Chapter 26
twenty-six
. . .
Maddox
Relationships were underrated. I’d been missing out. It wouldn’t have mattered because there wasn’t anyone in the world that I would have wanted to do this with before now. Life had a way of working out. Of giving you what you needed.
And I needed Georgia Reynolds.
We’d been officially dating for two weeks now, and I had no complaints. I’d always felt suffocated by the women I’d spent time with in the past. A few dates had always been enough.
But my appetite for this woman was insatiable.
And today was proof of how crazy I was about her because I’d agreed to come to Hugh Reynolds’ house tonight for a poker game that he was hosting.
This was not typically my thing.
I wasn’t big on guys’ nights or small talk.
But hanging out with Georgia’s brothers and their friends was not as bad as I’d expected it to be.
Georgia and I had gone to dinner with her parents twice, and I’d even been to two family dinners since we’d made it official.
But her siblings had just laughed because, apparently, they’d known we were together before we’d ever admitted it.
I was seated around an oval-shaped poker table covered in green felt.
I sat between Hugh’s best friends, Brax and Travis.
Finn was across from me, sitting between Hugh and Cage.
We’d finished playing and were just drinking and shooting the shit now, and Travis was bitching about Finn taking everyone’s money.
“You take our money and have the nerve to stare at your phone the whole night?” Travis grumped.
The dude made me seem like a ray of sunshine. Travis was also Lila’s brother, and he was a self-proclaimed moody bastard. But he blamed it on the fact that his new baby boy did not sleep much.
“It’s Reese,” Finn said as he typed into his phone. “We haven’t talked much because she’s in a different time zone.”
I had no idea what we were talking about, and Hugh picked up on it. “Reese is Finn’s best friend. She’s also my mom’s best friend’s daughter, and we all grew up together. She’s been in London the past six months, and they can’t go very long without talking.”
“They’re like two fucking schoolgirls. Why don’t you just date her already?” Cage said over his laughter, and Finn’s head shot up with a death glare. I may not have known them long, but I could recognize when someone had crossed the line, and Cage definitely had.
“It’s fucking Reese, asshole. She’s my best friend. And if you recall, she was engaged to someone.”
“Was being the point of my question. She isn’t engaged now,” Cage said as he reached for his beer and took a pull.
Finn flipped him the bird and ignored him as he continued texting.
“He’d never risk fucking that up,” Hugh finally said, reaching for some pizza rolls in the middle of the table and popping them into his mouth.
“So, how about you?” Brax asked, turning his attention to me. “You and Georgie are a thing, right? How does that work at the office?”
It works fucking great. We spent every waking minute together. We had sex at work and at home. But I obviously wouldn’t be sharing that.
“She’s not my assistant anymore. She’s the creative director, and she’s kicking ass at work. So, it works just fine.”
“He knows he’ll be hunted down and tortured slowly if he hurts her,” Cage said as he winked at me.
“I’m not afraid of you assholes. But Brinkley terrifies the shit out of me. Every time I see her, she whispers some kind of threat in my ear, but then follows it with a friendly goodbye.”
Hugh had just taken a long pull from his bottle, and he coughed so hard, Cage pounded on his back.
“I’m fine.” He barked out a laugh. “Fucking Brinks. She’s the most terrifying Reynolds out there. Georgia is all sunshine and unicorns. But Brinkley, man, she doesn’t play around. Just don’t fuck it up.” Hugh smirked.
“Trust me, there’s a very good chance I’ll fuck it up. This is new for me,” I admitted, because they were all good dudes.
“Listen, if these two can pull it off, you’ll be fine.” Travis flicked his thumb at Hugh and Brax.
“When you know, you know,” Hugh said. “Man, did I get hit hard when Lila came home last summer.”
“He was so pussy whipped over Lila. I saw it long before any of these fuckers did,” Brax said.
“Do not use the word pussy and my sister in the same sentence when I’m sitting here. I do not want to hear that. And speaking of pussy-whipped motherfuckers, take a look in the mirror, dickhead.”
They went on to tell me how he’d fallen hard for his girlfriend Frannie, and now, they were inseparable. They were living together, and he was thinking of proposing soon.
