by Claire Adams
I chuckled as relief flooded my chest. Maddie hadn't broken a rule. Good. I wasn't sure what type of retaliation I would have enacted had she gone against my word.
"You shouldn't feel better about yourself." I smiled. "You're a scoundrel."
He wagged his eyebrows. "The ladies sure like it."
I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. "Maddie played the part well, didn't she?"
"Hell yeah. That girl's got boatloads of talent." He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "And don't worry about me saying anything to anyone. I know what you've given up to make this happen."
"You do?" I lifted my eyebrow.
"Yeah. Your pride, your time, your energy." He shook his head. "I couldn't do it."
"Sure you could." Relief flooded me again. I was going to have an emotional breakdown if he kept accidentally toying with my emotions so fucking well.
"Nope. Not in a million years." He drained his beer and burped, standing and walking over to get another one. "And knowing my damn luck, I'd end up falling in love. My cousin is a looker for sure."
"Doesn't seem like that's just your luck," I mumbled.
"Hmmm?" He sat down and gave me a funny look. "You starting to have feelings for her?"
"Starting? No. I have for a while." I took a long pull from my beer. "And I need to stop. I'm not sure I'll survive losing her and momma at the same time. Funny thing is, Maddie was never mine to begin with."
Chapter Thirty
Maddie
Thirty minutes. That's all I had to spare on the way to having dinner with my parents after a long day of doing nothing. My agent wasn't doing shit for me, and it seemed that my ability to get new followers was going down the tube.
I needed a pick me up.
The bank was busy when I got there, and after standing in line for a little while, I decided to use the ATM machine instead. I walked back out into the chilly afternoon and pulled out my card, leaning into type in my pin number so no one would see it.
I hit the button to get the balance on my checking account and almost swallowed my tongue. After selecting to get a receipt, I pulled out $300 and moved back, fanning myself as my body heated.
I'd never seen so much money in all of my life. I started down at the paper and tried to take it in. I just knew that any minute I would be flooded with excitement. Like someone who'd won the fucking lottery.
The feeling never came. Instead, a numbness I'd been trying to avoid all day long settled in the center of my chest. Tears blurred my eyes, and I turned to walk back to my car.
"You okay, Miss?" a security guard stopped me, the concern on his face sweet.
"Oh yeah." I nodded and reached up to wipe away a few tears. "Just had a long day."
"Nothing is wrong with your account, right, because they'll be happy to help you fix that back inside the bank."
"No. It's good. Thank you though." I gave him a warm smile and jogged across the street to my car. The same sentence dance through my head over and over.
I'd give up every penny to have a loving relationship with a man like Gavin.
I'd give up every penny to have a loving relationship with a man like Gavin.
"Stop it," I barked at myself as I got into the car and pulled out of the lot. Being with my parents for dinner would help, or would it? Knowing them, they'd be talking about making love or plans to buy something cute for each other.
They adored each other.
I wanted that in my life, but it was too scary to dream that big. People didn't really have a relationship like my folks did. They were an anomaly. A one-off. An outlier.
I drove out to their place thinking the whole time how wrong I was that their relationship was different or weird. Gavin's parents had the same thing. Maybe there were just secrets to really making a relationship last. I wouldn't know. Mine had all been a big fucking joke up to this point.
And now I was in the middle of one that was sure to leave me emotionally bankrupt, and it was my own damn fault.
I got out of the car and walked toward the house, half expecting my father to sling open the door and greet me in a funny voice. Nothing.
"Weird." I walked in to find them in the kitchen, my dad's arms around my mom as they kissed and whispered about something. The soft laughter coming from both of them cause my heart to swell.
"Gross!" I yelled, announcing my arrival.
"You missed the really gross part." My dad turned and walked across the room, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "We were smooching it up in here!"
"Ugh." I pretended to gag and walked into the kitchen.
My mom turned back to the stove and stirred something in a big soup pot. I leaned around her and hugged her from behind, breathing in deeply.
"God, that smells so good." I moved up beside her and bumped her hip, forcing her to get out of the way as I started to stir the thick stew. Chunks of potatoes, carrots, and beef swirled around.
"It's your father's favorite." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "A real man's meal."
"That's right. Ph-balanced for a woman, but—" my father started.
My mother and I groaned, cutting him off. I laughed and looked over at her as her eyes grew wide.
"Maddie! What is this?" She jerked me around, scaring me a little. After taking my left hand into hers, she lifted the ring and glanced up at me. "Please tell me you're just wearing this for a photo shoot."
I grimaced. My parents were the type who would always wanted to be involved in my life. Getting married was a really big deal.
I didn't know what the fuck to do, so I slipped into character.
"Surprise! I'm married." I pulled my hand back and turned as my father stuck his head into the kitchen, his eyes wide.
"Um, what?" He walked in and put both hands on his hips. "To who?"
"To whom," Mom responded and gave me a very stern look. "You had better be kidding, young lady."
"I'm not." I gave them a sheepish grin. "Gavin and I realized the other day that when you find someone you love, you grab ahold of them, and you just don't let go." I had to kick in some serious ass-kissing if I were going to make it through my sea of lies. "And we have something like you and daddy do, like Mister and Miss Hayward did. We can't let that go."
