Maddox

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “Jasmine,” I call out, failing at hiding my amusement.

  He turns round in his seat, his eyes wide. “I am not into boys, and even if I was, they’d love me too.”

  Jasmine unclips her belt and leans forward, patting his forehead. “It’s okay. Maybe when you’re a bit older. My mummy is always telling me to wait to find a boyfriend until I’m older too.”

  He sucks in a breath as he turns to me. “I would so make a good boyfriend to a woman or a guy.”

  I push open my door, my nerves now eased. “Maybe you’re just doomed to only be friends with the opposite sex. I mean, it will be lonely not having someone to share everything with, who will cook for you, who you’ll go to bed with each night.” I lean in, whispering, “And sleeping with a different chick each week will just get predictable and boring.”

  “It is not once a week,” he hisses, getting out of the car.

  I watch him over the car as he gets Jasmine out. I pull open the back door, grabbing Asher, who is strapped into his car seat.

  “Where do your parents live?” I ask as he takes the car seat off me.

  He jerks his chin to the house we’re standing in front of, and he groans. “I apologise in advance.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, rushing to take Jasmine’s hand.

  “It’s not just my parents who are there. It seems they have visitors.”

  Jasmine pulls on the sleeve of his jacket. “Do they have children?”

  “My uncle Max isn’t here, but you liked him, right?” he asks.

  “Yeah, he was okay. He isn’t as funny as you.”

  Maddox chuckles. “Please tell him that the next time you see him.”

  She gives a quick nod. Maddox reaches up to knock on the door, but it’s pulled open by a beautiful brunette with hair to her shoulders and soft, flawless skin.

  Her smile is blinding as she greets us, Malik—Maddox’s dad—stepping up behind her. “You came. It is so good to meet you. I’m Harlow. This is my husband, Malik.”

  I give her a small wave. “Hey, I’m—"

  “Mum, I’d make a good boyfriend, right?”

  His dad chuckles, shaking his head. “Why not let everyone get inside before you start?”

  His mum rolls her eyes, opening the door. “Come on in.”

  “Thank you for inviting us,” I tell her as we walk through, stepping left into the living area. My shoulders sag when I see Hope sitting down on the sofa. “Hey.”

  “It’s so good to see you. When Harlow told my mum you were friends with Maddox, I had to come and see for myself. I thought that when he delivered Asher, it was a coincidence.”

  “We’re—” I stop mid-sentence, interrupted by Maddox once again.

  “Mum, I would, wouldn’t I? Tell her.”

  I snort. “Just drop it already.”

  “Drop what?” Madison asks, before beaming at Jasmine. “Hey, princess.”

  “Maddy,” Jasmine squeals, letting go of my hand to run over to her. “Can you plait my hair again?”

  Madison pulls out a pack of Frozen bobbles from her pocket, grinning. “Of course. I got these just for you.”

  Clapping her hands, Jasmine jumps up and down.

  “Why don’t you come and say hello to everyone else?” I tell her, arching an eyebrow.

  Jasmine’s nose scrunches up. “But I already met them, silly.”

  She has me there.

  Harlow comes to a stop beside me. “It’s fine. Would you like a drink?”

  “I’m good for the moment, thank you.”

  “Does no one care that she thinks I’m not boyfriend material?” Maddox cries out, pointing a finger at me.

  “He likes boys,” Jasmine whispers, making me chuckle.

  His dad claps Maddox on the shoulder. “Bite you in the arse.”

  Maddox’s eyes narrow into slits. “This isn’t that. I’m not in a relationship. But I could be if I wanted to.”

  “Of course you could,” Madison replies sarcastically.

  “This is abuse,” he argues.

  “Take a seat,” Harlow gestures, and I take a seat next to Hope.

  “Sorry,” I tell Hope, facing her. “To answer your question, I didn’t get a choice. He was like a cat. He kept coming back.”

  Maddox snorts, taking a seat in the armchair and picking Asher up out of his car seat. “She wanted me to.”

