Chapter 16
The next morning, I woke up and went to the kitchen for water and aspirin. Maddox was already up. He had a cup of coffee in hand and was scrolling through his phone.
“Good morning, Joslyn,” he said as I passed by him on my way to the coffee.
“Good morning, Maddox.”
After I took two aspirin and downed a bottle of water, I pulled a mug from the cupboard and poured myself coffee. I pulled a package of bacon from the fridge and a pan from the cabinet. I set it on the stove and switched on the burner.
“Want some breakfast?” I asked as I added the bacon to the pan.
“Most definitely. Even if I wasn’t hungry, the smell of bacon will do me in.” Maddox got out a plate and laid a sheet of paper towel on it. “For your bacon.” He set it on the counter next to the stove.
I was babysitting the bacon as I watched him move effortlessly around the kitchen, pulling out plates and silverware, putting bread into the toaster, and pouring two glasses of orange juice. I was just getting the eggs out of the pan when he buttered the toast.
We sat down with our food at the nook and began to eat. It tasted incredible, especially with a slight hangover still rolling around in my head.
“So, how are you feeling this morning?” he asked me while we ate.
“I feel fine. How about you?” I replied.
“Oh, I feel great. I had a woman tell me I was really hot last night.”
“Well, you sure are easy to please, aren’t you?”
“It’s the little things.”
We finished eating and cleaned up our mess.
“I’m going to get dressed.”
I headed toward my room to get changed. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand when I saw it.
Ronan still hadn’t given me any other updates since I texted him last night.
This wait was beginning to wear on me. I pulled out a pair of cutoff shorts and an old band tee.
I put my bra on and then the rest of the items I pulled from my drawers.
I had sandals downstairs if I ended up leaving for any reason.
I got back downstairs and decided I was going to do something today to try to get my mind off of things. It worked for a little while yesterday while I was packing. The obvious choice would be unpacking. I found Maddox still in the kitchen refilling our coffee mugs.
“I need to get those boxes out of the truck. I have to find something to do, and I figured unpacking should keep me occupied.”
“They are sitting in the garage. I will have the guys bring them into the house.”
Ten minutes later, I was standing in the foyer with boxes everywhere. I opened the first box as Maddox came walking in the front door. I spent the next four hours finding a place for my things and putting away clothes. Maddox was a huge help with moving the boxes to the rooms where I unloaded them.
When I finished with all of the boxes upstairs, I moved to the first floor to work on the remaining boxes. When I got down there, I detoured through the kitchen to grab something to drink. I made it to the living room and sat down on the couch next to Maddox, who was watching television.
“Are you done with the boxes upstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I am going to go bring them downstairs and break them down.”
“Thank you, I appreciate your help with everything.”
I opened the box with the décor items and set them in different places around the house that I thought looked like they might belong.
I hung my clock upstairs in my room and then placed my photographs around the living room and in the study.
When all the boxes were empty, I felt like I had really accomplished something.
“I think I got all of them emptied,” I said to Maddox, who just entered the room holding a glass of whiskey.
“Except the boxes of books that are still in the foyer.”
“Yeah, we will get to that. I need some dinner.”
Looking up at the clock, it was seven o’clock, and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The two of us went to the kitchen and raided the fridge. I started getting food out and realized all of my produce had spoiled. I pouted as I threw it in the trash can.
“Looks like we’re ordering dinner. There is a local place down the road that makes decent pizza; they have salads and sandwiches too.”
“If that’s what you want, Joslyn.”
I ordered delivery and lounged on the couch and waited; it wasn’t long before the doorbell rang. Maddox insisted on answering the door himself. He carried everything inside and set it on the coffee table.
I went to the kitchen to grab water and the bottle of whiskey. Back in the living room, I sat next to Maddox.
“So, what do we have here?” he asked me.
“Pizza, bread, salad, and two subs; an Italian and a club.”
“Well, that’s a lot to choose from.” He examined the food for a minute and then grabbed a piece of pizza from the box. He picked up the Italian sub with the other hand. “I can share if you want some,” he said, looking over at me. I grabbed my salad and shook my head.
“I’m good; I have what I want,” I added dressing to the salad before I mixed it around.
After we finished eating, we took the food to the kitchen and put it away. I had just finished putting the food in the fridge when Maddox came in with our drinks.
“So, the boxes of books were the last thing that you wanted to tackle.”
