Chapter Twenty-Four
Maddy
He came home.
Leo came home and he didn’t even tell me.
And he brought her.
I stumbled to the bathroom on shaky legs, needing a minute to pull myself together.
The smile he’d given me, just like nothing had happened.
Like he hadn’t abandoned me the last few weeks by shutting me out, only to come home without even fucking telling me.
Then had the audacity to turn up to the bar, where he had to know I would be, and still not even say anything.
My hands shook as I gripped the sink, staring at my reflection. Lip trembling, eyes wide like a rabbit caught in headlights. That’s how I felt.
How did we get here? To this point? And so quickly?
I jumped when someone came into the bathroom. She flashed me a quick smile then headed into the middle stall.
It was her.
The woman who stole Maddy’s Dimple.
Goosebumps rose across my skin like someone had thrown icy water over me and my teeth started chattering. I stood there while she peed. She flushed the toilet and then she was at the sink next to me, washing her hands.
“Wow, I love your boots!” she enthused with such an awed expression on her face. She was so open and friendly. It kinda hurt. Not only was she stunning, with her perfectly curvy figure and wave of dark chestnut hair, but she was nice too.
I’ve always been a girl’s girl. And I always will be. But a tiny part of me collapsed in on myself to know that I could never compete with her. She’d already won. And she seemed great. Maybe, eventually, we would be friends. When my heart had glued its broken shards back together.
“You’re so lucky to have him,” I blurted out. I rolled my lips inwards as the words tumbled out, willing myself to stop talking.
She cocked her head to the side. “Max?”
Now I was confused. “No, Leo.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, you know him?”
I choked on my tongue, an audible cry slipping out.
“Know him?” I gasped out. “Yeah, you could say I know him. I’ve only been part of his life for over two decades.”
Her face changed at that, a knowledge settling over her expression. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you—”
But I couldn’t stop.
“That I got to watch the shape of his face change from a boy to a man? Watch his jaw widen and cheeks thicken. His chin grow as stubborn as him. That I witnessed his chest expand, his arm muscles develop. His voice deepen, his gaze soften, and everything about him grow to be even more stunning?”
I didn’t realize but a tear had slipped out. She reached out, her hand squeezing my arm in comfort as I cried while I tried to sum up how I know this man.
“He’s my best friend,” I whispered. “I watched him be sculpted by life and maturity. I saw the agony of his growth spurts, the embarrassment of his voice as it dipped in and out with his new lower pitch. I witnessed him become a romantic, a daredevil, a heartbreaker. And watched him conquer each challenge life threw at him and not let it beat him, his bravery and determination increasing each time. I watched him become Leo. So yeah, I guess you could say that I know him.”
There was a pause as we stared at each other, her gaze softened with sympathy before she closed her eyes and shook her head sharply.
“I’ll kill him,” the woman growled. “Just you wait!”
Then she turned and marched out of the bathroom.
“No, wait, I’m sorry!” I called after her, but she was gone.
“Shit,” I hissed. Leo was in trouble now. I didn’t mean for that to happen. But when she asked if I knew him, it cut me to the bone. Like I was no one in his life. There was no recollection in her expression, like she would know who I was from all the times he talked about me.
He didn’t even tell the woman he loves about his best friend back home?
Did he even care about me anymore? Now that he’d finally gotten away from me, and the strain I was putting on his life by keeping him in Reverence.
I couldn’t go back out to the bar and watch them fight. I’d never been accused of being a coward, but I stayed in the bathroom, too scared to go out and face him. Turns out I didn’t need to; he came for me.
The door burst open, banging against the wall, startling me.
Leo stood in the doorway, his expression closed off but his dark eyes flashed.
He strolled into the bathroom, checking that each of the three stalls were empty before he closed the door and bolted it shut.
His heavy bootheels matched the sound of my pounding heart.
I swallowed thickly as he turned to me, arms folding over his chest, nostrils flaring and his beard gave him a new menacing look which was too damn sexy.
He was pissed.
And Leo never got pissed.
“What did you say to her?” he ground out.
The sound of his voice, annoyingly, was like a balm over my open wounds, soothing. Even though I was mad at him, now I was finally back in his presence, my body relaxed and all the tension I’d been carrying since he left just evaporated.
My Leo was here.
He’s not yours, he’s hers.
“You didn’t tell her about me,” I said softly, my voice catching.
He flinched but didn’t respond, his guilty eyes slinking away from mine. My anger flared and I slapped my hand on the counter.
