Maddox

by Lisa Helen Gray

  This is the first time I’m seeing him without a shirt and I can’t help but be captivated. It’s the pregnancy hormones doing it to me because any other male repulses me. Even pregnant, guys flirt with me, and I recoil at their advances or touches.

  But him…

  He helped me with the boxes that day. He even came with us for the second load, and not once did I feel scared or repulsed by him. When I thought he wouldn’t hurt me, I never second-guessed that feeling. He wasn’t Cameron, which I found hard to categorise with other men I came into contact with.

  So, what made Maddox different to all the other males?

  After everything I went through with Cameron, I was sure something inside of me was broken.

  Maddox awakened it that day, and I wanted him.

  I wanted him so badly I couldn’t find my voice.

  “You know, it’s a crime to spy on people,” Dad quietly whispers in my ear, causing me to jump.

  “I-I wasn’t spying.”

  “You were spying,” Jasmine confirms, her smile wide. I lean down, kissing the tip of her nose. She looks adorable with her missing tooth.

  “I wasn’t.”

  A car pulls to a stop outside, and before I can stop her, Jasmine runs out the door, screaming, “Grandma’s back.”

  I race after her, warmth filling my chest when Mum grabs her around the waist, lifting her into the air. She looks over Mum’s shoulder, waving frantically.

  “Maddox! Maddox! Look!” she yells at the top of her lungs, and he stops at the side of his car whilst the girl I saw him with before gets up from the lawn chair. “Come meet my grandma and granddad.”

  “Jasmine,” I lightly scold. I force out a laugh and call back to Maddox, “It’s okay.”

  He says something to the girl standing next to the chair before he begins his stroll over here. She puts down her magazine, following him with a curious expression.

  Oh God.

  Having no other option, I head down the drive, stopping at the end to greet him.

  “Hey.”

  He gives me a chin lift before his attention turns to my daughter, who leans forward to tap his glistening chest.

  “This is the best grandma in the world. Grandma, this is Maddox. My best friend.”

  “Is he now?” Mum asks, indulging my daughter.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Maddox jokes, before giving me another look, his heated gaze running down my body.

  Jasmine’s bottom lip trembles. “You don’t want to be my friend?”

  “Maddox,” the beautiful girl next to him hisses, whacking him in the stomach.

  “I couldn’t ask for a better friend,” he rushes out, paling.

  “I’m Madison, Maddox’s twin sister. It’s really nice to meet you,” Madison greets, waving at my daughter.

  “I’m Nita. This is my daughter, Amelia, and this is my husband, Gareth.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Madison replies.

  I rub my stomach when the baby kicks out, wincing when a foot digs into my ribs.

  “You okay?” Dad whispers.

  I give him a nod, continuing to watch my daughter stare at the newcomer, open-mouthed.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Jasmine whispers, gripping my mum’s jacket.

  Madison smiles wide. “And you look like Snow White.”

  I look at my daughter’s raven black hair and milky-coloured skin, and smile. She really does look like a mini Snow White.

  Jasmine doesn’t seem to like the compliment though. Her nose scrunches up. “I like Elsa more.”

  Madison nods. “Girl power. She doesn’t need a man to make her happy.”

  Jasmine grins, showing her missing tooth. “I’m going to get a prince when I’m older, but I want to be strong like Elsa.” She takes in a deep breath before leaning in, whispering, “And she has powers.”

  “Who’s Elsa?” Maddox asks, his eyebrows pulling together.

  Jasmine gasps, clapping her hands. “We can totally watch it together, best friend.”

  He gulps, looking at everyone, searching for someone to save him. Dad chuckles, stepping forward. “Maybe another time, sweet girl. We need to get that floorboard nailed down.”

  Mum slowly lowers Jasmine to the ground. “And I need to get dinner on.”

  My stomach grumbles, loud enough for everyone to hear, and my cheeks burn with embarrassment when they all look to me.

  Maddox chuckles, shaking his head in amusement before a frown creases his forehead. “What floorboard?”

