“Hey, are you kidding? You know I live on my own. My cooking is lousy. I’d do anything for a free meal. Well, just about anything.”
“Could you pretend to be my paid stud?” Madison waited with baited breath for his response.
“Huh?”
“My mother and her fiancé are having an engagement dinner tonight at the Golden Dragon. There’s going to be someone there that I… Well, suffice it to say he needs to be taught a lesson.”
Greg grinned. “Boyfriend got your dander up, eh?” He let out a crack of laughter. “Sure, I’m game for it. It’ll be a hoot. So how do you want me to play this?”
“Just make out you think I’m the best thing since sliced bread.” Madison answered his grin with one of her own. “Let him think your sole purpose in life is to please me. Think you can do that?”
Madison started in surprise as Greg leaned closer and ran his finger across her exposed torso, his hand perilously close to the underside of her breasts. God help her, she hoped she hadn’t given the poor guy the wrong idea.
“Lady, for an old broad, you have one fine body. Pleasing you won’t be any hardship at all. In fact, just say the word and I’d be quite amenable to being your boy toy.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or chastise him. Old broad indeed. She was only ten years older than he was. She grasped his hand and moved it away from her breasts. “Uh-uh, Lothario, friends only. Save it for tonight.”
Greg continued to grin at her, a lascivious gleam in his eyes. Just for a moment, Madison felt uncomfortable. She shook her head. No way. Greg was just teasing her like he always did. “So how about I pick you up at your flat at about half-past seven?”
At his nod, she started to walk back to her mother, paused and turned back to him. “Greg, can you see without your glasses?”
“I’m okay on distances, but close up it’s a bit fuzzy around the edges.”
“So lose the glasses tonight and I’ll be your guide dog.”
“Whoof, whoof,” he called after her as she moved away. “Hey, Madison, I wasn’t fooling about the good body.” He tilted his head on an angle and stared at her rear end. “From this side, it ain’t half-bad, old lady.”
“Behave yourself, Greg,” she tossed over her shoulder as she rejoined her mother. “At least until tonight,” she muttered under her breath as she settled back down at the picnic table.
“Madison, what are you up to?” Rosa demanded, a frown on her face. “You have an evil look in your eyes.”
“I can’t tell you yet. I don’t want to ruin Jake’s surprise. One thing, though, can I bring a companion to dinner tonight?” She held up her hand before her mother could speak. “I know you wanted it to be family only but—”
Rosa cut her off with a bubble of laughter. “I don’t need to know what you’re going to do. I can guess. Yes, bring your companion to dinner. I’ll ring the restaurant and arrange for an extra person.” She chuckled again. “Baby girl, you are truly wicked.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.” Madison stood up and rounded the table to bend down to hug Rosa. “Just follow my lead tonight and try not to laugh.”
As Rosa prepared to leave, Madison added, “And be nice to Jake tonight. Don’t give him the evil eye.”
“Thought you wanted to pay him back?”
“I do, but you’re going to be his stepmother, so don’t push it too hard.”
“You’re on, Greg,” Madison whispered as they walked into the Golden Dragon right on eight o’clock. “Just don’t over-act, okay?”
He slid his arm about her waist and pulled her close. “Leave it to me, Madison. Did I tell you I took drama in high school? This little play will be a walk-over, particularly when you look like that.”
Madison glanced down at her dress. Deep crimson, a figure-hugging halter neck that left her shoulders bare and plunged in the front to show the curve of her breasts. It was the shortest dress she owned, the hem stopping at mid-thigh. She’d bought it soon after she’d formulated her makeover plan as an incentive to lose the weight she’d carried around for so long. When she was finally able to fit into it, she didn’t have the confidence to wear it.
She flicked a look at Greg as the waiter directed them to the private function room off to one side of the restaurant. He didn’t look so bad himself. Hunky was the word the young girls at the university would have used. In fact, she knew quite a few in her own classes who’d like to get their hands on him. And she wasn’t talking figuratively.
