36. Chapter 36 - Madison
“Madison, baby. I need you to wake up,” Liam’s calm voice stirs me. I finally fell asleep after tossing and turning all night.
I open my eyes, disoriented for the second time tonight. His fingers pet my hair as his ringing phone comes into view. The name Lindsay is glowing on the screen.
Lindsay. Lindsay –as in the FBI agent. I sit up, pressing my back to the headboard and frantically grabbing his phone.
“It’s Diego. You probably will only have a few minutes,” he warns sleepily.
I anxiously press the phone to my ear with shaking hands. “Diego?”
“Hello, Mariposita ,” Diego’s whiskey smooth voice fills the line. My heart hammers in my chest hearing his voice.
“Are you okay? Where are they keeping you?” I need to know he’s okay. That he hasn’t been injured or strapped down somewhere.
“You gonna come break me out?” He chuckles deeply. I can almost see that dimple on his cheek and his ocean eyes swirling with humor.
“It would only be fair to repay you for breaking me out of my cell. ”
“You never belonged there in the first place,” he growls.
“Antonio is here. He came over tonight to help work on a plan,” I alert him, easing us into a new direction.
“Good, baby. I can’t stop thinking about how you admitted I didn’t coerce you into marrying me. And that scorpion tatt on your neck… fuckkk, ” he groans, prompting Liam to roll his eyes. “I can’t wait to wrap my hands around it while I push you into the mattress… the thought has had me so hard all night...” he trails off and starts talking to whomever is with him—I am assuming Lindsay. “Oh, stop with those judgy eyes. You and I both know what you are planning to do after your shift.”
I look at Liam with raised eyebrows. Now I am the one being judgmental. He gives himself away when his cheeks redden.
“I wish you were here. I wish this bed didn’t feel so empty. Who am I going to dance with at Lexi’s wedding if you are in a prison cell?” I attempt to joke but it only breaks my heart further.
“I’m sure Liam is more than willing to dance with you, beautiful.” He laughs it off, but there is a hint of uneasiness in his voice. Even he doesn’t think he’ll be home for a while.
Liam sympathetically pats my leg. I’m sure he would dance with me—but that’s not the point.
“Was our snake problem taken care of by the exterminator? I’m sorry it disrupted the bachelorette party.” Slick.
“Yeah.” I look up at Liam. “It was relocated. They will monitor it for a bit before releasing it.”
“That’s good news.” He chuckles again at my use of code. Liam bites his lip, holding back his own laughter.
“Alright, Mr. De La Cruz. I’ve been more than generous,” Lindsay’s voice grows louder as she gets closer to my man.
“I’ve got to go, baby. Keep your head up. I’ll be home as soon as I can. And if not you fly—this time for good.” His tone is serious. Gone is my sarcastic husband .
“I’m not flying anywhere this time. Love you, Ocean Eyes, ” I vow.
I hang up before he has a chance to argue with me. I may have flown away from my fears once before, but regardless of what happens now, Diego is it for me. He could be in prison his whole life and I would still be his. I’d visit and call as often as I could. I would never move on.
This is the life I took on, the risk I accepted when I agreed to be his wife. Especially the second time. The first time was based on my desire to help out everyone involved. When we proposed to each other again, and I vowed to be his once more, I sealed this fate. We will forever be entwined—no matter what happens to either of us.
I am his and he is mine.
A prison cell won’t stop the love I have for him.
The next morning is a shit show. Everyone in the bridal party, minus Lexi, is in a guest room getting our final fittings done. I stare at my reflection in the floor-length mirror as a seamstress works on my hem. The shoes I’ll be wearing sparkle in the light as the sun trickles through the curtains.
“This color compliments your hair beautifully,” the seamstress muses as she adds a pin to the bottom of my amethyst-colored satin dress.
She is right, it absolutely does. The dress is form fitting with a deep slit running up toward mid-thigh. Spaghetti straps hold the loose scoop neck up. My cleavage is tasteful, just enough to show off my bronzed skin—thanks to a fresh tan.
Liam is on the other side of the room. A tailor is working on the hem of his tuxedo pants. As usual, he looks uncomfortable. Colin and Kieran are making bets on how long it will take for him to ditch the jacket after the ceremony .
Ten minutes is my guess. He’ll be asked to put it back on for pictures and then it will be off again, the top two buttons opened by cocktail hour.
His eyes connect with mine in the mirrors. A small smile builds on his face as he messes with the cuff link on his left arm. We haven’t gotten the chance to talk after his night with Lindsay. She crept out of his room around 5 AM when I got up to grab a coffee and a scone.
She may be on our side, which I am grateful for, but I can’t tell if she is using Liam for sex…. or if there is something more to it. The beautiful blonde actually looked shy when she shut his bedroom door behind her. We stood in the hallway for a brief moment. I expected her to grill me on Diego’s case or throw jabs at me, but she tucked her hair behind her ears and wished me luck in dealing with a cranky Liam at the fitting. I surprisingly laughed, knowing that would be exactly the case.
Con looks dapper in his all black Armani tuxedo. He even made sure to trim up that wild beard of his. His shaky fingers grip the lapels of his tux, examining himself in the mirror. Aw, he’s nervous . He wants to look good for his future bride-to-be.
“That tux might not make it down the aisle,” I joke with him.
