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It was a question, but she’d said it like there was no other choice and that the public schools barely even existed.
I nodded. “We’re trying to get her in there. We had our interview but we haven’t been offered a place yet.” I was itching to go after Zeph, but his sister had me in her clutches, her fingers pressing into my arm. I spotted him on the other side of the room, staring out through the expanse of huge windows into the wooded area that lay behind the house. A young guy stood beside him, a grown-up version of the young boy I’d seen in the photos. Zeph’s brother. He nursed a mostly drunk glass of whiskey while he talked quietly with Zeph. Or rather at Zeph, since he seemed lost in his own head.
Kelly took me in the opposite direction though, pointing toward a group of women. “You already know Kara then, the principal?” She waved in the woman’s direction. “Kara! Do you remember Lyric?”
The heavyset woman turned and blinked at me in confusion. She clearly couldn’t place me.
I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “Amelia Percival’s…uh, Amelia Torrensen’s mother. I’m Lyric. I had an interview in your office last week.”
Kara smiled at me. “Oh, of course. Lovely to see you again. Are you a friend of Kelly’s?”
I shook my head. “Of her brother’s.”
The woman’s smile slipped a bit. “Jonathan?”
I shook my head, assuming Jonathan was the older brother whose baby photo had made it to the wall of honor. “No. Zeph’s.”
The woman laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I kind of just assumed priests didn’t have female friends.”
Kelly joined in, “Especially not one as pretty as Lyric here!”
The other women tittered, but I didn’t crack a smile. I opened my mouth to ask Kara if I could have a private word, but Zeph’s mom joined the group, glancing around at the laughing women.
“What’s so funny?” Her gaze landed on me. Her delighted gaze turned frosty. “Oh. Hello.”
I didn’t say a word. Between the laughter that felt like it was at my expense and Zeph’s mom’s cool stare, I had nothing nice to say.
His mother cleared her throat. “So, Lyric. Zepherin has made me aware that there might be some air that needs clearing between us.”
I froze. I didn’t want to do that here. Not now, in front of Kara when I was trying to repair the damage I’d done with her the first time we’d met. The women around me quieted, all gazes bouncing between me and his mother facing-off. If they’d had any manners, they would have excused themselves and moved away, but they hung on Zeph’s mom’s every word like she was spilling the sweetest tea.
When I refused to answer again, the woman’s smile grew. But it was that of a shark. Cold and hard. She glanced around at her friends. “I mistook Lyric here for a…” She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “A prostitute.”
The women around me gasped. One by one, they all swiveled to stare at me, mentally removing the pretty garden dress and heels and redressing me in G-strings and nipple tassels.
“You can’t blame me though. She wasn’t dressed as lovely as she is today.”
My fingers twisted into fists, but I shoved them in the pockets of the dress, grateful it had them. This woman was the bitch I’d initially assessed her to be. But I couldn’t say a word, because Amelia’s school principal was watching my every move. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment and anger. I bit down on my tongue so hard I was sure it would bleed. I couldn’t ruin this for my daughter. She’d loved everything about Edgely Academy, and she was so smart, she needed to be in that school where they could nurture her intelligence. She needed more than I had. So if I had to bite my tongue so fucking hard it fell off so my daughter could have the opportunities I never had, then I would.
But it hurt. Their words and judgment were like steel blades poking through my heart. I tried so hard not to care what other people thought of me, and mostly I succeeded. But I did care about Amelia’s principal. If I was being honest, I also cared about the other moms at the school. I didn’t want them telling their kids to stay away from my daughter because I was a bad influence. “I’m not a prostitute,” I said stiffly. “And I forgive your assumption.”
I just wanted this to be over.
But Zeph’s mom wasn’t even paying attention. She was looking at Zeph, who was watching me.
You okay?he mouthed.
It was so tempting to say no. I knew he’d sweep in and rescue me, but dammit, it was already bad enough I was taking this shit from his mother and sister. I didn’t want him to have to save me too. I didn’t even want him hearing the things they were saying because there was a nagging voice in my head that it was all true. I wasn’t accepting money for sex. But the things I’d done with Zeph… The man was a priest, and I’d spent weeks flirting with him, testing his boundaries, pushing him to his limits until he snapped. Why? I kept denying there were feelings there, so why had I done it? For sport? That really did make me a whore.
I nodded at Zeph and turned away before he could study my expression too closely.
His mother’s smile grew concerned. “I’m so glad you see it that way. Now. Tell us what you actually do for a living?”
Oh, she was good. I had to give her that. Twisting the conversation so I’d have to reveal the parts of me that weren’t socially acceptable in a room like this. But I wouldn’t lie. There was no point. She was hell-bent on outing me anyway. “I clean the church a few days a week. The rest of the time I work at Saint View Strip Club.”
The way the women’s eyes widened was almost cartoonish.
Kelly spluttered. “That dive of a place on the main road? Do you clean there too?”
