by Cat Johnson
“Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here. I’ll leave you alone.” She turned to open the door when he stood.
“No, please stay. You look like you could use a minute away from the crowd. I’ll go if you want to be alone.”
She inspected him closer, taking note that even though she stood nearly six feet tall in her high heels, she was still level with his golden brown eyes. Besides being tall, she could tell his shirt and trousers covered a really solid body. Maddie had a feeling he didn’t spend his day behind a desk.
This guy was definitely what her sister-in-law would call a hottie. He wasn’t what Maddie had ever considered her type, but he was pretty much the exact opposite of her ex-husband Alan and right now that was type enough for her.
Then he ran his left hand through his dark, wavy hair and she caught the glimpse of gold on his ring finger. He was married. She felt strangely relieved and a bit disappointed at the same time. She relaxed immediately now that the pressure was off. She’d been married for far too long to be comfortable being back in the dating world again. But since he was married, she could safely be friendly.
She smiled and extended her hand. “No, please stay. I’m Maddie Morgan. My brother and sister-in-law are friends of Maria’s.”
He shook her hand warmly.
“Antonio Sanchez. I work at the firehouse with Troy, Maria’s neighbor, the guy whose bedroom we’re currently hiding in.” He unleashed a brilliant smile on her and indicated the empty bowl he’d just put on the dresser. “You should try some of the chili. Troy is famous for it down at the firehouse.”
“I’ll do that, as soon as I can face the crowd again.” She leaned back against the doorframe and half watched on the television the chaos that was Times Square on New Year’s Eve. “Which one out there is your wife?”
His gaze dropped briefly to the ring on his hand, then raised to hers again. “Actually I’m here alone. My wife and I are separated at the moment.”
Her brow furrowed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried. I got divorced this past year, so I know how much it sucks when people ask questions like that. That’s actually why I’m hiding. You can only handle so much of people trying to cheer you up, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” He smiled sadly. His gaze dropped as he scuffed the toe of one black cowboy boot against the bedroom carpet. “So, are you into computers like your brother?”
She laughed at that. “No, I’m a lawyer and pretty helpless with computers. Thank goodness for Brad. He saves me a fortune in tech support calls.”
“You have to be better with computers than I am. We didn’t even own one until this Christmas when my wife told me we had to buy one for our six year old because she needed it for schoolwork. Can you believe it? Six and using a computer.”
“Yeah, I do. One day this younger generation is going to lock all of us old fogies away in a rest home and rule the world with their computers.”
“I’m afraid you’re right.” He laughed, a warm sound that seemed to comfort her.
Interested in learning more, Maddie hesitated as she silently reprimanded herself for being a nosy-body. “So do you only have the one child?”
She thought briefly how in light of the divorce, how lucky it was that the five years of trying to get pregnant during her marriage to her bastard ex-husband Alan had amounted to nothing, heartbreaking though it was at the time.
“Two, actually. A boy and a girl. Six and four. They haven’t quite figured out what’s going on yet, but then again neither have I. How long do trial separations usually last, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Maddie let out a short laugh. “I wouldn’t know. I’m sure my husband’s girlfriend wouldn’t have approved of one, so we skipped right over that step and went straight to the divorce.”
“I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry.” He looked horrified.
She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m over it.”
Was she? That thought gave her pause. She was still pissed as hell at the cheating bastard, but really, would she be checking out Antonio’s hot body and prying into his personal life if she wasn’t over Alan? Until this very moment she hadn’t even wanted to look at a man since the divorce, forget about doing anything else with one.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the countdown begun from the partygoers outside. She glanced at the television screen and watched the clock tick toward midnight.
“Three, two, one, happy new year!” From the other side of the door she heard the shouts of the crowd and the shrill sound of noisemakers.
Antonio picked up his beer bottle from the dresser and held it out toward her. “Here’s to another new year.”
She raised her own glass of champagne and clinked it with his bottle. “May it be better than the last one.”
