Chapter 46
Maddox stepped inside the whimsical coffee shop nearest the Farrington Parks office to wait for Denise.
The shop was small but had plush seating and walls painted with colorful cartoonish characters that Maddox thought might be distraction enough to keep them from worrying about how Denise’s conversation with her dad was going.
They hadn’t lied when they’d told Denise the outcome of the Middle Waters deal wasn’t as important to them as being with Denise, but they still held some hope that things could work out for the buyout.
More than that, though, Maddox didn’t want to think of Denise’s relationship with her dad suffering because of her being involved with them or Darby’s manipulations.
Figuring chocolate was another good distraction, Maddox settled at a small booth near the counter with a mug of cocoa and a chocolate chip cookie and pulled out their phone to check for calls or messages from Gran or the resort.
They were in the middle of answering a text from Joe about a misplaced portable generator when someone thumped a large, steaming mug of coffee on the table in front of them and pulled out the chair facing them with a loud scraping sound.
Maddox looked up in confusion and locked eyes with a slender woman in a tailored brown business suit and flaming red hair pulled back in a tight bun.
“Is this seat taken?” the woman asked, sitting before Maddox could even think of responding.
“Guess not,” they finally got out.
It was only when the woman smirked at them over the rim of her mug that recognition flooded Maddox.
Fiona Drew. She had been a guest at Middle Waters for a conference many months ago and had been a force of nature—both in the meetings and in Maddox’s room one night after they’d gotten acquainted at the hotel bar.
The temperature in Maddox’s face soon matched the contents of their mug. “Uh…hi. It’s nice to see you again?”
Fi’s smirk deepened. “Is that a question or a statement?”
When Maddox floundered, Fi laughed heartily. “My goodness, where did all that trademark Maddox Daniels charm go? Falling in love with Denise Farrington must have had quite the taming effect on you.”
“I guess it has,” Maddox agreed absently as the mention of Denise’s name brought her face to mind. Not that it had been far from it at any point in the past several weeks.
Suddenly they jerked out of their reverie. “Wait! You know Denise?”
“I certainly do,” Fi answered. Her smile softened. “She’s my best friend.”
“O-oh.” Maddox struggled to keep up with this new information. Denise’s best friend.
“I take it she hasn’t told you about me?”
“Well, she never mentioned names, but she discussed her friends, including her best friend she met in business school and—” Maddox’s eyes widened as they remembered what else Denise had said.
Fi’s laughter returned. “That’s right. She and I are exes. You and I had a lovely night together. And now, you and Denise are in a relationship. Small world.”
“In fact,” Fi leaned forward. “I actually encouraged Denise to seek you out for some fun when I first heard she’d be working at Middle Waters, but I had no idea she’d take my advice to the extreme.”
Maddox chuckled weakly, not entirely sure if they were the audience or the punchline in this joke.
Fi swept her gaze over Maddox’s face and patted their arm. “Relax, Maddox. I’m only teasing. Denise has filled me in on how you two actually met and how things have developed between you, and I think it’s incredible.”
“Really?” Maddox said, relaxing some. They trusted Denise and the things the two of them had said to each other in her office a little while ago, but hearing that she’d discussed them with her friends helped confirm she really was serious about their connection.
“Yes, really,” Fi answered with a nod. “And I hope you won’t worry about our various histories. That’s in the past, and all in the family, and all of that.”
“Sounds like a pretty dysfunctional family,” Maddox muttered, making Fi laugh again.
She gave their arm another friendly pat. “Come on, Maddox. We’re sapphics. There’s always going to be a few exes and old hookups in every friend group.”
Maddox tilted their head in acknowledgment. Fair point.
They finally relaxed more and took a sip of their cocoa. “So, is this a chance meeting, or did you track me down to give me a lecture about treating your best friend right or else?”
Fi shook her head and chuckled. “Chance meeting. But I am glad to see you here. I assume it means you and Denise are really making a go of it.”
Warmth spread through Maddox’s belly as they nodded. “That’s the plan. I’m waiting for her here while she talks to her dad.”
They grimaced as nerves about the meeting returned.
“I have a feeling that will all work out. And just think, when it does, you and Denise will be coworkers and not just partners. That should be interesting,” Fi observed.
“I don’t know,” Maddox mused with a frown.
