by Marie Force
Frozen, Maddie watched him go, her heart racing. He had never rebuffed her like that before, and she began to wonder if she might lose him over this. “No,” she whispered. “That can’t happen. It just can’t.”
But as she finished cleaning up her sparkling new kitchen and got ready for bed, the thought nagged at her. A life that had once been empty and difficult without him was now joyful and magnificent—or it was until today. First her mother’s disapproval and now this. . . Just what they needed a week before their wedding.
Wearing one of the silk nightgowns he loved so much, Maddie got in bed and pretended to read a book while she waited for him. Her thoughts wandered back to the day she met him. He’d accidentally knocked her off her big clunker of a bike when she was on her way to a housekeeping shift at his parents’ hotel. With her knee, elbow and hand bleeding, she’d been unable to work at the hotel or help out at her sister’s daycare. Mac had stepped in for her, taking her place at both jobs so she wouldn’t lose either of them, and taking care of her and Thomas until she recovered from her injuries. He’d been taking care of them ever since.
More than an hour passed before he finally returned, sweaty and breathing hard as he came into the bedroom and made a beeline for the shower without a word for her. He stayed in there long enough that Maddie deduced he was still avoiding her.
Slipping out of bed, she tugged the nightgown over her head on the way into the bathroom and stepped into the spacious, steamy shower.
He startled when she put her arms around him and hugged him from behind. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Hugging you.”
“I thought you were asleep.”
“Were you hoping I’d fall asleep if you stayed gone long enough?”
“Maybe.”
Maddie urged him to turn around. “I could never sleep knowing you’re mad with me.”
“I’m not mad.”
“Disappointed. Same difference. You’re not happy, so I’m not happy.”
He shrugged. “It’s all so screwed up. How could Joe let that happen, especially when she was such a mess?”
“It was all her. He tried to tell her it was a bad idea, but she worked on him until he caved. I’ll tell you what I told her earlier: I think she was halfway in love with him before any of this happened with David.”
Mac shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“I do.”
“And what makes you so smart?” he asked with a hint of amusement that buoyed her sagging spirits. “You haven’t known us that long.”
“Janey said the same thing,” Maddie said with a small smile and a lot of relief. At least they were talking. “I happen to know that when a man pays special attention to a woman, when he looks at her like she’s the most beautiful creature in the world and hangs on every word she says, of course she starts to have a little crush on him. How can she not?” Reaching for his bottle of soap, she smoothed some over his chest and was gratified when his lower half sprang to life as she massaged him.
“And you have some experience with this, do you?”
“Mmm hmm. Recent experience.”
His face shifted into that devilish grin she so adored. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?” she asked, full of innocence.
“You think if you get me all worked up that I’ll forget you kept something rather important from me after we made a deal to never do that.”
“It was wrong of me, Mac. I know that now, and I knew it then. But it was what Janey needed at the time, and I really, really want her to be my very best friend. Do you know how long it’s been since I had a friend I like as much as I like her?”
He combed his fingers through her long wet hair. “How long?”
“Since my friend Sydney used to come for the summers with her family when we were in high school. We were so close, but we grew apart when she stopped coming out. I saw her a couple of years ago when she was here with her family.”
“She’s Luke’s ex-girlfriend, the one who lost her husband and kids, right?”
Maddie nodded, still saddened by her friend’s terrible tragedy. “Yes.” Maddie had written to her after the accident but hadn’t heard back from her.
“Well, you’ll be glad to know I’ve decided to forgive you.”
Maddie looked up at him, a smile tugging at her lips. “Is that so?”
“I asked you to help me take care of my sister, and that’s what you did. I suppose I can’t fault you for not breaking her confidence.”
“She’s all grown up, Mac, and she has to follow her own heart, even if it leads her to Joe.”
“I know that,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Wouldn’t you love to see them together?”
“Of course I would. I just can’t bear the idea of any guy—even him—taking advantage of her.”
“He didn’t, Mac. I promise you, he didn’t. He tried to tell her it was a bad idea, but she convinced him it was what she wanted.”
“Are they together now?”
“Not officially. They’d planned to keep it quiet until after the wedding. I’m not sure what’ll happen now that David blasted them out of the closet.”
“So what? Joe spent a couple of nights with her and that’s that?”
“They’ve got a lot to work out.” She squeezed out more soap and massaged her way down his back to his muscular backside.
He groaned. “Your evil plan seems to be working quite well,” he said, glancing down at his erection.
Maddie giggled and ran soapy hands over his most sensitive parts.
“Mmm.” He reached for her and pulled her in close, capturing her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss.
“Will you do something for me?” Maddie asked when they came up for air.
His hands moved over her, awakening her body. “Anything.”
“Don’t run away the next time you’re mad or disappointed or upset. Stay with me and work it out?”