“Amen to that,” he agreed and they both drank deeply.
Chapter 2
“Antonio. Come up and eat something.”
He had a brief feeling of being eighteen years old again as his mother yelled down the basement stairs. Antonio blinked at the clock. He hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep, considering he’d been at Troy’s party until two in the morning.
“Gracias, but no, Mama.” Maybe he’d hit his head and slipped into a coma filled with strange dreams. He certainly could not be thirty-two years old and living in his parents’ finished basement.
Might as well get up since he was awake now anyway. With a sigh, he swung his legs off the bed. He pulled on sweatpants and a sweatshirt and stumbled upstairs in search of coffee.
“Antonio. Why do you not want to eat?” His mother stood by the stove in her favorite housedress.
“I want to get in a run before I pick the kids up at Tina’s, Mama. If I eat now, I won’t be able to run.” He kissed her on the cheek and grabbed a sausage off the plate she was about to serve to his father.
“In my day, you didn’t run unless you had someplace to get to fast or someone was chasing you.” His father’s profound words of wisdom came from behind the newspaper he was reading.
“Tina’s? Dios mio, it’s your house too. You pay the bills. And you still need to eat.” His mother apparently wasn’t done with him yet.
He ignored the Tina comment, downed a burning swallow of coffee and began to feel human again. “Just save me some food, Mama. I’ll pop it in the microwave…” He let that sentence die when he remembered his parents didn’t own a microwave on principle.
“God never meant food to be cooked by radiation. We use a stove here,” his father proclaimed.
“I’ll make more food when you get back. We’re not poor, you know. You don’t need to eat old leftovers.” His mother waved a wooden spoon at him.
Given he had managed to insult and annoy both of his parents in under five minutes, he went downstairs to put on his running shoes while vowing he’d talk to Tina today about their situation. He’d waited this thing out for long enough.
Antonio’s cell phone rang midway through his five-mile run. Out of breath, he seized the excuse for a rest and answered it. “Hello.”
“Hey, Antonio. What the hell? What are you doing? I can hear you breathing from here.” Troy’s voice sounded through the earpiece.
“I’m in the middle of a run. What’s up?” Antonio grabbed his foot with his free hand and stretched his quad muscle.
“I won’t keep you long then. It’s just that Amy wants to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate our engagement—”
“Sorry, I’ve got the kids tonight.” He started to jog in place so his muscles wouldn’t cool and cramp.
“But you have to come. My best man has to be there to help celebrate, right?”
“I suppose I could put the kids to bed and then come over to the restaurant. My parents will be home with them.” If there was one thing he was pretty sure of, it was that his parents wouldn’t be going anywhere on a weeknight, even if it was the holidays. “Will it just be me, you and Amy?”
Troy hesitated a bea
t. “Um, no. She’s invited a few other people too.”
Did Troy sound weird? The question of exactly what other people were invited sounded loudly in his head, but the fact that Antonio was now sweating and chilled at the same time stopped him from prolonging the phone call any longer. Enough of the chit chat, he had to get going before he caught himself a cold. “Okay, just tell me when and where.”
Antonio wrapped up the call and got back to his run, trying to get back into the zone Troy had interrupted. Rather than obsess over who would be at dinner with them, he started to plan his day in his head. He always found it easier to think when running.
He made a mental list. Get back, shower, change. Head to Tina’s, discuss their marriage and bring the kids back to his parents’ house. Feed them and early dinner, maybe watch a video and then put them to bed. Change again, meet Troy and Amy and whoever, eat and probably spend the night discussing wedding plans.
Hmmm. The wedding plan part didn’t sound too great, but Troy was his best friend. He’d just have to suck it up and pretend to be interested in colors and dresses and flowers and all the rest that came with planning a wedding. He was best man, after all.
He was honestly happy for them. How could he not be? Antonio thought back to the party the night before. Troy had been absolutely giddy and Amy actually glowed with happiness—when she hadn’t been crying with happiness.
