The Monster (Boston Belles 3)

Smiling and trying my best to appear calm, I waited for more.

“I was wrong in forcing you and Samuel apart. I thought I was doing you a favor. To be honest, I still think I did. Your brothers and I knew you liked him from the moment you saw him, and we wanted someone better for you. You deserved nothing but the best. But if what you want is less than the best, if your heart desires Sam…” he took a deep breath, as if he was about to rip a Band-Aid “…you have my permission to be with him, honey. I will not stand in your way, and I will not pay Sam an extra fee not to touch you. You are free to do as you please. Frankly, it’s been a long time coming, considering you are showing signs of being the smartest person in the family.”

I waited to feel all the feelings I thought I’d associate with this speech.

Relief, happiness, and elation.

But all I could feel was the bitter taste of irony exploding in my mouth.

Because Da’s acceptance of my relationship with Sam was too little too late.

Sam would never be mine. He’d made that perfectly clear. Even if he was open to some sort of a relationship, he wouldn’t offer me love, and I wasn’t going to back down from my demand—it was all or nothing.

Besides, what kind of woman was idiotic enough to be with a man who wished to see her family burn?

Standing up, I excused myself, curtsying like Ms. B had taught me, and gave them the one-on-one time they needed.

“That is very nice of you, Athair, and I appreciate you finally seeing the error in your ways, but I’m afraid it doesn’t matter anymore. I will not be touching Sam, dead or alive. Have a great morning.” I grabbed my coat and dashed out to the freezing cold of winter.

To the lonely arms of heartbreak.

Later that evening, when I came back home, Sailor, Belle, and Persy were waiting for me in my room. They were wearing Christmas-themed pajamas. An unholy amount of takeout food and wine was sprawled on my bed, stinking up the place.

Merde. Christmas was only a few days away. How did it slip my mind?

We hadn’t made any plans together, so I was caught off-guard by the spontaneous meet-up, but after a long day at work, I couldn’t exactly be mad at them for providing a much-needed distraction.

“Hi?” I dropped my backpack, scanning the three of them huddled in my bed like kids, watching It’s a Wonderful Life, stuffing their faces with maple-covered popcorn.

“Hey, girl! We brought Vietnamese.” Persy drummed chopsticks over takeout boxes, wiggling her brows.

“And good spirits,” Sailor added, showing me exactly what she meant by waving around a bottle of gin. I laughed.

“And sexual innuendos,” Belle murmured around a mouthful of popcorn. “But first take a shower and join us in a pre-Christmas celebration. These bitches didn’t chain their husbands to their babies’ cribs for nothing.” She tossed a matching pajama set my way, and I noticed there was a red lettering on the green PJ’s: 69% Nice.

I scurried to the bathroom and enjoyed a quick but steaming hot shower. When I got out, they were already settling all the food on the floor, including plates and utensils. Belle cracked open a bottle of champagne, leaving the gin unopened behind her back. I frowned.

“Are we celebrating something? Did you finally sell Madame Mayhem?”

Belle was the owner of a nightclub, much different than the one Sam was running. Recently, though, she wanted to sell it and soul-search across the globe. Travel. See things. Taste things. She always went against the grain, always did things her way—independently. Belle shook her head.

“This has nothing to do with me.”

“What’s going on?” I looked between them. I had an inkling I was being ambushed, and after the morning I had today—after giving up on my dream of being with Sam once and for all—I was in no mood to receive a lecture.

Belle sighed, tossing her blonde hair over one shoulder.

“I should’ve been more observant, that’s what happened. I’m so sorry. This week, the penny finally dropped. Halloween night at Badlands when I left you alone there. Then Sam asking Sailor for your number. The way the two of you disappeared at Thanksgiving around the same time …” she trailed off.

“Look, Aisling, we know,” Sailor said gravely.

We hadn’t exactly disappeared at the same time. Sam had tailed me without my knowledge. I blinked, waiting for the other shoe to drop. How much did they really know? I was always careful not to tell my friends anything about what went on with Sam. I knew how unlikely it was that something real would grow out of it, and didn’t want to be judged. More than I already was anyway.