Free The Billionaire's Embrace (The Silver Cross Club) by Bec Linder Page B

didn’t know how I was supposed to spend all evening serving drinks after that.
    “You’re glorious,” he said. “Come to my mother’s with me on Wednesday for dinner.”
    “Okay,” I said again, without thinking, and then froze. Had he just—
    “You can’t back out now,” he said, reading my expression. “You already agreed.”
    “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” I asked him. “You got me all—relaxed and pliant, and then—”
    “You’ve discovered my master plan,” he said, laughing. “You’re right. I was hoping to catch you off guard.”
    “Carter,” I said. I shook my head. I didn’t know what to say. Was he crazy ? We had been dating for less than a month, and I was just some trampy cocktail waitress he picked up in a sex club, some nobody with a high school diploma and a screwed-up childhood. I couldn’t meet his mother. She was— rich , and sophisticated, and she loved Carter. I was sure she did. She wanted everything for him, all of the best things in life, and there was no way she would count me among them.
    “Say yes,” he said. “She wants me to chair one of her social committees. I can’t withstand her assault without backup.”
    “Carter,” I repeated. “I can’t. It’s—your mother , and I—”
    He took one of my hands in both of his. “Regan. I like you very much. I’m sure you can imagine that I’m somewhat picky about who I let into my life. This isn’t a casual thing for me. You invited me to meet your family, and I’d like you to meet mine.”
    I blinked, overwhelmed by pretty much everything he had just said. He was right that Sadie and Ben were my family, the only family I had. And saying it wasn’t casual, that he had chosen me, that I was somehow worthy of being allowed into his inner circle—
    It was too much. I felt my throat closing up. “Carter,” I choked out, the third time I’d said his name, and maybe this time he would understand what I was trying to say, all of the meaning I was trying to pack into that one word.
    “Yes,” he said. He raised my hand and kissed it. “Say you’ll come with me.”
    When he looked at me like that, I couldn’t refuse him anything. “Yes,” I said, heart sinking at the thought of it.
    Oh God. His mother. How was I going to survive?

Chapter 6
    I spent the rest of my shift worrying about it, and most of that night, and all day Tuesday: while I rode the subway to work, while I waited tables, while I rode the subway home in the evening. Did I have anything to wear? I could probably just wear my work clothes, but even though they were completely innocuous business attire, I was sure they would scream “I work at an expensive strip club.” Maybe Sadie could loan me something. Maybe Carter could loan me something. I was sure he had things stashed in his closet that had been left by prior girlfriends or one-night stands.
    I had a hard time falling asleep that night, and when my alarm went off on Wednesday, I felt pretty out of it. I made coffee and settled at my laptop. I hadn’t checked any of my usual lifestyle blogs in a few days. I was still trying to turn myself into a fashionable tour de force, but it was just so hard to make myself care about what celebrities were wearing. No progress without struggle. I sighed and opened a new tab.
    I scrolled idly down the page, skimming through the headlines. The season’s hottest new lipstick color; supermodels wearing sweatpants; blind items; Carter Sutton—
    Stop. Rewind.
    “CARTER SUTTON STEPS OUT WITH MYSTERY WOMAN! WHO KNEW HE LIKED ART???”
    A shot of pure adrenaline hit my veins. My face turned hot. My temples felt like they were pulled taut, like my scalp was too small to contain my skull.
    I clicked the link.
    I shouldn’t have. I regretted it even as I did it, but the motion was automatic. It wasn’t a conscious decision. My hand moved and clicked the button, and the page opened.
    The picture was grainy, like it had been taken from across the room