  “He’s beautiful,” Harlow murmurs, holding her hands out to hold him. When Maddox ignores her, she arches her eyebrow at him. “Let me hold him.”

  He shakes his head. “Let him get used to the room first. He might cry.”

  I nod in agreement. “He probably will. I think he’s attached to Maddox.”

  His mum eyes him disbelievingly, and he puffs out his chest. “Try.”

  He hands her Asher, and within seconds of being held, Asher begins to wail. Harlow’s eyes widen, and she turns to Malik in shock. “Maybe it’s because you were the first one to hold him.”

  He shrugs, taking him back. “He just likes me. Give him a while and he’ll be okay.”

  When his mum gives me a questioning look, I shrug. “I don’t have the answers either.”

  I hear a door being opened somewhere at the back of the house, right before a gorgeous man, who looks similar to Malik, and a blonde bombshell walk through from the dining room.

  “Hey,” the woman greets.

  Hope points to the new couple. “That’s my dad, Mason, and my mum, Denny. They live in the house down the garden.”

  My eyes widen. “Down the garden?”

  She nods. “Before it got strict with restrictions, they managed to get planning permission to build a house there. They had the land to do it. The gardens are huge.”

  “Impressive.”

  Harlow begins to make introductions, and just as she’s finished, there’s another knock on the door. It’s Denny who replies. “That is probably Kayla and Charlotte. The guys went out to a hockey match, so I told them to come over.”

  Seconds later, Malik walks through, and two stunning women with bright red hair step through the doorway behind him. One is an older woman, but the other seems to be my age or younger. She’s gorgeous.

  “That’s our cousin, Charlotte, and her mum, Kayla.”

  I can’t look away. It isn’t because she’s beautiful either. It’s something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

  She’s nervous, which seems weird since she’s amongst family. And not only that, but she looks tired and filled with sadness.

  “Charlotte, you should come meet Asher Maddox Taylor,” Maddox announces.

  She jerks at the sound of his voice, and I stiffen. I know that reaction all too well. When I turn to see his reaction, his jaw is tight, and he doesn’t look happy. I catch him share a look with his sister before forcing a smile. They noticed it too it seems and aren’t happy.

  “He’s beautiful,” she murmurs, her voice a melody.

  “I gave birth to him,” Maddox boasts.

  Her lips twist as she stares at him. “Maddox, you didn’t give birth to him. That’s impossible.”

  His eyebrows bunch together. “I meant delivered him. Same thing.”

  “It’s really not,” she answers, smiling when Asher begins to coo up at her. “Hey, little guy.”

  “I think he likes you,” Maddox declares, handing him over to her. She gently pulls him into her arms, and the second she smiles, I’m blown away. Her entire body smiles with her.

  Turning away from them, I glance to Harlow. “Thank you for everything you did the night I gave birth. All of you. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get unpacked. What you’ve done means everything to me.”

  Harlow’s expression relaxes and a warm smile reaches her lips. “You’re most welcome.”

  I clear my throat, nervous about bringing this up in front of everyone. “And thank you so much for your gifts today. They are extremely appreciated.”

  She steps closer, squeezing my shoulder. “A
gain, you’re welcome. We’ve been dying to meet you and the kids for a while, but Maddox said you were busy.”

  “Busy?” I ask, and when my attention goes to Maddox, he begins to whistle, glancing around the room. “Maddox?”

  “You were my friend first,” he argues, throwing his hands up.

  I chuckle, shaking my head at him. Only he would monopolize someone’s time in a juvenile way.

  Jasmine leans forward on Madison’s lap. “You were my friend first.”

  He winks. “Always.”

  “How long have you known each other?” Harlow asks.

  “Not long.”

  “Mum,” he warns, “we are just friends.”

  She throws her hands up. “You can’t blame me for wanting my son to settle down with a nice girl.”

  “You’ve got another son. Pimp him off,” he orders.

  His brother, Trent, coughs into his hand. “Scaredy cat.”

  “I’m not scared,” he yells, slapping his hands down on the arms of the chair.

  His dad grunts at him before giving me a look. “I can see why you don’t want him.”

