Page 14 of Gilded Bird

“Come back to me,” Maddox pleads, letting me go. “Do not make me come find you, Mika.”

With a salacious drag of his bedroom eyes over me, he turns to his financier-volleyball buddies. I make my way through the crowd, feeling his heavy gaze on me. Sure enough, when I glance back, his eyes track my every move. I cannot surprise my smile and he grins, winking at me.

In the kitchen, Jade is running around several bowls of food, some pans cooking on the stove, and something baking in the oven. When she sees me, she flushes then waves a hand, asking without words for help bailing her out. Laughing, I run over to her, taking her shaking hands.

“Calm down sweetheart,” I say gently, brushing some hair from her frazzled face. “This all looks and smells wonderful. You look amazing. Everyone out there adores Jameson or you, so they’re here to be with you. Tell me what I can do.”

“Well, you just did it. I wanted to impress you and his friends, make a nice big meal. I am not much of a cook. I’ve been watching the cooking channel all week,” she admits with a shaky laugh.

Laughing with her, I gather her close, swaying just slightly with her. There is no need for her to impress me. Or his friends. They will either like her, or they won’t be in Jameson’s life. He loves her, and he would never let someone hurt her or make her feel bad. Even if the food is awful or she sets the place on fire, none of that would matter to my son.

“No need to impress me, sweetheart. I was impressed the first time I saw my son look at you. You might know his father and I…. we were together for a lot of reasons, most of them wrong. When I saw him look at you that first day he introduced us, it was like…it was an aha moment, Jade. As if I were truly seeing what love looks like for the first time. It was beautiful and it was enough for me to be impressed, to love you because he loves you.”

“Thank you, Mika,” she beams up at me as we pull back from the hug. “He loves you so much. His father…he respects him, he loves him, but you were the person who made him who he is. I want to thank you for that. He is such a good man. He is understanding, kind, and so giving. I love him and knowing he loves me is a gift. He wants you to find someone, he hates that you might be lonely. We won’t let that happen.”

I am hit with the sudden urge to divulge my secret about Maddox. I want to talk to someone about how special, and how good he has made me feel. It would be nice to girl talk with Jade, to bond with her over us having men in our lives. It is the moment I realize I am in way over my head now.

How did I ever think I would get away with lying about falling in love with Maddox?

Chapter Eight

Maddox

Seeing Mika glow because of me feels damn good.

Watching her eyes swing to me, her face flushing when she finds me staring at her makes my heart expand. I cannot take my eyes off her. In that beautiful, sexy dress she wore for me tonight--and I know damn well she wore that for me--how could anyone take their eyes off her.

With her golden hair pulled back on one side, the light catching the silver, she looks like a movie star. Without a hint of makeup on her face, her sun-kissed skin makes her seem ethereal. Her blue eyes find mine again and I smirk because, damn, that woman is mine. Even if she ain’t ready to admit it yet, we both know it’s true.

“This is beautiful Jade,” I commend her on the meal. “Don’t go spoiling our boy though, make sure he rolls his sleeves up for the cleanup.”

Jameson laughs, gazing beside him at the woman who stole his heat. My gaze fixes on Mika again, and I want to tell the entire room, the entire world, that I am in love with her. I had always believed I was, but now I have felt it snap into place in my soul, have felt it work its way into my bones. I was positive it was not a boyhood crush and now I know.

“Mika helped a lot,” Jade offers, smiling across the table at her. “I thought I knew what I was doing until I realized I was clueless. I am excited to learn a thing or two from her. She is amazing in the kitchen.”

“Jameson, do you remember those cookies she made us?”

“How could I forget? Our kitchen would be a mess, the entire place would smell amazing. Those cookies they…it was like getting a hug. Chocolate chips, butterscotch pieces, peanutbutter…haven’t had those in ages. Ma, can you show my girl how to make those?”

Mika sits up with a smile on her face, nodding. Because of course, she would love to share that with Jade. Only I see the flash of discomfort. I see it because my eyes stay trained on her the way they have for half my life.

Sharing that special recipe with Jade is one step closer to her handing her son over. While I can tell the two women truly like one another, and Mika was glad to help her in the kitchen, I sense the reality of her little boy growing up and away from her hits her with the mention of the cookies.

I am hit with regret for mentioning them. My senses scream for me to go to her, to hold her through it. Mika has had to go through a lot alone, even when she had a son and husband there. They’re both good men and I believe they love her, even her husband I have to admit begrudgingly, but neither of them saw her hurt or loneliness.

Mika swings her gaze my way, giving the slightest nod. Because she sees my desire to soothe her. To take care of her. I would guess anyone else who sees me looking at her, sees it too. How could I possibly hide it? I have always looked at her this way, only now it is stronger, more intense, and I fear there is no way for me to fool my best friend.

“I would love to bake cookies with you. Baking is not a friend of mine,” Jade teases, smiling at Mika as she fits a smile on her face.

“We’ll make a day of it soon,” Mika offers, nodding her head even as the sadness fills her eyes.

Dinner carries on, but I have lost my appetite. All I can think of is how Mika is feeling. How she will do anything to make the men in her life happy, even if it hurts her. Sharing the recipe is no big deal, I am sure she loves the idea of making cookieswith Jade. It’s just one more piece of herself she has had to give up.

After dinner, Jameson leads everyone out back where a fire pit waits, flickering in the dark moonlit night. He and some of the guys from his bar, Sunset Shots, put on a little show making drinks for everyone. I watch Mika skirt the crowd to avoid being noticed. Thinking no one will notice, she heads back inside, her body language showing how upset she is.

Following her a few moments later, making sure people have their attention still trained on the guys mixing drinks, I know where I will find her. I stand in the darkness of the kitchen, watching her clean up the mess Jade made putting together this dinner. Something about the softness of her shoulders, the heaviness of her breathing, and the bow of her head makes my heart ache for her.

“Mika, you don’t have to give every single part of yourself away.”