by Nicole Dykes
He really hates my ex. I reach up and touch the cut on his swollen lip from last night, gently. “Does it hurt?”
He shakes his head, “Nah, he punches like a little bitch.”
I giggle at his bravado and feel for something hard underneath me, pulling out the remote to the television. “You watch TV a lot in bed?”
“Only porn.” He jokes.
I laugh, “Ah, I see.”
He sits up, the sheet barely hiding anything anymore. “No really, it’s just so fucking quiet here at night. I guess part of me misses the noise of the city.”
I pull myself up so I’m seated next to him, “I can understand that. It took me a while to get used to the quiet of this small town. Now I barely notice it.”
He nods, lost in a thought, so I click the TV on. The news is on and the headline reads, “Steele Industries Prince marries Kensington Corp. Princess.” Steele? Isn’t that Madden’s family? I see Madden’s body stiffen as he reads the headline.
“Madden, is that your brother?”
He nods, robotically, watching the screen with fierce intensity. Apparently the “royal” wedding will be in one month, held in Dallas. It’s big news around here because it’s going to be a large affair with not only Dallas’s elite, but wealthy heirs from all over the world attending.
Madden climbs off of the bed and I can’t help my ogling him while he slips into a pair of underwear. How the hell does someone who hasn’t experienced physical labor until a couple of weeks ago have that insane of a body? There must have been one hell of a gym in his mansion back home.
He walks over to the television and shuts it off before sitting on the couch, rubbing the fresh stubble on his chin with his hand.
I stand up and walk over to him, cautiously sitting next to him on the couch. “You never told me your brother is getting married.”
He shakes his head. “I thought maybe it wouldn’t happen.”
“You don’t want him to get married?”
He sighs, “He’s my brother. I want to him to be happy. It’s just who he’s marrying that’s the problem.”
The realization of what he’s saying finally hits me. His ex. His brother is marrying his ex? That can’t be right. “Who is he marrying?”
He turns to me and I see the pain that has spread across his devastatingly handsome face. “Amelia Kensington. My friend. My….”
“Your ex?”
He shakes his head, his voice cracking, “No, remember she was never mine.”
I place a hand on his shoulder, “You can talk to me.” He’s hesitant at first, but then his words rush out as if he can’t hold them in any longer.
“We grew up with the Kensingtons. It was only natural, the two wealthiest families in town. We saw them at every event at the country club, they were always at our parties and vice versa, but Amelia went to an all-girls school until high school. Then she was in my class and we got really close. I was attracted to her at first, but she had a boyfriend and we just became friends. She was over at my house all of the time. My parents approved because of her last name.”
That last part comes out a little bitter and then he continues, “We both had an attraction for one another, but horrible fucking timing. Every time she broke up with someone I was with someone else. That continued when we went to the same college and last year we kind of drifted apart. We still spent time together, studying when we could and I always took her to her favorite pizza place. I was busy preparing for graduation and dreading my new job at Steele Industries and I honestly just thought she was busy with school too. Turns out she was fucking my brother.”
I’m not sure what to say. What the hell do you say to that? “I’m so sorry, Madden.”
His smile is quick and then fades into a frown, “I didn’t know about any of it until my father’s birthday party. My brother, Keegan, proposed to her in front of everyone and she said yes.”
How could she do that? It sounds like they had both been in love and now she’s marrying Madden’s brother? “Is that why you left?”
He nods, “Yeah, that was a big part of it. I couldn’t watch them together.”
Can’t blame him there. “So you aren’t going to the wedding?”
He stands up making a manly, groaning sound, “I don’t know. He’s my brother. I’ll be expected to be there.”
“Have you talked to anyone in your family? Do they know why you left?”
He shakes his head, “I talked to her the night I arrived in Hollis. My father and brother left voicemails, but I never returned their calls. They have no idea why I left or where I am. My father just wants his money back.”
I look over at him. “Did he cut you off?”
He shakes his head, “No, I may have taken some cash out of his safe before I left.”
“Madden, are you a fugitive?”
He actually chuckles at that, “I don’t think he’s turned me into the police for a measly million just yet. I have a trust fund and plenty of money in my bank account, but I wanted to go off the grid and I needed cash fast. I’ve barely touched it. He’ll get his money back.”
Maybe that’s why he got the job with King Construction. Still, he acts like a million dollars is chump change. I’ve never seen that kind of money in my entire life.
He finally slumps down next to me on the couch again. His hands covering his face in frustration. I take his hands in mine and move them to his lap, “You still have about a month to decide, but if you want a date to the wedding, you know someone to make her jealous. I’ll be there.”
His head turns to me and a smirk forms on his lips, “I may take you up on that.”
My eyes widen, but I know I’d never turn him down.
What the hell did I get myself into?
Chapter 18
Madden
The apartment feels empty now that Jade has left. Too empty. We’d sat on my couch and talked about my family. I’d done most of the talking and she listened. When I’d probed her to talk about her family, she’d put up a wall. I hadn’t pushed or tried to tear it down.
