Page 234 of Lovers' Dance

“And your family?” she shot back. “Tell me, what are their views on your relationship?”

Matt’s aloof mask was on as he answered, “My siblings are becoming quite fond of her.”

“Your parents?” Cleo asked. “Are they becoming fond of her, too?”

Matt wondered whether Madi had told her aunt about his parents’ continued frigidness with her. He wondered if she’d confided the hateful things Grumps had said to her. “They will come around soon enough.”

Cleo snorted, her gaze looking over him with something close to righteous disgust. “They don’t accept her, yet you expect us to accept you? Judging us for not doing so, when your own family don’t like her?”

“I’ve proposed to Madi, and she’s accepted,” he repeated. “We will be married and, whoever disagrees, well, that is not my concern. I love your niece, and I will protect her.”

“She’s a black woman,” Cleo replied in a hard voice. “She was raised knowing she doesn’t need a man to protect her. She can protect herself. I’m not going to lie, I can’t pretend to be happy about this because I’m not.” She held her head high, a haughty demeanour that reminded him of Madi. “I will say this though, my niece may be angry with me, she may never forgive me…I hurt—we hurt each other something bad yesterday. But God as my witness, you break her heart and there is nowhere you can hide from me. I don’t care how much money you have. Something you should know about black women: You do not hurt our kin, not if you value your life.”

Matt watched the bristling woman in front of him. He could see the shine of tears in her eyes even though she maintained a hard glare in his direction.

He sighed, knowing there was nothing he could say to assure her that he would never cause Madi pain, but he tried anyway. “I would never hurt her. I’m going to marry her and, you may not believe it, but she means everything to me.”

“I don’t trust you, Matthew Bradley,” Cleo said with a finality that echoed around the room.

Matt nodded. “She’ll be waiting for you, whenever you’re ready. Madi will be waiting, because that’s the type of person she is.”

Cleo looked at her husband, then back at Matt. The tiniest of smiles rippled over her mouth as she shook her head slowly. “You still have a lot to learn about my Madi. You’re right, she loves without conditions and boundaries. This cheque in my hand here is a prime example of that, but her forgiveness is not limitless. You ever hurt her deep and you’ll see what I mean. You don’t know my Madi.”

“I know what matters,” Matt countered.

Cleo stared at him for a moment, then walked out of the sitting room without a further word. Matt sighed as David got up and walked towards the door, holding it open for him.

“They’re both hurting,” David said as Matt headed for the door.

“I hoped I could fix it,” Matt said dryly.

David peered at him and shrugged. “A man doesn’t have the necessary tools to fix something like this. It’s up to them.” David paused and stepped back so Matt could walk out of the house. Then he called, “Hurt her and I will send my Cleo after you. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

Matt snorted in disbelief before turning on his heels and heading for the waiting limo. At least he had tried.

He spent the next few hours shopping, an absolute chore, but he knew the twins would never forgive him if he returned home empty handed. When he walked into the condo, he directed his two shadows to leave the numerous bags in the foyer. He was about to dismiss them when he heard a muffled grunt followed by a shouted, “Ai-yah!”

They all moved as one unit towards the living space. Matt outpaced the men paid to protect him, but his only concern was Madison. The sight that met his eyes had him forcibly swallowing his laughter as he plastered a unamused expression on his face.

“Ya!” Madi yelled, pretending to slam a fist in Ryan’s chest. She hadn’t noticed the return of Matt and his shadows. Ryan looked over at Matt, his weary expression making Matt think this had been going on for a while.

“Ai-yah!” She stood on one leg, the other raised in a high kick. “See? I’ve got ninja skills, Hulk.”

“Yes, Ms DuMont,” Ryan replied politely.

“Poppet,” Matt called and she spun around with wide eyes. “Stop play fighting with Ryan. I’m not paying him enough to deal with this.”

“Ah, yes,” she mumbled. “I was showing Hulk here my moves.”

Matt could see she was embarrassed at being caught messing around. She was blushing but, if he called her on it she would deny it, using her mantra of ‘Black girls don’t blush.’ He observed her for a minute, eyes running over her white t-shirt and matching yoga pants, hair pulled back in a high ponytail which put emphasis on her striking features. She was beautiful. There was no need for her to dress up or wear makeup. None of those things women did to make themselves appealing to the opposite sex was necessary with her. She was simply beautiful just as she was.

Matt realized he’d been staring at her for longer than was polite in the presence of company. The knowing male glances being exchanged between the guards had Matt adjusting the open look of longing on his face.

He cleared his throat and turned to Ryan. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning at six am. That will be all.” He gestured to the front door, dismissing the men. Once he was alone with Madi, his hands started tugging his shirt out of his pants. She arched an eyebrow at him and took a few steps back.

“Did you have breakfast, poppet?” Matt asked, undoing the buttons of his shirt.

“Yes,” she confirmed, eyeing him. “Ryan brought me food.”

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