Page 63 of Ever With Me

Good God, the man and his mouth.

Not one of her boyfriends had ever talked to her like that, which seemed to widen the gap between them. Her inexperience and his clear abundance of experience. This hadn’t been an offer for some sort of relationship that could lead to forever.

He’d offeredsex.Raw, feral, unattached sex with him. And heobviouslyknew what he was doing in that department.

Somehow, she’d narrowly dodged the temptation he’d offered. Like she’d passed some great test.

Congratulations, Maddie, you don’t take advantage of drunk men.

Maybe it wouldn’t matter to him, but she sure as hell knew how much it would matter in reverse. She sighed. “You okay? Want me to get you some water?”

“Just go!” Brooks hollered back.

Better to give him some space.

She went back out to the kitchen, poured him a glass of water, then brought it back to the bedroom. Setting it on the nightstand beside the bed, she sat wearily.

“Can you go check on Brooks, please?”Cormac had asked.

“What can I do? I barely know him, Cormac.”

“You might be able to save him, Maddie. I don’t know. But I know Brooks. And I’ve never seen him so out of it.”

Saving a rock star was not on the agenda for her life.

But he wasn’t just some random guy on a poster anymore, either.

She’d felt a tug between them. Thought about him all day, every day, since they’d met on Sunday.

And apparently, it’s not so one-sided.

A small cry made her sit straighter.

Maddie frowned, then turned toward the door.

Was it some wounded animal?

She listened more closely.

“Audrey!” Maddie leaped off the bed, then rushed out of the primary suite toward the sound of Audrey’s cries.

She found the four-year-old sitting up in the bed, tears staining her cheeks. “Mommy!” Audrey cried. “I want my mommy!”

Maddie picked her up. “Shhh . . . honey, it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Audrey flailed against her. “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”

Lindsay used to have night terrors like this.

But that was a long time ago.

Bouncing her gently, Maddie carried Audrey out of the dark room and back down the hall toward the primary suite. Brooks was still in the bathroom, so Maddie turned off the lights, continuing to stroke Audrey’s back while she rocked her little body.

When Audrey still didn’t calm down, Maddie sang “Hallelujah.” The Rufus Wainwright song had been one of her niece’s favorites when Maddie babysat her.

Midway through the last verse, as Audrey continued to sob, Maddie switched to “Wildfire.”

Maybe Brooks would hear her, but she didn’t care right now. Audrey was crying so loudly that she had to sing loud enough so that she’d hear her.

---