  “We aren’t… We haven’t…”

  “I don’t blame you. He’s hard work,” he tells me again, his expression serious.

  “I am not,” Maddox snaps.

  *** *** ***

  Dinner has been amazing. Harlow cooked homemade pizza’s, garlic bread, and wedges that had a spicy taste to them. I couldn’t eat another bite if tried. And I had tried. She had made enough to feed an army.

  Nearly everyone stayed seated at the table, but Malik and Mason went to watch a game of football downstairs, taking an eager Jasmine with them. Trent went to his room.

  I wince when Asher sucks a little too hard. My nipples are cracked, sore, and are hyper-sensitive right now. He isn’t going easy at all.

  “You work with Hope, right?” Charlotte asks, reaching for her water.

  “I do. My aunt co-owns the home, but I only recently started there,” I explain.

  “You didn’t bake any cakes today, Charlotte?” Harlow asks, and Kayla gives a small, subtle shake of her head, like she shouldn’t bring it up.

  She wrings her fingers together. “Not today.”

  “Are you still with Scott?” Maddox asks.

  She smiles. “Yes. But he’s busy a lot with work.”

  “What does he do?” Hope asks.

  Charlotte shrugs, her brows pulling together. “I’m not sure.”

  “You didn’t ask?” Kayla asks, concern written over her face.

  Charlotte beams. “It’s fine. We’re still getting to know one another.”

  “Shouldn’t you have known this before?” Maddox questions.

  I watch as her bottom lip trembles, and she pushes away from the table, getting up. “Maybe he doesn’t want me either,” she snaps.

  From everyone’s expressions, I’d guess this was new for her. Each of them look shocked by her outburst.

  Kayla stands, reaching for her daughter. “Charlotte.”

  “It’s fine. I need to go,” she whispers. “I want to check on Kat-nip.”

  Kayla follows after her, and I startle when I hear a door slam in the distance. Madison grits her teeth, staring at her brother. “Please tell me you’ve found out who this guy is.”

  “No. But she’s changed since they got together.”

  “I don’t think it’s that,” Harlow announces, giving them a pointed look.

  “Please, she jumps at her own shadow, cries a lot, and didn’t bake anything to bring to a meal. Something, I may add, we’ve been trying to get her not to do for years,” Maddox argues.

  Harlow reaches for the plates still on the table, and gets up. “You know she’s a kind soul. She feels everything. Her empathy to others is what makes her who she is. But right now, it’s messed her up. You know how much she has wanted to get married, to have a family.”

  Madison’s lips twist. “You think she’s settling?”

  Harlow shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s losing everyone around her to their other half. Out of everyone, she has craved what they have the most. She has wanted to be a mum, a wife, and has made that known for as long as I can remember.”

  “I don’t think losing Landon has helped much,” Hope agrees.

  I keep my lips shut. I don’t want to tell them my suspicions. There were no marks I could see that would indicate she is being hurt, but she most definitely is, either physically or mentally. I could see it in her eyes. Although she remained silent through dinner, it was a deafening silence. She was hurting. And yes, that could be because she was feeling left behind and was with a new guy who didn’t bring her up to speed with everyone else’s love life.

  Trent steps through the door, takes one look at me feeding Asher, and freaks out. “Fuck!” he cries out, spinning around. He goes to escape, but smacks his head against the doorframe before falling back on his arse.

  My shoulders shake as I watch him slowly crawl out of the room. “Sorry.”

  Maddox guffaws, slapping his thigh. “I guess that answers if he’s seen a pair of tits before.”

  “Maddox,” Harlow retorts, her lips twitching.

  I lift the blanket that has slipped down, fighting hard not to laugh. “It’s a shock to most people. They see a mum breastfeeding and immediately look away. Or stare, if they’re anything like Maddox.”

  He holds his hands up. “He was going to town on them. It was hard not to.”

  Hope giggles. “Did you go bright red?”

  He grins, shaking his head. “Not my first pair of tits.”

  “He was awkward,” I tell them, giving him a gloating smile.

