Chapter 16
sixteen
. . .
Maddox
I woke up with a pounding headache and made my way to the kitchen for a large glass of water, two Tylenol, and a hot cup of strong coffee. What a fucking shit show yesterday had turned into. I was embarrassed that I’d been sloppy in front of Georgia and her brothers.
I wasn’t that guy.
I was never not in control.
I knew better, and I’d slipped.
I’d let my father’s shit affect me, which was something I was working hard not to allow to happen anymore.
I pushed to my feet and headed for my closet.
I’d slept half the day away, and I needed to pack a bag as I’d be staying two nights with my grandparents.
Georgia had done all my shopping for me, refusing to get everyone in my family the same thing.
She’d claimed that just because it was an expensive gift, it did not make it a good one.
She thought that everyone should receive a gift that was personal to them.
So, she’d asked eighteen million fucking questions about everyone in my family, and she’d shopped and wrapped all the gifts for me.
They were in a large shopping bag by my front door so that I wouldn’t forget them.
She’d taken care of all the corporate gifts as well as the employee gifts.
The girl didn’t miss a beat. I hadn’t had to buy one gift this year, aside from the one that I’d gotten for her.
It was the least I could do after she’d done all my shopping for me and organized the office party.
So, I’d taken her advice and gotten her something personal that I thought she would like.
I hadn’t given it to her because I’d gotten ridiculously drunk and left it sitting in my desk drawer.
I didn’t want to give it to her late. I wanted to give it to her now. She’d been there for me last night when I’d acted like a drunk asshole.
I tossed my things in my bag and took a quick shower. The hot water beat down on my back, and I pressed my head against the wall as thoughts of Georgia leaning down in front of me, one hand on each side of my face, flooded me.
Those eyes.
Those lips.
I gripped my dick as memories of our kiss invaded my every thought.
What it would feel like to touch her.
And I let myself go there.
Find my release.
I wasn’t proud that I was basically getting off daily to thoughts of my assistant. I hadn’t been with a woman since the day she’d started working for me.
This had never happened to me before, and I was still trying to wrap my head around it.
She’d put some sort of fucking curse on me because I thought of no one but her.
I cleaned myself up, turned off the water, and got dressed quickly.
I sent a quick text to my pilot, Benjamin, to let him know we’d be leaving a bit later than I’d originally planned.
I needed to stop by the office, grab her gift, and figure out where the fuck her family lived because she’d told me that she’d be staying at her parents’ house the next few days with everyone home for the holidays.
I couldn’t go to her family’s home without a gift, so I’d need to stop and grab something for them, as well.
I wasn’t a complete asshole.
I never showed up somewhere empty-handed, especially on Christmas Eve.
But there were a lot of fucking Reynolds, and I wasn’t a big shopper, so I’d have to figure something out.
After four stops in the cheeriest fucking town on the planet, I’d stopped for a bite to eat at Cottonwood Café.
Tink had warned me about this place, and she was not kidding.
The woman who owned the restaurant was odd, to say the least. She’d slowly perused my body and paused when her eyes moved below my waist, making me incredibly uncomfortable.
“Excuse me. I just wanted to grab a sandwich to go. I’m in a hurry.”
“Are you always in a hurry, Mr. Lancaster?” the older woman with too-plump lips and a shit ton of cleavage hanging out of her dress, and not the good kind of cleavage, purred. “Are you in a hurry when you’re with a woman?”
First, I’d battled crowds at the bakery and then again at the gourmet grocery store that was willing to put together a nice gift basket of wine, crackers, and chocolate for Georgia’s parents.
I’d gotten her brothers each a bottle of good whiskey, because she’d mentioned that they liked that, and I’d gotten her sister and her brother’s fiancée a nice bottle of wine, and I still had to figure out what to get that little niece of hers because I knew nothing about kids.
And now, I was dealing with a horny old bird who looked like she wanted to climb me like a tree.
I also had a raging hangover and felt like shit.
“I don’t know what’s happening here, but I would like a sandwich to go.” I gave her a pointed look, hoping she’d get the message.
“Georgia Reynolds works for you, doesn’t she?”
