Stud Finders Incorporated

by Alexis Fleming

  Once on the pavement outside the restaurant, Bart turned to Jake. “Okay, what the heck is going on here? Are you unhappy with me putting Rosa in your mother’s place?”

  “Hell, no, Dad. Rosa is perfect for you. She’ll keep you on your toes for the rest of your days.”

  Jake ran his hand through his hair before smoothing it back into place. His dad stared at him, his eyes narrowed. Suddenly, his father’s eyebrows raised and a suspicious look swept across his face. Jake shuffled his feet and squirmed in place, shoved his hands deep into his pockets and looked anywhere but at his old man. Oh-oh, here it comes.

  “You looked pretty shocked when you met Madison. I got the impression you knew her,” Bart said. “I mean before tonight. You…bloody hell, she’s not the woman you’ve been seeing, is she?”

  Jake opened his mouth to try to speak, then closed it again.

  “This night is important to Rosa. I don’t want it spoiled. We’re not going back in there until I have some answers, so spit it out.”

  “Okay.” Jake gave up. He may as well get it over and done with. “Yes, Madison is the woman I’ve been dating.”

  “And you broke up and now she’s with another man. Well, it happens so get over it.” There was dead silence for a moment as Bart eyeballed his son. “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”

  Jake shook his head. His old man was like a dog with a bone. “I can’t tell you, Dad. Part of this story is Madison’s and I won’t break her confidence. If you want to know, I suggest you speak to Rosa. All I can say is I’m a bloody fool. I may well have thrown away the chance of a lifetime.”

  “Hmm, I get the feeling it’s all show in there,” Bart mused. “I know Madison and tonight’s performance is a departure from the norm. Any reason she would want to visit a bit of payback on you?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Jake’s voice was filled with disgust.

  “Well, whatever it is, sort it out. I don’t want you and Madison at odds. Go see her when she hasn’t got that bundle of muscle on her arm.”

  He turned back toward the restaurant. “Come on, let’s get back in. I want to be there when Mr. Wong brings in Rosa’s engagement cake.”

  With a silent curse at his own stupidity, Jake pushed the remaining anger, and a hefty dose of despondency, aside and followed his father back to the private dining room.

  Rosa stood in front of the mirror in the ladies room and tweaked at the curl over her ear. “Are you having fun, baby girl?”

  Madison leaned up against the vanity and watched her mother. Her mind was full of thoughts of Jake. She didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to tell he was angry. It was written all over his face and in every restrained line of his body. But there was something else there as well. Was it possible he was jealous of Greg?

  She hugged the idea to her. Perhaps Jake’s emotions were more involved than she’d thought. Her mind skipped back to the time he’d run from her pool, and her presence, like a frightened rabbit. And the resultant phone call when he’d admitted to being scared of his own feelings. Maybe, just maybe—

  “I’m talking to you, Madison.”

  Her mother’s voice cut across her thoughts, sharp and commanding. “Sorry, Mom, I was… I was thinking of Jake.”

  “Now I have your attention, I’ll ask you again. Are you having fun with your little bit of play-acting?”

  Was she? She shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’m sorry I started this. Getting even isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, is it?”

  “A little bit of revenge is okay,” Rosa stated. “Does a girl good, but not when it’s taken too far. Jake looks miserable. I think you’ve played this out as far as you should.”

  “You’re right. Greg and I will leave as soon as dessert is finished. I don’t think I could get him to move away from that table while there’s still food being served.”

  Rosa chuckled. “He does have a rather large appetite, doesn’t he?” She took a perfume atomizer from her purse and sprayed a fine mist onto her wrists before she replaced the vial in her bag. “We’d better get back out there before the men think we’ve run out on them.”

  “One moment, Mom.” Madison opened the evening bag hanging from her shoulder and took out a small, gift-wrapped package. “I wanted to give you this in private. It’s a bit unusual for an engagement gift, but I think you’ll like it.” She handed over the present.

