Her official position, however, meant she would be as involved in our event at her club as she wanted to be, and likely already had been.
“Did you know I would be here today?”
She gave a slight nod as she crossed her arms. “I did.”
“But you had Suzanne give us the tour.”
The fingers of her right hand drummed onto her left bicep. “There was no need for me to parade you around the grounds. It’s Suzanne’s job.”
“Which is?”
Something electronic chimed, and it wasn’t my cell phone. Madison ignored the sound without so much as a muscle twitch. “Private event coordinator.”
“And who will we be working with on this event?”
Her brows raised slightly. “Who would you like to be working with?”
“I’m good with Suzanne.” The words were flat, not from force but by my lack of emotion in this negotiation. In her. Everything about her being here without my knowing didn’t sit right with me.
Disappointment flickered across her face before she took a deep breath. Then her eyes narrowed imperceptibly, like she was trying to read me. Her head tilted slightly. “Who was the girl?”
“What girl?”
“I know your sisters. The other girl, the pretty waif.”
I smiled. A genuine actual fucking smile lit my face from the inside out, both in thinking about Hannah and in knowing how badly Hannah’s presence likely bothered Madison.
“That’s Hannah. She’s my girlfriend, and our baker.”
Madison countered in a matter-of-fact tone, “We have a baker.”
Transparent. But not unexpected. “She is
our
baker. The client hired Invitation Only, and we only work with Hannah. It’s a done deal; the ink is already dry on the contract.”
She gave a slight headshake. “Nothing happens here without my approval.”
Ah, power. There was the old Madison I remembered. She loved it, clearly got off on it. But power was a perception. And fleeting.
“Well, tell that to your member,
our client
. If they want the event in your country club and you don’t ‘approve’ of us running our show exactly as we want, you can tell them they need to find another event company. Good luck with that.”
I turned away to leave.
A heavy sigh huffed out behind me. “I suppose I could make an allowance.”
When I glanced over my shoulder, her arms had dropped, hands fisting at her sides. The concession was killing her. Good. A little pain would be healthy to someone who inflicted it so easily.
I stared hard at her, unblinking. Invitation Only’s business was at stake here, and I needed to define all the boundaries. “Remember, we work with Suzanne, and only Suzanne. We have free reign over everything regarding the event. It’s the only way we work. And no interference. If I even catch wind that you’ve had a hand in anything that goes wrong, I’ll hold you personally accountable. Oh, and our mutual client will be fully informed of our history.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re planning to tell the client about us?”
A wry smile twisted my lips. “I believe in full disclosure, Madison. Clients don’t like surprises. Neither do I.”
For an instant, her expression flashed mild amusement before hardening once again. Like none of my conditions fazed her. Like the obstacles were nothing more than a challenge, a game.
Yeah? Well, game on.
Unimpressed with her as a threat, I turned without another word and strode down the hall. I looked forward to the upcoming dual event going smoothly. In spite of the unpredictable five-foot-eight blonde.
As I rounded the corner, I sensed Madison still stood down the hall. No need to glance at her to know she fumed, wishing she had more control of the situation—control over me.
But she didn’t.
I was happy. In love with a real woman who knew what love meant. And Hannah and I were invincible together.
My step lightened along with my mood. Nothing could touch that. Not the outside world, not fate, and certainly not one Madison Kensington.
The best revenge is living well.
After searching the front lobby of the country club for any clues of where the spa area might be, I spotted the girls through the glass doors that led onto the patio.
All of them were laughing, Kristen shaking her head and Kiki clapping Kendall on the back. But my gutter mind suspected Kendall had lost her filter with her potent long island iced tea and voiced a naughty thought they shared, because every one of them held a guilty expression.
I’d been outnumbered by women enough to know when girl talk went wild by casual observation. My gaze trained on Hannah, however, the one girl I hadn’t been around long enough to read all her little nuances. After the Madison encounter in the hall, I wanted to be sure Hannah was okay.
It didn’t take rocket science, however, to know she wasn’t her comfortable free-spirited self. A subtle sign was in the smile that failed to hold true. But the moment she saw me approach, she tilted her head and her concerned expression changed into a reassuring smile.
“How did it go? Are you okay? Do I need to knock Selfish Bitch on her ass?” Hannah’s eyebrows raised in hope.
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “What I wouldn’t pay to see that happen. And yeah, I’m good. Madison may be trying to change, but I saw glimpses of her old self shining through.”
“Selfish Bitch?” Kendall snorted. “That shit’s hilarious.”
Kiki blinked. “Am I missing something? We know you guys broke up. But do we need details? Should I deck Selfish Bitch too?”
I shook my head, needing to diffuse the situation. This wasn’t the time or place. “Someday, I’ll fill you guys in. Let’s just say, it’s a bitch of a story. That’s why I’ve never shared it.”
Hannah asked, “What’s she even doing here?”
I cleared my throat. “We have the luck of Madison being GM of the club.”
Kendall shook her head. “How is that even possible? Wouldn’t the club want years of experience in a GM?”
I shrugged, not wanting to give more brain cells to the matter than necessary. “We were all born with country club silver spoons in our mouths, raised in a place like this. That’s a qualification right there. When we dated, she took a handful of undergrad courses in hotel and restaurant management. Maybe she got a degree in Europe. The place seems to run smoothly, so she hasn’t botched things up yet.”
Kristen crossed her arms as understanding washed across her expression. Of all my sisters, she likely suspected how bad my breakup with Madison had been. She glanced at Hannah, then looked pointedly at me. “Cade, what’s your gut tell you? Is she the one behind the games?”
I exhaled a slow breath, thinking about it again. “Madison is plugged in to the industry. Our suppliers are likely the same as hers. With her connections, she could probably draw our network map in the span of a lunch hour.”