He’d chosen to dress in black leather trousers that showed off his tight butt to advantage. With those, he’d teamed a white, silk, long-sleeved shirt that gave him a piratical air. The sleeves were rolled up to show his muscled forearms and he’d left all but the last three buttons undone to expose his chest and the gold medallion he’d hung about his neck.
His thick blond hair flopped endearingly over his forehead and without his glasses his big baby-blues were even more startling. And, yeah, he looked like someone’s boy toy.
Eat your heart out, Jake. You’re about to learn this little chicken isn’t going to crumple in a heap just because you had some type of brain fart.
Greg slowed his stride to allow her to walk beside him and she moved her head closer to his shoulder as they entered the private room. “Hi, Mom, we finally made it. You look gorgeous.”
Rosa had chosen a pale pastel dress in a soft, filmy fabric. Even her normal big hair-do had been tamed for this oh-so-important night. She jumped up from her chair, gave Madison a hug and looked coyly at her partner.
“So who’s your companion, baby girl?”
“This is Greg.” She snuggled closer to him. “Greg, this is my mother, Rosa. That good-looking gentleman over there who can’t take his eyes off her is her fiancé, Bart.”
Bart stood up and shook hands with Greg. Out of the corner of her eye, Madison saw Jake surge to his feet. Anger flashed across his face. She ignored the fisted hand she could see hanging at his side and leaned forward and kissed Bart on his weathered cheek. “You know your life will never be the same when you marry my mother, don’t you?” she teased.
Bart hugged Rosa to his side. “With Rosa, the rest of my life is going to be one big adventure,” he chuckled. “Now come and meet my son.”
He guided Madison, still linked with Greg, over to where Jake stood. “Madison, this is Jake.”
Madison disengaged herself from Greg’s hold and reached up and planted an enthusiastic kiss on Jake’s stunned face. She clasped her hands in front of her and gushed, “Jake, it’s so great to meet you. I always wanted an older brother and now I’m about to get one.”
CHAPTER 18
Jake felt the blood drain from his face as he stared at Madison. It took a moment for his brain to register the truth. Madison was Rosa’s daughter. How the fuck… Then he finally made sense of her greeting.
Brother? She wanted a brother? She sure hadn’t been treating him like a sibling the other night.
Horror rippled through his body. Bloody hell, he would be her brother—all right, so he’d be a stepbrother—when their parents got married. Didn’t make it seem any better. What he felt wasn’t even in the same neighborhood as brotherly love.
As for pretending she didn’t know him, he had a good mind to… It hit him like a fist to the gut. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do. He had to play along with her. He wasn’t about to spill the beans and let his father, and Rosa, know what he’d been up to. His dad would skin him alive.
“Hey, Jake, old man, I’m Greg, a friend of Madison’s. A very good friend.” He hugged her close and gave her a suggestive wink. “It’s good to meet you, old boy.”
Madison had to bite her lip to stop the grin that threatened to break through as Greg held out his hand to Jake. They did the man thing, shook hands, and she could have sworn she felt the testosterone rage as they sized each other up. Jake winced as Greg employed a bit more muscle than necessary.
It was time she intervened. She guid
ed Greg over to the table. Before she could sit, he went into his chivalrous mode and, all solicitous, pulled the chair out for her.
“Here you go, babe, let me do that for you.”
She sat, edged forward as he moved the chair in and had to stifle a gasp as the table connected with her stomach. “Thank you, Greg,” she said as she eased back a bit. He settled beside her, moved in close and grasped her hand, lifting it to rest in plain view on the snowy tablecloth.
“So Jake, old man,” Greg said, “what do you do for a crust?”
Jake stared at the guy leaning all over Madison. His mind had gone into a flat spin and for the moment, he couldn’t even make sense of Greg’s words. If this damn…kid called him old man one more time, he’d deck him. Just how ancient did he think he was?
One thing for certain, Madison was playing in the baby pool. The boy—and that’s all he was—had to be years younger than Madison. And she dared parade this gigolo in front of his dad and Rosa? How disrespectful.