  She grinned as her mother ripped into the fancy paper. She was like a child at Christmas. When the little box was exposed, she opened it and peeked inside. A gasp escaped her as she drew out the pendant suspended from a fine gold chain.

  “It’s beautiful, Madison.”

  Madison was pleased with her mother’s reaction. She’d hunted high and low for just the right one. The outer covering of the locket was fashioned of golden filigree, lacelike work of fine strands of twenty-two carat gold wire. “Open it,” she murmured.

  Inside, the jeweler had inserted panels where photos could be kept. But instead of one picture on either side, it was like the pages of a book, the locket designed to hold four photos. In the first two panels were pictures of Rosa and Bart. The next one held a shot of her, taken after she’d lost all her excess weight. The final one remained empty.

  “It’s exquisite. I love it.” Rosa hugged her daughter and reached up to drop a kiss on her cheek.

  “I’m glad you like it, Mom. If I’d known Jake was Bart’s son I’d have added his picture as well. The whole new family, so to speak.”

  Rosa turned around and gestured for Madison to clasp the chain about her throat. She stared in the mirror and patted at the locket. “Oh, it looks lovely. I’ll treasure it always.” She linked her arm with Madison’s and steered them toward the door. “I can soon get a photo of Jake to complete the set.”

  She paused and looked up at her daughter. “You know, just because you and Jake are going to be stepbrother and sister doesn’t mean there can’t be anything between you. After all, there’s no blood connection.”

  Madison kept silent.

  “Do you love him, baby girl?”

  Okay, so this one she wasn’t going to get out of so easily. She sighed. “Yes, I do.”

  “Then find a way to sort out your differences. I want you to be as happy as I am. Now, I’ll say no more on the matter. Let’s go join the guys.”

  Arms linked, Madison walked her mother back to the party. By now, the table had been cleared and the waiter had brought in the dessert.

  “Hey, babe,” Greg called out in a loud voice, “come have some sweets. It’s Green Jade Mist, or peppermint ice cream if you want to get right down to it.” He slipped his arm about Madison’s shoulders as she sat down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Missed you, babe.”

  “Cool it, Greg. You’re carrying it too far,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Just playing my part,” he whispered right back.

  They had almost finished the dessert and the coffee and fortune cookies when Mr. Wong entered the room with a large cake-board wrapped in gold foil in his hands. Situated in the middle was a heart-shaped cake covered in white royal icing and deep red roses fashioned out of fondant. He placed it in front of Rosa. Piped across the top of the cake were two names: Rosa and Bart.

  Rosa clapped her hands together and blinked back the tears that filled her eyes. “Oh, Bart, this is so beautiful.” She laughed. “You naughty boy, you’ve been going behind my back.”

  Mr. Wong handed her a silver knife with a large red bow tied around the handle. Rosa took the knife and stood up, gesturing for Bart to join her. Together, they made the first cut in the cake. Madison sniffed back her own share of tears. It was heart-warming to see Bart and her mother so happy. She cast a quick glance at Jake, only to catch an unguarded look on his face as he stared at her.

  He dropped his gaze before she had time to sort through the mix of emotions she could see there. He turned his attention to Rosa and teased her about looking young enough to be his sister and not his step-Mom
.

  Madison had had enough. Something important had disappeared when Jake had walked out of her life. Well, out of her house. As her stepbrother, he would always be a part of her life, but she wanted more. She wanted the fun and laughter they’d shared. She wanted—no, needed—the love she believed they were beginning to feel for each other. Was she wrong? Did Jake’s feelings go any deeper than just a fling, a roll in the sack?

  Greg once again ran his hand over her bare back, making her squirm. That’s it. This night is over. She stood up and rounded the table and dropped a kiss on her mother’s cheek before doing the same with Bart. “Sorry to break up the party, you two, but I think Greg’s had a bit too much of that fancy pink champagne. Time I got him home.”

