Page 27 of Master Vidar & Vali

Oh shit! I wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that they knew about me. I could only imagine what they thought if they only knew the public facts about my past. Plus, how much did I really want to share with strangers? I decided to keep things light and find out what they really wanted.

“Crappy crime-filled childhood, okay college years, really crappy first job with a psycho boss. You know, the usual hard-luck-tries-to-do-good-but-gets-kicked-in-the-teeth-by-life story. But if you know my past, you know that. What is that you really want to know?”

The ladies exchanged glances and I stiffened, preparing myself for the “you aren’t good enough for our friends” speech. I honestly could give it to myself. They would say,Why does an ex-con with no life experience think she is good enough for our friends who are not only heroes but successful businessmen? You should just go away.

Rose smiled and surprised me by saying, “We really do just want to get to know you. I’m a military brat. We never had much money, but my father was a secure, supportive force in my life. I’m sorry you didn’t have that.”

“Thanks.” It was all I could think to say. I knew pity, had experienced and exploited it too many times. That wasn’t whatshe was giving me. It was like she was actually sorry I hadn’t had a good parent in my life.

“Here.” Mari handed me another drink. “I had money and privilege but not in the way the guys had. My family owned a ranch and they loved me and provided well for me. My mother came from old money and walked away from fortune and the obligations that came with it, because her parents didn’t approve of them. My father was the son of a hard-working estate manager. The two of them met when his father was working on my grandparents’ estate. They chose love over money. My mother was denied her trust fund due to her decisions. Despite that, they found a way to pay for me to get a top-notch education. When I finished school, I set my sights on fashion, which normally would lead to poverty, but luck and the income from investing in the clubs quickly made me a wealthy woman. More importantly, it meant when my parents’ health declined, I was able to support them. They died together not long before Rose relocated here at my behest.”

“Behest?” Rose rolled her eyes, “More like demanded.” She and Mari laughed and I couldn’t help but join them. I didn’t understand why these women were opening up to me so much, but I appreciated the gesture, and it made me feel like they really wanted to be my friends. I downed my drink and held out my glass for a refill.

This time we were all ready for another drink. The room swayed, and I realized though we’d had a few drinks, we hadn’t had any of the snacks.

“Hang on, I’ll bring in some snacks while you make the drinks.”

Rose followed me and we both came back with our arms full of goodies.

“You two have to try this ganoush stuff; it’s so good.” I held out the dip to Rose and she swiped a baby baguette toast tip through the dip.

“Oh, that is tasty. But I’m spoiled rotten, Gabriel makes the best Greek food on the planet. I can’t get enough of his dip.”

“I just bet you can’t,” Mari replied and we all broke into peals of laughter at the innuendo. “I don’t want to hear any more about Gabe’s dip. That’s old news. I’m more interested in hearing about how Zara ensnared our baby Masters.”

“Baby Masters?” I might have been a little tipsy, but there was nothing baby or little about Linc and Colin.

“Fine, they aren’t really baby Masters. They are younger than the rest of the seven of us, so we call them the Baby Masters. Well, not to their face of course.”

I laughed. “How much younger?” They didn’t look younger, but maybe I was wrong.

“Two years,” Mari said with a gravity that should not be attached to such a small number.

I snorted and Rose laughed.

“Uhm, since I think I’m almost ten years younger than them, what does that make me?”

Mari shook her head. “The eight of us met in college when that number seemed more important. Colin is the younger brother of Declan, or Master Odin, who back then, was the leader of our merry band. He’s the Scottish/American mastermind billionaire and mama hen to the group. Lincoln has been Colin’s best friend since they were old enough to run around without diapers. Their parents are associated in similar circles.”

This was all news to me yet made so much sense. We’d talked about our backgrounds a bit, but mostly we talked about current stuff. I didn’t really know them that well. I took the last sip of my fourth, or was it fifth, drink and sighed.

“You all sound so close and have been friends for so long. I don’t think I belong in such an esteemed group.” My sentiments came out sounding quite formal and I meant every word, despite the slight slur I was beginning to develop. “I’m just a nobody. But I can’t seem to help myself with those two. It’s not just the out-of-this-world sex, they’re good guys!”

Mari slid me another drink as both women laughed. I should have been mortified by my abrupt share, but instead I offered a lazy smile.

“So they’re talented?” Rose asked with a giggle.

“Yes. Seriously, it's like completely unreal. Like they are gods,” I added for good measure.

Mari snorted, “Well, Norse gods.”

We all laughed at the reference to the club names. It felt good talking to these women. Why hadn’t I tried to make friends before? They were the best.

“So what’s the problem?” Rose asked. “They are into you and you are into them.”

I took another deep drink. “First they wouldn’t make a move because they thought I wasn’t in theright placeto make any decisions. But when I begged and swore it was only a fling, they gave in. It was AH-MAZ-ING, but it was so good that I’ve been hiding from them ever since.”

“The sex was too good?” Mari seemed more sober than Rose and I, which was suspicious.

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