Chapter 1
Lily
“Hey, look! Mommy’s here!” I point to where Christina is waiting for her daughter, Bennett. The little girl jumps up and down when she spots her mother. Then she races over to the divider that keeps the children in the room until their parents come pick them up.
“Hey, sugar!” Christina smiles. I unlock the room divider to let Christina in. She comes inside and picks up Bennett, spinning her around in a circle. “Mommy missed you so much today!”
“I made a painting,” Bennett says, and leads Christina to where the paintings from the day are still drying.
“It should be dry by tomorrow,” I tell Christina. “So you can pick it up then, unless you want to brave taking it home now.”
“Not at all,” Christina shivers, and I know she’s imagining her car covered in paint from her daughter’s work of art. “I think waiting sounds like a great idea.”
She gathers up Bennett’s things and gets ready to leave. Bennett is the last child of the day to be picked up because like me, Christina works at Shining Stars Daycare. Her daughter plays here while she works, and then they go home together once Christina finishes closing up her classroom.
As Bennett’s daycare teacher, I’m supposed to leave by six, but Christina usually shows up a little bit after and I really don’t mind staying with her. She’s a good kid, and her mom is really nice.
I wish all of my daycare parents were as cool as Christina is.
“Hey,” Christina shoots me a glance as she finishes zipping Bennett’s winter coat. We just had the first snow of the year and it’s cold as hell outside. I’m not looking forward to the walk to my car, nor am I looking forward to waiting for the damn thing to actually warm up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I tell her, washing my hands and grabbing my purse. I finished cleaning the room while we waited for Christina. My assistant helped me, but left right at six. “It was just a long day.”
“Parent trouble?”
“Of course.”
“What is it this time? Mackenzie’s parents?”
“You know it,” I roll my eyes. “Their precious daughter can do no wrong, so when she gets a note sent home for poor behavior, it must be my fault. It couldn’t possibly be because they don’t actually discipline or do anything with her at home.”
“They’re the worst,” Christina sympathizes with me. Mackenzie was in her room over the summer and she had just as many problems with her as I’m having now. “I’m really sorry you have to deal with those,” she covers Bennett’s ears. “Assholes.”
“Me too.”
“Are you doing anything to relax this weekend?”
I glance out the window. The snow is coming down harder now, so I’ll be lucky if I actually finish all of my errands before I get home tonight. I have to get gas and groceries and, if I can manage it before they close, I need to stop by the bank.
“I am going to read a book,” I tell her honestly. “I know that’s boring, but it’s all I think I’ve got in me.”
Christina looks at me for a second and seems to be deciding something. Then she nods.
“Look,” she tells me, “I might be completely out of line, but if you want to have some fun this weekend, there’s a club you might like.”
“I’m not really a good dancer,” I tell her honestly. “Once, in college, I tried to go out with some girlfriends, but I ended up tripping in a drink someone spilled, landed on my ass, and somehow twisted my ankle in the process. Now I stay as far away from clubs as I can.”
“It’s not that kind of club.”
“What kind of club is it?”
“The naughty kind,” Christina says, wiggling her eyebrows. “It’s called Anchored.”
“Never heard of it.” I’d be lying if I say I wasn’t curious, though. Anchored? A naughty club? I’m picturing whips and chains, but surely demure Christina couldn’t be into that. She’s way too innocent.
“Most people haven’t. You have to be a member to go or to be the guest of a member.”
“Sounds mysterious.”
It sounds exciting.
It sounds a little dangerous.
It sounds like a place I wouldn’t fit in at all.
But I’m curious.
I’m really, really curious.
“Listen,” Christina says. “I’m going tomorrow with my fiancé, Zack. You’re more than welcome to join us if you want to. Just let me know by noon tomorrow if you can. That way I can get you on the guest list and bring you along with us, okay?”