Page 15 of Jack of Hearts
“My apologies. I don’t mean to interrupt.”
“No, man, it’s cool. Grab a seat. As soon as my father and aunt open their presents, we’ll take off.”
Since manners had escaped Ramon, Alex held out a hand to Jose. “Alex Gentry. Happy birthday, Mr.Alonzo.”
The man eyed him, assessed him, dismissed him. Alex let his hand drop. “Perhaps I should wait for Ramon downstairs.”
Jose pointed to an empty seat a few chairs down. “Sit.”
Right. He would sit. His seat was directly across from Madison, unfortunately. How was he supposed to ignore her when her face was all he saw?
“I’m Trina,” a sultry voice said next to his ear.
Alex glanced at the woman he hadn’t noticed. “Alex Gentry.” In her late thirties, he guessed, she was extremely attractive, but he wasn’t interested in the invitation he saw in her eyes. Still, he smiled, playing the part Ramon would expect of him. “Pleased to meet you, Trina.”
Everyone quieted as Jose opened his first present, a box of Cuban cigars. “You know I’ll enjoy these.” Without personally thanking whoever gave him the cigars, he grabbed the next gift. “This one’s from Madison,” he said, reading the card.
He tore off the paper and turned the book over to show everyone before tossing it aside and moving on to the next wrapped package.
Madison leaned forward. “You love antique swords, Uncle. I thought you’d enjoy a coffee table book about them.”
“You should know I don’t care about books,” he said, not even pausing to look at her as he dug into the next gift.
Bastard.Alex took a moment to study the man. According to their research on Jose Alonzo, he was fifty-five, although he could pass for younger. His dark brown hair had silver streaks through it, giving him a distinguished look, as did the faint lines visible at the corners of his mouth and eyes.
The word was that the older Alonzo was grooming his son to take over. Alex wished him good luck with that. From his observation of Ramon, the man thought entirely too highly of himself. Ramon wasn’t half as smart as he believed he was.
Alex glanced at Madison, frowning at seeing her cheeks turn pink with embarrassment. Her gaze was on her half-eaten piece of birthday cake. He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and carry her out of this place, away from these poisonous people, but he had a job to do. What he wanted didn’t count. If Ramon didn’t get his fingers off her shoulders, however ... Alex tore his gaze away from the offending fingers before he did lose his cool.
Madison pushed her dessert plate aside. The evening was turning out to be pure torture. Between her uncle embarrassing her, Ramon continually touching her, and Alex ignoring her, she wished she had the nerve to get up and leave. And if Trina got any closer to Alex, she was going to end up in his lap.
If not for her mother, Madison would hightail it, but Angelina would have a meltdown if her daughter did such a thing. Angelina’s problem was that she needed a man in her life, and her brother seemed more than happy to be that man. As far as Madison was concerned, there was something unsettling about their devotion to each other. She had no idea what to do about it.
Ramon twirled a strand of her hair around his fingers, and she punched his leg with her fist. “Stop it,” she whispered. He chuckled and ignored her.
Pervert.He hadn’t always been like this. He was her only cousin, and before she’d sprouted boobs they had been friends. One day they were playmates, and seemingly the next he’d started staring at her chest, making her squirm uncomfortably. From the moment he’d grabbed her breast at her fifteenth birthday party, squeezing so hard it had brought tears to her eyes, she’d been afraid of him. Her fear seemed to excite him, so she did her best to hide it.
She glanced at Alex and wished she hadn’t. He had his head bent close to Trina’s mouth as the woman whispered into his ear. Trina and Uncle Jose were friends of thewith benefitskind. Madison had walked in on them once and saw Trina straddled across his lap in the hot tub, both naked. She was still trying tounsee that one. She also suspected that Trina and Ramon had the same kind of relationship. If Madison’s guess was right, Trina had been with every man at the table except for Alex, and the woman was obviously working hard to correct that.
How was she supposed to sit here and watch them whisper to each other, knowing Trina would likely add another notch to her bedpost before the night was out? She couldn’t. Edging her chair back, she stood and walked to the rooftop railing. Black storm clouds hung low in the eastern sky, and the ocean splashed angry waves onto the shore. She wished the sky would open and send everyone scurrying for cover so she could sneak out and go home.
“I’m sorry.”
Alex.He stood so close behind her that she could feel his body heat, could smell his spicy aftershave. She schooled her face before facing him. “You’re sorry for what?” Dressed in black pants and a blue Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he was beautiful to her ... probably to every woman here. All the more reason to stop yearning for him to kiss her again.
“That you aren’t enjoying yourself tonight.”
He reached up as if to brush her hair back, or stroke her face or something, she didn’t know, but then dropped his arm back to his side. Afraid that her hands would take off on their own and touch him, she gripped the railing and gazed out over the water. The dark clouds had covered the moon, and all she could see were the flashes of the whitecaps as the waves rolled in.
“Who says I’m not enjoying myself?”
“Your eyes say. Madison, I—”
“Alex! Let’s go, man.”
“Coming.” He gave her a sad smile. “I wish I could take you away, just go somewhere. You and me.”
She wished that very same thing. “Are you going somewhere with Ramon?”
