“Oh no, I see it. I just don’t care. She outclasses them five to none.”
“Guys, I am right here, ya know!” I turned to her and grinned.
“Sorry, baby.” She rolled her eyes and cuddled closer to me.
“Want to get any closer to him, honey?” I looked up and saw one of the ones giving her death stares standing there.
“Can I help ya?” She slid a piece of paper over to me.
“Yeah, you get bored with blondie, then give me a call.”
“Excuse me?” Before she could say anything, Maddie had the number, tore it up into shreds and threw it back at her.
“Thanks, but he goes for class, not ass, so he won’t be trading down anytime soon. Bye, now.” She picked up her drink and took a sip, not taking her eyes off the chick who was still standing there.
“What? She isn’t wrong. You’re lucky I am sitting here, though.”
“Yeah, and why’s that?” she asked. “Because I am likely to get up and pull those fake as fuck extensions outta ya damn head. Walk away, before I make a game of it. Tell ya friends to stay away, too.” The girl flipped her hair and walked away in a huff.
Blake and Mario both burst out laughing. “We are so keeping her around!”
“That’s the plan, boys.” I grinned and took a drink of my beer.
After a couple of drinks Mario did wind up ditching us for the group of girls who were giving Maddie dirty looks. He goes for ass. I was on my way to get another round of drinks when he brought one of them up to me.
“This pretty thing wanted to come say hi.” I turned and looked at her and blinked.
“Gracie!”
“Hey, big brother.” She moved over and gave me a hug and I squeezed her tightly.
“What are you doin’ here?”
“Moved out here.”
“Wait? What? You two are related?” asked Mario.
“Yep!” I said popping the p. “Do the rents know?” She shook her head.
“Nope. I moved away and don’t speak to them.”
“Makes two of us.”
“Three. Matty wised up to dad’s bullshit and cut ties with him too. Saw how badly the move affected you.”
“Where is he now?”
“Afghanistan. We caught up when he came back, but he was called up again.” I nodded and ran my hand over my neck.
“Wait, does this mean she is off limits?” asked Mario.
“Does hell, yes, answer your question?” He sighed and asked old man Jackson for a shot.
I felt an arm around me and looked to see Maddie. “Can we help you?” asked Gracie.
“Nope.” Maddie replied.
“Oh shit. You girls did always hate each other.”
“We didn’t hate each other. She never thought I was good enough for you, though.”
At the same time Gracie took a drink I saw it register in her eyes and she spat it out in shock. “Maddison!” Maddie screwed up her face and tried to wipe the drink off her arms.
“Jesus, Gracie! You are supposed to drink it, not spit it everywhere!” Maddie told her.
“Fuck, I am so sorry. Wow. Guess I was wrong.” I raised my brow.
“About what?”
“You two not being right for each other.” I nodded.
“You weren’t the only one.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Maddie
After getting another round of drinks, we lost Mario again, and went back to the booth. Apparently, now that Gracie was off limits to him, he went to try with one of her friends.
“So how did you two end up finding each other?” Gracie asked.
“He came to Australia for a job, and I just happened to have been with the guy he was working for.”
“Huh?”
“I own a security company, and one of Morgan Young’s guys looked me up and asked me to fly out to cover for the guys who were coming home.” Tim told her.
“Wait, you and Morgan Young? What’s he like?” Gracie asked me.
“An asshole. It didn’t last once Tim got there, though. I found out what happened when you guys left and some other stuff, and realized being with Morgan would have been something I would regret. He came home, and Tim and I stayed home for a bit before coming back here. I couldn’t stay there.” I told her.
“Well, it’s good to see a smile on his face again. He was devastated when we had to leave.” I nodded and laid my head against Tim’s arm.
“He wasn’t the only one.” Gracie just nodded and took another drink. Tim kissed my head and I smiled. It was good to be home. Being with Tim was the best feeling in the world.
“So, what happened to you after you guys came back?” I asked Gracie.
“I went away to college for a bit, but it didn’t stick, so I moved to New York for some modelling stuff. After a few rough months with some bad calls, I decided to move to L.A. for a bit. I just got transferred here and found out Timmy was here, so I decided to set down roots near him.”
“Glad ya did. I missed ya, kid.” Tim told her.
Gracie reached over the table and squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. This would be good for them. I know Tim was never close to Matt, but Gracie was. Being overseas, I knew she would be worried about him. At least now she had someone to help her through that.
We kept talking for a little while and Tim told her everything that had happened to him. Before she could answer, one of her friends decided that it would be a good time to stumble over to us and knock our table. We all rushed to grab our drinks to keep them from spilling and shot her a look. She didn’t care, though.
“Your brother is fucking hot. He is wasted with her!” She told Gracie and shot me a look. Before I could act - my patience having run out - Gracie was up out of the booth and grabbed her hair.
“Bitch, that is my fucking sister in law you are talking about! Have some fucking respect!” She pushed her down on her ass and took a step towards her. Tim jumped up from his seat and wrapped an arm around his sister as the bar owner walked over.