After I’d talked for a while, I’d grinned and told her I’d talked enough. I knew she’d understood my meaning because she’d climbed on my lap and soothed away my worries about the upcoming wedding.
Now she’s gone and I’m staring at the blank screen of my phone. Not the one I bought after I got here. It’s lying on top of my television. No, this is the one I had to dig out of my bag of money. This is the one I haven’t turned on since I talked to Amelia and shut it off.
I take a deep breath and power it on. Within seconds, the indication for messages start lighting up. I’m not surprised. It’s been turned off for weeks. I listen to a few of them and after hearing my father make idle threats, Keegan sound frantic wondering where I am, Amelia begging me to come home, my mom crying and shrieking that I’m embarrassing her, and Landon asking what the hell is wrong with me, I just start deleting. I don’t need to listen to any more messages. They all sound the same.
As much as I want to ignore what’s happening and stay in the blissful bubble I’ve created here in Hollis, I know I can’t do that. The media will start questioning where I am if I don’t show up soon. I’m sure the staff at Steele Industries already wants to know.
I press the Send button and wait for Keegan to pick up. I close my eyes as I listen to the phone ringing.
“Madden?” he answers and my heart hammers in my chest at the sound of his voice.
“Yeah.” I confirm.
“Shit, man! Where the hell are you?” he sighs and I can hear the exasperation in his voice.
“I saw the wedding announcement on the news. Congratulations.” I deadpan. “So, a month? You’re not having a long engagement. She’s not pregnant, is she?”
“Are you fucking serious right now?”
“Sorry, Keegan. I just…it seems quick.”
“Well, we were hoping you’d see it and call so it worked.” he explains.
“So this was j
ust some ploy to get me to come home?” I ask, angrily. “You and Amelia used your engagement to play some fucking game with me?”
“Madden, it’s not a game.” he defends. “We all want you to come home. We’re not even sure why you left.”
So Amelia hadn’t said a word to him. She hadn’t told him we’d kissed. She hadn’t told him she had feelings for me. Or that I have feelings for her.
“Maybe I didn’t want to be a Steele anymore.”
“Do you think me and Landon don’t go through that sometimes?” he practically yells. “You and I both know none of us will ever live up to the great Stanton Steele. Doesn’t mean we can ever change who we are or what our last name is so grow the fuck up, Madden. Our futures were planned out for us since the day we were born.”
“Yeah? Well, maybe I’m changing mine!” I bark.
“And you think stealing a million dollars from dad is going to do that for you? You won’t get far off that.”
“I have a job and an apartment. I’m making it just fine.” I inform him.
“Just come home, Madden.” he pleads, shifting gears when he realizes I’m not backing down. “At least for the wedding. Amelia and I both want you to be part of it. It won’t be the same without my brother.”
I don’t say anything. Truth is, I always thought one day I’d be the one marrying Amelia Kensington. I was practically groomed to be her husband and her to be my wife. Same age. Same education. Same background. It never occurred to me Keegan was just as groomed.
“You remember the time the three of us snuck out to the Flavor Shack? Amelia wanted to be the first one to try their new cotton candy flavored milkshake.” he laughs and I can’t help, but laugh with him. “It’s always been the three of us, Madden.”
Not always. My heart aches at the thought of Keegan marrying Amelia. My best friend. The three of us were close when we were younger, but Amelia and I had a bond that I thought could never be broken.
“I wouldn’t miss it.” I assure him. We say our goodbyes and I hang up. I turn the phone back off, not wanting to talk to anyone else from home. I know Keegan will let them know he talked to me and that I agreed to come to the wedding. I’ll touch base with him again in a couple of weeks.
I know Jade offered to come with me and I also know part of her was only doing that to be nice. Trying to repay me for making Brady jealous. Still, I think I’ll have to take her up on that offer. There’s no way I can witness Amelia marrying Keegan without being able to wash away the hurt after.
I only know of one way to do that. Jade.
Chapter 19
Jade
After I left Madden’s I went home to shower and change. I’m on a sex high. He’s incredible. Not that I’m that surprised by that fact, but damn. My body is still amazingly sore from last night and this morning.
I’m not sure where this arrangement we have is going to go or if it will end well, but for now it’s one hell of a ride. One that I couldn’t stop if I tried.
I go into work around three, dressed in my ripped jeans and Jack’s Bar and Grill t-shirt, still reeling.
Casey is putting her black apron on behind the bar and listening to Jack’s evening shift orders when she sees me. I can tell she’s dying to ask me about last night, but can’t while Jack is still here. Jack turns to me, “Okay, Jade it should be a slow night with it being a Sunday. Please remember to refill the condiments before you leave.”
“No problem, Jack.”
He grunts and then leaves out the back. Casey grabs my hands and squeals, “Oh my God, how was it? What was his dick like? I want details woman!”
I stifle a laugh at her enthusiasm, “Casey, I don’t know what you are talking about.”
She puts her hands on her hips, “Oh, hell no. We all saw you go up those stairs to his room and you did not come out even after the bar closed.”
“So, maybe we were talking.” She gives me a frustrated look and I sigh, giving in. “Okay, it was amazing okay? Mind-blowing sex.”