“I was already thinking about how I might need to find a new job if the resort sold. Denise has told me there will be work for me if the plan goes through, but maybe I should look somewhere else anyway. The work thing could be weird. And besides, I can’t be a hotel flunky forever, especially if I’m with someone like Denise. ”
They’d said the last part mostly to themself, surprised at how easily Darby’s rude name for them had stuck.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fi asked, a sudden sharpness edging out her earlier good humor.
“I just meant working with someone you’re involved with can be—”
“Not that part. What is this business about being a ‘hotel flunky’ while with Denise? Do you think she’s some kind of snob?” Fi demanded.
“No!” Maddox rushed to answer. “I know she isn’t.
But she is a smart, educated career woman.
I mean, I understand your whole friend group met in business school.
While I barely finished high school and have done service work my entire adult life.
So all I’m saying is maybe it’s time I put in the work to improve.
I don’t want it to seem like she’s badly matched. ”
“Seem like to whom, Maddox?” Fi pressed. “Denise? Us? Or yourself?”
Maddox faltered. “I didn’t mean any offense.”
Fi leaned her elbows on the table and met Maddox’s eyes.
“Look here. If you want to go to school or find a new job or anything else for your own sake, then go for it. But don’t you dare think for a minute that Denise would ever look down on you.
And as for the rest of us, we don’t give a flying fuck if you’re a CEO or the guy who cleans up horse shit after a parade, as long as you care for Denise. ”
Maddox blinked under the intensity of Fi’s expression and words, but they didn’t flinch away. “I understand, Fi. And I do care for Denise. All I want is for her to feel loved and safe and herself with me.”
“Good.” Fi nodded approvingly, then eased back into her chair and sipped her coffee.
After setting the cup down, she said, “But since we’re officially a dysfunctional family now, I’d be glad to be a sounding board about your career plans, if you need it. What other kinds of work have you considered? And more importantly, what do you like?”
Maddox smiled. Fi’s gruff concern for her best friend and Maddox, by extension, was unexpectedly endearing.
Their gaze drifted from Fi to the bustling coffee shop as they pondered her questions.
A barista with purple-dyed hair was vigorously wiping a nearby table.
When she straightened, Maddox noticed she wore a T-shirt with a unicorn wearing sunglasses and holding a cup of coffee.
They couldn’t make out the slogan, especially with her moving around so much, but the picture brought a grin to their face as they thought of the horse they’d given a makeover for little Lilly’s birthday months ago.
Turning to Fi, Maddox’s grin widened. “I like unicorns.”
Forty-five minutes later, Fi had to leave the coffee shop to get to a meeting. In parting, she gave Maddox a tight hug that was surprisingly comforting, with none of the physical awkwardness they might have expected.
Of course, no part of that interaction had been what Maddox would have expected, including the time Fi had spent helping them brainstorm and research ways to begin their very own event planning business.
It was wild that the idea had never occurred to Maddox before, given how much they’d loved organizing the conferences, luncheons, weddings, and parties Middle Waters had hosted in the years they’d worked there. But that was life, wasn’t it? Sometimes you just needed other people.
Maddox checked the time and left the coffee shop. Right now, there was one person they especially needed, and now that their surprise meeting with Fi was done, they couldn’t stand sitting still to wait any longer. They’d take a long walk, if need be.
But as soon as they stepped out the door, they spotted her.
Denise was gliding across the crosswalk toward the coffee shop and, for a moment, Maddox simply enjoyed the act of watching her. Her graceful, confident stride, the Oklahoma City wind playing with the few wisps of her luscious hair that had fallen loose from her hair tie.
She saw, or maybe sensed, Maddox’s watchful eyes as soon as she stepped on the sidewalk, and her face illuminated in a heart-stopping smile. Maddox nearly melted into a puddle right there on the pavement.
Once Denise was in front of them, she reached out and took Maddox’s hand. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long, sweetheart.”
Maddox squeezed her hand back and swallowed the lump trying to form in their throat. This was the first time Denise had called them that when they weren’t in bed together. “Don’t worry. The wait was far from boring.”
Her hazel eyes brightened. “Oh? Do tell.”
“After I hear about your meeting.”
Denise nodded. “Okay, but not here. Let’s go to my apartment. I’ll make us dinner.”