Page 123 of Mad Rivals
He doesn’t even blink at my intimidation techniques. “God, you’re hot when you go full-business mode on me. Now when you say prenup…am I hearing a yes?”
I laugh, and it’s one of those deep belly laughs—a truly light and happy feeling that I haven’t felt in far too long. Probably since the last time we were together. Once I take a breath and can use my voice again, I say, “It’s still not a no. I just need some time.”
“I understand, and I will wait forever if I have to.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his, and it’s this display of patience right here that tells me we’re going to be okay.
CHAPTER 53: Madden Bradley
Secrets
I came here today to win her back. Does not having her answer scare me? Fuck yeah it does.
But so much of life is fearfully walking through it, totally unsure of what could be waiting on the other side. If we let the fear win, well, that’s not really living life at all. And so I’ll live for her, sure of us even if she’s not, ready to give her whatever she needs to prove to her that this is the future we both deserve.
“When I said fifty-one and forty-nine, I was kind of just testing you,” she says.
I glance over at her with a laugh. “I know. But honestly, if that’s what it takes to prove to you that I’m in this, then I’ll agree to it.”
She presses her lips together.
“We don’t need to decide anything tonight, Kennedy. But I do need to get home. I have to be at the training facility in the morning by six. We’re here in town this week, but next week we’ll head to SDSU for camp with the rest of the team. Will you come back to my place with me tonight?”
She nods. “Of course.”
She packs a quick overnight bag and follows me in her car to my place. I decide to check in with Dex on my way home, and his voice comes through the Bluetooth speaker in my car a moment later.
“Mad Brad,” he answers. “Don’t you have camp tomorrow?”
“Yeah, but I figured I could check on my little brother first.”
He laughs at the technicality. He’s my younger brother, sure, by two years—a far cry from our youngest brother, Liam, who’s nine years younger than me.
“Did you get everything ironed out with your situation?” I ask. I realize now he never really told me much about what was going on. Or maybe I didn’t ask. I was a little busy with Kennedy at the time as we started building the foundation that carried us to where we are now.
“No, actually. I, uh…I recently got some news, and I’m not really sure what to do with it. Actually, a couple pieces of news.”
“I take it you were planning to pick up the phone and call your older brother?” I ask.
“I called Ev instead,” he says.
“Did you want to talk about whatever it is?” I ask.
“No,” he says vaguely. “What about you? Anything new?”
Aside from the fact that I discovered our father’s illegal underground casinos, signed the paperwork to become Bradley Group’s CEO, and proposed marriage to a woman? “Yeah. Life’s been a little crazy lately.”
“When isn’t it?”
Ain’t that the damn truth?
As if the gods can tell I’m holding back some news, I swear I hear a baby cry in the background.
“I gotta go,” he says, and he hangs up without so much as a goodbye.
So Dex has some news, he talked to Everleigh about it, and there may or may not be something wherever he was that makes the same sounds as a baby crying?
What the hell is going on?
I guess we’re all keeping some secrets, and like most secrets, the only thing that will reveal them is time. Now that I’m wondering what Dex is hiding, I can’t help but wonder when the rest of the family’s secrets will come out.
