Daniel let out the breath he’d been holding. “You guys. I don’t know what to say.” He looked at them as all nodded at him, underscoring Zach’s words. “You would really do that?”

Wade chuckled and cut in. “Only to make sure you’re really leaving the club, of course, but who cares about our motivation?”

Jay and Xavier laughed at Wade’s words.

“Obviously Wade is in desperate need of funds, which means he’ll do anything to eliminate members from this club,” Xavier explained.

Daniel couldn’t help but join in the laughter. Their heartfelt offer to help had touched his heart, but he couldn’t accept their offer. It would mean telling them the truth, and he had no right to expose Sabrina like that, or Holly for that matter.

“Anything for you and the lovely Sabrina,” Paul said. “How is she doing?”

Daniel nodded at Paul. “Fine under the circumstances.” Then he looked back at the others. “Thanks guys, but Tim and I have got it under control. I’m confident that the paper will retract the story shortly and issue an apology. They only have fabricated evidence which they have completely misinterpreted. It’s only a matter of time until we’ve picked it apart and proven how wrong they are.”

Despite his confident words, Daniel didn’t feel as certain as he’d let on. With every passing day, it seemed more unlikely that they could ever convince the newspaper to retract the story.

He’d heard back from Elliott, his attorney, who’d reported that while he’d spoken to the legal counsel of the New York Times and threatened them with a law suit, they remained firm and were sticking to their guns.

And though Tim had hired a private investigator to dig into Audrey’s life to unearth any skeletons in her closet with which to pressure her to retract her accusations, it was too early to expect any results from him. Which only left Holly, who was still trying to figure out how to make a case of mistaken identity stick.

“Well, in that case, let’s get on with business,” Zach said. “We’ve prepared your resignation papers which will become effective on the day of your wedding. Are you willing to resign from the club?”

Daniel nodded. “Yes.”

Zach held a pen out to him. “Then sign here and we’ll record it in the club’s minutes.”

Daniel rose and walked to him. He took the pen and signed his name on the piece of paper.

“I must say, Daniel, I’ve never seen a man who’s signed away nearly four million dollars do it with such a happy smile on his face.”

Daniel chuckled. “Once you find the right woman, you’ll do the same.”

“I won’t give up that easily,” Zach answered. “You know how much I love a challenge.”

Behind him, the others laughed.

“Time to get the party started,” Hunter announced. “So, when’s the stripper coming?”

Daniel whirled around to Hunter, annoyance forming in his gut. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I said no strippers.”

Hunter boxed Wade in his side. “Told you he’s totally pussy-whipped. The best stripper in the world isn’t gonna do it for him. So, you my friend, lost your bet.” He held his flat palm out to Wade. “That’s a hundred bucks, please.”

“Not so fast!” Wade protested. “Let’s wait until the stripper is here.”

“I canceled her,” Hunter confessed.

Wade grinned. “I know. That’s why I booked another one.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. It appeared that there was no way to escape the obligatory stripper at his bachelor party. Well, he could at least let his friends have some fun.

He exchanged a look with Tim, who shrugged and said, “It’s going to be as boring for you as it is for me. We might as well get drunk instead.”

Daniel laughed. “You could always call a male stripper.”

“And have the guys toss me out on my ass? No way, I’m not going to miss your bachelor party, no matter how little interest I have in a female stripper.”

“In that case, get us some drinks!”

18

“You didn’t have to go through so much trouble for us, Raffaela,” Sabrina’s mother gushed as she looked at the beautifully set dinner table. “We could have easily gone out for dinner somewhere.”

Raffaela smiled back at her and put a hand on her arm. “It’s a pleasure, Ilene. I love to cook for a large crowd.”

While Sabrina knew it was true, she also knew that Raffaela had insisted on this dinner at home in order to avoid Sabrina’s parents running into anybody in the village who might mention the New York Times article. The more time her father and mother spent at the Sinclair’s house, the less likely it was that they’d stumble over the news.