My stomach wrenched. I didn’t have a fucking clue what I was doing, but I knew I was crazy about her.
I hadn’t told her that I loved her, which was cowardly. Because I did. But I knew once I said the words, there would be no going back.
“Hey, don’t overthink it. Everyone goes at their own pace. I fought it every step of the way,” Hugh said as he studied me.
“Things are going well.”
“You doing something special for her birthday?” Cage asked. “The girl loves her birthday. She celebrates it all month, so get ready for all the birthday talk.”
My chest squeezed. I didn’t know when her birthday was. We’d talked about so much, but that had never come up. I should have checked her fucking paperwork from her employment file. This is the shit I should know.
I cleared my throat. “When’s her birthday? She hasn’t talked about it.”
Finn barked out a laugh when he set his phone down. “Her middle name ought to give you a good hint. Georgana Valentine Reynolds.”
“Her birthday is on fucking Valentine’s Day?” I asked. Of course, it was. It was so her to have a holiday for a birthday.
Everyone laughed.
“It sure is,” Cage said, shaking his head.
“You look stressed. Don’t worry about it; it’s not for two weeks. You’ve got time to plan something.”
I nodded. “But it should be good, right? It’s not only her birthday, but it’s Valentine’s Day.
This is something people in relationships celebrate the shit out of.
Fuck. I could take her on a trip?” I thought it over.
She’d mentioned wanting to go to Paris someday.
But then I remembered what the fifteenth was.
“Shit. That won’t work. Georgia has a client flying in the next day.
It’s an author she loves, and she thinks we should sign her.
But the woman has a tight schedule, and that was the only time she could make it to Cottonwood Cove.
Tink’s real excited about it, so I can’t ask her to move it. ”
“Tink?” Travis raised a brow and chuckled.
Fuck. Had I said it aloud?
“Says the dude who calls his wife, shmoopie.” Hugh gave him shit and then glanced back at me.
“You don’t need to take her anywhere. She’s all about sentiment. Hell, Lila’s favorite place is the cove. It’s our spot. You find a special place and bring some food. Some wine. Some flowers.” Hugh shrugged.
“Who would have ever guessed you’d be such a sappy bastard?” Cage said. “But I agree with him. Women love that romantic shit. And Georgie is pretty tender-hearted. She’ll eat it up.”
We’d go somewhere outside so we could sit under the stars. That much I knew. But we didn’t really have a place outside of my backyard.
“What about that big pond where she used to skate all the time?” Finn asked. “You’d have to drive up the mountain a bit, but no one’s ever out there. It’s pretty dead over there, so that could work. Georgie used to make me go with her all the time so she could show me how good she was on skates.”
“She’s mentioned that place. She likes it there, huh? I guess it’s better than cross-country skiing.” I shrugged.
“I’m glad she has you now because the last time she took me cross-country skiing, we were out there for seven hours. I froze my ass off,” Hugh said.
I laughed. “I hear you. It was a long day. And boring as hell. But seeing her skate sounds a hell of a lot better. And the pond will still be frozen in February?”
They all laughed now.
“Welcome to Cottonwood Cove, brother. It won’t start to warm up until the end of March,” Brax said over a mouthful of pizza rolls.
Okay, so I had a plan. I’d take her at night. Under the stars. A picnic. I’d buy her some new skates. Maybe drive up earlier in the day and set things up. I could do this.
Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this boyfriend shit.
I wasn’t dreading it. I was looking forward to surprising her.
“You’ve got this,” Finn said, holding his bottle up in cheers. “And she’s going to the city with you this weekend for the reception for your dad and his new wife, right?”
My chest squeezed. I was dreading an evening with my dad and my childhood friend who was now knocked up with his child and tied to him for life.
They were throwing a reception at the hotel—a party after the vows sort of thing.
It was for the public since they’d been rampant in the press.
My grandfather thought it would be best to show a united front of support for the newlyweds.
“Yep. We’ll go for the weekend.” I cleared my throat.
“Relax, brother. Georgia loves everyone,” Hugh said.
