Ryder follows me to the corridor. “I’m really sorry,” he repeats. “Find me if you ever need to exchange notes on horrible fathers. Mine cheated on my mother, got another woman pregnant, and never took responsibility for the child, my sister Gigi.” There’s a pensive look on his face. “Gigi wants nothing to do with the Drakes. I’m beginning to think that she’s a lot smarter than I am.”
“At this moment, I have to agree with her.”
“You love Maddie, don’t you?” he asks. “It wasn’t just a ruse for the cottage.”
“I don’t think it was ever a ruse,” I confess. “On the surface, I might have convinced myself of that, but deep down…” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Deep down, it was always Maddie. It will always be Maddie.”
“Then go after her, man.” There’s exasperation in his voice. “Why on earth are you here talking to me?”
With heroic effort, I refrain from pointing out to my cousin that he was the one who started the conversation. Giving him a wave, I sprint to the exit.
Glancing into the open door of my aunt’s hospital room as I pass it, I notice something that freezes the blood in my veins. My grandfather’s slumped in a chair at my aunt’s bedside, gazing at his daughter with a troubled expression on his face. But my father is nowhere to be seen.
Fuck. Things are bad enough with Maddie. The fate of our relationship rests on a knife’s edge. If Joseph Drake managed to sneak out while I was talking to Ryder, there’s no telling the damage he might do. And this time around, there won’t be any second chances.
14
Maddie
I’ve ruined everything.
I run toward the parking lot, my vision blurry from the tears swimming in my eyes. I’m hoping to catch a cab to take me to Cameron’s house, then the airport. Unfortunately, there aren’t any in sight. Even worse, I have Cam’s car keys in my handbag.
I’m not ready to face him. How could I have been that careless? I’d been desperate to know what our future held, but I should have never broached the subject in a public place.
And now I know the answer. We have no future. Not after what just happened.
I open the door of the Porsche and climb in, adding stealing Cameron’s car to the list of my sins. I make my plans as I drive to Cameron’s Forest Hill house. Most of my belongings are already packed. All I need to do is collect my toiletries and call a cab to take me to the airport. My car is still in Toronto. Cameron arranged for it to be garaged when we were out of town, but I don’t know where it is, and I’m too heartsick to figure it out. I just want to leave. With any luck, I can be gone before Cameron notices I’m missing.
Are you really going to run again, Maddie? Haven’t you learned anything from last time?
Maybe I have. Maybe what I’ve learned is that Cameron Drake will break my bruised, aching heart.
I’m waiting for the cab at the front when a white Audi pulls up and a familiar figure gets out. Joseph Drake.
“What do you want?” It’s hard for me to pretend that I don’t feel hostility when I look at the man that ruined my relationship with Cameron nearly a decade ago.
“It’s not about what I want,” he replies. “It’s about what you need, Madison. Money.”
Oh God. This again.
“Cameron is, as you can probably expect, furious with you,” he continues. “Your careless words have ruined his plans to buy the cottage. Whatever deal the two of you had in place, it’s over.”
“I’ll live,” I reply tersely. My insides churn as I think of the mounting bills that await me on my return to Calgary. Misti’s college tuition, my mother’s funeral bills, textbooks, and rent. Even if I work triple shifts at the coffee shop, I’m not going to be able to manage to dig myself out of this hole.
“Will you?” he asks, reading my expression accurately. “Or are you trying to figure out how you’ll make ends meet?” He pulls a briefcase from the car and opens it. “Let’s lay our cards on the table, Ms. Morland. You have run out of options.” He holds out his checkbook. “Except one.” His eyes are hard and there’s no warmth in his voice. “You aren’t the sort of woman I want for my son. Your father is a petty thug with a drug problem and a prison record. Your mother, when she was alive, wasn’t any better. Nothing’s changed in nine years. Your clothes might be better,” his gaze rakes over my outfit dismissively, “but if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.”
He takes a pen from his jacket pocket. “How much will it take?”