“I will.” His hands coasted over her back. Suddenly, he lifted her and pressed her against the wall.
Maddie gasped when warm skin met cold tile. She ran her fingers through his wet hair and then skimmed them over the stubble on his jaw. “Promise?”
“I promise.” He kissed his way up her neck and rolled her earlobe between his teeth.
Maddie arched her back, seeking him. “Mac. . .”
“Tell me what you want.”
She clutched a handful of his hair and wrapped her legs around his hips. “You. Only you.”
He entered her in one swift stroke that stole the breath from her lungs.
She held on tight as he took her hard and fast against the wall. “Oh, God, Mac. . .”
When he bent his head to suck on her nipple, they reached the finish line at the same exact instant.
Maddie came back down to find him gazing intently at her.
“I love you so much,” she said.
He kissed her nose. “I love you, too.”
“I was so afraid. . .”
Mac leaned into her, keeping her pressed tight against the wall. “Of what?”
“That I’d lose you over this. We had a deal, and I didn’t keep my end of it.”
“Let’s make a new deal, okay?”
She nodded.
He moved the damp hair off her face and trailed his finger over her cheek. “No matter what happens, no matter how big a fight we have or how mad you make me or how crazy things get, I will never, ever leave you.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Never?”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t possibly live without you. Or Thomas.”
Maddie wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. “I could never live without you, either. Not for one day.”
“Let’s go to bed.”
Janey drove David to his mother’s house on the island’s west side. He held her hand the entire way. Their intense conversation coupled with the alcohol he’d consumed earlier had made him
more emotional than usual, which made this whole thing even harder on her.
She pulled into Kay’s driveway and went around to open David’s door. “Come on,” she said, holding out a hand.
David took her hand, and they walked up the sidewalk.
Kay met them at the door, a big smile on her face as she stepped out to hug them both. “Oh! You worked it out! I knew you would.”
David turned to Janey and hugged her. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. You’ll let me know how you are?”
“Sure.” He caressed her face and brushed a light kiss over her lips. “Take care of yourself, Janey. You know where I am if you change your mind.”
“Wait a minute,” Kay said. “What’s going on?”
“Come on inside, Mom, and I’ll tell you.”
“Wait, stop,” Kay said. “Are you back together or not?”
“We’re not,” David said. “We’ve agreed our relationship is over.”
“And she knows?” Kay turned to Janey. “You know he has cancer? That doesn’t change anything?”
“Mom—”
“I’m sorry, Kay,” Janey said. “This has to be a terrible time for you, and I’d give anything to spare you all that’s ahead.”
“But you won’t be around? That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“I won’t be around.”
“You’re not the person I thought you were, Janey.”
“That’s not fair, Mom. I’m the one who screwed it all up, not her.”
With that, David earned back some of Janey’s respect.
“Go inside, David,” Kay said. “I’d like a word alone with Janey.”
“Not if you’re going to berate her for a decision we made together.”
“I’d just like to talk to her. Will you please give us a minute?”
David glanced at Janey.
She nodded.
“I’ll be in touch,” he said.
“Okay.”
After he’d gone inside, Kay turned to Janey. “I’m disappointed in you.”
“Yes, ma’am, I can see that.”
“Do you have any idea what he’s facing in the next few months? After all the years you spent with him, how can you not have the compassion to give him a second chance when he has apologized to you?”
“It wasn’t like he forgot my birthday. He had sex with another woman, and I saw it. How am I supposed to forgive that?”
“He’s sick, Janey. He’s not behaving like himself. It’s not like him to drink and get into fights or have sex with strange women. You know that.”
“I know what I saw, and I know I’ll never forget it. There’s no going back to before that. We’ve realized our relationship was probably over a long time ago, but we chose not to see the signs. If things were good between us, he would’ve told me about his diagnosis weeks ago, and he certainly wouldn’t have sought out other women.”
Kay folded her arms and blinked back tears. “None of that should matter. He’s sick. How can you walk away from him now?”
Janey took a deep breath. “Because I know he has you and the rest of your family and his friends, and you’ll take very good care of him.”
“Do you have someone else? Is that what this is about?”
“I was faithful to David every day that we were together.”
“And since then?”
“I’ve moved on with my life. He gave me no choice. I’m sorry if this hurts you, Kay.”
“What about the wedding? All your plans?”
“There’s not going to be a wedding, and I’m making different plans now.”
“Maybe you just need some more time, to think—”
Janey rested a hand on the older woman’s arm. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
Kay’s lips tightened with displeasure before she turned, walked into the house, closed the door and shut off the porch light.
“Well,” Janey whispered. “I guess that’s that.”
Rattled by the disagreement with a woman she’d always loved and respected, Janey sat in her car for a long time before she drove home to where she was greeted by her pets. After she fed them and took them into the yard for a few minutes, they came back inside and settled on the floor to snuggle. Surrounded by their unconditional love, Janey finally broke down, overwhelmed by the day’s events.