I didn’t doubt that for a minute. She’d see the good in him. I was looking forward to her meeting my grandmother, and I knew she loved my grandfather and Wyle. But I didn’t like the idea of my father being around Georgia.
Nor did I like the idea of the press finding out we were together and what that would mean for her.
I’d always kept my private life private, but that was easy because I didn’t have anything I cared about before now.
She’d be photographed as we’d already agreed to a red carpet and giving the media a bit of a show. I’d been photographed with women before. But I wasn’t dating them. And once they realized we worked together and she was spending the weekend with me, it would be news for a hot minute.
And I worried that might freak her out.
“Yeah. It’ll be good,” I said.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t run for the hills after a weekend with the Lancasters.
We’d taken the helicopter to the city after work, and we’d been at the hotel for an hour.
We were getting changed for the reception now, and I poured myself a generous glass of whiskey as I sat on the bed.
Georgia had gone with her sister to find a dress a few days earlier, back in Cottonwood Cove, and she hadn’t shown it to me yet.
She’d shooed me out of the bathroom so she could change, and she wanted to surprise me.
The event was black tie, and I was wearing a tailored black tux.
My phone vibrated, and I glanced down to see a message from my brother.
Wyle
My date is already annoying me.
Shocker. Who is she?
Wyle
Remember Brandy, that girl I went to prep school with? She still lives in the city, and she reached out and offered to be my plus one.
The girl who stalked you right before you left for college?
Wyle
Stalked is a bit strong.
I thought you filed a restraining order.
Wyle
I was in high school. I was being dramatic. I’ve come to learn that she’s just passionate.
Why is she annoying you now if she’s so spectacular?
Wyle
Because she won’t stop taking selfies of us and posting them. And you know how I feel about being photographed. She’s some sort of influencer.
Good luck with that, brother. See you downstairs in twenty minutes.
The bathroom door swung open and out walked the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. That had already been established, but this—this was next level.
She wore a black velvet strapless gown that hugged her curves in all the right places.
There was a slit running up her leg, exposing her thigh and making it so she could still walk in the gown.
Nude, sexy-as-hell heels were strapped around her delicate ankles, and she stopped in front of me.
Her hair was slicked back in an elegant twist at the nape of her neck, and it took everything I had not to press her up against the wall and push into her right here, right now.
I moved to stand, my hands finding hers as our fingers intertwined. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
“You look pretty good yourself, Bossman,” she whispered.
“You sure you’re okay with all of this tonight? You know the press is getting a photo, and your face is going to be all over the internet tomorrow.”
She smiled and lifted one shoulder as she tipped her head to the side. “I want to be with you. So, if this is part of your life, then it will be part of mine.”
So loyal.
So honest.
So willing to give herself to me.
Say it, dickhead. Stop being a fucking pussy.
My hand came around the side of her neck, fingers splayed across her gorgeous cheek. “I need to tell you something.”
A thick ball lodged in my throat, making it difficult to speak. Not because I wasn’t feeling it—it was the exact opposite.
I felt it all.
It was too much in a million ways, yet I only wanted more, which made no sense.
Loving someone was not in my plans.
But I was in too deep. There was no turning back.
“Tell me,” she said. She didn’t hide her concern as she searched my gaze. “Are you okay? You can tell me anything.”
This was what I was talking about.
There was no turning back.
“I—” I paused to clear my throat. “I love you, Georgia.”
I’d never said those words to any woman aside from my mother and grandmother. And now I’d said them, and I didn’t have the urge to run. But my heart raced as if I’d crossed some imaginary line that had made me vulnerable in a way.
I didn’t mind it, though.
I wanted her to know how I felt.
Needed her to know how I felt.
She sucked in a breath, her mouth falling into a perfect O. As if she never thought I’d say those words.
Neither did I. But here we are.
“I’ve loved you for a long time now.” She blinked a few times as two tears slipped down her cheek. I ran the pad of my thumb over her tears and swiped them away.
“Me, too. It just took me a while to get here.”
“It doesn’t matter how we got here. We’re here now, and that’s all that matters,” she whispered.
She was right.
Now we just needed to find our new normal together.
I just hoped after a night with the Lancasters, she wouldn’t be running for the door.