Alex turned on his patented charming grin. "I can"t believe you recognize me in Thunder territory," he said to her.
"Of course I do! You"re so much hotter than our quarterback, but don"t tell him I said so," she said, leaning close until her b.r.e.a.s.t.s brushed his forearm. Her come-on was clear, despite him having walked into the bar with Madison on his arm.
She"d suffered through being invisible when she was with Alex before. Overly enthusiastic women tended to ignore the girl he arrived with, thinking they had a chance anyway. It was rude and ridiculous, and he"d eaten up the attention. She remembered often feeling pushed aside, but she"d accepted it, telling herself it was part of his life. He"d needed to cater to his fans.
"Thanks," he said, taking a deliberate step away from the ogling female fan. He reached out and squeezed Madison"s hand.
She blinked in surprise. This behavior was new. After she and Alex had broken up, Madison had realized she"d been making excuses for him. He"d chosen to let her be pushed aside. He could have handled meetings with female fans differently.
And this time he had. Unsure what to make of things, she cleared her throat, intending to move forward with her own agenda.
"Excuse me. I"m meeting someone. Eric Grayson?"
"Haven"t seen him," the woman said without pulling her attention from Alex. Clearly she didn"t take his distance seriously.
Madison frowned and glanced at her watch.
Alex turned to her. "He"s late."
"Five minutes. Not bad by Eric"s standards." She"d give him more time. "Are you sure you don"t want to see if she wants an autograph? Her chest is nearly exposed and waiting." Madison winced at how catty she sounded, but the words were out, as was the hurt from the times he"d ignored her in the past.
She didn"t understand his lack of eagerness over the attention now and couldn"t allow herself to put any stock in its meaning.
Alex narrowed his gaze, concern in his eyes. "Madison-"
Before he could speak, a young guy wearing dark jeans and an old tee shirt, both arms covered in full sleeves of tattoos, strode over.
"I overheard you saying you"re looking for Eric Grayson?" the guy asked.
"Who are you?" Alex asked, pulling her against him protectively.
"Are you Madison Evans?" the man asked again.
She nodded. "I am."
Beside her, Alex stiffened, and his fingers bit into her waist.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Alex towered over the other guy, his mere presence an implied threat.
The man pulled folded papers out of his pocket, handing them to Madison. "You"ve been served," he said, then turned and walked out of the bar.
She stared at the blue legal doc.u.ments in stunned silence, immediately guessing what they were. "I can"t believe him," she said, gripping the papers tighter in her hand.
"Do you want to look at them here or in the car?" Alex asked her in a gentle voice.
She didn"t want gentle. She wanted to scream. "I don"t have to look. I know what he"s up to, that son of a b.i.t.c.h." She slapped the papers against Alex"s chest, letting him grab them before she pivoted and left the rundown bar where her foster brother had set her up.
The rat b.a.s.t.a.r.d. It wasn"t enough his mother was one step from inpatient care, he wanted to take away what she held dear. Well, Madison would be d.a.m.ned if she"d let him get away with it.
Shaking, she headed for the car, ever aware of Alex by her side.
Alex wanted to throttle Madison"s foster brother for setting her up and catching her off guard. Since she was angry and trembling, Alex was glad he"d nabbed the keys before the disaster in the bar. Madison was too shaken to focus on the road.
He drove them to his favorite Italian restaurant, a small place near his new apartment and owned by a husband and wife, who Alex had come to know well. Considering he picked up dinner or ate there at least three or four nights a week, they"d sort of adopted him since their son lived across the country.
Madison stewed in the pa.s.senger seat beside him, silent and seething the entire trip. He was aware when she opened the doc.u.ments and scanned them briefly only to roll them up once more in anger. He gave her the s.p.a.ce she seemed to need, hoping she"d confide in him while they ate.
He didn"t know much about her family or background except that she"d been in and out of foster homes growing up, and though she had a close relationship with her last set of foster parents, she disliked their son, the foster brother she"d been supposed to meet tonight. Alex had no more details beyond the bare basics because that was the way he used to like his affairs. As impersonal as he could get away with.
He glanced over. She was still lost in thought. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, giving him a good look at her tightly set jaw. She bit into her plump lower lip, and though she was upset and frustrated, the small act only served to ignite the desire never far from the surface when she was around. She"d always affected him on a sensual level, everything she did making him need her immediately. Except at this moment, he wanted to help her through whatever was going on in her life more than he wanted to seduce her. And that was a first for him.
