All the air left the room, and my knees buckled. I collapsed into my chair. Two million?! Who in their right mind would expect an orphanage—a poor shifter orphanage, at that—to come up with that kind of money?
My gaze veered to Robin. He, too, looked gobsmacked. That gave me comfort. Maybe I hadn’t been in the dark as much as I’d thought.
Ada retracted her hand. “As you can see, we’d need quite a substantial donation. And while I appreciate that both of you want to help, I can’t take your money. Not that much.”
“There has to besomethingwe can do,” Robin said.
“There is,” Ada gave Robin a gentle smile. “Why don’t you use that money you were going to donate and take Marian here out to get the kids new clothing? Every single one of them needs a few things, and Marian knows their sizes and tastes. As we may need to relocate the children soon, it would be best if they looked presentable when they arrive at their new homes.” She choked on the final words.
Robin stood. “We’ll do that, won’t we, Mar?”
I arched an eyebrow, not sure what he was getting at—shopping absolutely wasnothappening, and I was sure he knew that. But I was willing to go with the charade for now. I’d do almost anything for the kids and the orphanage.
So, let’s see what you have up your sleeve this time, Robin.
“One hundred grand, huh?” I asked Robin the moment we walked out of the orphanage into the cooling desert air. “How did you get that much money? Did you steal it from the YMCA? Or maybe this time you targeted an old rich granny?”
Robin stiffened, and the blue orbs I’d gotten lost in hundreds of times locked with mine. “I’ve changed, Mar.”
“Do you own a business?” Saying the words made my mouth go dry. If he’d changed and become an upstanding citizen, why hadn’t he come after me? Was he dating someone else? Or worse, married? The idea of him with another woman made me want to wrap my arms around my stomach.
“Yeah, I own a business. In a way.”
My eyebrows knitted together, sensing the half-truth. “In a way? What does that even mean?”
“I’m in . . . financial management.”
I barked out a cruel laugh. The boy who hated math was now managing people’s money? Yeah, right. Like I’d ever believe that tale.
“How are you twisting that, Rob? Let me guess, you promise people money, and then you con them? Like you conned that poor, struggling artist out of his rent money all those years ago to get me a ring?”
Robin pressed his lips together until they turned white, then his shoulders slumped. “I’ll tell you what it means, if you’re willing to be open to it—which honestly, judging by your tone, I don’t think you will be.”
Open to it? Oh, no, no, no.
Robin could convince a skunk to give up its stripes. I didn’t need him to convince me that whatever screwed up crap he was involved in was right. I didn’t want to be complicit.
“We’re not together anymore, so it’s none of my business what you do for a living,” I said. “I’m grateful that you returned to save the orphanage, but we don’t want your dirty money. We’ll find another way to keep the orphanage running.”
Before he could try to wrangle me into whatever predatory scheme he had brewing; I turned and stomped to my car. The moment I was inside the vehicle, I started it up and, ignoring the trembling of my arms, drove. I needed to get away from Robin as quickly as possible, before I did something that I regretted.
Chapter Three
I slammedmy front door shut and grabbed a chair from my dining table. After pulling it up to the fridge, I climbed onto the chair and reached as far as I could. My fingers grazed wood, and I opened the cabinet above the refrigerator. Dusty bottles stared back at me. I studied their contents and frowned. Tequila and limoncello were my only options.
Limoncello didn’t seem strong enough to dim my emotions, but tequila felt drastic. The image of Robin’s face swam in my mind’s eye and I huffed. Screw that, it wasn’t drastic at all. I made my choice, wrapping my hand around the skull-shaped bottle that promised a hangover from hell tomorrow. Within minutes, I’d rinsed out a dusty shot glass, downed the first shot, and because Robin’s blue eyes still haunted me, I chased it with another.
I grimaced after the second shot flowed down. That shit burned! Still, the sensation was better than the muck and mire swirling inside me. So, I took a third, and then a fourth shot before leaning against the counter. The tequila rushed through me, making my limbs tingle and dimming the vision of my ex—the man I’d thought had been the love of my life.
I didn’t drink often, but in moments like this one, I understood why someone would turn to the bottle. Already I felt better, more detached from the terrible news about the orphanage and how Robin had tossed my world upside-down again.
I set about reheating my leftover pizza and added a few carrot sticks on the side to ease my guilt. I really needed to go to the store and stock up on healthier items. I’d been treating my body like crap for the past few months, and it was only a matter of time before it caught up with me. I’d start a meal plan soon, maybe add some exercise too.
But not tonight.Tonight is for forgetting.
I took another shot for good measure before collapsing on the couch with my plate.
“Ahhh.” I grabbed the remote and flipped through a few channels, none of which caught my eye. I’d just given up on television—books were always better for distraction anyway—when someone knocked on my door.
