Chapter 15 – Maddie
Sushi, Snark, and Secrets
Maddie
I’M NOT SURE how I feel about this. I know I could probably stand to hang out with more people my age, but it makes me nervous. I don’t worry about Sylvia or Sharon or Betty judging me.
These girls might.
“It’s going to be good.” Leo reaches across the console to rest a hand on my knee, giving it a squeeze. “You already know Alexis. And her friends are all just like she is.” His brow furrows. “Mostly.”
I… Don’t know how to take that.
I do know Alexis. She’s serious with a dry sense of humor I’ve always appreciated. And she’s always been nice. But now that I’m the wedge between her brother and their parents, I’m not sure how she feels about me.
Probably not too great.
My stomach clenches as Leo brings his Charger to a stop in front of a gorgeous house. I stare out the window, eyes getting wider and wider as I take it in.
The place is stunning. Modern and sleek and definitely expensive as hell.
“Whose house did you say this is?” I already felt like I was going to be the odd girl out, but seeing the kind of home one of Alexis’s friends owns has me rethinking coming here tonight.
“This is Hazel’s place. Pretty nice, huh?”
Leo doesn’t seem to understand the issue I’m having. The insecurities barreling to the forefront as they try to take me down.
“It’s for sure nicer than my apartment.”
I was so proud of my little place when I first moved in. So excited to have something all my own. Even when I knew it would take a while to furnish it, I still stood a little straighter knowing I was making it by myself.
But this…
This is a very different sort of making it. The sort I will probably never achieve.
“Your apartment is awesome.” Leo leans toward me, his voice soft as he reaches to catch my chin with one finger. “Hey.”
I swallow, not wanting to look at him. Not wanting Leo to see this ugly bit of me. The bit that fears what other people will think. The bit that can’t stop comparing myself to everyone else, looking for all the ways I’m lacking.
“Look at me, Miss Miller.” Leo’s tone is still gentle, but now it’s firm. Not a request, but a demand.
I have to force my eyes to his face, but when they land, I’m shocked to see him grinning.
“These women are a lot like your other friend group.” His expression turns serious. “But if you tell them that, they’ll kill me, so maybe keep it to yourself.”
For some reason, that… makes me feel a little better. I’ve always felt like the odd girl out. I’ve never been outgoing enough to insert myself into a conversation or confident enough to approach a group in the hope they might accept me into their fold.
But I didn’t have to do either of those things with Sylvia, Betty, and Sharon. They just sucked me right in and claimed me as one of their own. I’m sure that’s not what will happen with these women, but as long as they’re nice to me, that will be good enough.
I pull in a deep breath and blow it back out. “Here goes nothing, I guess.”
Opening the door, I step out into the cool air, tightly gripping the bottle of wine I brought. I’m surprised when I look up and see Leo rounding the front of his car. “I thought you were just dropping me off?”
“I am.” He comes up to press a kiss to my forehead. “Did you think I was just gonna kick you out the door and drive away?” He tips his head. “Because I feel like you should know me better than that.”
“I do, but…” I don’t know how to explain the difficulty I’m having wrapping my head around the possibility Leo really is the way he presents himself. It’s crazy, because I believe him. I know he is who he is.
But there’s still a little part of me that keeps whispering what if it’s a trick?
I thought Drake was nice at first too. He said and did all the right things. But it was a performance, and the mask started slipping more and more until he took it off completely around me. Leaving me staring at nothing but an ugly truth.
Leo’s big hands come to curve against the sides of my neck, his thumbs stroking along the underside of my jaw. “I know. You’ll get there.” He leans down, brushing a kiss across my lips.
“Are you serious right now?”
I stiffen at the sound of a snarky voice, my stomach clenching.
But when Leo’s mouth leaves mine, it’s curved into a grin. “Good evening, ladies.”
I turn to see a trio of gorgeous women coming our way. The leader of the pack—the one with the snarky voice—fixes her eyes on Leo. “Don’t good evening, ladies us.” She makes a shooing motion with one hand. “This is girls’ night. She belongs to us now, so go sit at home and be lonely without her.”
I…
Didn’t see that coming.