Cameron is nowhere to be seen. Joseph Drake is a lying, manipulative man, but in this case, the facts match what he’s saying. Cameron didn’t talk about the future. He promised me nothing.
I want to believe that what we have is about more than sex, but Cameron never said the words. It’s all in my head. My hopes, my dreams, my foolishness. I’ve wanted Cameron so badly that I’ve allowed myself to imagine he is in love with me, the way I am with him.
Life rarely offers second chances.
I straighten my spine. “I told you nine years ago, Mr. Drake. My integrity isn’t for sale. You tried to pay me off once, and I didn’t want your money. Nothing’s changed since then. Even if I was drowning in debt, I won’t take a dollar from you.” My anger bubbles to the surface. “Your lies destroyed our relationship. Cameron might be able to forgive you for it, but I never will.”
His gaze falls to the suitcase at my side. “You’re leaving,” he says. “You think Cameron’s going to chase after you? He won’t.”
I already know that. Cameron might rail against his father, and he might be angry with his grandfather. But he’s a Drake. When they’re sick, they’re assigned private rooms in the hospital with attached waiting areas. They have wings in libraries named after them.
We’ve always been from different worlds. There has to be an expiry date.
Even as savaged and vulnerable as I feel right now, I’m not going to show this man any sign of weakness. Not after what he’s done.
“What I do is none of your business.” My voice is tinged with frost. “Why are you here, anyway? Cameron’s not happy with you. He wouldn’t have sent you.”
He draws up, his expression disconcerted.
For the first time, I start using my head instead of reacting with blind instinct. I’ve struck a nerve with Joseph Drake. Is it possible that Cameron doesn’t know he’s here?
I capitalize on my momentary advantage. “I think you should leave.” I pull my phone out of my handbag. “Cam doesn’t know where you are, does he? If I had to guess, he’ll be extremely angry if he finds out you offered to pay me off. Again.” My lips twist into a cold smile. “My relationship with Cameron might not survive today,” I tell my nemesis. “Are you certain that yours will?”
He takes another step back. This time, there’s definitely fear in his eyes.
“Here’s some advice, Mr. Drake. Stay away from me. I’m done being your target. Find someone else to be the pawn in your stupid power games.”
His face contorts into a snarl. An hour ago, I’d have been terrified.
Then again, an hour ago, I thought I had something to lose.
Two minutes after Joseph Drake’s car pulls away in a cloud of dust, fine gravel and contempt, the taxi arrives. The driver, an older man, gets out and gapes at Cameron’s house. “Nice place you have here, miss,” he says, looking at the wood and glass structure admiringly. Then he catches sight of Cameron’s Porsche and he whistles. “Nice car.”
“They aren’t mine,” I reply flatly. My heart's still pounding in my chest from my confrontation with Cameron’s father. I’ve waited a long time to say those words.
“Is this your luggage?” the man continues genially. “Where are you headed today?”
The words are at the tip of my tongue. I’m going to the airport. I’m going to catch a flight from Toronto to Calgary, and I’m never coming back.
But I can’t force them past my throat.
Nine years ago, I hadn’t trusted Cameron. I hadn
’t believed in our love and I’d fled in the middle of the night instead of fighting for him.
I’d been wrong. If the events of the last week have proved anything, it’s that I never stopped being in love with Cam. I never stopped needing him. That’s the reason I didn’t date in Calgary, that’s the reason I turned down Declan Knight’s invitation.
And if I’m being really honest with myself, that’s the reason I’m running away now. Putting my heart on the line will hurt. Telling Cameron I love him and not hearing it back will destroy me.
But I don’t want to spend the next nine years regretting that I didn’t have the courage to speak up.
I can’t leave without talking to Cameron.
“I’m so sorry.” I put my hand on my suitcase to prevent the guy from loading it into the trunk. “I’ve changed my mind.” I dig into my wallet and pull out a twenty-dollar note. There goes lunch for a week. “I’m sorry I’ve wasted your time.”