"But why didn't you just come to us?" My mother glanced back to my father. "We wanted to be a part of your big day. You should have had a blowout wedding with a million people there and—"
"Now honey." My father walked in and reached for my mom. "You know as well as I do that kids these days are just wild. Maddie is no exception."
"So wild." I offered before turning back to the soup. I hated lying to my parents. To Gavin's mother. To everyone.
"Hey." My mom touched my shoulder, and I turned back around. "I'm not mad at you. I'm disappointed. Was anyone even there?"
"Gavin's mom was. She's dying, like I told you." I glanced down as tears filled my eyes. That part I wasn't faking. I looked back up as one rolled down my cheek. "I'm so sorry. It was irresponsible and stupid of me not to think to invite you both. He was in a hurry because of her condition and—"
"Hush." My dad reached out and brushed a tear away. "We're good. We'll do something fun on your one-year anniversary or something." He glanced at my mom. "Right, dear?"
"Absolutely." She smiled and pulled me into a tight hug. "But, we do want to see this young man. Dinner. Tomorrow night. Okay?"
I nodded. Dinner tomorrow night would work. Hopefully.
After they had left the kitchen, I pulled out my phone and texted Gavin to see if it was an okay time to call him. Not sure why I felt so unsure of him picking up a call from me, but I did.
He called me instead. I answered on the first ring, anticipating the sound of his voice.
"Hey," I whispered and picked up the spoon to stir the stew again.
"Hey. You okay? Need something?" He sounded slightly panicked. Why that filled me with warmth was beyond me.
I was a piece of shit for taking his money,
and the realization of that came crashing in as I stood at the ATM earlier. It wasn't money that I needed. It was love. It was him.
"Yes," I forced the words out of my mouth. "Listen, my mom and dad saw the ring. I forgot to—"
"It's fine. I forgot to wear mine today, and my mother got all over my ass about it." His laugh was deep, genuine. It caused me to smile as butterflies danced around my chest.
"Well, they want you to come over for dinner tomorrow night. I don't think they're upset about not being invited to the wedding, but head's up... I told them your mom was the only one there."
"Alright." He cleared his throat, and I couldn't help but wondering where he was and what he was wearing. It seemed like something a dude would think, but I had my moments for sure.
"You sure? You sound unsure." I turned to find my parents walking back into the kitchen.
"No, it's good. My mother asked us to come over, but—"
"I'll tell them no then. We need to spend the time we have with your mom. It’s all good."
"No. We'll see my mom on Saturday. No worries." He sounded calm, peaceful. I decided not to argue with him, but instead, accept his kindness. It was rare somedays.
"Okay. Thank you." I glanced up to see my mom watching me with a quirky smile on her lips. I waved her away and gave her a look before turning back to the stove. "Mom and dad said hi."
He laughed. "Tell them I said hi, too."
"Okay." I glanced over my shoulder and found her watching me. "I love you."
"See you tomorrow." He dropped the call, and I put my phone back in my pocket. I didn't need to say it, but he would assume it was because of them. It wasn't, but maybe it was for the best that he didn't know.
I'd been completely honest for the first time in a long time.
I did love him.
Chapter Thirty-One
Gavin
I woke the next morning to someone knocking on the front door. Had to be Ron. No one ever visited me, and mom was too sick to get up without help. Though it could have been her with Karen's help.
After pulling on a pair of jogging pants that lay in a heap on the floor by the bed, I stumbled into the living room and opened the front door. A big yawn caused me to turn and lift my hand to my mouth.
"I brought breakfast." Maddie's voice was soft, sweet.
"Nice." I moved back to let her in and turned my attention back to her. The thin blue sweater she wore left plenty of creamy thigh on display, and I couldn't help wonder why her nipples were budded. Cold? Or had someone turned her on.
"Can I come in?" She stood still, waiting for me.
She thought I was the same cock that barked order at her two weeks before when I was still so pissed about everything. And maybe I was. Who the hell knew.
"Yeah. I was going to head over to mom's this morning and check on her. She wasn't doing too good yesterday." I ran my fingers through my hair and closed the door, turning to follow the pretty ray of sunshine into the kitchen. Her sweet ass shook in her romper, and I knew she wasn't wearing panties.
My body hardened a little more. I stopped by the counter and sat down on a stool, scratching at my beard as she moved around the kitchen like she owned it.
"What are you doing up so early?" I stifled another yawn. "And over here?"
She paused and gave me a worried look. "I can leave."
I smiled. "No, I'm just saying. It's Saturday morning before 10. Don't high maintenance woman like you sleep in or something?"
"High Maintenance?"
"Gold diggers? That a better term?" My smile widened, but her’s faded.
"I just thought you wanted me over here more often so your momma wouldn't ask questions. I can leave." She turned and pulled two small plates out of the cabinet, loading them each up with a muffin and a few other pastries. She had no plans of leaving.
"Yeah, you're right." I took the plate and stood. "I'm glad you remembered. Hate to have to pull out the rule book and spank you with it."
