CHAPTER ONE
EVAN
“THANKS, JAMES,” A SILKY VOICE purrs close to my ear while something is slipped into my back pocket. “That’s my card. Feel free to reach out to me anytime,” Nikki, the woman I just spent the last three hours with, says as a satisfied smile consumes her face. The light of her hallway flickers overhead. I ignore her blatant advance.
Hoping to take the sting out of my rejection, I wink and reply, “When you’re ready for another night, give the shop a call.”
She keeps the smile on her face firmly intact. “I definitely will.”
The second her door clicks shut, the all too familiar feelings of shame and regret take hold, simmering in my veins like molten lava. I attempt to swallow down my frustration, more than ready to crash in my own bed, hoping a good night’s rest will shake the funk I’ve been experiencing lately.
The last glow of an orange and pink sunset crests to my right, reminding me the evening is still young. I could easily meet the guys for a drink, but instead, I pull my truck out into the parade of traffic and drive home.
I let myself into the house, and my eyes shift toward the couch where I find Aidan, my son, watching TV. “I thought you were staying the night at Cole’s?”
“Nah, his grandparents are in town. His mom deemed tonight a family-only affair.”
“You should’ve said something. I would have stayed home with you.” He shrugs and uses the remote to turn off the TV. “No big deal. I thought you had another hot mystery date, anyway?”
Panic swirls in the pit of my stomach at the idea of my son learning the details of my personal life. “I just met a few of the guys at The Brown Bottle for a drink,” I lie with ease, adding to the guilt I’ve recently started feeling.
“Then maybe you need to find someone. You’ve never dated anyone long enough to introduce me.”
When I look at my son, all I see is her…blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples. He’s the spitting image of his mother. “That’s because—”
“No one can replace Mom. I know, I’ve heard that story for years, but come on, Dad. I’ll be sixteen in a few months. I plan to go off to college in a couple of years. Do you really think work and random hook-ups are going to make you happy for the rest of your life?”
My throat swells as the words random hook-ups bounce through my mind.
I lost my wife, Aidan’s mother, in a car accident eleven years ago. Bethany was the love of my life. She was it for me, and a day hasn’t passed that I haven’t thought of her, where I haven’t wondered what our life would be like if she had only stayed home that fateful day.
I put on a good face for Aidan and my parents. I’ve raised my son and turned my struggling business into a thriving company, but I’ve lived life one day at a time and women didn’t factor into that equation. Over the years, I’ve stumbled into my fair share of drunken one-night stands, but after one conversation with my good friend, Jason Somers, everything changed.
In college, Jason screwed around…a lot. There was a time when I was envious of how easy it was for him to score with a woman, but then I met Bethany.
When The Meat Market hit a rough patch and Jason and his brother were worried they might have to close-up shop, Jason let me in on a secret. In college, Jason wasn’t just a lady’s man, he was a paid escort. For a short time, he put his good looks and charm to work. That’s why, when his back was up against the wall, he decided to try his hand at escorting again, only this time, he asked his brother and several close friends if they were interested in helping.
Separating emotions from sex is hard for a lot of people, especially women. Even now, over a decade later, I have no desire to date. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t have needs. But it doesn’t mean I have to be a complete asshole. I’m not going to lie or trick a woman into sleeping with me—therefore, I didn’t have sex nearly as often as my dick would have liked…until I took Jason up on his offer.
In my experience, women who are willing to pay for an escort aren’t clingy or looking for love. Like me, they have desires they want fulfilled without the expectations that come from dating. On paper, especially when your code name is Spare Ribs, it looks bad, at least to me, but the truth is, I haven’t slept with all the women I’ve seen over the last two years. I’ve been a guest to several weddings. I’ve helped a handful of ladies make their ex jealous. I’ve even gone as far as putting my handy-man skills to use—changing locks, fixing leaky faucets, and once replacing a hot water tank because the woman had no one else in her life willing to help her.
Regardless, I’ve made enough money that I can afford to pay for Aidan’s college with ease. For that reason alone, I don’t regret my decision, but I’d rather go to my grave without him knowing how I’m financing his dream.
“I’m not out…” I do my best to soften my expression while attempting to stomp down the anxiety spinning in my chest. “Just don’t worry about your old man. I’m fine.”
“I know you are, Dad. I guess…” He stands, softly shaking his head, wearing a somber expression. “I was just hoping that one day, you’d stop settling for fine and decide to be happy.”
