things had been going so well lately between the two of them. Their relationship was everything he’d hoped it would be. Hell, it was better.
He’d gone down to check on Maia after Davis had told him what happened, but she had already sat in the middle of Maggie’s group of girlfriends, and he hadn’t wanted to pull her out of there to talk. Instead, he had personally delivered two complimentary bottles of Cristal to the group. The other women greeted the champagne with cheers, but Maia hadn’t touched it. And now she wasn’t talking to him beyond one-word answers to his questions.
He waited until they were back home before he broached the subject. Maia was heading to the bedroom when he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.
