Page 51 of Caged

I take a step back toward the door, ready to give them their space.

“Sunshine?” Both men turn toward me.

I point toward my escape just a few feet away. “I thought you might need a few minutes of family time.”

“We do,” A cocky smile slides onto Hudson’s face when he tugs me into him and lowers Serena so I can peek down at her tiny sleeping form tucked into his arms. Max moves behind me, removing my chance at escape, and my emotions war with each other.

I’m intruding on this moment.

This should have been between two brothers.

I don’t belong here, even if it’s what I wanted.

To be loved. To find someone to love. To be part of something bigger.

* * *

Thirty minutes later,Serena is sleeping in my arms while Max walks Hudson to his car, so he can get to training on time. And Daphne stares at me, her mouth gaping open.

“I’m sorry... what?” She groans as she tries to sit up, her mouth gaping open like a fish trying to breathe.

“We kind of hooked up,” I repeat sheepishly, eyeing the door to make sure Max doesn’t walk back in while we’re having this conversation.

“Mads, what exactly doeskind of hooked upmean? I don’t know if it’s exhaustion or just the emotional overload from the past twelve hours, but I’m going to need you to explain this to me in detail.” She grimaces when she moves, and my vagina aches in a moment of solidarity with hers.

The door creaks open, and Max walks back in. “I’m begging you, Maddie. Please. No details.” He reaches down and takes Serena from me, then sits down on the bed next to Daphne.

I refuse to laugh at the look of disgust on his face. “I don’t kiss and tell, Max.”

“That’s because you don’t kiss, Mads,” Daphne snaps. “I want the deets.”

I stand up, then kiss Serena’s tiny head. “Love you, D. Call me if you need anything.”

“Where are you going?” she asks with an indignant pout.

“I’m stopping at Le Désir to see Chloe and Carys, and then I’m going home. I’ve got work to do.”In more ways than one.

* * *

Carys and Chloeopened their lingerie company a few years ago while they were both still in college. It’s grown since then, and their shop on Main Street is now the original flagship of five shops across the country. Chloe likes to say she has a plan for world domination, and I have no doubt those five shops are just the beginning. They’ve expanded their line over the years, but lingerie is their first love. And their pieces show it.

When I get to their shop, both women are busy with customers, so I peruse the merchandise and start filling my hands with everything I want. I’ve been addicted to their luxurious confections since they started designing and making them themselves from Chloe’s guest room. I love the feel of the lace and silk against my skin. Their lingerie never fails to infuse strength and confidence in me when I get dressed in the mornings. But today, I’m shopping with a different purpose in mind—something more sinful.

Once the last customer leaves, Chloe flips the sign on the door toclosed. “You hungry, fashion-disaster?” She’s eyeing my clothes with a knowing eye. At least, I had a spare pair of sneakers in my car, so I’m not still wearing last night’s heels.

“Busy Bee?” I ask them both, and they nod.

The three of us walk across the street to the Busy Bee Café and take our usual booth, with the two of them on one side and me—minus Daphne, my partner in crime—on the other.

I pull my phone from my purse, ready to take notes. “Okay, are you ready to talk about the social media for the fashion show?”

Carys and Chloe look at each other and laugh. Chloe reaches across the table and swipes the phone from my hands. “That’s a fuck no, Mads.”

“Spill it, sister,” Carys agrees before our waitress places glasses of water in front of us and takes our order.

Once she leaves, all eyes are back on me. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything.”

By the time I’ve filled my friends in on most of what happened last night—most, but not everything, because there are some things I shared with Hudson that I’ve never shared with anyone else—they’re completely stunned.

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