Maybe this woman could help me after all. “Yes. She does. I need to drop something off to her, but it’s sort of a surprise. Would you happen to know where the Reynolds live? I am fairly certain she’s at her parents’ house today.”
A loud, boisterous laugh escaped before she pulled herself together. “Everyone knows where the Reynoldses live.”
“Well, not everyone, because I don’t. Would you mind jotting down that address when you grab me my turkey on rye?” I handed her my card because the woman had yet to take my order, and I was done waiting.
“Of course. Let me get that for you, handsome.” She chuckled and did some sort of awkward-as-fuck shimmy, and I looked away.
A woman in her mid-thirties stood a few feet from me holding the hand of a little girl who looked to be about the same age as Georgia’s niece, so I walked over.
“Excuse me,” I said, and the woman turned and smiled at me.
“Hi. Do we know one another?”
“No, no. I, uh, this is a bit awkward. I need to get a gift for a little girl who looks about your daughter’s age, and I’ve never shopped for a kid before. Can you tell me where I should go?”
She chuckled. “Ahhh… no worries at all. The Tipsy Tea is the cutest little boutique in town for kids. They have all sorts of gifts, and it’s a party place, too. They’ll help you out there for sure.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” I nodded and sent my pilot a quick text that I’d be ready in an hour.
“Here you go, darlin’. The Reynolds’ address is inside the bag, along with my phone number, just in case you need anything.
Anytime. Day or night. Now you come back and see Mrs. Runither real soon, okay?
” the crazy-ass horndog said. People who referred to themselves in the third person freaked me the fuck out.
“Thank you, I think,” I grumbled before tucking my sandwich under my arm and hurrying to the drunken tea place the woman told me about.
The Tipsy Tea.
I pulled the door open, and there was a set of identical twin girls in the corner having absolute meltdowns while they stomped and shouted at their mother.
I shivered.
I knew nothing about kids, just that I normally stayed away from them.
But Georgia’s niece seemed like the real deal.
“Hello, can I help you?” a woman said, with a big smile on her face.
“Yes. I need a gift for a little girl about this tall,” I said, holding my hand up to just below my waist. “She’s a good one from what I can tell, and I need to bring something for her with it being Christmas Eve.”
“Okay, I’m Matilda, and I own this shop. Do you know the little girl’s name?” she asked. Only in a small town would they ask the name of the person you’re gifting to or give you the address of the home you’re looking for. There were definitely perks to small-town living.
“Her name is Gracie Reynolds. Do you know her?”
She clapped her hands together once. “Ahhh… she’s the sweetest little girl in town. How much would you like to spend?”
“However much it costs to get her something good.” I shrugged. I didn’t have a fucking clue how much a kid’s gift would cost.
She chuckled. “Well, it’s hard to know what her father has gotten her for Christmas, but I know something that would probably be real fun for her.”
“What is it?” And did it get me the hell out of this place soon? Because one of the devil twins had just bit her mother’s shin, and I was getting twitchy to get the fuck out of here.
“Well, you could get her an experience.” She clapped her hands together again as if this were the best idea anyone had ever thought of.
“An experience? Can you put that in a gift bag so I can take it to her?”
She chuckled. “Of course. We could do a tea party for up to eight people. I mean, if you’re willing to spend the money. All the girls in town want to come and have a tea party here, and she’s never had one. That way, she could bring her grandmother and her aunts and a few friends if she wants.”
“She’d like that?” I asked, digging out my wallet from my back pocket.
“Oh, yes. We do little sandwiches and cookies and tea, and the girls dress up. It’s really something.”
I handed her my card. “Perfect. And you can wrap that up?”
“Yes. This is so sweet of you,” she said as she pulled out some sort of certificate, charged me three hundred bucks, and tied a fancy bow on the bag just as something hit me hard in the back.
I turned around to see Satan’s spawn smirking and noticed some sort of blonde doll at my feet.
The thing had pegged me in the back, and it was clear that she’d thrown it.
I looked down at the little redhead with freckles and wild eyes before bending down and picking up the doll. “Did you just throw this at me?”
“I sure did. What are you going to do about it, mister?”
I turned back and looked at Matilda as she rang me up. Her eyes were wide, and her face was flushed.
“What are my options here? I’m guessing I can’t do much, am I right?” I asked the store owner.