Some of the women at the retreat center chose to change their names, to truly begin a new life. I want to be Katelyn. Katelyn Mary Brooks from Los Angeles.
Katelyn Mary Brooks who visited Brooklyn one day in the past…and who never returned.
Except now I’ve returned.
“Whenever you’re ready to contact your family—”
I gesture Zee to stop. “Not yet. I’m not ready to face them yet.”
“There’s no shame in what happened to you.”
“I know that.”
And I do. I’m not ashamed. I’m just…not ready to see my family for any extended period. My time with them wasn’t pleasant. Of course, compared to my time on Treasure Island, it was fucking paradise.
Still…
“Are you sure you don’t want the check-ins?”
I nod again. “I won’t learn to walk again if I can’t give up the crutches.”
Honestly, it’s bad enough I’m living in free housing provided by the Wolfe family, but I have no choice. Until I can find work and make some money, this is where I must live.
“You can always change your mind later,” Zee says. “We have bodyguards available too.”
A bodyguard is the ultimate crutch. No way.
“Thank you,” is all I say.
“We’ve loaded the refrigerator and cupboards with food to last a few weeks. You can do your own shopping of course, or we—”
“Please.” I hold up my hand. “I know you mean well, Zee. But I want to get out and take care of my own needs. I have to.”
She smiles. “I understand. But if you change your mind—”
“I won’t.” My words come out more harshly than I mean them to.
“I understand,” she says. “But tonight, dinner’s on me. At The Glass House.”
“Please—”
“I insist. Part of the program.” She smiles weakly, but her blue eyes seem sad. “Let me do this for you, Katelyn.”
I get it. Zee feels responsible for what I’ve been through. She’s not responsible. Heck, if she’d done what I asked all those years ago, I wouldn’t be here.
I nod and force another smile. “All right. A dinner. One dinner. And…”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you, Zee. For everything.”
She reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “It is truly my pleasure. I just wish I could do more. I wish I could…” She shakes her head. “Well, you know what I wish. Call me anytime. Night or day.”
I nod again. Neither of us has to say it. She wishes she could reverse everything that happened. To both of us.
I’ll let her buy me dinner tonight, and I’ll take her financial help for now because I have no other choice.
But I can’t accept the bodyguard.
I can’t have a babysitter any longer. I just can’t.
I’ve always been determined to make it on my own, and even after living through hell, I haven’t shaken that determination.
Except that one time.
That one time when I asked the woman standing next to me to end my life.
At the time, I thought I wanted to cease to exist—that no life at all was better than the pain and humiliation I was suffering.
Once I got to the island, though, I was glad I still had a life.
Even now, the thought seems odd to me, but I can’t negate its truth.
I discovered something there. Certainly not freedom and certainly not peace. I was abused in the worst way, and I had to become someone else to get through it. I became Moonstone, and in some ways, I forgot Katelyn. I had to in order to survive.
But I found something I never knew I had.
I found strength.
And I found the will to live.
2
Luke
Starting over is never easy.
Not that I’d know. This is my first time.
After three months of in-house therapy, I’ve been washed, wrung, and hung out to dry.
I’m a different person—in more ways than one.
Funny how things can change once you take the red pill.
And once you break away from those things that made you who you thought you were.
I hate New York. Always have, but this is where I am. Manhattan, a high-rise. I’m Luke Johnson—any man and every man.
I don’t have to work, but I found that I wanted to, so I got a job waiting tables at The Glass House, an upscale eatery in Manhattan. I’m actually good at it. It was my work duty at the center. Who knew I had the sense of balance to carry two large trays—each filled with six full dinner plates—above my head without ever spilling a single thing?
That’s talent, for sure.
I roll my eyes.
But hey, it’s something to do.
Table fourteen is a two-top in my station. Two gorgeous blond women. I recognize one right away—Zee Wolfe, wife to billionaire Reid Wolfe of Wolfe Enterprises, and very pregnant. Means a good tip.
The other is— I widen my eyes to get a better look.
She’s blond also, and even more beautiful than her companion. I’m usually attracted to dark-haired women, but maybe my attitude isn’t all that’s changed.
This woman, with her blond waves settling around her shoulders, attracts me like a magnet.
I’m not sure what it is about her, but it’s more than her angelic face and milky skin.
It’s her eyes.
They’re big and blue and beautiful, but they’re also…something else. Not sad, exactly. Just…resigned.
Those eyes have seen things. And not good things.
The two women are quiet, so I clear my throat. They look up.
“Good evening, ladies. I’m Luke and I’ll be your server this evening. Would you care to order a cocktail?”
“Nothing for me.” Zee points to her belly. “Just water is fine.
“All right, Mrs. Wolfe.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. It’s a pleasure to have you here.” I turn to her companion. “And you, lovely lady?
The words popped out before I could stop them. But I’m not sorry. The blush on her creamy cheeks is worth it.
“Just water is fine,” she says without looking up.
“Sparkling or tap?”
“Tap, please.”
“Very well. Do you have any questions about the menu?”
Zee smiles. “I don’t. Katelyn?”
Katelyn. She has a name. A beautiful name. It fits her. Katelyn.
“No.” Katelyn stares at the nails on her right hand. They’re short, unpainted. Not ostentatious at all, this one.
“I can tell you about our chef’s specials, or are you interested in an appetizer?”
Zee smiles. “I think we need a minute, Luke, if that’s all right.”
“Of course. I’ll get your waters.” I smile and walk away.
I won’t get the waters. The busboy will, which is fine.
Travis Stone, the server who trained me recently, grabs my arm. “Lucky you. That’s Mrs. Reid Wolfe.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Big tip coming your way. Who’s that with her? She’s even hotter than all the Wolfe wives.”
Katelyn. I open my mouth to say her name and then think better of it. “I don’t know. A friend of hers, I guess.”