Colin, Liam, and Kieran all laugh at the same time. “She’s gonna tackle ya, brother,” Liam agrees, easing his best friend’s worries.
“We are all done here,” the seamstress announces, placing the last pin in my dress. “It will be steamed and ready for you on Thursday. As for your rehearsal dinner dress, I should have that up to your room and in your closet around noon today.”
“Thank you, Mary-Ann,” I say graciously.
She helps me down from the pedestal and over to the bathroom to get changed back into my swimsuit. We are spending the day Jet Skiing and boating. Tomorrow, Lexi and I are doing a spa day. My family comes in the day after that, as do the rest of the guests attending the wedding. Even my college roommate Leah will be here. Then Wednesday night, we are doing the rehearsal dinner on the yacht. It will be the first time it officially hits the waters for a night out.
Guilt gnaws at my insides. Diego won’t even be here to entertain everyone the first time his yacht gets used. There is so much going on emotionally in my brain. I need to tighten the lid on it. My best friend is getting married to the love of her life. This is no time for me to wallow in my own sorrows. The weekend was already a drama fest. We don’t need more of it.
“Slow down, love!” Liam shouts over the hum of the Jet Ski engine.
He wraps himself around my waist, hanging on for dear life. I hit the throttle a bit more, increasing his chances of having a heart attack by tenfold. A deep chuckle emanates from him as he draws himself closer to my body. The warm air nips at my face as my violet hair whips Liam in his. I’d say from an outsider's perspective this moment would be comical at best.
Lexi and Con zip by us splashing water at us. Fuckers . As bad as these last few days have been, and as much as it's killing me to keep a smile on my face, I am finding this moment therapeutic. Lexi is having a blast—as she should be. She’s been spending too much time worrying about me and not enough enjoying herself.
I ease up on the throttle, giving Liam a break from my hair beating him, then lean over my shoulder. Warm eyes greet mine.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, love,” he remarks.
“I’m trying,” I murmur as I navigate us back towards the dock. “Are we going to talk about last night?” I peer at him over my shoulder.
He shrugs, backing up and loosely placing his hands on my waist. “Nothing to talk about. We got what we wanted from each other. She left this morning.”
“I’m aware. We ran into each other in the hallway.”
“You were up at 5:30 this morning?” he asks, seemingly impressed.
“I was. I couldn’t sleep. Figured a cup of coffee would start my day. I ended up sitting on the front deck and got to watch the sunrise.”
The Jet Ski comes to a halt as Liam hops off to tie it up. He offers me a hand to help me up. Lexi and Con pull up behind us, followed by her brother and brother-in-law, then Simon and John. Life vests are abandoned and left to dry on the hooks. We collectively start making our way back to the beach for a casual barbecue dinner.
Simon slinks an arm through mine, pulling me away. “Sorry, I need to borrow her, Liam.”
I wave awkwardly behind me as he tugs me down the beach towards the food and towels. John collects a stack, handing them out to Simon and I.
“Thank you,” I say, wrapping it around myself and grabbing myself a plate with a cheeseburger. I add some ketchup and pickles and a nice scoop of potato salad on the side before making my way over to the lounge chairs.
Simon takes a seat after getting him and John some food and pats the space next to him.
“You and Liam seem to be in better spirits,” he instigates. John sits down on the other side of me, sandwiching me between them. It feels like gossip sabotage. They are greedy for the details.
“We needed to give each other closure. I think the other night we were finally able to close the door on us for good.”
“It’s a shame. That is a whole lot of man,” John snickers while taking a healthy bite of his burger.
“You two are insufferable. Yes, Liam is a catch.” I shake my head, digging into the potato salad. Mmm. This is delicious. Love a good Dutch potato salad.
Liam notices my friends grilling me and chooses to make himself scarce. He takes a seat with the boys. Lexi, being the odd girl out, gives Conor a quick kiss before skipping over to us. She drops down on the chair across from us.
“What gossip did I miss?” Her blue eyes are wide and eager, waiting for the dirty details.
“We were just going over how Liam has been eyeing Madison’s ass all day. And don’t think we didn’t notice his big paws gripping you right under your luscious breasts,” John teases.
My jaw drops as I spin my head to look at him. “He was not . The poor guy barely fits on a Jet Ski by himself, let alone with me in the front. I’m sure he was afraid of falling off at the speed I was going.”
“Sure. Sure . Keep telling yourself that,” Simon chimes in.
“Have you guys been introduced to Madison’s husband?” Lexi drops the bomb.
Audible gasps erupt from the two of them. John goes as far as to clutch his chest. “You’re married?” he squeaks.
“ Alexis ,” I growl, narrowing my eyes at her.
“And not to Liam. So Diego, your mysterious billionaire boyfriend is actually your husband?” he ponders, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes.
“Yes,” I admit. No use lying to my friends now. “We didn’t start off great as you may have heard the other night. I have filled you in on the minor details, but I think you can fill in the gaps with how we ended up.”
“It’s not our place to judge who you choose to love. As long as both you and Alexis are treated right and they make you happy, that’s all we care about,” Simon says, patting my leg reassuringly .
“They do. Trust me, Simon, those men would start a war for us. Diego already did for Maddy,” Lexi chirps.
The guys look at me for confirmation on that and I just smile and shrug. He technically did. And he would do it again. Any of them would. Butterflies swarm my stomach and heavy emotion sits thick in my throat.
Diego should be here right now.