  “Come on, Greg, on your feet.” She tugged him up, letting him put his arm about her waist for support. “Mom, I’ll ring you tomorrow.” She cast a last glance at Jake. “We’re bound to see a lot of each other in the future. We’ll have to get together and talk.”

  Jake stood and looked her in the eye. In a no-nonsense voice, he said, “You can bet on it, Madison. I’m sure we’ll have a lot to share with each other.”

  Madison had a feeling he meant every word of it.

  CHAPTER 19

  Madison rested her forehead on the steering wheel as the sound of the car engine faded into the darkness. She felt worn out. Tiredness settled about her like a thick blanket, but it wasn’t just physical weariness. More a total depletion of her emotional and mental energy.

  What an idiot she’d been to try to score points off Jake. Had it been worth it? No, not one bit of it. The crazy scheme had sounded good in the beginning, but there was one thing she’d forgotten. The act of vengeance has a wicked habit of turning on the perpetrator. She would have to eat a lot of humble pie tomorrow when she apologized to everyone. Yes, everyone, Jake included.

  With a despondent sigh, she slid out of the vehicle and locked the door behind her. A glance up at the night sky showed a backdrop lit by a zillion stars, a night made for lovers.

  How can that be when I miss Jake so much? If tonight had done nothing else, it had highlighted how much she loved the man.

  Enough, Madison. Stop with all the self-pity and get yourself inside.

  Straightening her back, she marched up the footpath to the front door. She fished around in her evening bag for the key, inserted it in the lock and turned it until she felt the click of the tumblers. Palm flat on the painted surface, she pushed the door wide, but before she could step inside and switch on the lights, she heard a shuffle behind her.

  Her heart raced as she spun about. Darkness encroached on all sides, hemming her in. Her mouth dried as a tall figure, still shadowed by the night, stepped forward. She wanted to scream, but her vocal cords felt paralyzed.

  “Don’t panic, Madison, it’s me.”

  The sound of Jake’s voice should have calmed her, but all it did was enrage. “Damn it, Jake, you scared me half to death. What the heck are you doing here at this time of night?”

  She reached her hand around the doorframe and fumbled for the light switch. The sudden illumination made her blink as she waited for her eyes to adjust. Jake didn’t seem to have the same trouble. He stepped closer to her, close enough to invade her personal space.

  He’d used the time it had taken her to drop Greg at home to change. Hormones went on the rampage at the sight of all that lean muscle clad in black jeans and a tight black tee shirt. No wonder she hadn’t noticed him in the shadows of the front porch.

  His face was like a thundercloud ready to burst and dump its payload on those beneath and, given the flinty stare and the compressed lips, she was about to be the recipient. “What do you want, Jake?” Hand out for guidance, she backed inside.

  “You said we’d get together and talk.”

  One step at a time, he followed her. The door clicked shut behind him.

  “I didn’t mean in the middle of the night.”

  Madison backed up another step. She had the feeling of being caged up with a dangerous animal. A stalking panther came to mind as he advanced another pace. “Go home, Jake. We’ll discuss this another time.”

  “No.”

  A simple word, but it made Madison see red. Darn it, this was her house. Who the heck did he think he was, bursting in here at this time of night? She wasn’t up to this right now, either mentally, or emotionally.

  Anger flared at his presumption. He thought he could just turn up and she’d welcome him? Well, bully for him, but she was going to bed.

  “Go away, Jake. I’m not in the mood to talk to you. Lock the door on your way out.” She turned and walked toward the living room.

  “Tough,” he spat out as he grasped her arm and spun her about to face him. “I want the truth from you and I’m not leaving until I get it.”

  With an agile twist, she dragged her arm free. “You want truth tonight?” She curled her hands into fists and rested them on her hips, heedless of the way they hiked her dress up to show her thighs. “So how about we start with you, Mr. Super Stud. You must have had a good chuckle at the dumb divorcée.”

  She let out a harsh burst of laughter, devoid of any sounds of merriment. It took her a moment to get the anger under control before she could continue.

