Page 62 of Spades

God, I just left it there. Luckily no one picked it up.

Normally I’d leave it in my locker, but I want to ask Dinah about that note.

I look back at her. “Do you have a second?”

She cocks her head. “Yeah. As long as it’s a literal second.”

“Well, fifteen seconds then.”

She grins. “I think I can manage that.”

I lead her over to the nurses counter and pull the tiny blue sticky note out of my bag. “Is this Vietnamese?”

She looks at the note, her eyebrows rising. “Where did you get this?”

“I went back to that club last night with Maddox. This was attached to my drink. Could have been a mistake, attached by accident.” I move my weight from one leg to the other. For some reason, my stomach is fluttering with nerves. “Is it just a drink order?”

She shakes her head. “No, it’s not that.” She scratches the back of her neck. “And you received this from a server?”

“I’m not sure if I received it or if it just made its way to me. All I know is that it was attached to my drink.”

Dinah swallows, looking back at the note. “Well, itisVietnamese. The handwriting is a little scratchy, and one of the words is misspelled, but it’s pretty clear what the note is saying.”

My heart starts to race. “What does it say?”

Dinah stares at me, her eyes wide. “Please help me.”

22

MADDOX

I should have just openedthe shop late, spent the morning with Alissa.

I’ve had a few people come in, and even one sale, but nothing worth a few extra hours with the woman of my dreams.

God…

Since when do I use the phrase “the woman of my dreams?”

I’ve never been a romantic. I’ve always been the type of guy who’s avoided a relationship in favor of focusing all of my energy on the shop. I’ve had one real relationship in the past, and one… Well, anotheraffiliationwith a woman that transcends definition.

I occasionally meet a woman at Aces, have some fun fooling around with her, and then leave it at that. Whenever I’ve taken a woman home, I’ve always been up-front about our encounter being strictly casual and unlikely to lead to a relationship. She’s usually just as happy as I am to keep those boundaries in place.

I always figured that if a relationship was meant to be, it would land in my lap.

And three days ago, Alissa Maravilla walked into my shop.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since.

The mere thought of her, of what we did last night, is enough to get all my juices flowing.

Fuck. Could I truly be falling in love with her?

I never thought it would be possible after…

After her.

One of the only other women who could rouse Mad Maddox from his slumber. My only true capital-R relationship. The woman who fucked me over when I was at my lowest point.

---