Page 49 of Midnight Secrets

“And he’s a demon in bed,” Felicity added.

Isabel nodded and lifted her right hand higher. “And, yes, he is a god in bed.”

Both women sighed and leaned back in their chairs.

Isabel glanced at her left hand, way down. “So now let’s look at me. The one who is supposedly out of his league. I’m twenty eight years old and I’m jobless. I have a talent for cooking, yes, but I haven’t trained as a chef. I was blown up six months ago and I haven’t put myself back together again at all, as Joe has done. I haven’t got my strength back, I have dizzy spells. Sometimes I am afraid to go out for walks because I don’t know if I’ll make it back.”

She looked Felicity and Lauren in the eyes. Their faces were now sober as they listened to her.

“I have nightmares. Every night. Last night, thanks to Joe, was the first time I didn’t have a nightmare, but believe me, sleeping with someone who wakes up terrified isn’t fun. I don’t know if I’ll ever be physically fit again. I lost my entire family and that’s left a huge black hole punched in my chest and I can’t be sure I’ll ever be emotionally whole again. I miss my family every second of every day and I grieve for them. How attractive is that? To have a woman who isn’t emotionally stable. Oh, and money. Everyone thinks I’m rich because I am a Delvaux, but I’m not. Our family was well-off, sure. But Dad put all the family assets in a blind trust when he decided to be a candidate. That blind trust was the Solem Group.”

Both of them gasped and Isabel gave a sharp nod. The Solem Group had gone bankrupt two days after the Massacre, destroying thousands of family fortunes, including hers.

“I was left with huge debts. I sold off our house, paid the debts and was left with enough to buy this place, but not much more. My savings will run out in a few months, and whether I’m physically fit or not, I’m going to have to look for a job.”

She leaned forward and they did too. “After the Massacre, my life became a nightmare. The last of the Delvauxs, this wretched creature. I couldn’t go out of the house without being accosted. There wasn’t a tabloid that didn’t catch me looking like a ghost. That was too much for my friends, who didn’t want the Delvaux bad luck to jinx them. And of course, the kicker. I was dead broke. Even if I wanted to go out to dinner, to go to the Hamptons or Aruba, go clubbing, I couldn’t. I didn’t want to but my so-called friends assumed I couldn’t afford to. A grieving, suffering woman who is also dead broke—who wants that?”

Isabel looked at her hands forming the scale. Joe up high, Isabel down low.

“So, ladies, if anything, Joe is out of my league. A strong and vibrant man, attractive and with a good job waiting for him. Surrounded by loving friends. And me. Alone and broke and not in good health. I wonder what he wants with me? Because he could sure do better.”

Lauren and Felicity exchanged somber glances. “You’re not alone, Isabel,” Lauren said.

Felicity lowered Isabel’s right hand, tipped up her left, until the scales were even. “You’re surrounded by friends, too. And Joe’s a really lucky guy.”

* * *

Joe triedto keep an ear out to hear what the women were saying in the kitchen, but their voices were too low. At first he’d heard Felicity and Lauren gushing about whatever miracles Isabel had baked. And then they started talking and he couldn’t make anything out.

He also had to pay some attention to the game. He had a natural bent for card games and enjoyed the strategy and dealing with the element of chance. He could also count cards in his head.

He’d have gladly sacrificed a few hands to be able to listen in on the conversation in the kitchen but pride kept him in his seat.

One thing for sure, there was a friendly atmosphere.

Bless Lauren and Felicity. And bless Suzanne. He knew for a fact that once Isabel met Allegra and Claire, the wife of their homicide detective buddy, they’d become friends too.

She was lonely. He could read it in her face. She’d been through something so horrendous it was hard to fathom. Joe had been in battle, but he was trained and prepared. The Massacre had been horrible beyond belief, and Isabel had lost her entire family.

Joe knew that he was there for her. She was the one, the one he didn’t know he’d been waiting for. But friends were important, too, and now Isabel was going to be surrounded by the finest women Joe had ever met.

She deserved it.

“Fuck, man.” Jacko threw his cards down in disgust. “Who the hell are you bribing?”

“That’s why they call it the luck of the draw.” Joe gave a quick check of his chips. He’d won two hundred and twenty dollars. Jacko wasn’t complaining about the money—he had plenty of money. He was complaining about losing, which he didn’t do gracefully.

Tough shit. Joe smiled to himself but he knew absolutely nothing showed.

Time to make up for the losses. “I bought myself a sweet karambit. Wanna see it?”

It was a peace offering. Metal grinned. “How long?”

“Five inches. So, it’s over at my place if you want to see it.”

The two men were getting up. “Okay. The least you can do after taking all our money,” Metal said.

Joe went into the kitchen, stopped at the threshold.

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