"I like spankings. Remember?" She moved around me, walking to the front patio, shaking her fine ass more than she needed to.
"I do recall something like that." I reached around her and opened the door. The scent of her perfume stained my lungs, and she glanced my way, her eyes filled with false innocence. "You're not wearing panties." I kissed her shoulder and caressed her ass, needing to validate my thoughts.
"They don't work with this outfit." She gave me a cocky grin and walked out onto the small porch. "Do you need to put on shoes and a shirt?'
"For what?" I sat down on one of the chairs and glanced up at her before picking up a fruity looking tart.
"Hey! That plate is for your mother and Karen." She lifted hers. "This one is ours."
"Oh. Shit. I thought that one was yours and this one was mine." I handed her the plate and opened the door to walk back in the house.
"You were going to eat four pastries?" she called after me, and damn if I wasn't falling in love with her. She was worried about my weight, or my health. Either way, I enjoyed her attention.
I pulled on a t-shirt and slipped my feet into some shoes before rejoining her. "My hair sticking up anywhere? My mother will bitch at me about it as if it's not her fault that I have cowlicks everywhere."
She laughed and moved closer, handing me one of the plates and reaching up to brush her fingers through my hair.
It felt good. Too good.
"There. Much better." She brushed her hand down my face and lifted to her toes, kissing me softly. "We have to act married."
"Agreed. Sit on my lap at mom's." I winked as she gave me a soft sound of disapproval. "I take that as a no?"
"You're corrupt." She walked off the porch, her body causing mine to ache.
"And I'm yours," I mumbled. At least for a little while longer.
She moved up to the house and knocked, but I reached around her and opened the door. "What? It's rude to just walk in."
"You knock at your mom's house?" I gave her a cocky grin and walked in, calling out. "Mom? Karen?"
"She's in her room, watching that bird again." Karen walked out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "What are you two up to?"
"Maddie went and picked up some goodies." I lifted the plate and smiled back at her. "I'm going to go check on mom."
"Go for it." She winked at me and turned to Karen. "Try the blueberry one. It's to die for."
I walked down the hall, knocking on mom's door before slipping into the room. "Mom?"
She turned and gave me a weak smile. "Hey, baby."
"Hi. Maddie brought you some treats." I walked to the bed and sat down beside her as she glanced back toward the window.
"Thank you." She closed her eyes. "I'm not hungry. I'm tired, and I wanna see your daddy soon."
The hot ball of fear stuck in my throat choked me. "Well, then I'll just eat them." I tried to keep my voice light as tears burned my gaze. I prayed like hell that Maddie would stay out. I didn't want her to see me choked up.
"You know how much I love you?" Her voice was a rough whisper.
"Yes, mom." I stood and moved to the desk near her window, setting down the treats. "You know we forgot something at the wedding, right?"
"Your chapter?" She patted the bed beside her, barely moving her thin fingers. "Read it to me now? Please?"
"Only you." I pulled a chair to the edge of the bed and sat down, pulling out my phone and opening the document. I reached out and picked up her hand, kissing it softly. "I love you so much."
"Me too." Her eyelashes fluttered, and she closed them again. "Don't mind me if I fall asleep. Just keep reading."
I nodded and cleared my throat. I was so fucking close to breaking down. We didn't have six months. We didn't have six days from what I could tell. Maybe going to Maddie's parents for dinner was a bad idea.
No. Mom wouldn't feel up to eating anyway, and if anything happened, Karen would call me right away.
I started reading and glanced up to see Maddie stick h
er head in the room. I motioned for her to come in, suddenly more than willing to have her hear the story too. My voice broke a little as I neared the end of the first chapter and glanced up to see my mother sleeping, her skin almost translucent.
"Gavin," Maddie whispered as she walked toward me. "Come on. Let her rest."
I nodded and stood, turning and welcoming Maddie in my arms. I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes. Life was beyond fleeing, and I was a man that couldn't seem to hold onto anyone I loved.
"I'm happy we did this." Mattie glanced over at me in the car as I drove us out to her parent's place. She squeezed my hand softly.
"You must have seen the money." I licked the side of my mouth in hopes of curing the dryness on my tongue. My mom wasn't going to last much longer. I should have been right beside her. I didn't want her to die alone. It scared the fuck out of me. "I deposited it earlier this past week. It just takes forever because—"
"Hey. It's not the money, okay? It's you. I'm glad all of this happened because of the friendship that you and I will have when it's done." She pulled her hand back, and I realized she was pale.
"What's up?" I pulled into the drive away as a cold sweat ran across me. I hadn't seen Maddie's parents in years. Were they still kind and welcoming? Would they be pissed about us being married?
Not that we really were, but we were still sporting rings like we were. I hadn't been in front of a girl's parents that I was dating since high school.
Dating? Is that what I thought we were doing? It was laughable.
"I just want you to like them." She got out of the car and walked to the front, waiting for me.
"I already like them, silly woman. We grew up together. Your cousin is my best friend in the whole world." I reached her and pulled her into a hug, needing her warmth.