  “Teach the stupid woman what sex is all about. Show her how to experience an orgasm. Right? So how many women do you have to service, Jake? Poor boy, you must be worn out, having to spread yourself around. And how many others have you lied to?”

  “It wasn’t like that,” he said, “and there are no other women. Just you.”

  “Like I’d believe that. Boy, you sure must have been disappointed you didn’t get a virgin. Think how much fun it would have been to initiate a total innocent into the joys of sex.” She turned around and flounced into the living room, kicking her high heels into the corner. Jake followed her, leaning up against the doorframe.

  “Stud Finders Incorporated. A division of Bart Hunter Building Services,” Madison spat out. “Does Daddy know how you use his business to trawl for cheap sexual thrills?”

  Jake exploded, partly from anger, but mostly because Madison had chipped away at his feelings of guilt. “Shut up, Madison, and listen for a change.”

  “Don’t you speak to me like that,” she retaliated. “You knew in those first few moments I thought you were a paid gigolo and you deliberately deceived me. What, the law not exciting enough for you? Thought you’d hire yourself out for a bit of slap and tickle?”

  “Damn it, it wasn’t like that.” Jake ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Okay, so I knew there’d been a mistake and you didn’t realize what Stud Finders Incorporated was all about. And, yes, I should have told you.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Jake moved further into the room and perched on the arm of the lounge chair. He frowned as Madison backed away from him. This was not going the way he’d expected. Yes, he’d wanted a confrontation, but he’d also wanted… He cut off the thought before it was fully developed. Right now, he wasn’t certain what he wanted.

  “I should have been up-front with you, but you looked so…so unsure of yourself I wanted to help. You got to me and before I knew it, I’d agreed to do what you asked.”

  His conscience reared its ugly head. Liar. The word reverberated inside his mind. He dragged in a shaky breath and started over.

  “Okay, so that wasn’t all of it. I’d just come out of a seven-year relationship. I was pretty beaten and insecure myself. My ex-partner had shattered me when she’d told me I was boring in bed. I guess I saw it as a way to reinforce my own belief in myself, to prove I wasn’t some worthless jerk in the bedroom.”

  “So you used me to inflate your ego.” She laughed, a slight hysterical edge to the sound. “Well, here’s a broadcast, Jake. You can go away from here tonight firm in the knowledge that you’re not boring in bed. Happy?”

  “No, I’m not. I’m sorry I lied to you. I wanted to get to know you. You were so
down on yourself, you couldn’t see you were so fucking sexy, you turned me on with just a look. So many times, I was going to tell you the truth, but I figured you’d toss me out on my ass as soon as you found out.”

  “You just had your fun instead and, when you got what you wanted, you ran like a terrified little boy. Sorry, Super Stud, did I frighten you with all that emotion?”

  “Damn it, don’t call me that. If you want to talk emotions, how could you gush over that kid tonight? It was sickening.”

  Madison blinked eyes that were awash with tears. He could see the tremors in her hands before she shoved them behind her back. Right at that moment, Jake fell like a bastard, but the jealousy had taken over his reasoning capabilities.

  “You’re right, it was sickening, but not for the reason you think. I—”

  “You let that kid paw you. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Testosterone on legs. I might have lied about being your paid stud, but you’re not much better. I further your education as far as sex goes and you start to collect men like a bitch on heat. What is it? Notches on the bedpost?”

  She shook her head, her brow wrinkled in a frown. “I don’t know—”

  “What? You can’t even remember how many you’ve had?”

  He surged to his feet, was across the room before she had time to move. He grasped her by the arms and pulled her close, his cock tightening in awareness, despite the anger driving him. “Did you get into bed with that boy tonight, Madison? Or maybe it was a bit of rough and tumble in the front of your car.”

  She stared at him, saying nothing.

  “Answer me, Madison,” he said through gritted teeth as he gave her a little shake.

  Madison broke away from him and put some distance between them. “What I did or did not do with Greg is none of your business. You told me to go out and find someone else and I did.”