“You. Didn’t. Tell. Her. About. Me.”
No response.
“Why?” I demanded.
He shook his head. “Why do you care?”
I reared back, mouth dropping open. “What?”
“You’ve been out dating almost every goddamn night from what I can see on Instagram. Did you tell any of them about me?”
“That’s not the same,” I lied, knowing it was a flimsy argument.
He scoffed. “How?”
I hated that as I’d grown older, I’d become an easy crier. I could feel the lump forming in my throat, struggled to speak around it. My eyes filled and I blinked rapidly to try and disperse the tears.
“Maddy,” his deep voice softened. “Talk to me.”
“Oh, now you want me to talk to you?” I snapped sarcastically. He dashed away a tear that slipped down my cheek, the move fast but his touch soft. His jaw clenched and nostrils continued flaring.
What do you do when the cause of your hurt is also the cure? And you can’t vocalize it to them without risking everything? Because how did I tell Leo my feelings had changed? That they’d been pulled and twisted into something new that I couldn’t name, let alone voice.
He watched another tear fall down my cheek and my lip wobbled because in that moment I wanted more than anything to be swept into his arms. His expression shifted, eyes narrowing with suspicion.
He stepped closer. “Why do you care, Maddy?”
I sniffed, feeling like I was under the microscope. “I don’t.”
Leo crowded me against the sink. “Let’s try that again, shall we?”
His drugging scent enveloped me, leather and sandalwood, pulling me deeper under his spell. My tongue grew heavy in my mouth as his body closed in on mine, his heat warming me and I fought every instinct to lean into him.
“I care because…because I haven’t heard from you,” I replied, chest heaving as I struggled to breathe against the thick tension coating the air. He stared down at me, his gaze so intense, like he was trying to break me.
And it was working. I could feel myself crumbling under his scrutiny.
“You cut me out of your life, Leo. Me. What the hell?” I rushed out, voice raising with emotion.
His eyes flashed with victory.
“Exactly, so why are you in here hiding instead of out there fighting with me? Demanding I make it up to you? You’re not just mad.” He leaned closer, his warm breath puffing over my lips. “You’re more.”
Fuck.
The thing about someone knowing you better than you know yourself, is that they know you better than yourself. They know when you’ve given something away before you even understand what you did to let them on your scent.
“Are you?” The hope in his voice had my breath hitching. “Are you more, Maddy?”
I knew what he was asking me.
I looked away from the force of his stare. “I—”
“Say it,” he demanded.
But my fear wouldn’t let the words come out. Wouldn’t acknowledge what they could mean.
“Are you with her? What are you going to tell her?” I asked instead.
“What the fuck do I tell her? That no matter how much any woman tries with me, it won’t mean a damn thing in the long run? Because there’s only space for one woman in my life?”
I swayed forward at his words, gripping his shirt in my fist as I searched his warm stare.
“Only one woman controls my heart,” he continued. “And it isn’t her. Or any of the others. And it never will be.” I could barely hear him over the thumping of my heart.
“It’s you, Tough Girl, and it’ll always be you.”
I gasped and he tunneled his hand in my hair, fisting the strands and tilting my head back to look him in the eye.
The pulsing between my legs escalated to a hot pounding.
He dropped his forehead to mine, his chest expanding with short, shallow breaths as his gaze flicked between my eyes and mouth.
Do it! I wanted to scream. End this torment!
“Leo,” I sighed, a plea.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling. “Fuck, Maddy, what are you asking me? I need you to be clear.”
I nibbled my lower lip.
My whole life I had chosen to do things that scared me, to be brave, to be fearless. But some things terrified me and most of them revolved around Leo.
If I asked for it and he refused, it could ruin us further. If I asked and he gave in and we became something, I’d break his heart in the long run. Because I couldn’t commit to forever.
But the torment I’d been suffering for months, possibly even years without realizing, made me selfish. And that selfishness washed away the fear. Allowed me to open up and say what I really, really wanted to fucking say.
“Kiss me. Please, Leo?”
He groaned. “Finally.”
Then he slanted his lips over mine, and my whole world lit up with sparks.
Leo tilted his head, his wide mouth covering mine as he cupped my jaw. He pressed against me, crowding me against the sink until he grunted and hoisted me up. He set me on the ledge and pressed between my thighs. I could feel him, hot and hard and I was helpless to stop myself rubbing against him.