I glanced at them all. “It’s possible. Can’t rule it out. But we also can’t do or say anything about it without proof, so keep your eyes and ears open. If it’s her, and there’s an opportunity for us to catch her, we need to jump on it.”
Kristen pursed her lips, staring hard at me. “You still good with running point on this?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, giving Hannah a tight squeeze of reassurance. “If Madison decides to meddle, we’ve got her. And if she catches wind that I’m running the show, she might be more inclined to toss a wrench in the gears. Besides, you’ve got too many other things on your plate to take this on too.” Plus, the business side of me railed at the thought of stepping aside because of Madison.
“Madison attempted to flex her authority already. She tried to dictate how a detail was going to go down. But I snapped back full force, reminding her who her client was and that we didn’t operate from under anyone’s thumb. She either gave us unrestricted authority to serve the client who hired us, or we didn’t play ball at all. Still, I’m willing and able to handle the project in spite of her being a nuisance. I’m more motivated than anyone else because of it.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here.” Kristen nodded, then turned, leading us out through the lobby.
Kiki pulled on the door heading out the front of the club, but then paused, glancing back. “What detail did she try to dictate?”
“We use her baker, not Hannah.”
“Fuck that!” Kiki scowled, whirling around.
Kendall’s and Kristen’s mouths dropped opened.
Hannah simply shook her head and huffed out a laugh.
Kristen’s deepening scowl was epic. “We’re in this together. Period.”
I grinned. “Damn straight.” I gave Hannah another tight squeeze as I guided her through the door. I squinted in the midafternoon sun, then unclipped my sunglasses from my T-shirt and slid them on.
Did I feel bad about my sisters and Hannah calling her Selfish Bitch? Fuck no. I didn’t like being surprised in the hallway earlier. Madison should’ve known that would set me off. And besides, she’d put me through the ringer years ago. Madison had earned the nickname. The vulnerable side she’d shown at the coffeehouse last week was too new—foreign.
It would take a lot more than that for me to trust she could be different.
***
The ride back to my place was quiet with the wind tunnel around my bike and helmets on our heads, which gave us both mental space to process what had happened at the country club. Hannah didn’t say much during dinner prep or the main course, but I didn’t want to have a heavy conversation in front of the guys. Yet, even with Ben and Mase being in rare comedic form, her difference escaped no one’s notice.
I began to worry, and was about to say something, when Mase spoke up.
“Hannah, you okay? You’re poking that fish like you expect it to swim away at some point.” Mase slipped a scrap under the table to a whining Ava. The sounds of chomping quickly followed.
Hannah glanced at me like I understood.
And I thought I did, if being unsettled was the source of her hardened expression and quiet demeanor. Sure as fuck was for me.
She shifted her gaze to Mase. “Yeah. Just got to see the notorious Selfish Bitch from afar.”
Ben choked on the wine he’d been swallowing. “What? Who’s ‘Selfish Bitch?’”
“Madison,” I muttered as I scowled at my empty plate.
The guys stared hard at Hannah. Ben put his wineglass down. “Hannah, that ‘Selfish Bitch’ could only
hope
to be anything remotely close to you.”
Mase gave a single hard nod. “Never liked her. Cold. Calculating.”
I agreed with Mase and Ben. “Is that what’s wrong? They speak the truth, babe. You are amazing.”
She let out a hard sigh and pushed back from the table, straightening. “No, it’s not like that. I’m just pissed. I’m mad that she may be trying to hurt Cade. The business. What we’re all working so hard to create.”
“Madison can’t hurt me. She can’t hurt us.”
Hannah’s gaze dropped down to her plate, frowning.
Frustrated at seeing her unfazed by our words, I scraped my chair back and stood. “That’s it.” I scooped Ava up into my arms. “My room. Now.”
I towered beside her, pointing in the direction of the hall. When all Hannah did was glance up at me, raising her eyebrows with a challenging expression, I plopped Ava into her lap, yanked her chair back, and lifted Hannah out of it, puppy and all.
Hannah squealed, then laughed as Ava drowned her face in puppy-bath licks on our way down the hall. I shouldered through my half-open bedroom door, kicked it shut, and leaned over the bed, carefully depositing my cargo on it. Ava raced around on the comforter, tail wagging on her fuzzy little body as she vibrated with excitement.
Hannah grinned. “What was that all about, Neanderthal?”
“Sudden puppy-love therapy. I’ve heard it’s effective.” I crossed my arms.
Hannah straightened out, reclining on the bed as she extended a welcoming arm toward me. I took her hand and stretched alongside her, kissing her softly. Ava, however, wriggled her cute little ass in between our chests. Then, once she got situated, she collapsed from her effort with a soft chuff.
Ava’s eyes drifted shut while Hannah stroked a soft ear before kissing it.
Not wanting our sudden happiness to subside, I lifted Hannah’s fingers and kissed the back of her knuckles. “I meant what I said. You are amazing. You are everything to me.”
“You are my world too. I’m just frustrated. On how to protect you from her. It doesn’t matter to me what she said to you at the coffeehouse. About her having changed. The stunt she pulled at the country club doesn’t show it. I don’t trust her.”
When she exhaled on a heavy sigh, I tucked a finger under her chin, forcing her gaze to mine. “You don’t have to trust her. Hell, I don’t. Just trust me. Believe in my ability to protect us—to handle everything.” I leaned forward, careful not to disturb Ava, and kissed Hannah, long and slow.
When I pulled away, she said, “I’m sorry little things keep throwing me. Especially surprises from our past.”
Irritated that any shit from my past was affecting Hannah, I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. I had to stay calm, bolster her. Not get sucked under by it. Because the damned surprises were throwing me too. “No, Hannah. Don’t apologize.” I shook my head. “Pissed and frustrated, but staying here to fight with me—that’s being strong.”