  Malik walks in holding Jasmine by her ankles. “I think she needs a break from football,” he explains, then grimaces when he turns to me. “She may have picked up a swear word and then yelled it at the television.”

  “Jasmine,” I call out, astonished.

  Her face is bright red when he straightens her, dropping her to her feet. She folds her arms over her chest, her face scrunched up tight. “The guy was an arse. That was a foul.”

  Malik chuckles, stepping away. “She’s all yours.”

  I slowly turn to Maddox. “What have you taught my daughter?”

  He rubs the back of his neck. “She’s a quick learner.”

  “Jasmine, sit down in that chair. When you are ready to apologise for using foul language, you can go watch television in the living room.”

  She huffs out a breath as she takes a seat in the chair. “I’m not saying sorry. Our team are losing.”

  “Jaz, girls don’t swear,” Maddox tells her. “You should listen to your mum.”

  Still sulking, she glares up at me through her lashes. “Sorry, Mummy. I won’t say arse again.”

  Maddox struggles to hide his chuckle, and I jab him with my elbow. “Go sit in the living room.”

  She gets up but pauses when the front door flies open. Harlow pushes away from the sink, turning towards the door.

  Max, the guy who scared me the first time I met him at Maverick Carter’s office, comes storming into the dining room. He gapes at the room, his lips parted. “Oh, I see how it is.”

  “Max,” Harlow groans.

  He waves her off. “You know I like my pizza. Did you invite me? No. But you let Mason come.”

  “How did you even know?” she asks.

  He holds his phone up. “Mason Instagrammed me a picture of the food to rub it in.”

  She rolls her eyes as she dries her hands on the dish towel. “And how did you get in?”

  He sniffs, looking away. “I lived here once. I still have a key. I wanted to catch you in the act.”

  When he takes a seat, diving into the leftovers still on the table, I gape. He lived here?

  “Over twenty years ago, Max. How do you still have a key?”

  He talks through a mouthful of food. “I have keys to everyone’s house.”

  Jasmine steps over to Max, pulling on his T-shirt
. “Will you let me watch football?”

  “No,” I rush out.

  “Nah, the game was crap. They lost.”

  “What?” she screeches. “You spoilt the whole game.”

  “Calm down,” he tells her, grinning. “I can do one better, kid. We can go outside and kick a ball around.”

  Jasmine jumps up and down. “Yay.”

  Maddox turns to me, grimacing. “I did tell you they were a little crazy.”

  He really did. But it’s the good kind. The best. It feels great to be a part of something again, to be me and not just a mum.

  Maybe my mum was right. Maybe putting myself out there will be good for me. For the first time in a long time, I feel like me again.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  MADDOX

  “Are you not going to cheer the fuck up?” Mark asks, glancing over the rim of his glass of beer.

  I rest my ankle over my knee, sitting back in the chair. “I am fucking cheery. I just don’t get why I couldn’t go,” I argue.

  “Dude, really?” Liam calls out, chuckling.

  I slam my hand down on the table, rattling the beers. “Fuck off. And so what if I was dusty from work.”

  I’m more than dusty, but that isn’t the point. I feel neglected, pushed out, and these arseholes are making fun of me for it. But to tell me I couldn’t even step through the doorway was a joke. She used my work attire as an excuse to not let me in, and the fact she had people over. Like I was an embarrassment or something.

  “It’s called girls night for a reason,” Mark states. “You’ve been glancing at your phone every two minutes since we arrived. Get over it already.”

  Because she kicked me out. When I saw all the cars out front, I went straight over instead of showering before like I normally do. I do it every day when I finish work because she likes to cook me dinner.

  But no.

  Tonight, it’s no men allowed. I argued about Asher being there, but apparently, he’s exempt because he’s a baby.

  Whatever.

  I’m fucking exhausted, and all I want to do is sleep. I haven’t slept much for nearly a week now, and it’s catching up with me.

  “I’m not the only one on their phone,” I point out, flicking my gaze over to Aiden.

  He looks up, frowning. “Are you in the doghouse? Do you have a kid? No. So shut the fuck up.”