Page 31 of The Lies of Bryn van Doren

I thought that would go…differently.

“Jess!” Stefano takes a knee in front of her, snapping his fingers to catch her attention.

She lifts her face and swats at his hand as questions start to clog the back of her throat. “He barely touched me. Am I going to get paid? Do I have to—be with someone else?” A frown tugs at her brow, matching his expression. “Did you tell him I could dance?”

“What? No,” he replies incredulously.

“Well,that’swhat happened. He came in, he told me his name, he—he sat in that chair and he told me to dance for him.”

Stefano says nothing in reply, his mouth falling open in what could be shock or awe. Jessica isn’t sure; but now that she’s found her words, she can’t stop until she’s told him the whole story.

“I thought he might ask me to—I don’t know. But it was like some sort of sign. It felt like a moment of kindness. Except—when I was finished, he just…left.”

She looks to Stefano for some sort of explanation. He doesn’t say anything, which brings Jessica back to her previous line of thinking. The idea that she wasn’t what Godrik wanted makes her palms sweat. She’s not sure what she’s more worried about—that the man Stefano all but handpicked for her hadn’t touched her—or that the man with the secrets hidden in his perfectly blue eyes, eyes she almost trusted for reasons that don’t make sense, hadn’t touched her.

She’d mentally prepared all day to give herself to a man she didn’t know, then in walked Godrik. What feels like the very real possibility he’ll refuse to pay for a night with nohappy endingmakes Jessica’s heart race anxiously.

After more silence than she can stand, she reaches up her hand and snaps her fingers in Stefano’s face. “Saysomething. Please!”

Gently taking hold of her hand, he moves it out of his face in order to stare into hers as he murmurs, “You just made eight thousand dollars, and all you did was dance?”

An involuntary laugh bubbles out of Jessica before she catches herself. She covers her mouth with her free hand for a second. That’s about as long as she can hold her tongue. Sliding her hand down until her fingers are splayed across the exposed skin of her chest, she exclaims, “What? I made—I madewhat?”

“Eight thousand. It’ll be wired into your account Monday morning.”

“Holy shit,” she says on another laugh.

Pulling her hand out of Stefano’s grasp, she submerges all of her fingers in her maple locks as she lets the actuality of eight thousand dollars sink in. She shakes her head in disbelief and then closes her eyes as she remembers the man who is responsible for such a large amount of funds. Her eyebrows knit together, and her hands fall into her lap as her moment of hysteric surprise slowly morphs into sober realization.

I need more. Eight grand is amazing, but I’ll need more—and something tells me I won’t get off so easy next time.

Even in the midst of such a reality, made even more evident in the room in which she still sits, Jessica can’t ignore the thrill of what she’s done and what it means. Not just for her, but for her mother—for their future. In one night, she’s made more money than she would have been able to take home from Moby’s Dive inmonths.

“I can’t believe it,” she says softly, looking at Stefano.

“Me neither. He’s never—” He cuts himself off and looks away from Jessica. She interprets his sudden silence immediately.

In this room, she is not his dove more than she is an asset. In this moment, Godrik is not a man to be gossiped about. He’s a client whose secrets are protected. As much as she wishes she could be privy to the rest of Stefano’s unfinished sentence, she acknowledges she has no right. She surrenders to the gatekeeper out of respect for her friend.

“So, what now? What happens next?” she inquires.

His hazel eyes cut back to look at her, but he says nothing as he admires her in thought. Before she can grasp even a hint of what he might be thinking, he rises to his feet and smooths his hands down the front of his jacket.

“You get dressed and you go home,” he answers matter-of-factly. “If he wants you another time, you’ll be notified. I should be getting back to the front.”

“If?” She stares up at him before joining him as she stands. “Beatrice made it seem like maybe—do you think he won’t? And if he doesn’t, I’ll get someone else?”

His face softens as a hint of desperation glints in his eyes. “Jess—”

“No,” she states, stepping toward him. It takes her no effort at all to see what he’s thinking—what he’shoping.“Two nights. I know you hate that I’m doing this, but we both promised. Two nights. I just, I need to know if you think it’ll be Godrik or someone else.”

Stefano’s eyebrows knit together at her use of the nameGodrik, and she wonders if the two men are not on a first name basis. Her suspicions are confirmed when he replies, “IfMr. Morganwould like another night…” He pauses and sighs resolutely before he changes his mind. “WhenMr. Morgan would like another night, you will be the first to know. For now, go home. The night is yours.” He presses a kiss in her hair, just beside her temple, and then starts to take his leave.

“Huey?” she calls out before he can get too far.

He stops, turning only enough to see her from over his shoulder.

“Thank you.” She knows he doesn’t think he deserves any appreciation for what he’s done for her, but neither of them can negate the truth. Her first night went better than either of them could have imagined. Regardless of what the future might hold, she’s more certain now than ever it’ll have all been worth it.

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