Leo gives the feisty redhead a one-finger salute against his brow. “Yes, ma’am.” He shoots me a wink as he backs up. “Text me when you’re ready for me to come get you, Miss Miller.”
“Okay.” I give him a jerky wave, feeling awkward and a little bad for thinking the worst of these girls.
Leo’s in his car and pulling away when the redheaded woman hooks one arm around my shoulders. “Man. He’s down bad, isn’t he?”
“I…” It’s way harder to converse with them than I expected, so I have to swallow and try again. “He’s just a nice guy, and we’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Sure.” One of the others—a tall, willowy woman with a sleek bob and beautiful dark skin—snorts as she rolls her eyes. “You can keep telling yourself that, but from where I’m sitting, you’ll be lucky if you make it to the end of January before he’s asking you to marry him.”
My stomach does a weird little flip it has no business doing. “I’m technically still married, so I don’t see that happening.”
The third woman, who’s curvy like Leo’s sister Alexis, and sporting an enviable set of deep dimples, wrinkles her nose. “Ew.” She shakes her head, sending glossy dark curls bouncing around her shoulders. “No. You filed for divorce from that creep. Your marriage is done and over with.”
I have to admit, I like the way they look at things.
I also like when they huddle around me as we go to the porch, complimenting everything from my hair to my outfit to my nail polish as we walk. By the time one of them reaches out to ring the doorbell, all the nerves I brought here are long gone, replaced by something I wasn’t expecting.
A feeling of belonging.
The door in front of us opens, and I see the only familiar face here. Alexis stands inside, along with the woman I assume owns this gorgeous house—Hazel, I think Leo said her name was.
Hazel is just as pretty as everyone else. She’s got honey blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun at the top of her head and sports chunky glasses that make her look smart and cool at the same time.
Hazel takes a sip of wine as she looks over the four of us standing on her doorstep. “You guys might want to give her some breathing room.”
The tall Black woman with the swinging bob shoots Hazel a grin from where she stands with her arm around my shoulders. “She might as well get used to it now. We don’t want her to think we’re all as reserved as Alexis.” She gives Leo’s sister a wink.
Alexis angles a brow. “Someone has to be reserved. Can you imagine what would happen if I wasn’t around to be the voice of reason?”
Hazel wrinkles her nose, stepping back so we can come inside. “Then I would be the only one who has any chill. And there’s no way I can keep you guys in line all by myself.”
The redhead at my other side pipes up as we step over the threshold. “Maybe we should kick you and Alexis out. Just for a week so we can get a little unhinged.” She bobs her head at me not-so-discreetly. “Take care of a few things.”
Alexis rolls her eyes. “I think staying in was probably a good idea.”
Hazel snorts as she closes the front door. “Agreed.”
When everyone stops to take off their shoes, I follow suit, and then we all move together, following the hallway to the back of the house.
As expected, Hazel’s house is just as stunning inside as it is from the road.
The two-story is very much like what I initially thought Leo might live in.
But while the lines of the structure are simple, the decor has a huge amount of personality.
The formal living room on my left sports bright red sofas stacked with pillows in varying shades of teal and turquoise.
Large, hammered copper panels hang on the walls, along with a variety of different sized paintings in interesting, antique-looking frames.
To the right, a dark wood table sits at the center of the dining room, surrounded by lime green chairs.
The walls in this room are still builder beige, but paint swatches are stuck in a line, and each one of them is bright and bold.
The back part of the house is made up of a great room and a kitchen with a gigantic island. The marble top of it is covered with stemmed glasses, bottles of wine, and sushi rolls of all kinds.
“Want me to open that?” Hazel motions toward the alcohol I’m still carrying.
“Sure. I brought it to share.” I pass it off, standing awkwardly around the island with everyone else.
These women have clearly known each other for a while, and they chat easily. Talking about work and parents and the holidays. I opt to just listen, because any conversation I could bring to the table—island—is a little heavier than what they’re all dishing up.
It’s only a couple minutes before the curvy brunette wiggles in at my side, handing me a wine glass.
“I just realized no one ever introduced themselves.” She lifts the bottle in her hand, along with her eyebrows.