And then there was Maddie. He remembered seeing her eyes glaze over when Troy and Amy made the announcement about their engagement just after midnight. His first instinct had been to go to her and take her out of there. But he hardly knew her and his place as best man was alongside Troy. So instead he proposed a toast to the happy couple and let Maddie slip out into the hallway on her own. He was disappointed he didn’t get a chance to talk to her again.
Antonio pushed thoughts of Maddie out of his mind. While he was still married, he had no right to even think about her or her incredibly blue eyes and sinfully long legs. Forget the dream he had about her during his few brief hours of sleep last night. He felt unfaithful just remembering that. He guessed those kind of dreams were to be expected though, after well over five months of celibacy. He definitely had to talk with Tina today. He was tired of living like a married monk in his parents’ basement.
He picked up the pace and ran hard until his lungs and his legs burned and he couldn’t think of anything else even if he’d wanted to.
~
Far too early in the morning considering it was New Years Day, Maddie grabbed for the phone ringing on the nightstand in her condo.
“Hey, sis. Get your pretty self out of bed.” Brad’s voice sounded much too awake and cheerful for someone who had been out just as late as she’d been the night before.
“Why?” She groaned and snuggled lower under the covers.
“Because you’re coming out to dinner with Lys and me tonight and after growing up in the same house as you, I know exactly how long it takes you to get ready, that’s why.”
“Smart ass.”
“Runs in the family. So I’ll pick you up at seven. Okay?” Brad seemed to be pushing her. Why was that?
“Why are we going out to dinner?” She didn’t remember agreeing to go, but it seemed she was going whether she wanted to or not.
“Because Alyssa decided we should get out with other people more and went and arranged to meet Troy and Amy tonight.”
Great, two couples and her. Talk about being the fifth wheel. “Thanks but no, Brad. You four go and enjoy yourselves.”
“It’s not just us four. There’s a whole bunch of people coming. You won’t be the only single one there, I promise. Besides if I have to go, so do you.”
She may be a little slow since she had yet to have her morning cup of coffee, but Maddie’s radar went off immediately. “First of all, remember that you’re married to Alyssa and have to do what she says, not me. And second, exactly what other single people are going to be there?”
“Maria. You know her girlfriend Elena is still in London on business, so she’ll be there all alone.”
“And who else?” Maddie smelled a setup and she’d be damned if she walked into it willingly.
“I don’t know, Mads. You know Alyssa. She could have invited anybody. The damn doorman is probably coming for all I know. So come on. Say you’ll go. What else have you got to do tonight?”
Maddie thought of the myriad number of things she could do tonight. Defrost her freezer, clean the toilet, organize her sock drawer by color… “Okay, seven o’clock. And don’t be early because I’m telling you right now I won’t be ready.”
“Great. See you then.” Through the phone lines she could practically hear Brad smiling smugly in triumph.
She hung up the phone and huffed out a breath. Being single again was sure a lot of work. Maddie pulled the covers over her head and decided she needed to conserve her strength for the night ahead.
Chapter 3
Antonio arrived at the restaurant and found Troy sitting alone in the bar.
“Hey, Antonio. You’re early.”
“Yeah, the kids went right to bed after Mama fed them. Tina let Esme stay up to watch the ball drop on TV at midnight last night and Rafe refused to nap because he was so excited to see me, so they were both exhausted. And if I stayed around the house any longer, my mother would have made me eat dinner even though I swore to her I was coming here to eat with you.”
Troy laughed. “I love your mother. No one goes hungry in her house.”
Antonio had to agree. He could swear he’d put on weight living there. If he didn’t move out soon, he’d develop a gut. “Where’s Amy?”
“She and Maria are checking with the maitre’ de about when the table will be ready. Now listen, before she gets back I have to tell you something and I hope you’re not angry at me.” Troy looked worried. Antonio started to worry a bit himself.