“Grab the boxes and follow me. I have an idea.” Maddox looked at me suspiciously.
I grabbed him by the hand, forgetting the books altogether, and ran from the room. I headed down the hallway, coming to a set of double doors. My excitement was bubbling over.
“Hey, I didn’t grab the books,” he said, standing next to me in front of the door.
“When we were little, this was our playroom. We had dollhouses, dolls, a play kitchen, a reading nook, and every toy imaginable. When we got older, Grandpa had the room transformed.”
I opened the doors to reveal an immense room.
On the left side of the room was a large, U-shaped couch with televisions mounted on the wall.
Under the televisions was a shelving unit holding every gaming console and at least a hundred games.
In the center of the room was a large table set up for board and card games.
On the right side was a pool table with two high tables and stools nearby.
On the far side of the room were two bowling lanes.
We walked further into the room, and I turned around to point out the built-in shelves holding dozens of board games near the entrance.
On the left was a full bar to finish the space.
“When we were teenagers, that bar was a soda fountain. It changed when we turned twenty-one.”
Maddox turned in a slow circle, taking in the room. “This is sort of amazing.”
“I know, right? So, what do you want to do first?” I asked.
“I bowled a lot in the eighties. Can we do that?”
“After you.”
We spent the next few hours bowling, shooting pool, and drinking.
There was a lot of drinking. We had brought the whiskey with us, and the bar in this room was fully stocked.
Maddox was drinking more than I had ever seen anyone drink.
He told me that it took more for him to even feel it, but I could see that he was feeling it.
I was leaning over the pool table shooting at one of my balls when I heard him speak. “I think I may have drunk too much.” I looked at him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good.”
I missed my shot and turned around to hand Maddox the pool cue. He stood up from the stool and moved extremely close before he put his hand on the stick.
“By the end of these few days, I may not care how Ronan feels.”
I stared at his chest and was afraid to meet his eyes.
I knew what I wanted to happen, but I felt guilty for wanting it.
My skin was tingling, and he hadn’t even touched me.
Did I want him to touch me? I couldn’t even lie to him.
He would know. My body was betraying me completely.
I had to look at him; my whole body was screaming at me to look.
“Well, you aren’t backing away. Your pulse is racing, and you can’t look at me. All that is telling me is that you are right here with me. Right now.” He leaned closer and whispered, “He isn’t your boyfriend, remember?”
“You’re right; he isn’t my boyfriend. That doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with you.”
“Trust me when I tell you that nothing running through my head has a damn thing to do with sleep. Even the bed is optional.”
I felt my breath catch in my throat and knew instantly he had heard it. I heard a barely audible rumble from deep within him. He wasn’t backing away, and my body wanted to get closer.
“Look at me, Joslyn.”
I was scared to move a muscle. The next move I made could change everything. If I looked at him right now, I knew there was a very good chance I would end up naked on the pool table. I swallowed hard and made my decision. I met his gaze just as fate stepped in.
There was a knock on the door. Maddox was at the door before I even turned my head. I could see him speaking to Ted, and it wasn’t good. He shut the door and turned to me.
“We have to go now! Come on.”
He held his hand out, and I ran to him, grabbing it. We headed toward the back patio doors off the kitchen. I slid on my shoes that were next to the door and grabbed my jacket from the hook. Maddox led me out the door and through the backyard.
“Where are we going? What the hell is going on?”
“My guess—they realized it’s you they want—not Charlotte.”
“Why do you think that?” I shouted as I ran as fast as I could to keep up with Maddox.
“I have an informant that believes they may be coming for you,” he replied bluntly.
We ran through the yard and into the forest. He kept us moving until we got to the nearest secondary road.
When we reached the roadside, there was a car waiting.
Maddox opened the door, and I jumped into the backseat.
He climbed in next to me and shut the car door.
The driver, who I didn’t know, put the car in gear and pulled away.
“Take us to the airport,” Maddox commanded.
“Okay, so what is going on?” I asked.
“I’m going to call Ronan. Give me a minute.”
“Okay. By all means.”
I was getting annoyed. Maddox pulled out his phone and found Ronan in his contacts. He pressed call and put the phone to his ear.
“What do you know?”
“We are getting on the plane, and we’ll meet you in a few hours.” He ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.
“He said the same thing I did. They realized that it wasn’t Charlotte they wanted. So, them coming back for you was an option.”
“Oh.” I sat back in the seat and decided to shut my mouth.