Club Saturday: Contemporary Menage Romance (Sarasota Sin Series Book 2) (5 page)

“Sorry, Van.” He sounded more irritated than sorry.

Even before her last two salary increases, Vania hadn’t taken a dime of Matt’s money when it came to paying for the wedding. And he accepted her monthly contributions to his mortgage, plus utilities and groceries. He’d paid his college loans off in record time and bought his
Mercedes
. Vania still drove her seven-year old
Toyota
.

“I’m okay. You’re the last person I want to argue with.” Though hadn’t arguing turned into a weekly pastime?
 

“I keep stepping on your toes tonight.”
 

Only tonight? That’s what he thought? Vania heard him cover the phone with his hand, his muffled voice in the background for a second.
 

“Listen,” he said, “I’m bogged down here.”

“It’s seven and today is your half day.” She pulled in the hospital’s parking lot and found a space close to the children’s wing.
 

“I was paged to the emergency room. They told me Murphy has the flu. Between us, he’s hungover again. Divorce is getting to him.”

“So when will I see you?”
 

“I’ll be home in a few hours, Van, but don’t wait up.”

Of course not! Why should she expect sex? Or any intimacy whatsoever? Or for Matt to listen to her news about the salary increase with her latest promotion. “Sure, I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Love you, Van.”

She muttered something; maybe an I love you. But it didn’t matter. Matt had hung up before he heard.
 

Vania turned off the car and stared at her engagement ring, wondering. The damn thing felt tight on her finger, partly weighed with guilt. Night after night, she’d masturbated to thoughts of sucking Drake’s cock.
 
She imagined taking him with her legs spread high, wide, and bent over his forearms while he was drilling her with the single-minded intensity of a man in love. She had no idea what had come first: Matt’s inattentiveness and subsequent dismissals, or her lust for Drake Easton.

The more she thought back to when she’d first stepped foot on the top floor, the cloudier her memory became.
 
Chicken and eggs came to mind, and she’d never figure out what came first.
 

To add to her guilt, thoughts of Evan crashed through her masturbating sessions. Sometimes Drake didn’t leave when Evan came along, and she’d visualize four hands, two mouths, and two huge…
 

“Snap out of it!” she screamed.

“You on drugs?” An old lady stood next to her car, tapping her window with the handle of her cane.

Vania blinked and gave a universal reply. “Men.”

“Ah.” She marched on.

With resignation to finish this day’s work, Vania tugged her electronic tablet from her satchel and glanced over the artist’s information Drake emailed her. How the man acquired a pledge of two painted manatees and one pelican from Jon LuVre— all three scheduled for delivery to the firehouse before the fundraiser deadline — she’d never know. But the way Drake moved the world favorably in her direction with a phone call or two was nothing short of astonishing.
 

She made her way to the children’s wing and spent an informative and highly interesting hour with Mr. LuVre.
 

 
After wrapping up the meeting, Vania walked with him to the second floor landing, which led from the children’s wing to the downstairs lobby.
 
When they stopped, she placed her hand on the bannister of the curving glass staircase. “Thanks for meeting me, Jon.
 
I appreciate you working the fundraiser in on such short notice.” She shook her head. “After seeing the sculptures here at the hospital, though, I don’t know how you’re going to pull it off in a week.”

“Like I said, I’m scaling down the original sizes to speed delivery. And, uh, it’s hard to turn down what Drake Easton threw at me.
 
So I’ll put off other awaiting clients for the time being and hire all the help I need.”

Vania bit back her curiosity, wouldn’t be rude by asking how much it took to make all of that happen. “Drake wants the fundraiser to work.” Anytime an Easton wanted something, he took it. “For Avery especially.”

“Vania.” Jon lifted her hand to his mouth in old world charm. “Your fundraiser
will
work. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m looking forward to the help.”

“Vania?”

“Dr. Murphy?”

Jon gave her hand an affectionate squeeze and excused himself, only leaving after she’d promised to come by his studio and check out his paintings one day soon.
 

“I thought that was you.” Dr. Murphy gave her a peck on the cheek, and then glanced around. “Was Matt called in or just working late at the office?”

Vania’s head snapped up, clearly able to see the fourth floor landing where Matt and three other surgeons shared an office. Goosebumps erupted on her skin. “He was called to the emergency room.”
 

Dr. Murphy balanced on his heels for a second, stretching his back. “I’ve been in emergency for the past six hours.” He swung his arms around, knocking out the kinks. “Matt’s not in tonight.” Then his face tightened as he tried to bail out his friend. “I mean —"

She waved a casual hand, though her heart started pounding in her chest. “I must’ve heard wrong, terrible cellphone connection.”

He mock shuddered. “The horrors of cellphone connections.”

“Have you seen Jon LuVre’s artwork?” She deftly changed the subject. “He’s amazing.”

“Only what he’s done for the hospital.” Dr. Murphy looked relieved, probably thinking she was the ignorant fiancée. So what? Let him think whatever he wanted. “LuVre draws a crowd, that’s for sure.”

“Our upcoming fundraiser has the crowd.” Her stomach twisted as her mind whirled through the endless possibilities of why Matt had lied. “We need the artwork.” With a perfunctory glance at her watch, she said, “Early day tomorrow.” She started down the steps. “I’d better get home. Goodnight.”

“Good to see you again, Vania.”

She stopped halfway down the stairs and waited for Dr. Murphy to turn the corner. When she spotted an all clear, Vania made her way to the elevators. Within the empty car, her hand shook when she punched button number four.

“What’s going on, Matt?” she whispered as the elevator shot upward.

After she stepped from the elevator to the corridor leading to Matt’s office, her phone rang. She pulled it from the pocket stitched to the side of her purse.
 

