Page 86 of Fought and Freed

“We love you, too. Was it that bad?” Maddy questioned, out of breath.

“Ah, Hell, I don’t know how I’ll survive this pregnancy if it’s mine.” He curled into the spot between their bodies. “She yelled at me for quitting school, saying I won’t make enough money to support them. She expects me to buy her a house.”

He glared up at the ceiling. “Oh, and listen to this one. She told me, once the baby comes, I won’t have time for you two!”

“What a bitch.” Maddy draped a leg over his. “If the baby is yours, I can see she and I will need to have a talk once it’s born.”

Jace shifted on the bed to see Skylar. “Where’s she living now?”

“With her mom,” Skylar said.

Jace pinched the bridge of his nose. “You don’t have to go see her alone. One of us can go with you.”

“I know.” He wanted to talk about something else and looked at Maddy. “Are we still having dinner with Uncle Gang Leader?”

Jace and Maddy snickered.

“I dare you to say that to his face,” Jace said.

“No way.” Skylar shook his head vehemently. “I’m not stupid.”

“To answer your question,” Maddy said, “Yes, we are. We have to be ready by five. I asked Lucca what kind of clothes we should wear tonight. He said casual but nice.”

“Five is still a couple of hours away.” He rolled toward Maddy, pulled her closer, and pressed his ass against Jace’s hips. “Let’s have some fun.”

With a mischievous smile, Maddy’s hand slipped under his shirt and trailed up his side to his ribs. “What do you think, Jace?”

Jace’s hand circled his wrist. “Two against one sounds fair.”

Skylar stiffened. “No, I meant—”

His words ended in laughter as the two ganged up on him, and their tickle war continued.

21

MADDY

The closer the clock moved to five pm, the more nervous Maddy got.

She was currently searching through her closet for something to wear and wishing she’d said yes to Torr coming over to help her get ready.

She picked up her phone, and in a panic, dialed her friend’s number.

Before Maddy could say hi, Torr spit out, “Wear khakis and that multi-colored blouse.”

With a sigh of relief, Maddy pulled out the suggested items. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“Also, wear your hair down and only use light makeup,” Torr suggested.

Maddy hadn’t even gotten that far in the planning. “Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

She hung up, put on the outfit Torr picked out, then realized she hadn’t said anything about shoes.

Maddy decided to go for it and wear heels.

When she headed downstairs, she found Cody standing in front of the fireplace, his favorite spot, looking hot as Hell. He wore jeans and a blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The blue of the shirt brought out his eyes.

Jace came out of the kitchen and stopped dead as he looked at her. A blush warmed her cheeks. He wore tight jeans with a t-shirt under a blazer with the sleeves pushed up. Damn, did he look sexy.

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