Grady pressed his lips together, conflicted. “Don’t tell my brother I touched you without a little bit of context,” he said finally, going for levity. “He’ll kill me.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” Mandy said, taking a step toward him. “Thank you for what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything, Mandy,” Grady said, chafing under her earnest stare. “I thought the family hero deserved to have a fun place to hang out.”
“You did a lot and you know it,” Mandy countered. “I know you’re not keen on taking credit or accolades – or affection, for that matter – but I love you, Grady.”
Mandy surprised Grady when she leaned in to give him a hug. Grady returned the embrace and then snagged the pancake molds so he had something to focus on other than the lump in his throat.
“These are chickens,” Grady said.
“They are.”
“Why are you making pancakes that look like chickens?”
“Because we’re going to put them in dirty situations and then reenact said dirty situations after breakfast,” Mandy answered.
Grady barked out a laugh and slung an arm around Mandy’s shoulders as they moved toward the stairs. “I love that you and James are absolutely filthy and never fail to admit it.”
“I love that, too.”
“WHAT do you think you’re doing showing up at my house on a Sunday?” James asked, barreling into the kitchen. He opted to be on the offensive from the start. He didn’t want to give Madeline any wiggle room.
“I wanted to talk to you about upgrading the lights in the parking lot,” Madeline replied, resting her hands on her hips and taking up a defiant stance. “I don’t think the ones you picked are bright enough.”
“The ones we picked work with the cameras,” James shot back. “If you pick something brighter you’ll get a glare on the video feeds and that could obscure identification. You need to decide if the cameras or lights are more important.”
“Oh, well, maybe we should sit down and talk about it.” Madeline sounded reasonable, and yet James knew exactly what she as doing.
“No.” James shook his head. “It’s Sunday. I’m spending the entire day with my wife.”
“You’re going to do it again?” Madeline was scandalized. “Are you guys animals?”
“Sharks, actually.”
“I don’t know what kinky thing you’ve got going on with your precious wife, but I would think business is more important.”
“Then you don’t know me at all,” James said. “My wife is the most important thing in the world to me. We’re spending the day together. If I thought I could talk her into calling in sick to work tomorrow, we’d extend our weekend. She’s too diligent for that, though.
“I’m not an idiot, Madeline,” he continued. “I know why you were at the festival yesterday. I know you were following us. The only thing you have going for you is that I don’t think Mandy realizes what was going on.”
“I was not following you!”
“Don’t push me,” James warned. “I know what you were doing. Jake is in charge of your job. I will text him and have him set up a meeting with you about the lights. Don’t ever come to my house again. While you’re at it, don’t ever approach my wife again either. I don’t like the way you talk to her and I definitely don’t like the way you look at her.”
“And what way is that?” Madeline challenged.
“Like she’s competition,” James replied, not missing a beat. “She’s not competition, though. She’s already won. You lost before you tried to join the game. I could never love you. That was true before I met Mandy and it’s definitely true now. Stay away from my wife.”
“I don’t think I like what you’re insinuating,” Madeline sniffed, jutting out her lower lip.
“I don’t think I care,” James shot back. “You’re a client. Jake is in charge of your case. If you don’t like that, find someone else to handle your security. It’s pretty simple.”
Madeline didn’t get a chance to respond because the sound of Mandy and Grady chatting interrupted whatever argument she was about to launch. James grinned a few seconds later when Mandy slapped the pancake molds into his hand.
“I found them,” Mandy said. “I also thanked Grady for what he did in the guesthouse. I’m still starving, though.”
“I’m on it, wife,” James said. “I can’t wait to see what that dirty mind of yours comes up with when I’m done making pancakes.”
“Here’s a hint,” Mandy said. “I need two roosters and one hen.”
James made a face. “You’re lucky I already love you because that’s never going to happen, baby.”
“And I’m scarred for life,” Grady said, moving toward the front of the house. “Come on, Madeline. I’ll show you out.”
“I’m not done here,” Madeline argued.
“You’re done,” James said. “Trust me.”
10
Ten
“Baby, I will give you a thousand bucks if you call in sick and stay in bed with me all day,” James said the next morning, tracing a lazy pattern across Mandy’s bare back as he stared at the ceiling in the bedroom apartment above the Orca. “I’ll give you two thousand if you do that thing you showed me with the dirty chickens again.”
“You realize you just offered me money for sex, right?” Mandy asked dryly.
“That’s probably not a good thing when I’m married, huh?”
“No.”
“Don’t tell my wife,” James whispered, kissing Mandy’s cheek.
“Good grief you’re cute,” Mandy muttered, shifting her head to stare at the clock on the nightstand. “We need to get over to the main house and shower. I’m going to be late for work.”
“No, you need to stay in bed with me,” James said, rubbing his morning stubble against Mandy’s soft shoulder. He hadn’t shaved in two days so he was sporting a decent amount of hair for a guy who manscaped.
“In less than five months we won’t have to worry about this,” Mandy said. “As for today, though, I can’t be late. It’s not fair to the judge.”
