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It was so me to fall for the guy that I couldn’t have.
Because this man had made it clear that this was temporary, but that didn’t stop me from wanting him.
“Tell me what it was like growing up in a house with all those kids and all that love there,” he said, surprising me with the question. His fingers gently traced up and down my back and neck.
“Crazy. Chaotic. Fun. Frustrating,” I said. “Being the baby of the family can be difficult sometimes. Everyone thinks they know what’s best for me. But at the same time, I never have a day in my life where I don’t know how much I’m loved.”
“That’s the dream, right?” he said, his voice low and serious, as if he was deep in thought.
I pushed up to look at him. “I see the way your grandfather looks at you, Maddox. And I don’t know your dad or your brother or your grandmother, but I’m guessing they love you fiercely, too.”
He smiled. One of those rare smiles that I got from him. Perfectly white teeth, handsome face, and a smile that reached his dark eyes. “That’s because you’re all good, Tink. You think everyone is lovable.”
“I don’t. But I know you are.”
Because I’m crazy in love with you.
Maddox wrapped his arms around me a little tighter, and I listened to the sound of his breaths. The way his chest rose and fell with me against him. The rhythmic beating of his heart soothed me. And I dozed off, feeling more relaxed and content than I’d ever been in my life.
When I opened my eyes, the room was pitch dark, so I knew it was still nighttime. I glanced around the room, and Maddox was gone. I reached for my phone and saw that it was just after two o’clock in the morning, and I set it back down on the nightstand.
I pushed to my feet and found his sweater on the floor and pulled it over my head. The warmth of the cashmere draped over me, fitting more like a dress, and I padded through the bedroom and out into the hallway.
Where could he have gone?
It was the middle of the night.
“Maddox?” I whispered.
I heard what sounded like a muffled voice in distress, and I hurried toward the bedroom at the end of the hallway. When I pushed the door open, Maddox had his hands up as he continued to yell, and it sounded like he was saying “help,” but it was hard to tell.
I moved to the side of the bed, and I reached for his hands. “Hey, it’s me. You’re okay.”
He pulled his hands away and flailed a little bit, but I moved closer, my hands on each side of his face. “Maddox. Maddox.”
I kept my voice calm. I’d heard my mom talk about patients who had night terrors, and I knew I wasn’t supposed to wake him, but I couldn’t stand seeing him so upset.
I continued saying his name, and he eventually stopped shouting, and his eyes shot open.
He looked terrified at first. Confused. Devastated. I couldn’t place all the things I saw in his dark gaze.
“You’re okay,” I whispered.
“Tink?” He blinked a few times before sitting up and rubbing a hand over his face.
“I came looking for you. I didn’t know where you went.”
He looked so vulnerable when his gaze met mine. It nearly took my breath away. “I don’t normally spend the night with the women that I’m with. I don’t do sleepovers.”
Yet he’d asked me to stay with him for a few days? It appeared we were both having lots of firsts.
“Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“I don’t like to advertise the fact that I have nightmares, Georgia. It’s not something I’m proud of.”
I pushed him down to lie on his back, and I slipped into the bed beside him, my fingers moving along his jaw in an attempt to comfort him. “Nor should it be something you are ashamed of. Lots of people have nightmares, Maddox.”
He let out a long breath. “Fuck. This is complicated. I wanted you to stay here for a few days, but I thought if I slept in another room, I wouldn’t wake you up.”