She grins, “I knew it! So, what’s his body like? From the looks of him I would say he’s fairly built. I saw him in those tight construction clothes the other day and damn!”
A surge of total misplaced jealously comes over me. This is my best friend, but I just don’t want her thinking about his body. It’s not like it belongs to me though. Fortunately, we are cut off by a pissed off woman waving her arm in the air, “Hello, we are ready to order.”
She sighs, “I’ll take this one, but don’t think you are off the hook. I’m getting my details.”
I take my spot behind the bar and then see Brady walk through the front door. His lip is cut and swollen from last night and he looks defeated as he walks cautiously up to the bar. He takes a seat on one of the bar stools and stares directly at me.
I don’t say a word. Part of me feels bad because he looks slightly broken, the other part feels a strange triumph.
He opens his mouth, his voice is hoarse, “Jade.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I come here all of the time.”
My face is expressionless. I’m trying not to get angry. “You usually have other people in tow. Especially, a certain brunette that’s always attached to your hip.”
He cringes, “Yeah, I’m not sure if Kelly and I are even together anymore. She was pretty pissed last night.”
She didn’t look pissed. “Is that why you look upset? She dumped you?”
He shakes his head, “Hell no, we aren’t even a thing anyway. She’s just a temporary distraction while I figure shit out.”
Was that what I was? Shit, is that what Madden and I are to each other? At least with Madden I’m going into it with my eyes wide open. I know it will more than likely end. We both admitted neither of us are equipped to start anything. With Brady, I thought he could be the one before he left.
“Like I was.”
He takes my hand in his and I flinch, but don’t pull back. “No. Never. Jade you have to know that I cared about you.”
Now I jerk my hand back, “Bullshit. You left!”
“I fucking had to!”
I see Casey’s eyes on us, silently asking me if I need backup. I shake my head at her. Calling her off. “You didn’t have to do shit, Brady. You left without a word and you made that choice.”
His blue eyes search mine, “Jade, you know I had to go. You know how I grew up. My parents struggled for fucking everything they had. When my dad died, I had to help my mom out. This job comes along and offers me three times what I’m making here and I was what, just supposed to turn it down? I couldn’t.”
I swallow, the tears burning my eyes. I will not cry over him again. I know he’s had it rough, his dad had just died when I moved to town and Brady was working every minute he was out of school or not sleeping. I shake it off, “Fine. You had to go. You went. End of story. So what do you want from me?”
He rubs the back of his neck, “I want to apologize for last night.”
“You mean punching my date for no reason whatsoever?”
He shakes his head, “For punching that asshole for not letting me cut in. It’s common courtesy and you and I are old friends. We can dance.”
“Yeah, well I was enjoying my time dancing with him. What the hell is your problem? Why did you do that?”
He swallows hard, “Shit. I don’t know, Jade. I don’t trust him okay? He comes here out of nowhere. He could be a lunatic for all you know and you’re just throwing yourself at him.” I glare at him and he holds his hands up, “That came out wrong. Jade, it was fucking killing me watching you two dance. His hands all over you.”
He was jealous. So, my plan definitely worked, but I don’t feel any better. “You don’t have the right to be a jealous asshole, Brady. You can’t just go punching him when you ended things with me, remember?”
He nods. “I know, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I know you hate that shit and it probably brought up some bad memories for you and that’s why I’m
sorry.”
Brady and I were so close once. I told him things that even Casey doesn’t know. He knows that I can’t stand fighting because my stepfather loved to throw his fists around. The wall, the fridge, other junkie assholes he invited over, my mother, me. It didn’t matter. He was so drunk and high most of the time, I don’t even think he knew what he was doing.
Lucky for me, when he started sniffing around my room late at night I got the hell out of there and never looked back. I haven’t talked to my own mother since I was sixteen years old. Hell, I’m not even sure if she’s alive. The way she was going, I wouldn’t bet on it. I wish I could say I miss her, but I don’t. She wasn’t a mother. She didn’t take care of me or tell me everything was going to be okay. It was the opposite from a very young age.
I try to shake the memories from my mind, “Don’t bring up my past.”
He nods his head in surrender and grabs my hand again, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. If you want to be with Madden, then I’ll support that. I won’t hit him again, unless he hurts you. Then I make no promises.” He gives me a cocky smirk. Signature Brady.
Even though I want to stay pissed at him, I can’t. Not really. We’ve shared so much history.
I smile back at him and then I see Madden walking down the stairs. His eyes are locked on us.
Oh shit. Brady better not break his promise.
Of course, Madden made no such promise.
Chapter 20
Madden
Seeing Jade and Brady talking feels like I’ve been punched in the gut. I was just balls-deep inside her this morning and now his hand is covering hers. I know we started whatever we’re doing to piss him off and make him jealous, but a part of me was beginning to think we were past that now. I know Jade and I are just having fun, but the thought of her with Brady still pisses me off.
I glare at them as I pass and see Jade ease her hand away from Brady’s. I don’t stop at the bar, instead I just walk through and go outside to my truck.