  Dad growls low in his chest. “Bloody loose floorboard. Could have really hurt my granddaughter.”

  “What?” Maddox asks, looking between us with a slight panic in his eyes.

  I nod. “It must have a nail in it or something that wasn’t inserted right. It’s pulled up the carpet.”

  “It did more than pull it up. Tore right through it. My granddaughter could have stepped on that board. We put her bed up yesterday. It was fine. But then as we started to organise her room, we piled boxes on her bed. The floorboard came right up.”

  Maddox’s gaze hardens, and for the first time, a shiver of fear races down my spine. He looks livid. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll fix it. I just need to fire someone first.”

  “Oh no,” Madison mutters, watching her brother with a grimace.

  “What?” I ask, feeling like I’m missing something.

  “My uncle owns this home. My crew fixed this place up. There shouldn’t have been anything wrong with the place. I’m really sorry. I’ll fix it and replace the carpet. And double check everything.”

  “Was it Joey?” Madison asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “You really don’t need to do this,” I tell him, kind of feeling bad for Joey.

  His gaze meets mine and neither of us can look away. He steps forward, rubbing my arm just below my shoulder. Lust fills my lower abdomen, and my knees knock together. His pupils dilate slightly, and he removes his arm, breaking the spell.

  “I’ll fix it,” he promises.

  I give him a nod since it’s hard to form words. I can still feel his touch on my arm, feel his gaze on my flesh.

  “I’ll be back,” he tells us before leaving, his sister following. He has his phone out by the time I turn to my dad.

  Eek.

  “He doesn’t seem happy,” Mum comments, a small smile on her lips.

  “He’s going to fix my room,” Jasmine whispers in wonder before racing off into the house, squealing with joy.

  Dad is still staring in Maddox’s direction. “He seems like a good fellow.”

  “He seems nice. He’s the one Jasmine was telling you about.”

  “I’m glad he helped you,” he tells me, before giving me a stern look. “Even after I said I’d do it when I was back.”

  My eyes water. “You guys have done so much for me. I needed to do this.”

  Mum takes my hand as Dad wraps his arm around my shoulders, kissing my head. “You’re our daughter. We’d do anything for you.”

  “I let you down,” I whisper, and look away, ashamed.

  “You didn’t let anyone down. You were in love. What he did…” Mum shakes her head, forcing the memories away. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “But you warned me,” I argue.

  And they did. They didn’t like Cameron when I first introduced them to him back in high school, and they certainly didn’t like him when he made us move to where his father lived a few hours away because his dad had gotten him a job.

  Mum and Dad uprooted their home and moved close to help me when they could see juggling school and being a mum to a new-born was taking a toll on me. And they did this believing we wouldn’t truly last.

  I can’t let that nightmare surface again. Not here. Not in my new home, in a place he hasn’t tarnished. He can’t touch me anymore, so he isn’t worth thinking about.

  “Let’s go inside. Those neighbours are watching again.”

  My hair slides over my shoulder
as I turn that way, watching as the mum greets her friends, who are holding beers as they walk up her path.

  I inwardly groan. I’m not looking forward to another sleepless night listening to their blaring music. For an hour I stood by my front door, slippers on my feet, my coat on, ready to go over and ask them to turn it down. I couldn’t do it though. They are loud, boisterous, and at times, fights break out.

  There was no telling what they would do or how they would react, so I left it, opting for a sleepless night.

  “Let’s go see what madam is up to.”

  I walk ahead of them, holding my stomach when another sharp kick has me gasping.

  “That’s the fourth time you’ve stopped for air,” Dad warns. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I smile, taking his offered arm. “Dad, I’m fine. The baby is just really active at the moment. I still have another three weeks left.”

  We step into the house, and I laugh at what I walk in to when I enter the living room. Jasmine’s headfirst in a box, her legs dangling in the air. “Found it,” she wheezes, kicking her feet.

  I waddle over, helping her out. She holds up her Elsa doll, beaming. “He can meet Elsa now too.”