David has cancer. God. It was just so hard to believe, and it certainly explained a lot about his recent behavior. Even before she’d caught him in the act, he’d been putting out odd vibes that she hadn’t bothered to question. If she’d been more connected to him, maybe she would’ve noticed something was wrong.
Riley dragged himself over to nudge at the tears on her cheeks.
He whimpered, and Janey hooked an arm around him. “I’m okay, boy. Or at least I will be.”
Muttley crawled into her lap, bumping Sam onto the floor.
Despite the tears, Janey laughed softly as she scratched Sam’s ears. “You guys are so funny. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
As she hugged Riley and stroked Muttley’s belly, she let her thoughts wander to Joe and the stricken expression on his face when he walked in on her argument with David. “I need to talk to Joe,” she said.
She kissed Riley, got up from the floor and grabbed her purse. “I’ll be back, guys. Don’t wait up.”
Chapter 18
Joe stared up at the ceiling in his room at the Beachcomber. After the confrontation with Mac, he’d been tempted to spend another night bellied up to the bar. But since that hadn’t helped anything the last time, he’d come to his room, where he’d stared at the ceiling for the last few hours, torturing himself with thoughts of what Janey might be doing.
Had David convinced her to give him another chance? Was their engagement back on? Would Mac ever forgive him for sleeping with his sister at her lowest moment? Was he still the best man in Mac’s wedding, or would he ask one of his brothers to fill the role? What if Janey had meant what she said to David? What if she viewed all they had shared as cheap and meaningless, while he saw it as the answer to his every prayer?
Sadly, the ceiling had none of the answers he so desperately needed.
A knock on the door drew his attention off the ceiling. He got up to answer it.
Janey.
As he stared at her beautiful face, he had no idea what to say to her.
“May I come in?”
“Oh, um, sure.” He stepped aside to let her go past him in a cloud of jasmine that awakened his every sense. Steeling himself for what he might hear, Joe closed the door and then turned to lean against it. He noticed right away that she was tightly wound, as if she too was nervous about what might transpire between them in the small hotel room.
“I’m sorry for what you heard me say. You have to know I don’t feel that way about. . . us.”
“I was hoping you didn’t.”
“He just. . . He pushed my buttons, and it was out of my mouth before I even took a second to think about what I was saying.” She came over to stand in front of him, looking up at him with those eyes that ruined him every time she trained them on him. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
He shrugged off her apology, as if she hadn’t cut him to the quick with thoughtlessly spoken words.
“Are you back with him?”
“He has cancer.”
They both spoke at once and then took a moment to absorb what the other had said.
Her words hit Joe like a blow to the gut. “So you’re back with him?”
“No. I told him I can’t go back after all that’s happened. He’s been sick for a month and never told me. It’s further proof that we were over a long time ago but chose not to see it.”
Joe held on tight to the doorknob behind him, as if it was an anchor keeping him from breaking into a million tiny pieces. “He must’ve tried to convince you to come back, in light of his. . . illness.”
“He did, and so did his mother. I told them both the o
ld Janey might’ve felt obligated to stand by him through his treatment, but the new Janey is thinking about her own life and what’s best for her—for once.”
“That’s good. That’s what you should be doing.”
“It feels good. It’s not that I don’t have empathy for what he’s about to endure or that I don’t care about him, because I do. I just can’t put my life on hold for him or anyone else anymore. I’ve done that long enough.”
“It couldn’t have been easy to walk away from him when he needs you.”
“Seeing him in bed with another woman has made a lot of things easier than they would’ve been otherwise.”
“I suppose so.” Standing between them was the question Joe couldn’t bring himself to ask, no matter how badly he needed to know. Where does this leave us?
“So, you talked to Mac?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Since the cat was more or less out of the bag, I went with the truth.”
“How did he take it?”
“About how you’d expect.”
Janey chewed on her thumbnail, something he’d noticed she did when she was nervous or unsettled. “It’s really none of his business.”
“Which I told him. Didn’t seem to matter, though. He’s got a real blind spot where you’re concerned, but of course you know that or you would’ve told him yourself.”
“I can’t talk to him about this stuff. He still sees me as a thirteen-year-old in braces.”
“He probably always will. He loves you, Janey. You can’t fault him for that.”
“No, but I can fault him for being an unreasonable buttinsky.”
Joe smiled. “He is that.”
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow. I’ll make sure he knows how it all went down.”
“You might want to choose different words.”
Her cheeks flamed with the blush he loved so much. “That’s very dirty, Joe. I’m surprised at you.”
Smiling at her, he held out his arms. “No, you’re not.” When she stepped into his embrace, Joe was finally able to breathe again after torturous hours filled with uncertainty. He held her tight against him, brushing his lips over her fragrant hair. “Rough day, huh?”