Crap!
 

D. Easton was calling.
 

He probably phoned to check in on her meeting with Jon. Vania blew out a breath, her thumb hovering over the screen for several seconds. No, Drake would have to wait. She turned off her phone and put it away

Vania picked up her steps, walking through the darkened corridor, save for a few flickering exit signs. But as she neared Matt’s office, she could see light spilling from beneath his door.

When she stepped closer, a distinct noise sounded that Vania hadn’t heard as of late: Matt was about to come.

A woman’s groan matched his.
 

She pressed her ear to the door, the unmistakable sounds of pounding sex instantly meeting her ears. More moans and groans joined a distinct wet smacking that had nothing to do with kisses.

Vania pulled her ear away and flattened her hands against the door to peer in the sliver of window.
 
Later she would be thankful she saw nothing because hearing was painful enough. In that moment, however, Vania’s anger brought her hand down hard on the door lever.
 
All sounds stopped, except for Vania’s heart thundering in her ears.

“Vania,” a man whispered.

Vania reeled back, grabbing at her chest as Dr. Murphy appeared at her side. He pressed a finger to his lips. Then took her hand in his and pulled Vania away.

Chapter 6

In a dreamlike state, Vania allowed Dr. Murphy to lead her past several examination rooms. He eventually stopped inside a well-lit phlebotomy station.
 

He pulled out a cup of cranberry juice from the refrigerator and broke the seal. “Drink this.”

“I don’t need juice at a time like this, Dr. Murphy.” Maybe that wasn’t even Matt in his office but another man; she thought, grasping at hope.
 

“Call me Alan.” He placed the cup in Vania’s hand, his eyes dropping to her engagement ring. “Right now, a little sugar is what you need.”
 

She took a tentative sip. It tasted sweet, tart, and refreshing going down.
 
And she probably wouldn’t drink it again after tonight. “You heard what’s going on in there. If it’s Matt —"

“It
is
Matt, Vania.”

“He’s done this before.” She hadn’t asked a question but Alan nodded anyway. “How often? Is it the same woman every time?”

“For at least three months with this woman, though I don’t know if there are others.”
 
He placed the gentlest touch on Vania’s trembling shoulder.
 

“Let me by.” She pushed at his chest. “I’m going to kill him.”

“And you’ve got every right to. But, Vania, I’ve walked in your shoes. If I had to do it again, I would’ve held on to every string of my dignity. I wouldn’t have allowed Gayle to see me the way I’m seeing you right now. I would have told her I didn’t want her anymore, dumped her without letting her know I’d caught her cheating.”

“Pretend I don’t know about him fucking another woman?” Vania couldn’t imagine that. She wanted to run over Matt with her car. Repeatedly. Better yet, she wanted to run over Matt with his
Mercedes
. Why ding up her car? “That makes no sense.”

“Sleep on it and it might.” He leaned his hip against the counter, his blue eyes blazing with pain. “Tell Matt you’re dumping him for any other reason than the obvious. Hell, tell him his dick doesn’t satisfy you. Tell him you found another. Anything is better than looking stricken and vulnerable in the eyes of a cheater.”

A sob broke out, but she managed to rein it in. “I can’t do that. It hurts too much.”

“If the breakup is on your terms, you dumping him, Matt’s ego will have a hard time accepting it. Who better to tell you this than a man? Then you’ll leave him to face the garbage of his life with your head held high. It’s called dignity, Vania. Take yours back. God knows Matt’s shredded it enough as it is.”
 

Rash decisions were always bad ones. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.” Vania pushed past him, fighting back tears, but he caught her arm before she turned the corner.

“You can call my office if you need anything. I’ll help in any way I can.”
 

“I won’t involve you. After all, Matt is your friend.” Vania turned her cellphone back on. She winced when spotting six missed calls from D. Easton.

“
Was
my friend,” he corrected, “until he started fucking my wife.”

She braced her hand on the wall, supporting her buckling knees. “Gayle is in there with Matt?”

“You think I would have given her up otherwise?”

“This can’t be happening.”

“We haven’t even gone to court yet,” Alan continued. “The divorce hearing’s a month away, but Gayle and Matt can’t stop, even while knowing I’m working across the hall or a floor below.”

So she had to ask. “What’s stopping you from ripping that door off its hinges and —"

“I finally realized Gayle’s not worth it. Neither is Matt, by the way.” He ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes for a second, but he couldn’t hide the pain. “And she’s taking me for every dime I have. Or at least she thinks she is. I have three private investigators on her. By the time our case goes to court, my attorneys while have such an ironclad case built against Gayle that she’ll be on her knees begging for my scraps.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Digesting all this information proved impossible. If not for the juice settling her churning stomach, Vania would have vomited. “I’m stunned.”

“I’ve been there.” He nodded. “On many days, I’m still there.”

“I don’t know how you work around Matt while keeping your temper in check.”

“It’s not easy.” He looked up at the ceiling for a second and took a deep breath. “Around Christmas, I first caught Gayle cheating, not with Matt, but with another man. Maybe Matt doesn’t know about him or perhaps doesn’t care. But neither Gayle nor Matt realizes I’m on to
them
.”

Vania wouldn’t tip off Matt, either. “I wish I had a portion of your strength.”

“You’ll find it once the shock wears off. Remember, my divorce hearing is a month away. That’s when Gayle’s extramarital affairs with Matt and the other bastard will be aired. In the meantime, if you do what I recommended, you’ll keep what’s left of your pride.” He lifted her chin with the crook of his finger. “Vania, that’s worth more than you realize.” Alan took her hand and started leading her down the hall. “Go home and think carefully about how you’re going to handle this.”

Home? The place she shared with Matt? How could she go back there?