Page 12 of Jack of Hearts
“I’m not the man for you, gorgeous.” He gave her a gentle push. “Enjoy your evening.” Without waiting to hear a protest, he lost himself in the crowd. The place was suffocatingly packed, and while normally he thrived on this kind of action, all Alex wanted to do was go home.
Where the hell was Ramon? The overwhelming scents of perfumes and colognes assaulted his nostrils as he pushed his way through the crowd. About the time he’d decided to say to hell with it and walk out, a beefy hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Alex spun, caught the man’s fingers in his grip, and bent one back. “Don’t ever touch me like that again, man.” He’d known it was one of Ramon’s men, but the only way to get respect from these dudes was to be meaner than they were.
The oversized, gym-muscled man squealed. “Damn, that hurts. Let go.”
“Where’s Ramon?” Alex let go of the man’s fingers.
“Upstairs. He’s got a table.”
Alex followed Ramon’s bodyguard, thinking it was going to be a hell of a long night.
It had been an exciting opening week, and as Madison studied the spreadsheet detailing their expenses and income, she tried not to think of Alex. He hadn’t called or texted once, obviously honoring her request not to return. Every night, she’d waited for a tap on her window that never came, and she had to stop hoping he would show up even after she’d told him not to. She could have texted him, but her pride had kept her from doing that.
She took a sip of coffee, grimacing. It had gone cold, and she eyed the clock, debating making another pot. It was after midnight, though, and she really should go to bed. Lauren was out on a first date with a guy she’d recently met, and Madison had been trying to wait up for her.
Not that she was worried about Lauren ... well, she was a bit. Her friend was a little on the wild side when it came to men. All Lauren knew about this new guy was his name, Nelson Lopez, and that he was a drop-dead gorgeous model who liked to collect old books.
Lauren was hot in a bad girl kind of way. Madison envied Lauren’s short, spiky brown hair with blonde highlights. She would love to wear her hair like that, but where on Lauren it was sexy, on her it would just look stupid.
Edgy totally worked on Lauren, though, and men were drawn to her like drone bees to their queen. There was an air about her that promised excitement and a bit of naughty fun. She was also the best friend Madison had ever had. Underneath the fun-loving, devil-may-care persona was a woman who Madison knew without doubt she could always depend on, and she hadn’t hesitated to sign on as Lauren’s business partner.
Hemingway dug his claws into her legs when she tried to pick him up so she could stand. “Ouch, you little monster.” He blinked sleepy blue eyes at her, and she tapped his nose. “I’m not buying that innocent look.” She set him on the floor, carried her coffee cup to the kitchen, and grabbed a peanut butter cookie, munching on it as she headed to her bedroom.
Their bookstore opening had been better than they’d hoped, especially considering they’d not done any advertising. The first month was all about settling into a routine, learning the business of operating a bookstore, and working out any bugs that popped up. If things went as planned, they would be able to hire a part-time person before their grand opening so that she and Lauren didn’t have to be on hand six days a week, from the moment they unlocked the door until closing.
Everything was perfect in this part of her life. It was her mother who weighed the heaviest on her mind. As hard as Madison tried, it was proving impossible to pry Angelina Parker away from her twin brother’s influence. As far as Madison was concerned, her uncle Jose was a control freak, and saw himself as some kind of godfather who had the right to decide what was best for his sister and her.
Ever since Madison’s father had died, Angelina had leaned on her brother, allowing him to take charge of her life. As much as she could, Madison stepped between her mother and uncle, and she sensed Uncle Jose resented it. In most families, being close to a sibling was probably a good thing, but Madison couldn’t help feeling that the relationship between Angelina and Jose wasn’t a healthy one. It was a Cuban thing—especially with the older generation of males—this attitude that they knew what was best for the women in their life. And God forbid you should disagree with them.
Madison was still furious that Uncle Jose had taken over paying her mother’s bills. Then he’d decided his sister shouldn’t have to cook, so he’d arranged forLa Cantinato deliver meals to her each day. Madison had seen red when she’d learned that he’d even taken to buying Angelina’s clothes. Her mother needed to learn to stand on her own two feet, and Uncle Jose was doing his best to prevent that. All Madison knew to do was to continue to try and keep her mother away from him as much as possible.
An hour after going to bed, Madison gave up trying to go to sleep. Her mind was crammed too full of thoughts—worry for her mother, the bookstore, Lauren still being out, and yes, Alex—and sleep was elusive. She turned on her lamp, deciding she would read for a while. There were two books on her nightstand, one a romance, and one from her business management class. She chose the latter, figuring it would make her sleepy.
After reading a few chapters, she was nodding off when she heard a tap on her window. Alex? She waited for his special signal, and when it came, her heart screamed,Yes! Let him in.As she grabbed the robe she’d tossed onto a chair earlier, her brain questioned the wisdom of opening the window for him.
He had a girlfriend, and he’d made it clear that there wouldn’t be more kisses, or anything else happening between them. She opened the window anyway, but when she stepped back for him to enter, he shook his head.
“I don’t trust myself in a room that has both you and a bed in it,” he said, leaning back on the fire escape’s metal railing.
She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He’d just admitted he felt something for her but refused to do anything about it. Yet, since he had a girlfriend, she had to respect him for not being a cheater. Which only made her like him more.
Madison sat on the windowsill, noticing that he was dressed as if he’d been out for the night. It was impossible to decide whether she liked him better in his bad boy biker leathers or his trendy casual clothes. He must have been out clubbing. With Taylor? If so, why was he here instead of with her?
“How are you, Madison?”
She lifted her gaze to the sky. The earlier rain clouds had moved on, and stars twinkled against a black velvet background. Someday she’d love to go to a place where there were no artificial lights, lie on her back, and spend hours stargazing.
“I’m fine,” she said, shifting her eyes to his, sucking in a breath at how intensely focused he was on her. He confused her, and she wished she could have five minutes inside his mind.
“I’ve been worried about you.” He braced his hands on the railing behind him, causing his shirt to stretch across his chest and shoulders.
“Have you?” Her mouth dried as she imagined how he’d look without a shirt, because it was impossible to miss how muscled he was.
“I didn’t want to, but ...”—he spread out his hands—“there you have it.”
“Alex, what do you want from me?”
