“What is it?” Maddie said. “Everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Maybe. I don’t really know. My brother called me last night. I haven’t heard from the guy in more than a decade and he called me out of the blue the night before I’m supposed to be in Austin. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Maddie turned her attention to her cup of coffee. “Maay-be.” She winced as she looked up and flashed an apologetic smile at him. “Please don’t be mad at me, Zach. I’m only trying to help. I just thought since you were going to be here and he lives here and—”
“It’s okay,” Zach said. “He sounded...good on the phone. He’s eager to talk. We’re meeting for lunch today at 12:30. I’ll let you know how it goes tonight at the rehearsal dinner.”
* * *
As Zach steered his BMW into the parking lot of the restaurant where he was meeting his brother, he realized he was nervous.
This didn’t have to mean anything. But it could mean everything.
He’d spent his entire adult life pursuing money, romancing his bank account. He’d scored his financial goals. On this side of the conquest, the most important thing he’d learned was all the money in the world couldn’t fill the emptiness inside him. Spending time with the Fortunado family, watching their dynamics, seeing how they navigated the sometimes-stormy waters of family relations, made him want the one thing that money couldn’t buy.
Granted, he could get married someday and have a family of his own. Lately, when his mind went there, when he started thinking of ditching the lone wolf gig and opening his heart to someone, Maddie was the one his heart kept coming back to. She was fiery and passionate and she had a heart of gold.
If not for her, he wouldn’t be sitting here psyching himself up to see his brother—a family member he thought was lost forever.
Zach recognized Rich the moment he walked into the restaurant. His brother had taken a table in the crowded bar area. Zach figured that Rich had chosen that table to cut down on the awkwardness of this first meeting. It was better than being stuck in a corner at a quiet table for two possibly with nothing to say to each other.
When Zach reached the table, Rich shook his hand. “Good to see you, Zach. You’re looking well.”
Zach returned the pleasantries and they made small talk about the real estate industry and Rich’s law practice and his wife and kids until the servers cleared away their lunch plates.
Zach had prepared himself for the lunch to wrap up without a conversation of any emotional depth. Hell, he had gone into this without any expectations. It was the only way to keep from getting hurt. But Rich surprised him when he said, “I don’t know when I’ve ever been as happy to talk to someone as I was when you took my call.”
He added, “I’d love to meet your girlfriend, Maddie, someday. She seems pretty remarkable.”
Zach didn’t correct Rich’s use of the word girlfriend. And, of course, Maddie was remarkable. She had changed his life in the few weeks that he’d allowed her in. He would be damn lucky to have the privilege to call her his girlfriend.
“I’ve often thought if I could have one do-over in life, I would go back to when Mom died and I’d do everything completely different. I should have fought for you, Zach.”
And just like that, all the walls fell.
“I know I wasn’t the easiest kid to deal with,” Zach told him. “In fact, I was a pain in the ass. Looking back, I guess I can’t blame you for trying to get me into the hands of someone who could rein me in. Since you were my guardian, the police were threatening to put you in jail if I didn’t go to school. I was so mad at the world for the lousy hand we’d been dealt, I didn’t care about anyone or anything.”
“And I don’t blame you for hating me even more after you went into foster care.”
Zach took a long swallow of his sweet tea, buying time to weigh his words. But he kept coming back to honesty. He and Rich seemed like they were on a good path, but one lunch wasn’t going to heal more than fifteen years of estrangement. Unless he said what he needed to say, this reconciliation wouldn’t heal them. It would scab over with the truth of his feelings festering inside.
“I’m not going to lie,” Zach said. “I hated you for it. I guess I hated you right up until I realized that your sending me away may have been the formative experience I needed. It’s made me who I am today.”
It had also made him untrusting and guarded and hesitant to get too close to people because in his experience, he’d found out the only person he could rely on in life was himself. But he was learning to trust. His heart was thawing. Thanks in large part to Maddie and the Fortunado family.
The face-to-face meeting with Rich was a huge step toward embracing the family he wanted. Maybe. Or maybe he shouldn’t invest too much of himself too fast until he could see where this was going. They were both older now, both set in their ways and in their routines. Rich had a family—he’d shown Zach pictures, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about introductions. He had no idea if he’d even told his wife they were meeting today. But Zach knew he was getting way ahead of himself. He would be content to take today for what it was.
Rich nodded his understanding. “I feel like I owe you something to make up for the tuition I didn’t come through with when you needed it.”
Zach froze.
Money. It always came back to money. Money ruined everything.
The last time Zach had seen Rich he’d swallowed his pride and asked his brother for help. He’d needed money for college and since Rich was already through law school and building his practice, Zach had reminded him of their mother’s wishes for the insurance money. She’d only left the policy in Rich’s name because he was the adult at the time. Their mom had thought she was making it easier on her boys that way, that she was keeping their inheritance—as humble as it was—from getting tied up in court where they’d spend more on attorney’s fees than the policy was worth. Little did she know she was setting up her sons for estrangement.
