Keke’s head was once wrapped in bandages. Eventually, the bandages were gone, which meant she was healing. I wasn’t looking forward to the day she’d wake up. I hoped the damage was so bad that she’d forgotten everything.
Faith and Arabel I didn’t have to worry about much. They visited Lola once a week and talked about their husbands and how all men were alike. For a bunch of women I was certain were dying to get married at one point in their lives, they sure did complain a lot about their marriages.
And speaking of Faith and Arabel, Lola sent me a text informing me that she was having dinner and drinks the second Saturday of July and that I was invited. She’d also invited Arabel and Faith.
I wasn’t looking forward to the dinner. I preferred spending time alone with Lola and getting as much information out of her as I could, but in order to keep Lola’s trust and remain close, I had to go.
After cleaning my kitchen and making my bed, making sure the corners were tucked in the way I liked, I got dressed. I wore the lacy green dress Lola had picked out and bought for me when we went shopping, along with black heels she let me pick. I made sure my makeup was subtle but noticeable, to let her know I put in some kind of effort for this dinner. Apparently, it was going to be formal and Lola wanted her girls to look great. Like I said, she was controlling. Why couldn’t we just wear what felt right?
I drove straight to Biscayne Bay, pulling right up to Lola’s mansion and parking in the roundabout driveway. There were two other vehicles parked in the driveway, as well as a polished black Chrysler.
Ahh. Dr. Corey Maxwell was around. Was he going to be joining us ladies for dinner? I sure hoped so. I’d missed him and needed to see him. It’d been way too long.
As I walked to the front door, it turned out that I rather appreciated that Lola had made this night formal after all. I needed to look my best for Corey, and this dress hugged me tight in all the right places and revealed all my curves. It definitely made my new breasts look good.
Ideas began to sprout in my mind, taking root.
I rang the doorbell. As always, Georgia answered. “Good evening, Miss Elliot. Glad you could make it to dinner.” I never got over the way Georgia greeted me—as if I were a nuisance. As if she could read me like a book and didn’t like me, only entertained me for Lola’s pleasure. She was protective of Lola. That was fine. She could protect her all she wanted as long as she didn’t get in my way.
“Glad I could make it too.” I walked in as she took a step back.
Georgia shut the door behind me. “Right this way.”
I followed her down the corridor, and as we got closer to the kitchen, I could hear voices. Several of them. Faith and Arabel were already laughing, and then I heard a deep, familiar voice. It was a voice I’d been fantasizing about ever since hearing it. It was him.
I followed Georgia into the kitchen and there he was. Corey fucking Maxwell. Immaculate and devilishly handsome. Dressed in a tailored, navy-blue blazer and jeans, his dark hair brushed in deep waves, and dimples revealed as he uncorked a bottle of champagne. The popping noise rang in my ears, the women gasped and guffawed, and he chuckled.
There weren’t many men who could get me to lust after them, but there was definitely something about Corey Maxwell that made me want him so damn much.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that he belonged to Lola and I wanted everything she had to belong to me to make up for what she’d done. But he was married, and happily in love from the looks of it. The way he topped off his wife’s glass with the bubbly liquid couldn’t be missed. His eyes flickered up to hers as he poured, and then he smiled. She blushed, holding his gaze. He was infatuated with Lola.
She was his prize. His dainty little gem.
But not for long.
“Miss Elliot is here, Mrs. Maxwell,” Georgia said over the commotion.
“Oh! Ivy! Finally! I’m so glad you’re here, girl!” Lola’s voice was shrill. “You came right on time! Corey just opened up an amazing bottle of champagne he bought while he was in France!”
France. So that’s where he was. He’d never posted about being there, and I knew because I checked his Instagram every day for updates.
Lola sashayed my way in ruby-red heels, and of course she looked like a goddess. Her hair was braided in a halo, and the silky, knee-length gown she wore was nothing short of breathtaking. Her breasts, which Corey had lifted and filled himself—I found out that little tidbit about two weeks ago—were the main display of her ensemble. The front of the dress was cut in a plunging V, revealing a lot of cleavage, and also making it perfectly clear to everyone that she wasn’t wearing a bra.