He shook his head. This wasn’t about his father and Rosa. This was all to do with the green haze of jealousy that had crept over his mind. It was his own fault. He’d told her to get her new stud to continue with her education. He had no one to blame but himself.
Hold on a moment. He tried to concentrate, surprised at how difficult it was. What about the guy he’d seen her with at the French restaurant down the road? Bloody hell, she hadn’t wasted much time. Two different guys in as many days.
“Hey, Jake, you gone to sleep over there?”
“Huh?” Jake dragged his mind back to Greg. “Sorry, what was the question?”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a lawyer down in Sydney.” Jake couldn’t take his eyes off Madison. He fumed as he watched her run the tip of her nails up and down the bulging muscles of the kid’s forearm. Fuck, he wanted to smash him in the face. One good punch. That’s all it would take to mar his pretty looks. “What’s your line of work?” he said instead.
“Oh, Greg’s at university with me,” Madison said.
“Yep, we’re old friends.” Greg draped an arm around Madison’s neck and danced his fingers up and down the exposed column of her throat. “Amazing how you can know someone for ages and suddenly, wham, you realize what you have is more than friendship.” He leaned in closer and dropped a kiss on her cheek, allowing his mouth to slide to the edge of her lips.
Under cover of the table, Jake curled his hands into fists. He concentrated, reining in his anger. Okay, so the guy wasn’t a paid stud. That could be worse. She might be serious about him. After all, women had been going out with younger men since the year dot. Hell, a couple of his mates had even married older women. But he could have sworn Madison felt something for him.
He suddenly remembered the makeover plan he’d found. She’d used him to teach her all about sex and now this muscle-bound jock was about to reap the benefits.
Wonder if he knows she wants a baby? Although, maybe she’s going to use her other stud for that, and this guy for the fun part. After all, he is a much younger model. Jake felt every one of his thirty-nine years, like the old man the kid had called him.
“You all right there, Jake? You’ve gone red in the face.”
His father’s voice cut across the angst churning inside him. He had to force himself to remember this was an engagement dinner. He didn’t want to ruin it for his old man. He cringed inwardly as his use of the same term Greg had dumped on him. “Probably just hungry, Dad.”
“Then you’ll do justice to this.” Bart gestured to the waiters as they placed dish after dish in the centre of the table. “Rosa and I have arranged a banquet for tonight.”
Mr. Wong, the owner of the restaurant, approached the table and bowed from the waist. “Good evening, everyone. I hope you enjoy your meal.” He pointed to the platters of food. “Here we have Mongolian Lamb, Special Fried Rice, Garlic King Prawns.” He moved to the other side of the table. “Vegetable Delight, Lemon Chicken and last, but not least, Seafood Phoenix Nest Deluxe.”
He backed out of the room, giving a final bow at the entrance. “Enjoy, enjoy.”
“Something for everyone.” Bart beamed. “In honor of this special occasion, and for my beautiful bride-to-be, I’ve ordered pink champagne.” He reached behind him and grasped the neck of the bottle sitting in a silver wine bucket. “Here, Jake, you can look after that.”
Madison almost swallowed her tongue she was trying so hard not to laugh. Memories of Clifton and the look on his face when she’d ordered the same champagne filled her head. She snuggled closer to Greg as Jake came round the table and reached across her to fill the glass. A grin on her face, she angled a glance at him. “Thank you, big brother.”
She felt a moment of wicked delight as his face darkened and he averted his gaze. See how it feels to be given the brush-off, Jake?
A nerve twitched on his jaw line as he sat down and beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead.
“Jake, you’re looking a bit hot and bothered over there,” she said. “Maybe you should ask them to turn up the air conditioning.”
Before Jake could respond, Greg inspected the seafood dish served in the nest of fried noodles. “Hey, Madison, you reckon there are oysters somewhere in there among all those vegetables? I’ll have to make certain I have plenty of that. You know what they say about oysters being an aphrodisiac.”
Rosa cast a twinkling glance at Madison, her lips twitching with suppressed mirth. “You look very young and sexy tonight, baby girl. Don’t think I’ve seen that dress before.”