  There’s a short tap on the door before Maddox and Madison come into view. “Hey, I hope it’s okay that we just walked in.”

  “It’s fine,” I assure him.

  “Look!” Jasmine demands, holding her doll up to him.

  I watch with a sharp pain in my heart as he bends down to her level, nodding and listening intently to what she’s telling him. Madison laughs, taking the doll from her hand, agreeing to play.

  These strangers have shown so much kindness, but seeing Madison sitting on the floor, playing with my daughter, reminds me too much of the friend who betrayed us. Scarlett would sit for hours entertaining Jasmine. They would braid each other’s hair and watch cartoons. She chose to sleep with Cameron knowing it would destroy our relationship, and that betrayal still burns inside of me.

  Maddox gets up from the floor, walking over to us, his eyes never leaving mine. “Which room?”

  My eyes go round, my cheeks heating as I sway in a daze. “Room?”

  Mum beams as she takes my arm, pulling me towards Maddox. “Amelia will show you, won’t you, honey?”

  I inwardly groan when I nod. “Yes, follow me,” I tell him, giving my mum a ‘you are so dead’ look. We reach the stairs, and the silence begins to make me uncomfortable. “So, it’s your uncle who owns the home?”

  “He does.”

  I turn my head at the sound of his deep voice, and I’m greeted with him staring at my arse, his lips tight.

  I trip on the stairs in a rush to get from in front of him, and just after I hear a thud, he catches me, his hands warm on my hips. I hiss in a breath, closing my eyes as my arse presses into his chest. “Crap!”

  “Are you okay?” he asks, concern in his tone.

  Other than being humiliated again, yes. “Yeah. Sorry.”

  His hands don’t move from my hips as I straighten, pulling my top back down over my bump. His touch burns, and I can’t help but find pleasure in it. It feels good to be touched again. It’s gentle, kind, and I relish in it.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, why?”

  He grins, his eyes sparkling. “Because you haven’t moved.”

  I jerk, heat filling my cheeks, and quickly rush up the stairs, leaving him to pick up his tool bag. I take him to the first room on the right.

  The bathroom is the next one over, and the baby’s nursery and my bedroom are on the other side of the hall. I want to be close to the baby once they are in there and I don’t want him or her waking up Jasmine. I don’t like that she’s at the other end of the hall and closest to the stairs, but her room would never fit my belongings inside. I would have kept looking but it was the nicest house we could find within my budget.

  The council have a large waiting list to home people, and since I wasn’t seen as a priority, I didn’t even warrant getting a band to bid on anything. So, when Hayden said she knew someone who could rent me a house, I took her up on her offer. It was within my budget, which was a plus, but I have a sneaky suspicion Hayden was the reason for that.

  When we walk into the bright pink room that has one wall wallpapered with a butterfly pattern, I take a look at the mess and feel shame.

  The cream carpet is torn next to the bed and boxes now line the walls, some half emptied, some still closed.

  “I’m sorry about the mess,” I tell him, fidgeting with the sleeves of my top.

  I wanted this to be the first room to be completed, but Dad swapped Jasmine’s junior bed with a single and we had to wait for it to be delivered.

  Jasmine has been sharing my room with me, which isn’t in a much better state. When the bed came yesterday, we were excited to set it up. Then the drama with the carpet happened and we put it on hold again.

  Dad isn’t exactly handy when it comes to DIY. I’ve been worried he will make it worse, and then we’ll be kicked out.

  He was a lorry driver until a few years ago, when he retired due to his back. His gift now is gardening. He has a knack for it and now spends his time in his and Mum’s garden, or comes to see his daughter and granddaughter.

  I am their only daughter, the surprise of the family. Mum had me at forty-two, and my brother, who is thirty-four now, in her thirties. Stephan joined the Army at twenty-five and hasn’t been back for three years now. I think it’s why they spoil me rotten. They miss him terribly, and I guess I’m a way to compensate for that.

  If he were here, he would be doing this for me right now. He’d fix it all. Including the list of things that need to be put together in the nursery and around the house.