My heart speeds up, rapidly beating while I struggle to reply, but when I open my mouth, nothing comes out. Thankfully, Aidan’s phone rings. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he mumbles with a grim smile before he answers his phone on his way to his room.
I live and breathe for my son, but somehow, in a matter of seconds, he turned the tables on me. Aidan has always been mature for his age, but tonight, I felt like the scolded kid who was caught doing something wrong. Isn’t that exactly what happened? He might be in the dark regarding the details of my arrangements, but he knows enough.
When Jaxson, Jason’s younger brother, fell for Lilly, he stopped accepting orders. Maybe it’s time I have a talk with Jason.
NORA
“Yoo-hoo, Nora, over here!” I cringe when I hear Liv’s voice carry across the cafeteria. Knowing it’s useless to ignore her, I turn with the tray holding my lunch and head her direction. “We told you, we’re not letting you sit by yourself anymore, not when you have us.” Allie, Liv’s sidekick, adds as I slide into the seat next to her.
“Thanks, I didn’t see you two over here.”
Liv narrows her eyes, clearly not believing me but, thankfully, not calling me out. “Like it or not, just like Shiver Investments, you’re stuck with us.” I ignore the sting from her comment and focus on smothering my salad with ranch dressing.
The two of them start rambling, leaving me to wonder why I’m sitting here. Liv and Allie aren’t my real friends. They’re just two women I recently met when I moved from New York to Chicago for a fresh start. I don’t particularly dislike them, but I haven’t taken the time to get to know them, either.
“Drake broke up with me last night,” Allie blurts in the middle of their conversation.
“What the hell? I told you he was a jackass,” Liv’s voice is laced with concern.
“He told me he’s tired of playing second to my job.”
Instantly, my appetite vanishes as similar words spoken by my ex-husband wash over me.
“What did you expect? You’re never home. I’m a doctor, for crying out loud. I understand what it’s like to be busy, but your job comes first; it always has.”
My parents were killed in a freak boating accident when I was eight years old. After they died, I lived a few years with my dad’s mother until she had a massive stroke and was placed in a nursing home. After that, I moved in with a college friend of my mother’s. I barely knew Pam when I arrived on her doorstep, but she kept a roof over my head until I left for college. Pam was sweet, but even as a kid, I knew she wasn’t the best role model for an impressionable teenager. She liked to party, and in a sense, was a revolving door of one-night stands. By the time I turned eighteen, I vowed to myself my life would be different.
I don’t remember a lot about my parents, but I’ve kept the memory of the way my dad would look at my mother—like she personally hung the moon and the stars—close to my heart. I wanted that for myself. I craved an intense, emotional connection. As the years passed, I ended up settling for the first man who made me feel even an ounce of excitement. But instead of living happily ever after, we divorced after four passionless years of marriage.
Six months ago, Joseph, my now ex-husband, appeared at my door wanting to work on things. He begged, pleaded, promised things would be different, but I didn’t give a damn. I already knew I settled by marrying him, but walking in on him banging a woman on his desk is an image I’ll never get out of my head. For some reason, Joe wasn’t giving up. Therefore, when I was offered a promotion, one that would require me to relocate, I jumped at the opportunity.
I escaped New York and my ex only to find myself all alone in a huge city, still living and breathing for my job. The only difference is, I’m ready to put my dream of finding a love like my parents behind me and acknowledge that maybe Pam had a better hold on life than I gave her credit for.
“You’re better off without him,” Liv states, bringing my attention back to the present.
“She’s right,” I add with a sigh. “He did you a favor by breaking up with you instead of sneaking around behind your back.”
“Oh shit. Is that why you’re always a Debbie Downer?” Liv asks.
Allie adds, “No, she probably acts that way for the same reason my boyfriend broke up with me. We’re always here, which means we’re not getting any. Shit…” Allie rubs her hands over her face in frustration. “I suck at balancing a demanding career and a relationship.”
“Tell me about it. I walked in on my now ex-husband screwing his receptionist and, somehow, it was my fault because I work too much.” They both give me looks of pity, something I hate seeing aimed my direction, but I feel a sense of peace, now that I’ve unexpectedly opened myself up to them.
“I wasn’t going to say anything but…” Liv leans forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Have you ever heard of The Meat Market?”