“You don’t want to go anywhere?” He mutters something under his breath about inconsiderate rich assholes. Taking the money from me, he stalks back to his cab and drives away.
I watch him leave with vacant eyes, my thoughts far away.
Two years ago, Jenna, Misti, and I had loaded ourselves into a car and had driven three and a half hours to get to Jasper National Park, all because Jenna wanted to walk on the newly opened glass skybridge. The bridge had extended thirty meters from the cliffs, and was three hundred meters above the ground, and I’d been terrified as I inched along it, clinging to the railings for dear life. Every time I caught a glimpse of the ground, far, far below, my insides had lurched with panic. Every time the wind blew, I was convinced I would be hurled off the bridge. When the adventure had ended, I’d sworn I’d never do something that foolhardy again.
Right now, I’d happily walk on that bridge all day if it meant I wouldn’t have to face Cameron.
15
Cameron
It takes me precious minutes to hail a cab. I give the driver my address in Forest Hills, and lean back in the seat. Maddie left twenty minutes ago. She’s going to run into the same traffic as us, but because she’s driving my car, she’ll be less aggressive than the taxi I’m in.
It’ll take her a few minutes to pack. With any luck, I’ll be able to reach home before she leaves.
Then there’s the great X-factor. My father. I’m willing to bet the Porsche that he’s making trouble. To what end, I have no idea. Does he really think that I’m going to forgive what he did if Maddie leaves?
The car inches forward, making excruciatingly slow progress against Toronto’s soul-crushing traffic. Jittery with nerves, I watch the streets, unable to do anything to make the car move faster.
We turn into the side street where I live. I exhale in relief. Almost there. Then I see the taxi in the opposing lane, heading away from my house.
It has to be Maddie.
“Follow that cab,” I tell my cab driver.
He gives me an ‘are you kidding me, buddy’ look in the rear view mirror. I take a hundred dollar bill out of my wallet and hold it up so he can see it. “There’s good money in it for you,” I tell him. “I need to talk to the passenger in that cab. Can you cut it off?”
The guy’s eyes fixate on the bill between my fingertips. “A hundred?” he asks. “Sure, you’re the boss.” Tires screeching, he takes a highly illegal u-turn, and we’re off in pursuit of Maddie.
We’re three cars behind as we turn onto Spadina Road. The steady stream of cars coming toward us makes it impossible for us to gain ground. My cab driver shakes his head in frustration. “He’ll be harder to catch once we get on Eglinton,” he says. “You know where he’s going?”
“The airport, probably.” Maddie’s car is at Drake Media’s parking lot. She won’t be able to retrieve it without my help.
The man whistles. “If he gets on the highway, we’re screwed.”
I pull another hundred out of my wallet and hold it up. “It’s an emergency.”
The second bill doubles my driver’s motivation. “Buckle up,” he mutters. “I’m going to cut them off at this stop sign.”
I wince. I don’t want to live without Maddie, but I hadn’t planned on dying in a fiery car crash chasing her. Taking heed of the cab driver’s suggestion, I fasten my seat belt.
Approaching the four-way stop we speed up and swing into the oncoming lane of traffic. Cars honk and swerve out of the way, and we zoom into the intersection, pulling up in front of the taxi we’re chasing.
I’m out of the car in a second, barreling toward the other taxi full tilt, my cab driver on my tail. “Dude, where the fuck’s my money?” he yells. I don’t respond. I’m staring into the back seat of the car we’ve just stopped, and it’s empty.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” The driver of the taxi we’ve cut off gets out and advances in my direction, two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, irritation radiating from every pore. “Are you fucking stupid? Do you want to get us in an accident?”
An SUV inches past the intersection. The passenger rolls down her window. “I should call 911,” she says severely, glaring at both of us. “Toronto traffic is bad enough without idiots like you in it.”
I tune it all out. “She’s not here,” I murmur. “I could have sworn you picked her up.”