Her silence continued in the restaurant. They ordered, and she returned to fuming quietly. Their meals were served, and she picked at her dish.
"Want to talk about it?" he finally asked.
"No." She twirled her pasta with her fork, playing with her food more than eating it.
"You should. It"s the only way you"re going to calm down enough to eat."
She narrowed her gaze. "Since when do we do serious talk?"
"Since we"re starting over." He was prepared for her digs, and though he deserved it, the reminders of what an a.s.s he"d been hurt.
"Right. We"re co-workers now."
He set his jaw. Not just co-workers, not if he had his way. "Come on. Talk." He coaxed her to get rid of the anger inside her.
"Fine. You know I was close to my last foster parents, right?"
He nodded. He recalled her once mentioning that the man treated her better than her real father ever had. He also remembered asking why she was spending Thanksgiving with Riley and Ian instead of the Graysons. She"d said something about not getting along with her foster brother and not wanting their animosity to intrude on the older couple"s holiday. He wondered now, as he hadn"t then, what she"d done for holidays before her friendship with Riley.
"Daniel, my foster father, he pa.s.sed away three months ago." Her voice caught as she spoke.
"I didn"t know."
She pinned him with a glare but spared him a verbal slap about how he would have been aware had he not pulled away.
Who"d gone with her to the funeral? he wondered. Who"d been there when she"d grieved? And why was he just thinking of these things now? Why had he been so self-absorbed before?
"The problem is that Franny hadn"t been feeling well long before Daniel died," she said, interrupting his thoughts.
"What"s wrong?"
"She was diagnosed with Alzheimer"s." Madison let go of the fork, leaving it to clatter against the plate. "She"s going to need to go into a nursing home soon, and in case she isn"t capable of making that decision when the time comes, she made me her health care proxy and gave me her power of attorney. Not Eric."
Suddenly the papers on the table became clear. "Your foster brother is taking you to court over her decision."
Eyes gla.s.sy, Madison nodded. "He threatened to claim I exerted undue influence over her to gain her trust, which is ridiculous. It"s just that his own mother doesn"t trust his motives or what he"d do with the house if left to his care. That"s her sole reason for choosing me. I know what she wants, and I"ll respect her wishes."
Though Alex sensed there was more to the story, he had enough information for now to know what needed to happen next. "We"ll fight him," he said.
"We?" she asked, stiffening.
"We." He wasn"t going to argue with her about it either. "Do you have a lawyer?"
She visibly swallowed hard. "No. But I can make some calls."
"Or you can let me make one for you. I"ve got one on retainer."
"Of course you do," she muttered.
He ignored the dig. His wealth had never appealed to her, which, he admitted, had always been part of her allure. Someone who liked him for himself. At least the part of him he"d allowed her to see. He"d kept most of the real Alex shut off, as he always had when it came to most people. Except for the few times he"d dropped his guard.
He folded his arms on the table and leaned forward. "You can Google a lawyer or you can let me call the best. Your choice."
She glanced down. "I can"t afford the best."
"I can."
She looked up, gaze narrowed. "Why are you offering?"
"Because I can afford to pay and you can"t. And because..." He paused. And forced out the words. "Because, despite what you believe, I care." And he did. He cared about her and always had, which was part of what had sent him running in the first place.
"You have a funny way of showing it." She slammed her hands on the table, shoved her chair back, and rose from her seat.
And here they were. He"d known they"d reach this point eventually, he just hadn"t expected it to happen so soon. "Sit down," he said, not looking around to see if they were causing a scene.
"What"s the catch?" she asked.
"Why are you so suspicious?"
Her eyes, which had been glittering in defiance, dimmed. "Because in my experience, n.o.body gives something for nothing in return."
And that, he thought, was sad. She might be referring to the people in her childhood, but he"d been the latest to disappoint her. That truth made him want to help her even more. "No catch, Madison. I want to help you."
She lowered herself into her seat, slowly and obviously reluctantly. But he had her in front of him again. He reached out and grabbed her hand, her warmth seeping into his skin. A shudder rippled through her, telling him she wasn"t immune despite the walls she"d erected to keep him out. And she didn"t pull away. He allowed those small indicators to give him hope.