Rich hung his head. “When you came around I was going through tough times. I know that isn’t an excuse, but it’s what was happening.”
Rich reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a fat envelope. “This may be too little too late, because it sounds like you’re doing more than all right for yourself, but this is the amount of money that was owed to you. It’s cash. So, don’t be flashing it around.”
Rich laid the envelope on the table. Zach kept his hands folded, afraid that if he touched the money he might turn to stone. He didn’t want money. He didn’t need it now. It wasn’t why he came here.
“And I want to give you something else,” his brother added, “to make up for the lost interest. It’s something you deserve much more than I do.” He pulled out a small black box and pushed it across the table toward Zach.
“What’s this?”
“It’s Mom’s engagement ring. I figure if you ever get around to asking that Maddie to marry you, this might come in handy.”
* * *
“I told him I didn’t want the money,” Zach told Maddie in the hotel bar after the rehearsal dinner was over. The story was too involved to get into during dinner. Plus, they’d been seated at long tables and everyone was talking and toasting the bride and groom. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to bring up something so personal during the festivities. “But Rich wouldn’t take no for an answer. He wouldn’t take it back. It’s not a lot, but it was cash and he told me to invest it and use it for my kids’ college someday when I have kids.”
He didn’t tell Maddie about Rich giving him their mother’s engagement ring, which he’d accepted with no compunction. It was a piece of his mother. All these years he’d never had anything that belonged to her. Even if the ring stayed in a safe-deposit box, at least he would have one thing that had been hers.
“How did you leave things?” Maddie asked.
“We’re going to see each other in a couple of months. I may come and play golf. He says he ge
ts to Houston every so often on business. We just left it open. No pressure, but with the feeling that we’re going to try. That we both want to try.”
“That’s great,” Maddie said as she sipped her brandy.
“When I first found out you’d called him, I should be honest, I wasn’t very happy. But now I can’t thank you enough. You gave me back my family.”
“I just made the call,” she said. “You did the rest. I’m just glad you didn’t think I was being too pushy and butting in where I shouldn’t.”
“Are you kidding?”
Their gazes caught and something sensual and electric passed between them. They were sitting next to each other on a small settee that forced them to sit close enough that he could smell her delicate perfume. She was wearing a wild orange-and-yellow patterned minidress that was different from anything he’d ever seen her wear. Come to think of it, other than that tight, hot-pink dress, he couldn’t remember the clothes she’d worn in the past. They faded into the background when he envisioned her in his mind’s eye. All he saw was her beautiful face and her hair.
She was wearing it down tonight. He ached to reach out and touch it, to run his hands through it and pull her close.
She’d been different since that day she’d asked him to be her plus-one. Or maybe he was seeing her differently. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted her.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said last Sunday when we were in the office.”
Maddie squinted at him, racking her brain, as if she was trying to remember what she’d said to him.
“What did I say? I hope I was nice.”
He smiled and shrugged, remembering the banter that had led to the crux of what he wanted to say to her tonight.
“You said you didn’t mean to be bitchy. And I said I’d never thought of you like that. You’re passionate and fiery. That’s what I’ve always noticed about you, Maddie.”
He couldn’t help himself. He reached out and stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. “I can’t help but notice you. You’re smart and beautiful. And I think I’m falling for you.”
He allowed himself to thread his fingers through her hair. It was as soft and silky as he’d thought it would be. He slid his hand to the nape of her neck and gently urged her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. He drank in the sweet taste of her. She tasted like the apples from the Calvados she’d been sipping. The fruit mingled with the taste of the deep, rich coffee that they’d enjoyed after dinner, and there was a hint of cinnamon and spice. He deepened the kiss, needing as little space between them as possible. The feel of her curves pressed against him made him want things he hadn’t allowed himself to even think about in a very long time. Not just sex. Not just the physical release that so often came out of the unspoken agreement that long before morning the spell would be broken. Never at his place because he wanted control over the situation. He’d never wanted to open his world to anyone else because it came with too much risk. He’d never wanted to until now. He wanted to take her up to his room and help her out of that sexy little dress and show her exactly how much he wanted her.
Maddie had opened a need in him that was so great it was nearly all-consuming.
“Come with me,” she whispered. “I want to show you something.”
Of course he followed. He would’ve followed her anywhere.
She led him to the end of one of the old hotel’s hallways. She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Shh.”
She looked down the hallway before opening a door—an old closet of some sort that was empty and big enough for just the two of them—that he hadn’t noticed because the door was covered in the same old-fashioned wallpaper that was on the walls. She tugged him inside and shut the door.
“How did you know about this place?” he asked.
She answered him with a kiss so passionate that it ignited such a strong need in him that it almost overpowered him.
He wasn’t sure how long they made out in the closet because he lost all track of time. It could have been hours or moments, but soon it was apparent that all they were going to do was kiss if they stayed there. The space was cozy and not conducive to lifting her up and... Besides, the door didn’t lock, and despite how much he wanted her, he didn’t want their first time to be like this. He wanted to savor her. He wanted to unwrap her slowly and treat her like the rare and valuable gift she was.
