Chapter 31
CALLIE
Ifell back onto the sheets, my chest heaving, my skin flushed and tingling.
Ryder collapsed beside me with a satisfied moan, reaching for his vape pen on the nightstand.
“That was a hell of a send-off,” he said, taking a long pull.
“It really was.” I stretched luxuriously, letting my muscles unwind. The sheets Maddox had brought from home felt divine against my skin. Say what you will about the man, he knew what I liked.
Ryder propped himself up on one elbow, his blond hair falling across his forehead. “I’m gonna miss this.”
“Same.” I meant it. This fling with Ryder had been fun, uncomplicated, and honest throughout.
A shame Duke couldn’t make it this weekend to give us one last proper three-way, but of course he had his own Labor Day plans with Christine.
Their marriage was open, but Duke’s wife was always his priority, and did I ever appreciate that about him.
That was the thing about Duke and Ryder. They couldn’t offer more than some wild sex now and again, but they never pretended otherwise. No hidden agendas. No secret text threads with other women. Just straightforward communication about what they could and couldn’t give.
What a fucking concept.
“So,” Ryder said, exhaling a cloud of vapor, “you figured out any of the logistics yet? For the move?”
“Not really.” I sighed. “I know I’m going, but I still haven’t worked out a new job situation for myself. I used summer as an excuse to set that aside. My mother has nothing but room, so I’ll stay with her while I’m interviewing and looking for a new place.”
“Well, if you need help moving boxes, you know where to find me.”
“That’s sweet, but I can teleport. Moving boxes isn’t really an issue.”
“Oh right. Witch stuff.” He grinned. “Sometimes I forget you’re, like, magical and shit.”
I laughed. He did have an endearing simplicity. We lay there for a moment in silence, listening to the waves crash against the beach below.
I should have been basking in post-orgasmic bliss, relishing my last hookup with Ryder.
Instead, I found my mind drifting to another man entirely.
I hated that I was thinking about him. But these thoughts had been gnawing at me for hours, ever since that conversation on the deck. I shouldn’t say anything, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“When I told Maddox this was over, that his chances of lifting the curse were basically gone...” I paused. “He was so calm about it.”
“Yeah?” Ryder said, while holding in a hit from his vape.
“I expected him to freak out. To beg and plead and try to negotiate. But he just... accepted it. Said he understood. Told me to enjoy my weekend.”
“Yeah, must be all the therapy,” Ryder replied casually.
I sat up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. “I’m sorry, what?”
“The therapy. That he’s been doing all summer? I assumed you knew about it.”
“Maddox would never go to therapy.” I was absolutely certain of this. “If he told you he is, it’s a lie. He’s working some angle.”
“I don’t think so.” Ryder scratched his jaw. “We noticed him going somewhere on his lunch hour and coming back all weird and intense, and Duke had to really pull it out of him. He didn’t want to tell us.”
I stared at Ryder, trying to process this information.
Maddox. In therapy. The man who thought asking for directions was a sign of weakness.
“He’s lying to you,” I stated with complete confidence. “I wonder what he’s trying to cover up.”
“I dunno. It sounded believable because of how different he’s been.”
“Different how?”
Ryder shrugged. “I don’t know, just... nicer? He stopped talking shit about people at work. He keeps apologizing to Duke and me for things he did years ago that we don’t even remember.”
Okay, this was obviously some kind of con. Maddox performed change when it suited him, when there was something in it for him. I’d seen it too many times to fall for it again.
“And it all seemed to track with the charity shit,” Ryder added.
“Oh gods.” I pressed my palm to my forehead. “What charity shit?”
Ryder groaned. “He’s being a real pain in the ass about it. He keeps pushing the company to get involved in charitable initiatives. Like, aggressively.”
“Maddox? Charity?”
“I know, right? The whole office just had to do a volunteer day at a homeless shelter. It was the worst! I had to ladle soup for six hours. Six hours, Callie!”
I tried to picture Maddox at a homeless shelter, serving food to people in need. The image refused to form in my mind.
“And organizing that was all him,” Ryder continued. “Now he’s pushing the company to make this big donation to the shelter. Like, a serious chunk of change. It’s becoming an issue with the partners. He might get fired if he keeps agitating about it.”
“Maddox might get fired... for caring too much about homeless people?”
“He’s being too pushy about it. Keeps sending emails about ‘corporate responsibility’ and ‘giving back to the community.’ He has to be more diplomatic. There’s only so far you can push this stuff before the bosses won’t stand for it anymore.”
Ryder shifted closer to me, his hand sliding up my thigh in a way that should have been distracting. His body was warm and inviting, and I really should have been appreciating the lean muscles of his torso.
But to my complete and utter frustration, my mind was stuck on these Maddox reveals.
What the fuck?
Therapy. Charity work. Volunteer days. Apologies for years-old slights that no one else even remembered.
This couldn’t be real. Maddox was obviously running some devious scheme to appear reformed. He was playing the long game, trying to manipulate his way back into my good graces.
Except... he hadn’t told me about any of it. He hadn’t once mentioned the therapy or the charity. If this were a performance designed to impress me, why keep it secret?
“You okay?” Ryder asked. “You got this look on your face.”
“I’m fine.” I forced a smile. “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
About my ex-husband, apparently. While naked in bed with another man. Which was exactly the kind of moment I never wanted to have again! This was why I was moving on from Maddox! Even though he made an exceptional servant.
Fury surged through me. This weekend was supposed to be one last awesome sex marathon! Sending off the summer in a glorious blaze of freedom, before I buckled down with the serious work of building a new life for myself.
And despite his claims that he only cared about me having a great time, Maddox had somehow infiltrated my thoughts anyway, pulling me out of the moments I most wanted to savor.
Ryder would be leaving in an hour or two, and I could not wait to give Maddox a piece of my fucking mind.