Adonis in Athens - Page 60

“We’ll talk later,” he repeated firmly.

They walked into Raegan’s room and she was sitting up, her eyes wide as she looked at Paige. “What’s going on?! I just got the craziest text from Tom.”

“You slept with him?” Paige demanded, shaking her head.

“I tried to tell you…”

“When?”

“Before! But you kept interrupting and telling me to rest and my mom was here and the pain meds and…” She burst into tears.

“Oh, Raegan.”

“Who did she sleep with?” Mick asked, confused since he’d come in a few seconds behind them.

Apollo shot him a look but Raegan’s eyes widened and she swiped at her face. “Who are they?” she finally whispered.

Paige smiled and pulled Apollo forward. “Don’t you remember Apollo? From spring break?”

Raegan managed a faint smile. “You’ve filled out.”

He arched a brow. “That’s good, right?”

“Yeah.”

“This is my closest friend in the world. Three years ago he decided to go to the Bahamas for spring break and I came here.” Apollo glanced at his friend. “So, Mick, this is Paige and Raegan. Ladies, this is the one and only Michael Laughlin…otherwise known as Mick.”

Mick shook both of their hands and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling with what could easily be construed as perpetual mischief. “So…who’d you sleep with?” he asked Raegan, cocking his head.

Apollo bit back a laugh but Raegan merely sighed, closing her eyes. “Tom—but it was a moment of weakness,” she whispered.

“Yeah, but—why?” Paige looked baffled. “He’s boring and…I’ve told you he wasn’t very good.”

“He wasn’t bad,” Raegan bit her lip. “He just doesn’t have any imagination—about anything.”

“You still didn’t tell me why.”

“Because you called me from Greece and said you were falling in love with your husband, thinking about staying—which meant that I was going to be here alone and he was there. With a house and money and the answer to all my problems.”

“I told you I wouldn’t leave you high and dry!” Paige protested. “And do you really want to sell your soul to Tom for some money?”

“It’s not just money,” Raegan said quietly. “It’s security. I’ve never had that, Paige. Remember how I grew up—I’ve never had safety, security, money or even love. My mother loves me as much as she’s able with her mental health issues, but my father is an evil man. Something that guarantees I never have to ask him for anything is worth selling my soul for.”

“So that’s what you’re going to do?” Paige asked, frowning. “You’re going to start dating Tom? Do you know what he just said to me? I mean, he showed a side I’ve never seen before.”

“He was pretty aggressive,” Apollo said. “I know this is really none of my business, but I would think twice about getting involved with a guy like him. I’m glad we showed up when we did.”

“He asked me to suck him off, right there in the elevator bay,” Paige told her. “Is that what you have to look forward to?”

“I don’t know,” Raegan said sadly. “But I can’t work, Paige. I can’t pay my share of the rent. My credit cards are maxed out and—”

“We’d paid all but one of them off!” Paige said in exasperation. “Did you seriously max them out in two weeks?”

“The transmission blew on the car!” Raegan said. “And the brakes were gone. It was over a thousand dollars!”

“And the other four thousand?” Paige asked dryly.

“You know I don’t cook, so I was eating out every night. I got the other job and needed new shoes—really sexy but comfortable enough for me to dance in. And new clothes.”