“But, baby, I think I’ll die if I’m separated from you today,” James whined.
Mandy arched a challenging eyebrow. “Die?”
“I’m addicted, baby,” James said. “I officially cannot be without you. You’re going to have to quit your job early and spend the rest of your life in bed with me.”
“I see you’re trying to charm me out of my virtue this morning.”
James squeezed Mandy’s bare butt and smiled. “I charmed you out of that a long time ago,” he said. “I’m never giving it back.”
“Cute, cute, cute.” Mandy kissed his chin. “I have to go to work today. I promise to leave early so we can have a romantic dinner and watch the sharks again.”
“I’m going to have to put a timer on that thing or I’ll never see you again,” James muttered. “I thought we could spend the night in the hot tub tonight.”
“The sharks aren’t in the hot tub.”
“I’ll be the shark.”
The sigh Mandy released was long and dramatic. “Fine. Is it okay if I pick up Thai food for dinner on the way home?”
“Yes. I want that beef stuff with the tomatoes and the tiny noodles and spring rolls.”
“I know,” Mandy said, moving to climb out of bed. “Come on. If you’re good I’ll play the shark in the shower.”
“Sold,” James said, rolling his legs off the side of the bed and groaning when he realized how sore he was. “We cannot do it on top of the new bar like we did on the old one. It’s taller. I didn’t realize it until it was too late. My back is killing me.”
“That’s because you’re old.”
“That cute thing you’ve got going for you most days is absent today, wife,” James growled. “Do you have anything big going on at the courthouse this week?”
“As a matter of fact we do,” Mandy answered. “We have that big murder trial for that money la
underer who made all of the local news stations and newspapers going on. Jury selection starts after lunch.”
“Oh, Toby Keats was his name, right?” James asked, racking his memory.
“Yup.”
“How dangerous is that, baby?” James asked, shifting so he could watch Mandy climb into her sleep shorts. “Money launderers who kill are dangerous.”
“There’s security in the courthouse, James. I’ll be fine.”
“See, now I really think we should spend the day in bed.” James snagged Mandy’s waist and pulled her down on his lap. “Quit. Do it today.”
“James, we talked about this,” Mandy said, exasperated. “I need to finish what I’m working on and train my replacement. Since I haven’t told the judge I’m leaving yet, that’s going to be pretty difficult.”
“I know, baby,” James said, nuzzling her cheek. “I don’t like you around all those losers.”
“I could say the same thing about you – only your losers are slutbags.”
James made a sound akin to a cat in heat. “That was bitchy, wife.”
“It wasn’t bitchy,” Mandy clarified. “I don’t like Madeline. You’re mine. I’m not going to share you, so she needs to move along.”
James snickered. “You’re starting to sound like me,” he said, tickling her ribs. “You don’t have to worry about Madeline. I stuck Jake with her and he should be finishing up over the next few days.”
“That means she’s going to get more and more dangerous.”
James stilled. “What do you mean?”
“James, I know women,” Mandy explained. “Madeline has been playing a game from the start. She might not have known you were married – although I find that hard to believe because I’m positive she Googled you – but she knew what she was doing when she approached us that first night at the benefit.
“I made the mistake that night, though,” she continued. “I was feeling … exposed … and I decided to take a step back because I was afraid I would overreact and smack the crap out of her. That gave her an opening and she used it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You were distracted because you were worried about me,” Mandy answered. “You needed something easy and a day spa fit the bill. You could shove it off on Jake and your brothers and clear your schedule to continue worrying about me.”
“You’re pretty smart, wife. I shouldn’t have done it, though.”
“It’s done,” Mandy said, her pragmatic side taking over. “Now we have to deal with the fallout. If her job really is going to be finished this week, that means she’s going to put the full-court press on you.”
“Nice sports analogy.”
“I know,” Mandy said, resting her head against his. “She’s going to do something a whole lot worse than stalking us at an art fair or interrupting a lunch. She’s going to do something ten times worse than interrupting us during sex.”
“How did you know she was following us at the art fair?” James asked, his heart dropping.
“I know you better than you think and I noticed you were tense,” Mandy replied. “I saw her and the show she was putting on. I didn’t want to say anything and ruin our day.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to say anything either.”
“I know,” Mandy said. “I need you to promise me that you won’t put yourself in a situation where she can manipulate either one of us. I know you would never cheat on me, but she’s going to attempt to set up another scenario like that first lunch.
“She’s going to figure out a way to get you alone and then make sure I find out about it,” she continued. “Please, I know you can’t make any guarantees, but I don’t want to see it even if I know it isn’t real. It’s going to hurt no matter what.”
James gripped the back of Mandy’s neck and rubbed his thumb against her cheek. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I hope so.” Mandy started to pull away, but James stopped her.
“Nothing is more important to me than you, Mandy. It’s going to be okay.”
“I trust you.”
“I love you,” James said. “Now get moving. You’re going to be late if you’re not careful, and I still have one rooster move to do. It needs water, so I was saving it for this morning.”
Mandy giggled. “Cluck, cluck.”