“Your mother is right,” Bart interjected. “You’re very fetching in that get-up.” He turned toward his son. “Don’t you think so, Jake?”
“I think…” Jake paused, searched for a civil response. “I think both the ladies look terrific. Rosa, you don’t look old enough to have a grown daughter. Some women make the mistake of trying to dress too young and end up looking like mutton dressed up as lamb.”
He glared at Madison before he swung his gaze back to his future stepmother. “But as far as you’re concerned, Rosa, I think you’ll remain young forever. Everyone will think my dear old dad is cradle-snatching.”
Madison shook her head. Another dig at her.
“Why, thank you, Jake.” Rosa sat back as Bart played the gentleman and served her. “You know, in all the times I’ve been over at your father’s place, I’ve never once run into you.”
“He’s been busy,” Bart said as he filled his own plate. “Got himself a new lady friend.”
Jake lifted his head and stared at Madison. Her only response was to smile at him before she turned back toward Greg.
“Would you like me to serve you, honey?” Madison laid her palm on Greg’s cheek.
“Thank you, babe. That would be great.” Greg leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I can’t see well enough to do it. I’ll spill it everywhere.” He ran his hand down her arm.
Madison suffered a moment of disquiet. Lord, if she wasn’t careful, this could get out of hand and backfire on her. Already she’d had to remove Greg’s hand twice from her knee. She may well have created a monster.
She angled a glance at Jake from under lowered brows. He no longer looked angry, just shell-shocked. Her heart smote her and she realized something. There was no fun in hurting someone you loved. She’d wanted to pay him back for his callousness, but it wasn’t worth it, because it hurt her just as much as it did him. Now it was too late to back down. Greg had thrown himself into the role with enthusiastic gusto.
He was like an octopus, his hands everywhere. Heaven knows how he managed to eat his food and run his fingers all over the part of her back exposed by the halter neck style. And if he called her babe one more time, she’d hit him.
This is of your own making, Madison. The words pounded through her brain, reinforced by the jolt of pain deep in her heart. Besides, she had a feeling it was all for nothing. Jake hadn’t looked at her since he’d served the w
ine.
She worked hard to keep the conversation flowing as they demolished the aromatic dishes in front of them. It really wasn’t necessary. Greg was happy with a free feed. Jake contributed absolutely nothing to the conversation. Rosa and Bart were wrapped in a little world all of their own.
When Greg tried to feed her the last mouthful on his plate, she’d finally had enough. She placed her lips near his ear, and voice lowered, said, “Quit it, Greg, you’re overacting.”
“Gotta pay for the free dinner, babe.”
Madison ground her teeth together and placed her chopsticks across the centre of her bowl. She’d eaten very little, but her stomach was too churned up to force another bite down. She had to be the biggest fool ever.
“That was just delicious,” Rosa said. She pushed her chair out and stood up. “Madison, how about a trip to the bathroom?”
With a silent blessing to her mother, Madison complied. She couldn’t get out of the seat fast enough. “Back soon, boys,” she quipped. “Don’t go away now.”
Greg laughed as the two women left the room. “Why is it women have to go to the toilet in pairs, do you think? Men don’t need anyone to hold their hand.”
Bart stood up, a deep frown on his face. “Well, this is one time the men are going to follow their lead.” He nodded to Greg. “We won’t be long.” He crooked his finger at his son and gestured. “Jake, you follow me.”
Jake knew he was in for it now. His father had his irate face on and he was about to be the recipient of a parental lecture. Fuck, his dad was going to kill him when he knew the truth. Maybe he could lie his way out of it. No, he’d never deliberately lied to his father in his life and he wasn’t about to start now. Okay, so he’d kept certain things from him, and maybe that was lying by omission, but he hadn’t known Madison was Rosa’s daughter then.
They didn’t go to the men’s bathroom. Bart strode out the front door of the restaurant, his back ramrod straight, determination in every line of his body. Jake followed behind, not game to say a word. He felt like a kid all over again.
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