Page 234 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

“I think you’d best really hit me with that whiskey, then.”

I obliged by adding a generous splash to her coffee.

Maggie plucked up a stirrer and set to swirling the concoction in her mug, turning the coffee into a kaleidoscope of swirls and creamy curlicues. She knocked back a deep swallow and coughed, then took another smaller drink.

I waited until she was done, watching her from beneath hooded eyelids. “What do you think of the whole thing?”

“Oof. Honestly, Carter, I think that this whole thing is absolutely terrible and the people who perpetrated this deserve to have the same things done to them.”

“Is there any way at all I can get Megyn to stay?”

“Why not ask her?”

“Because she sent me this text.” I pulled out my phone and handed it to Maggie to read Megyn’s final decree to me, sent yesterday. I hadn’t responded yet. I should have. I didn’t want her to think I was so ready to be done with her that I wouldn’t even say goodbye; it was literally out of my hands now and in Maggie’s.

Maggie looked up from the phone, nibbling on her lower lip. “I think we were all kind of afraid this was going to happen.”

“Yes.”

Maggie handed the phone back to me and drank more of her spiked coffee. “Do you think this was done by someone who has a grudge against you?”

I briefly thought of Suzie, but then shook my head. She might be lustful, but I didn’t think she was dumb. Even she would know that causing a stunt like this would be a way to ensure I never, ever spoke to her again, much less dated her. “I think I brought it upon myself with the whole ‘trying to find my wife’ thing. In retrospect, it’s exactly the sort of fantastical thing people are way too into these days. Like all the stuff with the Kardashians. It’s… It’s reality-TV worthy.”

“But damn if it didn’t almost work, right?”

Maggie held out her mug to me and I gave her another shot in her mug, which she tossed back straight. Much more of this and I’d be summoning a taxi to take her home.

“Is Megyn really selling her house?”

“She really is. She just put it up on the market.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “So quickly?”

“Well, it’s kind of been in her mind for a while now, Carter.” Maggie leaned her hip on the counter. “I helped her gather resources. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had everything ready to go, just waiting for the right moment. Now that her house is cleaned up and presentable, all the pieces are in their places. So, yes, that quickly. I saw it online this morning. It actually looks like a nice little place in pictures.”

“How much is it going for?”

“About as much as you’d expect. If she doesn’t sell it soon, it’ll start going down in value because of the stuff purported to happen next year. No one wants to pay even so little on a place that’s going downhill.”

My mind raced. Maggie was exactly right. And that might well be to my advantage. The end of the year was not a time when people were really looking to buy houses, and the state of Staten Island would put off any potentials who were. It wasn’t too late to act.

Maggie put her hand on my arm. “You get that same look on your face when you’re thinking that Brian does. What’s on your mind?”

“What if I told you that I want to buy Megyn’s house?”

Maggie stared at me. “Okay. But why?”

“I want to give Megyn that sewing shop she’s always wanted.” I could feel myself getting excited about my idea. “I’ll take her house and transform it for her. I know it won’t help the whole media circus thing, but maybe if she has something to focus on, if we have something to work on together, we can… We can rise above it, together.”

Maggie smiled and put her arms around me, surprising me. “Carter, that would thrill her to pieces! And maybe it would help the whole media thing. She’d be successful, opening up her own store. That diminishes their rags-to-riches angle a little bit. And it would, at the same time, bring attention and customers to the store!”

“Yes!” I said, grabbing her and spinning her around. “Yes, exactly! What do you think?”

“I think you really are a prince, Carter.” Maggie laughed. “Megyn is so lucky to have you. I think, in doing this, you’ll be showing her how much you care about her dreams, abouther.She’s always so concerned about what others think, so maybe showing her that it doesn’t matter and you’ll be there for her regardless will convince her.”

“Even if it doesn’t,” I said softly, “even if she still won’t be with me, I’m giving her this store. She deserves it.”

“And that,” Maggie pointed her finger at me, “is exactly what will convince her.”

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