When I nod, she tips a healthy pour into my glass.
“I’m Lola.” Once my wine is poured, she sets the bottle down and motions to the redhead.
“The loud one is Isla and the tall one is Wren.”
I commit the names to memory as she moves on to Hazel—whose name I already knew thanks to Leo.
“And of course you already know Alexis.” She hands me a set of chopsticks. “Dig in. We aren’t fancy here. We come to eat, drink, and complain.”
I take a sip of my wine, eyes moving around the group of beautiful women as I quietly ask, “What kind of stuff do you normally complain about?”
“Nothing as exciting as crazypants ex-husbands getting their ass beat by our hot rugby boyfriends.” Lola bumps me with her hip, offering up a sly smile. “It had to be pretty fucking amazing to see that ass get a little of what he deserves.”
“I definitely enjoy when he gets what he has coming.” I take another drink of my wine. “But I feel terrible that Leo’s mixed up in it. I’m afraid it’s going to hurt his career and ruin his relationship with his parents.”
I don’t know why I’m already spilling my guts. I can’t blame it on the alcohol, I’m only a couple sips of wine in. Lola is just so friendly and warm and kind.
And I’m so desperate to purge all the feelings I’m struggling with.
Lola glances to where Alexis sits in a barstool on the other side of the island. Lowering her voice, she says, “You’re not the issue between Leo and his parents. Trust me.”
I peek Alexis’s way, wondering if I’m not the only one who accidentally tells Lola all their deepest darkest.
“And it probably only helps Leo’s reputation that he’s using his giant muscles to put abusive men in their place.” Lola shrugs. “As long as he doesn’t end up with charges pressed against him, it might be a good thing.”
“They’re not pressing charges against Leo.
Thankfully the cameras outside my office caught everything, so they could see that my ex was the aggressor.
” But what if the cameras hadn’t been there?
It would have just been Leo’s word against Drake’s.
Granted, Drake’s word doesn’t count for much, but still.
If Leo’s career is damaged because of me, I don’t know that I could forgive myself. I would imagine his parents wouldn’t forgive me either. Or Alexis.
My eyes are on Leo's sister when Isla edges in at her side, peeking over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Alexis quickly shoves her phone into the pocket of her jeans before reaching for another piece of sushi. “Nothing.”
“That smile on your face does not say nothing.” Isla waggles her brows. “That smile says you just got a text from a certain long-haired rugby player.”
Uhhh.
What?
There’s a very specific long-haired rugby player who knows Alexis well. He also knows Leo well.
They’re freaking best friends.
Isla continues on, oblivious to the mess she’s making. “You went home with Gavin last night, didn’t you?” She leans closer, her voice slightly quieter, but still loud enough for me to hear. “Did you have to leave because he nutted on your dress again?”
Maybe these women wouldn’t be super shocked by the stories I have to share after all, because that story sounds pretty wild.
“I…” Alexis’s eyes snap my way, widening in panic as the room gets quiet.
Isla finally seems to realize she’s dropped the beans all over the floor. “Oh fuck.” She looks from Alexis to me, then back to Alexis again. “I sorta forgot we had a new addition here.”
The silence drags out until finally someone breaks it.
And that someone is me.
“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t hear a single word you said then.” I give Alexis a small smile. “But if I did, the only thing I would have to say is good for you.”
Isla’s shoulders drop as she lets out a loud sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
Alexis narrows her eyes at her redheaded friend. “I’m still mad at you.”
Isla grins back at her. “No you’re not. That’s just how your face looks.” She turns to me, leaning an elbow on the counter. “Well, since we can’t talk about Alexis, and no one else here is getting laid, why don’t you tell us how you and Leo got together.”
I guess turnabout is fair play. Rubbing my lips together, I try to decide where to begin.
“Leo and I have known each other for a while. Our parents are friends.” My eyes dart to Alexis as I continue.
“Never in a million years did I think I would want to have another relationship. Especially so soon.” I lift my shoulders in a small shrug. “But it just sort of happened.”
To my surprise, Leo’s sister huffs out a little laugh, offering me a genuine smile as she says, “I understand completely.”