“After we got married, all you did was make me feel bad, Joey Lemon.” I sit on the edge of the bed and stare down at the key. “You told me I was worthless and made me feel that way. You humiliated me with your many girlfriends and a child that wasn’t mine.”

I bite my lip and sigh.

“Maybe I should consider claiming the money.”

“So?” Maeve passes me the maple syrup and stares at me with a bland expression.

“So, what?”

We like to get together a couple of times a month for brunch, just the two of us. One day, I go to her place, and the other day, she comes here to mine.

Rachel’s out of school today, so she came with her. I love spending time with my niece.

“So, are you going to a tropical island to get rich?” Rachel asks before popping a piece of pineapple into her mouth. Maeve stares at her. “What? I heard you telling Dad about it. I’m seventeen, not deaf.”

I can’t help but laugh at her. I take a bite of a pancake. “I don’t know. Part of me really doesn’t want to.”

“Look, I totally understand and agree with you not wanting to have anything to do with The Lemon.”

“Me, too,” Rachel adds. “He sounds like he was a huge jerk.”

“But that’s a lot of money, Mags. You need a new car, and you won’t let any of us help you with that.” Maeve continues. “You need a nest egg for a rainy day. There’s nothing wrong with collecting money that a man you were married to left for you, even if he was the asshole of the century.”

She’s not wrong. Not to mention, no one else knows that my hot water tank died on me, and I don’t have the fifteen hundred dollars to replace it.

I about swallowed my tongue when I got that estimate. And let me just say, taking cold showers isn’t a delight.

I need hot water.

I need a running vehicle.

And while the pub pays me enough to pay my bills, it’s not enough to get ahead. I know that Keegan would pay me more, but it’s not right. I thought for so long that Joey left me with nothing but embarrassment—and in a lurch.

Maybe this would be the one good thing to come out of that shitshow of a marriage.

“Earth to Maggie,” Maeve says, waving her fork in front of my face.

“Sorry. I’m thinking about going to collect the money.”

Her jaw drops. Rachel grins.

“There’s no use in me being a stubborn ass. Kane was not completely wrong when he said to not let the bank continue making money off what’s mine.”

“When are you going?” Maeve asks as Rachel carries her plate to the sink for a rinse.