“What, that chick with the long brown hair?” The driver in front of me rolls his eyes. “That’s what this is about? She changed her mind, man. She paid me twenty bucks and sent me away.”
My heart hammers in my chest. “She’s still there?”
“Unless she called another cab.” He peers at me curiously. “Was that your car? Nice wheels, dude.”
“Thanks.” I apologize to the guy for cutting him off, then turn to my own cab driver. “I seem to have made a mistake,” I tell him sheepishly. I pull yet another hundred out of my wallet, because I seem to be passing them around like candy on Halloween.
He takes the notes from me and tucks them into his wallet. “Did anyone tell you you’re crazy, dude?” he asks.
“I’m crazy about a girl,” I reply. She’s at home. She hasn’t left. “I’m crazy about Maddie.”
She’s sitting on one of the deck chairs in the back yard. She jumps to her feet when she sees me. “I’m so sorry,” she starts, then falls silent.
“Hi.” My heart hammers in my chest, and I have to force the words out through suddenly nerveless lips. I’m so desperately in love with Maddie. “I’m Cameron.” I swallow. God, this seemed like a much better idea in the cab. “I swim too.”
Her brow furrows. “What are you talking about?”
“Catch on, Mads.” Exasperation tinges my voice. “Big romantic moment here. Let’s try this again.” I stick my hand out in greeting and repeat the words I’d used when I met her for the first time. “Hi, I’m Cameron. I swim too.”
Her lush lips curve into a grin as she figures out what I’m doing. She takes my hand. “I’m Maddie,” she replies, her eyes twinkling the way they had ten years ago. “We’re in a swim meet. I assumed you swim. Tell me something I don’t know.”
Ten years back, I’d told her I thought she had the prettiest eyes. It’s still true, but this time around, I have something better to say. “I can predict the future.”
“You can?”
I nod. “We’re going to fall in love, and we’re going to date for a year, but we’re going to break up because of a stupid misunderstanding.” I look into her eyes. “That’s not the end of the story though.”
“It isn’t?” Her voice is very soft.
“No.” I shake my head and take her hands in mine. “We find each other again. We pretend to be engaged. And,” I look into those beautiful hazel eyes, “I fall in love with you. All over again.”
She makes a noise that’s half-squeak, half-whimper. I take that as a good sign. “I’m absolutely, crazily, madly in love with you, Madison Morland. If you need me to move to Calgary, I will. I’ll do anything. I love you an
d I don’t want to lose you ever again.”
She steps toward me, her eyes shining. “I love you too, Cam. So much so that I don’t have the words for it.”
I close my eyes and hold her, feel the warmth of her, breathe in her softness. “What happened to the cottage?” she asks. “Is your grandfather angry?”
“Ryder doesn’t want it anymore. I have a feeling things will work out just fine.”
“Good.” She’s silent for a few minutes. “I thought you didn’t want me,” she confesses, her voice soft.
“What on earth?”
“You didn’t say anything.”
She’s right. I mean, I’d argue until I’m blue in the face that actions speak louder than words, and she should have known that I was crazy about her, but now is really not the time. “I love you,” I repeat. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“My father is going to ask you for money,” she warns me. “Your father hates me. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“I don’t care. We’ll handle it. We can handle anything together.”
A yawn overtakes me, and she immediately pulls away, her expression concerned. “You haven’t slept at all. Is someone keeping a watch on Emily?”
“Ryder and Noah.”
“Good. Go straight to bed.”
“Bossy, aren’t we?” I raise an eyebrow. “I’ll go to bed if you’ll join me.”
She mock-frowns as she links her arm in mine. “I know that look,” she scolds. “You need sleep, not sex.”
My hand trails suggestively down her backside. “Are you sure, baby? I’ve got moves, you know.”
Her breath catches when she sees the heat in my eyes. We head upstairs, hand in hand.
Sleep? Sleep can wait. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives and I’ll be damned if I’m going to waste it.
Fake Fiancé: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance (Drake Family Series Book 2) Page 9