She let out a sigh. "Why are you suddenly back in my life, pushing for dinners, wanting to help me, claiming you care?"
Her eyes filled, and his gut clenched at the sight, reminding him of her pain-filled expression when he"d callously broken up with her months ago.
"Because I do."
"People who care don"t treat each other the way you treated me."
His hands curled into tight fists in his lap, beneath the table where she couldn"t see. "I know and I"m sorry." The word came out easier than he"d thought it would.
"You"re what?" she asked, obviously stunned.
He didn"t blame her for being surprised. "I"m sorry."
That one word took the heat out of her eyes, and for that he was glad. After years of people catering to his every want and need, he wasn"t a man used to apologizing. He didn"t do it often, but he"d needed to do it now, bigger and with more feeling than he"d given her so far.
"I"m sorry I threw you out of my hospital room," he said on a deep breath. "You didn"t deserve for me to break up with you that way, and I regret how I handled things."
But not that he"d done it, Madison thought, her heart cracking a little more. Still, an apology from Alex was a big deal and something she"d never thought she"d get. "Thank you."
He nodded. "Now can I call my friend Jon? He"s a d.a.m.ned good attorney."
She needed help but hated to take from anyone. Years of being dependent on others for the very basics had taught her to value her independence and ability to care for herself. But this situation wasn"t typical, and it wasn"t just about herself. Franny had plans for her land that Eric didn"t support, and Madison would be d.a.m.ned if she"d let him get his hands on the power of attorney and undermine all the good that could come from those intentions.
Her last foster family was unusual in that they had money. They didn"t rely on the state checks, as many of her past families had done. Franny had taken Madison in because she"d wanted a teenage girl around, and Eric had always resented the attention showered on her. As adults, that resentment hadn"t waned. When Daniel had pa.s.sed away, he"d left the bulk of his money to his wife, but he"d given both Madison and Eric a stipend, something Eric had also begrudged her. The money wasn"t much, but the very idea that an outsider could get her hands on family money galled Eric. He was as nasty to her now as he had been as a child.
Eric worked in construction. He"d owned his own company but had driven that business into the ground during the recession. Still, he had powerful connections with people in their town who wanted his resort idea to go through. And he needed the money it would generate to get himself back on top.
He also had his grandparents" substantial inheritance, if he hadn"t run through that cash just yet. He meant to get his way. Which meant allowing Alex to pay for top-notch legal counsel was probably a smart move. Not that she liked owing him anything, but there was more at stake than her own ego or sense of independence.
"Okay, you can make the call," she said. "And Alex?"
"Yes?" he asked.
She met his gaze. "Thank you. Somehow I"ll pay you back."
"You"re welcome, and I don"t want your money."
She wasn"t about to turn a gracious gesture into an argument.
"I"ll handle it first thing tomorrow morning. Now will you relax and eat, or do you want it reheated first?"
"It"s fine." In fact, now that the burden had been lifted somewhat, she was starving. "I"m actually hungry," she admitted.
He grinned and shamelessly watched her eat. She was too ravenous to even care. A little while later, she"d finished off her pasta, and they"d ordered coffee.
"Alex, it"s so good to see you!" A tall older man wearing a chef"s hat and ap.r.o.n strode over to the table. "My Anna told me you were here. And who is this beautiful woman?"
Alex smiled at the man, then rose to shake his hand and pull him into a brief hug. "Emilio, this is Madison Evans. Madison, this is the best chef closest to my apartment," he said, laughing. "I"m kidding. The best chef in Miami. He"s a well-kept secret, and considering how often I eat here, I"d like to keep it that way."
"You flatter me." The chef turned his dark gaze on Madison. "Nice to meet you, Madison." He looked her over, ending his perusal with a warm smile. "I"m thrilled to finally meet someone special. Alex is always here alone, but he deserves-"
"Your creme brlee dessert," Alex said, interrupting him, for which Madison was grateful.
Neither one of them wanted her labeled as someone special in his life.
"I can take a hint. It seems like only yesterday I wanted to be alone with Anna. Now? A full restaurant makes us happy, and going home at night together makes us content." He strode off toward the kitchen, humming as he walked.
Madison smiled. "He"s a nice man."