Page 42 of Enchant Me

“A theoretical risk. Were you exposed? Yes. To other people in the club running the same damn risk. But that thrill? It came from the narrowest thread of a theoretical possibility. And I swear to God, if that irresponsible, self-centered, son of a —”

“Matthew Holt is on the phone,” Troy’s voice comes across the apartment’s intercom system. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but he says it’s urgent.”

Damien shoots me a sideways look that contains more fury in his face than I think I’ve seen in our entire relationship. He stalks to the phone in the kitchen, presses the intercom button to let Troy know that he’s taking the call, then puts it on speaker.

“Damien. Oh, God, Damien, I am so sorry. I swear to you, I’ll find out who filmed that.” Damien looks to me with a question in his eyes. He’s obviously not sure if I sent the video to Matthew or if our tormentor did.

Me, I mouth. I’d forwarded the tape to Matthew, and at the same time, I’d let him know that I was on my way to show it to Damien.

“I can’t tell you how mortified I am that this happened to the two of you,” Holt continues. “I will get to the bottom of this.”

“I thought the club was private, Matthew,” Damien says. “I thought it was anonymous.”

“I know who the members are, of course. And I have ways of finding out who violated my rules. I have security measures that are supposed to detect cameras and recording equipment. This shouldn’t have happened. I swear to you, I am as angry as you are.”

I see Damien’s shoulders relax just slightly. “I highly doubt that.”

“I’ll need a few days. But I’ll figure this out.”

“All right, then,” Damien says. “A few days. Then I want answers.”

“We may not have drinks regularly, but we run in the same circles, and we have many of the same friends. This isn’t something I’ll stand for, using my club as a way to blackmail a friend.”

My husband closes his eyes and nods. “Thank you,” he says, and I can hear in his voice that he means it.

“I’ll keep you posted.”

“Wait,” Damien says before Matthew has a chance to hang up.

“What?”

Damien clears his throat. “I just wanted to say that five minutes ago I could have happily killed you. Now I’m glad you have our back.”

For a moment Matthew doesn’t answer. When he does, I hear a subtle change in his voice. A softer tone, and one that’s full of respect. “The world can change on a dime, my friend. I learned that lesson the hard way. And from what I’ve heard over the years, so did you.”

“That’s true,” Damien says.

“Then isn’t it lucky that we are both the type of men who are prepared to deal with that.”

The sun dips below the horizon as I chase a small yellow ball over the backyard court. I’m sweaty and exhausted, and Lara is scrambling right beside me.

One thing I’ve learned in the last hour? The best way to forget about weird stress caused by vile text messages is to play doubles tennis with two kids under the age of ten.

I’m paired with Lara, Anne is with Damien, and Bradley is chasing the balls. Not surprisingly, Anne and Damien are beating the pants off of us, but I blame that mostly on my complete lack of skill at the game, and not on Damien’s well-known prowess on the court. It’s clear that he’s holding back and letting Anne do most of the work. To my delight and surprise, she’s got one heck of a swing, too, which is causing much tension between her and her older sister, who is more of a dancer than a tennis player.

Anne returns my wild ball, and Lara misses right as the automatic lights on the court turn on, bathing us in an incandescent glow.

“More, Daddy,” Anne begs, but Damien shakes his head.

“Nope. It’s time for you little rug rats to go see Ms. Bree and get your bath. Mommy and Daddy need to talk.”

“Please?” Anne asks, this time with the question directed to me.

I shake my head. “You heard Daddy. Off you go. Take Bradley with you.”

To their credit neither girl tries another round of begging. They each take one of Bradley’s hands, and the three of them skip back up the path towards the back door.

Bree’s spent the last hour on the patio working on her book, and I hear her call, “I’ve got them,” a few moments later.