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Surprise at her words left me speechless.
Maddy shook her head, lipstick brush pointed at me. “Maybe it’s all a part of your charm. Not knowing just how gorgeous you are. If you tried half as hard as the rest of us, you could have any man you wanted from any direction.”
Maddytskedand set back to work on my lipstick.
I blinked rapidly, utterly baffled by what my friend just said. I took one last look and then picked up the tickets. “You’re crazy, Maddy. And wrong.” I held up a hand and started ticking off everything I have stacked against me. “One, I'm a Texas transplant to Seattle with a twangy drawl. Might as well put overalls on me in a city like this. Two, I’m a twenty-three year old college dropout, and three, I am working two jobs. Michael was right. I’m boring, practical and in bed by ten.”
I waved the tickets under her nose, done with the whole messy dissection of my life. “There are two tickets. Join me. Please don't let me do this alone. I mean, if I can do this, why can’t you?”
“I’m not crazy and when you do find your man, I’m going to so tell you I told you so.” She pointed to the tickets. “To those, I have to say no. I just can’t. My significant other would feel left out, babe. I can’t do that to him. Besides, I still have a few finishing touches to put on the wedding details.”
Maddy’s cheeks turned a pretty pink when she mentioned her fiancé, which made her look stunning without a drop of makeup on. She was the true epitome of beauty, not me.
“That sounds so much better. Let’s do that ins—”
Maddy threw up a hand, cutting me off. Her brows in a tight row of determination, eyes fierce. “Not a chance. Tonight is about you. You need this.” She took both my hands in hers. “Go, have fun. Enjoy a few drinks and cut loose a little. With any luck that asshole will be there, see you and know what a mistake he made in treating you so bad. And then you can walk all over him.”
God, I hoped not. I never heard of him going. It’s why I spent all my savings on the VIP tickets in the first place. He wanted to rub elbows with sports agents. Get his name out there so he could do what they do. It was the common denominator between us. Once upon a time I wanted to be a sports rehab therapist, and though I had to come back home to help my parents with a failing pizzeria, I wanted to one day return. He wanted to be a sports agent and we both loved football. Returning to college was all I could talk about at one time. Now the only thing I could think about was the balance of my bank account to make sure I could fund my book addiction and eat. But at one time, yeah, I had goals.
Maddy reached for my hand, and together we walked to the waiting taxi. A smile hovered on her lips as the driver rushed out to open my door, all dreamy-eyed. I slipped into the back seat. “Thank you for everything, Mads.”
Maddy’s eyes reflected pride as she closed the door and handed the address to the driver. “Have fun, babe, and make sure to call me if anything comes up. Anything, you got that? I will mama bear my way down there and take on anyone that stands in my way, too.”
From the protective look in her eyes I totally believed her. Only two years older than me, Maddy was the older sister I never had.
Pain of Michael’s words trailed after me as the taxi weaved in and out of Seattle traffic. No man should be able to hurt a woman so deeply, but he had driven each of his points home for damn sure. Maybe Madeline had it right. Maybe this could be the chance I needed to find the steel spine I misplaced somewhere along the way. A few dances with a handsome guy sounded nice. One of those drinks with the cherries, too. Maybe having a little fun tonight wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
“Sex with you will never happen. My dick can’t get hard for a little pathetic country girl like you. Might as well cut my losses.”
And just like that my heart tore a little more. Fucking prick.
“Miss?”
I pried my eyes off the floorboard to find the driver desperately trying not to stare at my cleavage.
Maybe Icouldattract enough attention to show my rotten ex what he missed.
“Yes?”
“We’re here.”
Chapter Two
Cade
Iclenched my jaw and scanned the monitors flashing one scene after another of II. Just another night like any other night. I braced my hands on the back of a chair. Throngs of people wanting to be seen and heard. Everyone from desperates wanting to be accepted by the popular crowd, to old players who knew the game all crowded into the two-story exclusive club and all came looking for the same thing—the limelight.
I used to be like so many of those fools. Wanting everyone’s attention and then by the time I had it, I realized the best thing in my life was gone. Elle Morgan. I let the most beautiful soul slip from my fingers because I chased fame and fortune.
Now that I had both…
I sighed gruffly. I turned to Jace, my best friend since forever it felt like most days. He had a drawn brow that gave him a puckered face oddly mirroring my sentiments of the evening perfectly. We had been friends from day one of college, on through football and now our pro days.
“You know, sometimes on nights like this I feel like standing in the middle of the room and just picking and saying that’s the one. Fate picked and I was only the instrument.”
Scanning the other half of monitors lining the wall in our office, Jace chuckled, which only irritated me more. We’ve talked about finding someone who completed us on and off for the past year. We had selective tastes in women with the utmost on the list being okay with our darker desires of sharing our women. And able to take all our devotion to her happiness.
Nothing else mattered beyond that and a kind soul.