“No, wife. Cock-a-doodle-doo.”
“SON OF A … .”
James stared at his phone and willed the text message to change three hours later. To absolutely no one’s surprise, it didn’t.
“What’s going on?” Jake asked, sauntering into the office.
“Oh, I’m so relieved you’re here,” James said, grabbing Jake’s arm and giving it a good shake. “Thank you.”
“I’m confused what you’re thanking me for,” Jake said.
“Madeline just texted and has an ‘emergency spa security issue.’” James used exaggerated air quotes so Jake would realize how irritated he was. “She demanded that I show up for lunch in downtown Mount Clemens and said she wouldn’t be able to accept any cancelations because her phone was going to be off because it needs to recharge.”
“What do you think she’s planning?”
“I think she’s about to make her move,” James said. “You have to come to lunch with me.”
“You don’t think Madeline wants to do with us what Mandy wanted to do with those dirty chickens yesterday, do you?” Jake asked, his eyes wide.
James scowled. “How do you know about the chickens?”
“Mandy called Ally when you were paying the pizza guy,” Jake replied. “They giggled for five minutes and then Ally was revved up so I had to … .”
James narrowed his eyes. He knew Ally and Jake were hardly celibate, but since she was still his baby sister he didn’t want to hear the dirty details of their relationship.
“She was revved up to play Monopoly,” Jake finished.
“Good man,” James said, patting Jake’s arm. “You still have to come with me. Madeline is going to do something sly … or outright disgusting … and I need you there to make sure there’s absolutely no way anyone can misconstrue anything.”
“Are you worried about Mandy thinking you’re cheating on her?” Jake asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “I know she’s been going through some stuff, but she has to know you would never cheat on her.”
“She does,” James confirmed. “She also knows that Madeline is going to make a move and she made me promise to be careful. She doesn’t want to see it – even if she knows it’s fake.”
“I get it,” Jake said. “I’ll go with you. Where are we meeting her?”
“Some Middle Eastern place on the main drag,” James answered. “I found out after the fact that the Italian restaurant Madeline picked for our first lunch was a well-known place lawyers meet their mistresses. That was one of the reasons Mandy was so upset.”
“Couldn’t you have been angry with Mandy for eating at the restaurant?” Jake prodded. “After all, she could’ve been a mistress.”
James made a face. “Get real,” he said. “My wife is not a cheater, and unless she’s Heidi’s mistress, that doesn’t really work. I’m not turning something around on my wife just because I made a mistake.”
“Oh, see, when you live with Ally you have to be on your toes and ready to do things like that,” Jake said. “Ally tricks me all the time. You’re lucky Mandy is more even-tempered.”
“Mandy is only even tempered about some things,” James clarified. “I won’t hurt her, though. I don’t think Madeline knew Mandy would show up at the restaurant that day, but Mandy had a good point. She said most of the lawyers in that courthouse know me and all that had to happen is for one of them to see me on a date with another woman.”
“You weren’t on a date, though.”
“Those lawyers wouldn’t know that, and Madeline would play it up if asked,” James said. “Mandy would’ve been hurt by that and she doesn’t deserve anything but happiness, especially right
now. I won’t have it. I need you with me.”
“Do you think Mandy will show up at the Middle Eastern place for lunch?”
“I have no idea,” James answered, his eyes briefly clouding over. “I hope not.”
“Maybe you should call her,” Jake prodded. “That way she’ll know to avoid the restaurant.”
“I can’t do that,” James said. “I don’t want her to worry. I don’t want her to change her lunch plans and show up at the restaurant because she feels insecure. She doesn’t want to admit it, but there are still times when she thinks I’m going to walk away. It all stems from that first night we spent together when I snuck out like a jackass. I have no one to blame but myself, but I will not give her a reason to worry about this.”
“Okay,” Jake said. “Why don’t you go upstairs and tell Emma that we’re going out to lunch and offer to pick up takeout for her. That way she can take a nap and not worry about cooking for herself. She loves Middle Eastern food.”
“That’s a good idea,” James said, heading for the stairs.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom and wash my hands and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“Cool.” James was already halfway up to the second-floor landing.
Jake watched him go with conflicted eyes and then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Ally picked up on the second ring.
“Hello, hot stuff.”
Jake grinned. He couldn’t help himself. “Hello, angel,” he said.
“Did you call for lunchtime phone sex?”
“I wish,” Jake replied. “I called because I need you to do something really manipulative and I can’t do it myself – or talk about it in front of your brother.”
Ally was silent on the other end of the phone for a few moments. “Is this going to upset one of my brothers?”
“I hope not,” Jake said. “I need you to do this to protect Mandy and possibly James. If that’s not enough, you’ll also be able to stick it to Madeline Stokes in the process.”
“Oh, you had me at ‘protect Mandy’,” Ally said. “You really had me at ‘stick it to Madeline Stokes,’ though. Tell me what you need.”
“I love you, Ally.”
“Right back at you.”
11
Eleven
Deadly Rivalry (Hardy Brothers Security Book 17) Page 8