“You’re out!” To my surprise, he was looking at the chick Gracie just put on her ass.
“But that’s not fair! She started it!” she slurred.
“Yeah, well, you were asking for it, honey, so be gone with ya ass!” he told her. She glared at me as one of her friends came to help her up and take her out of here.
“Winning points with friends, Gracie.” Tim told her.
“She wasn’t a friend. She was a friend of a friends. Maybe if the bitch kept her mouth shut, she would be fine. Not surprised though. She can’t keep her legs closed either.” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that.
We were brought over another round of drinks and given our last call warning.
“So, big brother, when are you going to see Dad?” Gracie asked.
“I’m not.” He told her.
“Oh, come on! You can’t have Maddie back and not want to prove him wrong! I would love to see the look on his face!”
“If I change my mind, I’ll let ya know.” Gracie looked over at me and I just shrugged. Sure, both Tim and I had thought about seeing him to get answers, but the last time we tried to get answers from someone was heavily imprinted in my head. I’m not sure I could do that again, and we both knew Tim wouldn’t leave without beating the shit out of his dad for what he’d done. Leaning over, I pressed my lips against Tim’s jaw and I felt him relax and put his arm around me. Laying my head against his chest, I looked over at Gracie and Blake who had started talking amongst themselves. I couldn’t help but smile. I knew Tim had told Mario that Gracie was off limits, but I could see something between Blake and Gracie. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, she laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her head.
“Uhh, what the fuck, bro?” Blake turned to look at Tim and straightened a little.
“Guess it’s confession time…” said Gracie. They both looked at each other before turning back to Tim. “It st
arted a couple of months ago while I was out on a job. She was being harassed by a group of guys so I stepped in to help her. One thing led to another, and we started seeing each other. We have been together since then.” Blake told him.
“He was one of my reasons for taking the job out here. I took a chance on something and don’t regret it.” They looked at each other again and I heard Tim grumble under his breath. Resting my hand on his thigh, I gave it a little squeeze.
“Relax, baby. It’s not like its Mario.” Tim sighed and nodded.
“Just wish y’all had of told me.”
“We’re sorry, bubba.”
Mario picked that moment of course to pop up. “Hey! I thought she was off limits?!”
Both Blake and Tim replied, “To you!” and he just rolled his eyes.
“Whatever, I’m out. Catch you later. Got me a date with a hot blonde,” he told us.
“Of course you do.”
He said goodbye to the boys with a handshake and disappeared.
“That boy is gonna get himself in trouble.” I said out loud.
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Both Blake and Tim cracked up laughing and I just shook my head.
“Not even gonna ask.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Ghost
Gracie and Blake both ended up coming home with Maddie and me after the bar and we all chilled for a bit before going to bed. In the morning while we were still in bed, Maddie asked me how I felt about Gracie and Blake. On one hand, he was my best friend and he was one of the best guys I knew. He had never slept around in the time I had known him, and his last serious relationship ended because he enlisted and she couldn’t handle that he would be away. They tried it, but she just ended up cheating on him and getting knocked up. He went back home after he got injured and found another man in his house. After beating the shit outta him, he packed up and moved over here with me.
There was no one else I would I want for my sister. On the other hand, though, she was my little sister and that urge to protect her was there. Did I have the right too, though? I hadn’t seen her since I went to the academy. At the end of the day, I just had to hope that he would keep her safe and look after her. If he didn’t, his ass was mine. After my talk with Maddie, I was feeling a little better about it. She was good like that. She let me get it off my chest so that I didn’t dwell on it.
“At least she is here and you can keep an eye on her. She could still be with your dad, being forced to marry someone that he had picked out.” She was right. Anything was better than that.
We got up and made breakfast for us all before Blake took Grace to pick her car up from the bar while we got ready for our appointments. When we got home, Maddie was real quiet, and it worried me. While I fixed us both lunch, I just watched her. She was in her head again.
“You okay, Snowflake?” She looked up at me and gave me a smile.
“Just thinking, baby.” I moved around to her and set our plates down in front of us.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“It’s just something the psychologist made me think about. I am always going to sit there and wonder why the hell Michael did what he did, and why your father did what he did. It’s always gonna be an unanswered question in the back of my mind. Even if we went to see your father, he would never give us the answers we deserve. You were the best thing to happen to me. Why would Michael want to take that away from me?”
“Do you think there is something more behind it?”
“I don’t know what to think. I thought Michael loved me. Not that I was the biggest regret of his life.” Her head dropped and I reached over and pulled her into my arms.
“I know this is hard, baby, but we will get our answers.”
“How?” When Maddie looked up at me, I met her gaze and the sadness in her eyes broke my heart.
“I don’t know, but we will somehow. I will make sure of it. Someone has to give us answers.” She nodded and just laid her head against my chest. God, I hoped to give her the closure she needed.
