into this fucked-up mess and disappear when she needs him most? “You deserve better,” he said, nodding to her pocket.
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I can handle him.” Her phone chimed as if on cue. Her face lit. “See?” She tugged her phone out of her pocket, and MJ watched her lips move as she read. “He says he’s taking care of some business that has to do with you.” She shoved her phone back in her pocket. “Once you understand him, you’ll realize he has to circle a problem for a while before he rushes in and tackles it. Then watch out.”
“All hell breaks loose?” MJ fought the curiosity to ask her more about Merrick. He didn’t want to know anything more about a man he might never meet.
Rachael smirked. “Yeah, all hell frequently breaks loose when Merrick’s involved.”
She might be the most loyal person MJ had ever met. Or blinded by love. All of the fire and fight and stubbornness inside her reminded him of Maddie.
Except Maddie hadn’t fought for him.
Maddie had left him.
Six
Standing a few yards behind MJ, Maddie kept silent. She’d been sitting outside getting some sun while browsing the job boards on her laptop when he and Rachael exited from the big house. Something serious was going down, and call her nosey, but where MJ was concerned, she wanted to have details.
“Hey, Maddie!” Rachael said, spotting her and taking a few steps toward her.
She saw MJ’s back stiffen before he turned to her with a half-cocked smirk.
“Hey,” she said, sensing a shifting in the air between her and MJ that made her uneasy.
“Why don’t you guys come to lunch with me?” Rachael said. “My treat.” She placed a hand on MJ’s forearm. “I could use some company to get my mind off things.”
MJ kept his eyes glued to Maddie’s. This was some kind of test, and they both knew it, but only he knew the rules and she had the distinct impression she was about to fail.
Her nerves thrummed under her skin as he stared at her with those practically black eyes that never faltered. Who would look away first? Was he doing this on purpose? Searching to find an answer inside of her somewhere?
He licked his lips and blinked, turning his gaze to Rachael. “I’ll drive,” he said.
He headed toward the driveway. Maddie and Rachael followed. “What was that about?” Rachael whispered in her ear.
“I’m not sure,” Maddie whispered back.
“Intense,” Rachael murmured.
Exactly. MJ was the definition of intensity. There was never a moment when he was at peace and calm in his own skin. Something was always brewing inside him, like a storm ready to drench the world.
It was that drive and focus that made Maddie believe in him. MJ could do anything he put his mind to. And that’s what scared her to death.
If he set his mind on having her back, she could never resist him. She didn’t think that was a possibility until now.
Opening the passenger door, she touched the ring under her shirt. Talan was so different. He was a shelter, a safe harbor, not a destructive storm that would crash down on top of her.
The three of them sat outside Café Gelato at a round wrought-iron table on the sidewalk. Lunch had been deli sandwiches and chips. Now they indulged in dessert. When Maddie ordered tiramisu flavored gelato, she caught MJ smiling before he realized and became stoic once more. What game was he playing bringing them here for lunch?
Maddie stood in front of the freezer case at Café Gelato trying to decide which flavor to order.
“Just try it,” MJ said, holding out a little plastic spoon.
“I don’t like coffee flavored ice cream,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“You’ll love it.” He ran the spoonful of tiramisu flavored gelato across her lips, leaving a cold, sticky-sweet trail. “Trust me.”
Maddie licked her lips. It was delicious. She smiled and grabbed his spoon, licking the rest off.
MJ laughed. “I told you.” He leaned in and kissed her. She’d never get used to the feel of his kisses—like they were meant just for her. Like the reason her mom left and she ended up at the Rocha Estate with her dad was so the universe could bring the two of them together.
When he pulled away and gazed into her eyes, it was perfectly understood. He was hers and she was his. It had been that way every summer and winter break since they were little, and this summer she’d seen him with