“Let’s take this upstairs,” he said in her ear. “I want you to stay with me tonight, Maddie.”
Zach’s hands cupped her bottom and he pulled her in close so that their bodies were flush, curve melting into muscle, muscle supporting curve. It was hard to tell where his body ended and hers began.
He liked it that way and he wanted to explore every inch of her.
Maddie let her head fall back, which pressed her even closer into his erection. He kissed the soft expanse of her neck and was tempted to slip his hands under that short little dress so that he could explore her breasts—Hell, he wanted to get rid of that dress and all the other barriers between them and bury himself in her until she cried out. But that was the need she brought out in him.
Slow down.
“Come up to my room.” He kissed her again, hoping she wouldn’t refuse. His hands found their way to the hem of her dress and began making a slow migration up the bare skin of her hip, past the thin strap of her thong, to her waist. He pulled back just enough so that his hand could find the underside of her breast.
Breathless, she broke the kiss, but kept her mouth a whisper away from his. “We need to stop.”
Stop?
“God, Maddie, you’re driving me crazy. I want you. I want you upstairs and in my bed.”
“I want you, too. You have no idea how much. But I can’t tonight. I promise we will finish what we’ve started here. But I promised Schuyler I’d stay with her tonight to keep her from sneaking out and seeing Carlo and being relegated to a life of bad luck.”
“Bad luck? What are you talking about?” Regretfully, Zach tugged her dress back into place and put his hand on her back, trying to give them some time to cool down before they exited their hideout.
“It’s bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony on their wedding day. It’s part of my job as maid of honor to ensure my sister’s happiness.”
He cupped her face with his hands. “So, maid of honor duty calls?” he said between tiny kisses on her lips, her temple, her eyes—purposely avoiding her neck because if he revisited that sensitive area at the base of her ear, it might be the undoing of both of them.
After he delivered her to the hotel’s bridal suite, they made out in the hallway.
“We could stay right here,” he whispered in her ear. “I could help you stand guard.”
Maddie opened her mouth wider and deepened the kiss. Teasing her, he pulled back, giving himself just enough room to say, “If we’re out here, Schuyler won’t be able to go anywhere.”
Maddie laughed, low and sexy, against his mouth. The sound vibrated inside him and stoked the fire even hotter.
Then Schuyler opened the door. “Maddie, is that you? Oh!”
She slammed the door as fast as she’d opened it, calling, “Get a room, you two. But do it tomorrow night, after I’m married, because seeing you two makes me want to go see Carlo.”
“I have to go,” Maddie told him.
“I wish you didn’t.”
“Me, too, but we’ll have tomorrow. And all day long, we’ll know what’s going to happen at the end of the night.”
She kissed him again.
“If you keep this up, I’m not going to leave.”
He took her hands in his and kissed her fingers one by one. “I’d better go. We don’t want to have the fate of your sister’s marriage on our heads. Sounds like it could cause a whole lot of bad karma.”
Maddie laughed. “She would personally deliver that lot of bad karma to us. I guarantee it.”
Still holding her hands
, Zach took a step back. “Good night.” The words I love you were on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back because they surprised him. Jolted him. But then Maddie smiled her naughty smile and it turned him inside out.
“I probably won’t be able to see you until the reception because tomorrow I’ll be my sister’s keeper. But I’ll leave you with this thought. Every time you see me tomorrow, every time you think of me, remember what’s going to happen tomorrow night.”
She kissed him one more time and turned to let herself inside the suite.
“We may not make it through the reception,” he said.
“I hope not.” She closed the door, leaving him hot and bothered and counting the hours.
Five minutes later, Zach was unlocking his own hotel room door three floors below the bridal suite when his phone rang. He thought it would be Maddie and pondered the possibility of phone sex as a consolation for having to go their separate ways tonight.
He closed the door and was preparing to ask her what color that thong was that he’d met in the closet tonight. He’d keep it lighthearted and playful. That way it would either get things started or they could laugh about it before they said good-night. But then he saw Dave Madison’s name lit up on the LED screen.
Zach muttered an expletive under his breath. Why the hell was Dave Madison calling at this hour?
Zach answered the call. “Madison, it’s 1:00 a.m. You’d better have a damn good reason for calling at this hour.”
“Dude! I’m in Australia. I’m all messed up on time. I thought it would be late morning there.”
“It’s not.”
“Yeah, I have no idea what the time difference is. I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”
“If something important was happening, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now.”
“Sorry to hear that. You losing your mojo?”
Tomorrow.
He heard Maddie’s voice in his head, remembered the look in her eyes as she blew that final kiss good-night.
“Why are you calling, Madison? What do you want?”
“Lighten up, dude. I’m calling with good news. I know you’re under a deadline. I wanted to let you know I’m making you the exclusive listing agent for the Paisley.”
Maddie Fortune's Perfect Man Page 15
