Page 176 of Mad Love

“Then that’s where we take her,” I decided.

“That’s what I figured. I’ll have to go back and forth the next few days to finalize things here. The will reading needs to be attended—”

“Ry, you can’t drive back and forth each day. You’ll drive yourself nuts.”

He scowled at me. “I can handle being tired, Maddie.”

I sighed and brushed my fingers through his mussed hair. “Why don’t you and the guys stay here? Linus and Court can move up the official reading of the will, and you can wrap up what needs to be handled before coming to L.A.”

He frowned at me, but I could see him starting to relent. Brookfield and the shares of Phoenix had been left to me, but there was still an official reading of the will that needed to happen that outlined where all of Grandpa’s personal assets were designated. Someone from the family had to be present for that, and Ryan was the obvious choice.

“I’ll go to your old house with Cori,” I added. “We’ll take Royal. The three of us will be fine for a few days until you get there. Then we’ll all spend Christmas together.”

“Shit.” He dropped his forehead against my stomach. “Christmas. I need to buy stuff for Cori—”

“I’ll handle the shopping,” I assured him.

“Seriously?”

I nodded. “Are you kidding? I’ll live out all my little girl dreams buying her everything in the damn world.”

He grinned up at me. “You’re sure?”

I leaned down and kissed him. “Absolutely.”

“God, I love you.” He stood up, his body rubbing against the front of mine with a delicious sort of friction. His hands spanned my waist, holding me tight as he leaned in and kissed the side of my throat.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you, too.”

CHAPTER 62

MADDIE

The Cain Estate loomed at the end of the drive, massive and imposing. Despite the automatic lights chasing away the shadows of the dark, it still looked ominous and sent a small tendril of fear curling around my gut.

But as Royal pulled our car to a stop in front of the main doors, Corinne seemed to breathe easier. When Ryan and I had mentioned the idea of coming here to Corinne, she’d burst into tears—this time the good kind. Relief had flooded her red face, and she’d asked to go home immediately.

Royal hadn’t hesitated, and within an hour, we’d packed up and were driving down the coast toward Los Angeles. The closer we got to her home, the more Cori seemed to settle. As much as I hated being away from Ryan—and I really hated that—Cori actually found solace in this place. I could see that the change was good for her.

Once he’d parked, Royal turned and looked at Cori. “Ready to go inside, pretty girl?”

She nodded, her blue eyes gaining a bit of the sparkle that had vanished the last few days. She pushed open the door and tumbled out as Royal and I joined her on the stone-paved drive. Cori rushed ahead of us, and Royal went to the back and pulled out our overnight bags.

“Cor, wait,” I called as she twisted the knob and the door opened easily. Must be nice to live in a gated community where you didn’t need to worry about things like locks.

Then again, the massive wrought-iron gate we’d had to punch a code to get through, along with the guard booth at the front of the community, were probably good deterrents for burglars.

Royal grumbled something under his breath, his cold gaze sweeping the area for threats.

“You good?” I arched a brow at him.

He shook his head, looking nauseated. “I hate places like this. Fucking rich assholes showing how small their dicks are by the size of their house.”

“Tell me how you really feel.”

He smirked at me before gesturing for me to head into the house first. I noticed that he locked the door after us and even tested it by jiggling the handle. Judging by the annoyed scoff, it didn’t meet his security standards. “I’m upgrading that if we’re staying here. Shit, the whole place is a security nightmare with these big windows and multiple doors.”

“Doesn’t it have a security system?” I wrinkled my nose and looked around.

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