We had just finished lunch when Gracie came over to get Maddie. She needed a shopping partner, and as much as she hated shopping, Maddie gave in and went with her. After she left, I moved into my home office and checked my emails. Picking up my phone, I dialed a number I never thought I would dial again.
“Mom, it’s Tim.” She was quiet for a little while and I heard a door close on the other. “It’s good to hear from you, Tim. Is everything okay?” It was my turn to go quiet. I didn’t know how to bring this up. Would she even know? Deciding not to beat around the bush with it, I asked her.
“Mom, why did you move us back to the US?”
“Tim, you know why.”
“Do I, because I don’t think y’all were tellin’ us the truth. Why did we have to leave? Why did I have to leave Maddie?”
“Oh, please. Not this shit again Timothy. You really need to get over that.” I felt my anger spike
“No! You got to be with the man you loved! Why didn’t I get the same?! Why did you and he have the right to dictate my life! Couple of months and I would have been out of your hair!”
“You really think I wanted to be with a man who makes me miserable, Timothy? That’s what every woman dreams about! They don’t look for love; they look to be unhappy for the rest of their lives? I didn’t get to be with the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I got the man my father wanted me to marry. I got to have my mother’s life.”
“Then why did you stay?” I heard her sigh.
“Because he threatened me. If I left, he would make sure I never got to see my kids and I would lose everything. I did anyway, so I guess the jokes on me.”
I frowned and sat back in my chair. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“So am I, Tim. So am I. For the record though? I loved you with Maddie. I hated letting your father tear you apart. If I’d have had my way, we would have just taken Gracie and Matty.”
“I got her back…”
“What?”
“I went to Australia for a job and she was there. Things blew up with Michael, so now she is back here with me.”
“Take good care of her, Tim. You don’t get a second chance with your first love too often.”
“Is it too late for you, Mom?”
“I hope not…”
“Do you need anything, Mom?”
“No, I’m okay for now. I promise you will get your answers soon. Please, just give me some time. I need to sort a few things first. You and Maddie deserve that.”
“Thank you, Mom. I appreciate that.”
“I have to go. I will call you soon, though. Give Maddie a hug for me.”
“I will, Mom. Bye.”
“Bye, baby. I love you.”
We hung up and I sat my phone back on my desk. Hearing a knock on the front door, I stood up and moved to the door. Opening it up, I raised a brow at the guy standing on my doorstep. “Can I help you?”
“Looking for Maddison Lee.”
“Why?” “Delivery for her.”
“She’s not here right now.”
“You can sign for it, then.”
“If it gets you off my doorstep, fine.”
I signed his clipboard next to Maddie’s name and took the envelope from him. Not seeing sender’s details on it, I moved to put it somewhere I would remember to give it to her and went back to my office to kill some time while I waited for Gracie to bring my girl home.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Maddie
After a few hours of shopping, I was so relieved to be back home. Dropping the bags inside the door, I called out to Tim, “Baby, I’m home!” I couldn’t help but smile at those words.
“Thank God!” Tim called back, and I followed the sound of his voice. Coming around the corner and running into him, I laughed when he wrapped me tight in his arms.
“Hi. Miss me, did you?”
“Fuck, yes. Never again.” I grinned and pressed my lips to his
.
“I missed you too, baby.” He scooped me up and I squealed as he moved through the house.
“Behave while I was gone?”
“Never.” “Well at least you're honest.” I said with a laugh. We entered his office and he sat me down on his desk. “Let me just finish this up real quick, then I am all yours.”
I looked over and saw he was working. “You need to work! I can go entertain myself while you do it. It’s fine.”
He gave me a look. “There will be none of that while I am around, ya hear.” His lips curled into a smirk and I hit his arm.
“Perv.”
“You love me!”
“This is true.”
Not long later, I was sitting out on the back porch when he came to join me, carrying something in his hand. “This came for you while you were gone.”
“For me? Who’s it from?”
“Not sure. It doesn’t say and I didn’t open it.”
I sat my drink down and took the envelope from him. He sat down next to me and I opened it. Pulling out what was inside, I found two letters. One was really old and the other new. Turning over the oldest one, I looked over at Tim. “It’s from you…” I showed him the letter.
“That was my first letter to you after we left… which means that one is from Michael.” He nodded to the letter in my hands and I swallowed. Turning it over, I opened it up.
My Dearest Maddie,
If you are reading this right now, then Princess, I owe you a huge apology. I never meant those things that I said to you. Please know that. Why did I say them then? I needed to stop you from digging deeper into the past. I know you need answers and I will give them to you, but please trust me when I say this is not the right time to tell you. I love you and you have to know that. I have always done things that were in your best interest.
I know you probably don’t see that now, but I hope that one day you can forgive me for all the choices I have made. It absolutely killed me seeing you in pain after Tim was taken away back to the States, and I had always hoped that one day you would find each other again.
Hell On An Angel (Fated Love Book 2) Page 12