“What is it?” Antonio had a feeling he already knew.
“Brad, Alyssa, Amy and Maria hatched up a plan to get you and Maddie here together. They figured if it was in a group situation, there’d be no pressure and you might hit it off once you got to know each other.”
Just as he suspected. A set-up.
“I’m still married, Troy.” Antonio tried to remember that himself and ignore the flutter that the thought of seeing Maddie again caused inside him.
“I get that but let’s say, I don’t know, we’ve stumbled into an alternate universe. One where you’re single and Maddie’s single. No exes, no baggage. Would you be interested in getting to know her better then?”
“You’ve been watching too much Star Trek.”
“Just answer the question.”
“All right, yes I’d be interested. As long as in this universe I can legally tie up and throw in the closet friends who meddle in my business.”
Eyes downcast, Troy nodded. “About that. I’ve never been in this position of having to choose between the woman I love and my best friend before. Amy made me call to invite you and promise I wouldn’t tell you about it. I’m sorry. Are you mad?”
“No.” Antonio couldn’t stay mad at Troy.
Troy released a loud breath. “Really? Because I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”
“I’m not mad,” Antonio reassured him. “I understand. I was married too.”
Troy’s eyes opened wide and Antonio realized his slip immediately.
“I mean, I am.” He sighed and gave in as Troy raised a brow and waited. “Fine, I’ll admit it. I don’t feel very married anymore. I mean we’ve been apart almost six months.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Troy asked.
“Talk to Tina about an annulment. I tried to today when I picked up the kids, but she was running out to some sort of New Year’s Day brunch with her girlfriends. Since she stayed home last night with the kids while I went to your party, I really couldn’t stop her.”
“That’s not just an excuse to put off talking to her, is it?”
&nb
sp; Antonio glanced at the entrance and noticed Maddie standing in the doorway and shook his head. “No. No excuses. It’s time to move on with my life.”
Maddie stopped dead in the doorway of Xavier’s Restaurant and pointed at the poster in the entryway. “Bradley Montgomery Morgan. What the hell did you do?”
“Um, it was Alyssa’s idea.” Brad thrust Alyssa in front of him to take the fire Maddie was sure was shooting out of her eyes.
“Some husband you are.” Alyssa twisted to frown at Brad behind her.
“Lys, she used my middle name. That means she’s really mad.” Brad shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Bradley, you know none of this was my idea. Inviting Antonio was Maria and Amy’s idea and the choice of the restaurant and the reason you chose it was your idea.” Alyssa stood her ground with arms crossed.
One word stood out in the whole exchange between husband and wife and caught Maddie’s attention immediately. “Antonio?”
Didn’t this surprise just keep getting bigger and bigger. She was about to lay into them both about fixing her up without her knowledge in her best courtroom voice when the looks on their faces told her she better turn around.
She did and saw Antonio standing awkwardly behind her.
“Uh, Maddie. Could we step outside and talk for a minute?”
With one final glare at her brother, she nodded and let Antonio lead her out.
Antonio shoved his hands in the front pockets of his pants and hunched his shoulders against the cold. “It seems that my friends and your relatives have set us up. I just wanted you to know that I knew nothing about it and if you want to leave, I totally understand.”
He scuffed the toe of his boot on the ground. Damn if he didn’t look cute as hell acting so nervous around her. Cute and very hot in his white button down shirt and tie.
“Do you want to leave?” she asked, hoping not.
Somehow over the last day she’d opened up to the idea of maybe starting to date again. When a guy was this good-looking and so polite, how could she not think about it?
Too bad he was still in the midst of the marriage break-up thing. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be his rebound relationship or worse, watch him go back to his wife after they’d been together. Although right now she was starting to think that some hot, mindless sex with Antonio might not be so bad. One night with him would probably hold her over for another year. Then she wouldn’t have to be out there dating. She could just live on what she was sure would be some pretty vivid memories they could make together.