  I couldn’t keep any of the furniture from my old life. The only things that came with me were my personal effects that had no tie to Cameron, and all of Jasmine’s things. Everything else was left. Slowly, with each pay cheque, I have been buying something new for the home I had hoped we’d get, and for the baby. And thanks to my parents refusing to accept any money towards bills, I had managed to concentrate on that and paying off the bills Cameron built up—which I am still paying for.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Maddox asks, clicking his fingers in front of my face.

  I give him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind. What did you ask?”

  “I said I have some purple carpet that should fit this room. My cousin Aiden overordered when he did his daughter’s room. I still have it. Or I can buy some of what’s already here.”

  “Are you sure he won’t need it?”

  His eyes soften. “No. He doesn’t.”

  “Then the purple is fine. It will go with the butterflies.”

  He grins and bends down to his tool bag, pulling out a drill, then screws down the problematic floorboard. “They must have forgotten to nail this back in. The electrical installation was outdated when my uncle bought it, so we had to rewire the entire house. I’m sorry this happened.”

  “It’s okay,” I assure him, since no damage was done.

  “It’s not. I informed Maverick about it, and he said he’s giving you next month’s rent free.”

  I suck in a breath. “No, that’s not necessary.”

  “Trust me, it is. The junction boxes are under this board. If Jasmine had found them and started pulling, it could have ended badly.”

  His jaw clenches as he finishes with the last screw. My heart tightens at the thought of what could have happened. I hadn’t even thought of that. The worst I imagined was a scraped knee or a bruised head if she tripped.

  “Do you mind if I check out the other rooms while I’m here?” he asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

  I really need to stop making a fool of myself. He’s going to think I’m weird—if he doesn’t already.

  “No, no. Carry on.”

  He grabs his tool bag off the floor and carries it with him as he leaves the room, heading to the n
ext one, which is the bathroom. I don’t follow him in. It isn’t a large space, and cramming myself into a small room with him… it would be torture. He smells heavenly.

  He walks out, his gaze going to my stomach before quickly shifting elsewhere. He heads into the next room, the baby’s room. The yellow and mint-green walls stand out like a summer’s day, matching the white curtains decorated with yellow and mint green stars. I don’t know the sex; the baby was positioned in a way that we didn’t get to find out.

  Tears gather in my eyes when I think of what Cameron nearly did that night. My hand automatically goes to my stomach, rubbing the large bump soothingly. He or she is thriving, and although their start in life hasn’t been a good one, I’m going to make sure he or she is raised with love and adoration.

  “You’ve not set up the cot?” Maddox asks, as he takes in the room. His fingers run over the mark Dad made when he was trying to put shelves up, and I giggle.

  “My dad isn’t exactly good when it comes to DIY. I’m going to do it tomorrow, after I’ve finished work. I just wanted to get Jasmine’s room, the living room and kitchen done first.”

  “I’ll do it tomorrow,” he tells me, seemingly surprised at himself for offering.

  “You’re kind, but this really isn’t necessary. You’ve already gone out of your way to help me. And I’m grateful.”

  He shrugs, picking up the instructions. “I have time on my hands in the evenings.”

  I take a step further into the room, watching his expression. He looks sad, like he’s missing something or someone. There’s a longing there and it hurts to witness.

  “How come?”

  He looks up, a smile erasing the turned down lips he had. “My best friend traded me for a husband. She’s family, so I forgive her, but him… I don’t. Can you believe he keeps me from going there?”

  I’m completely lost and startled by the change in his tone. “Um, no?”

  He nods like I’ve answered in a way he understands. “I know. I used to go round to play on my Xbox, but she gave it away to the kid who lives next to her. I replaced it, but then he gave that one away too because the kid broke the first one.” He snorts, pulling the changing table box away from the wall to see the picture of it on the other side. “This will give me something to do. I mean, you can tell me to fuck off, but I’m telling you, you’ll regret it. I am awesome at DIY. It’s what I do—except for being sexy and handsome.”