I Speak...Love (A Different Road #3) (4 page)

I quickly close the lid on my laptop as, who I hope is, Maddy gently knocks a knuckle on my closed office door. She slightly opens the door and looks inside. Her striking green eyes, that always seem to pierce straight through me, immediately find mine and take my breath away. I clumsily stand from my chair, pushing it backward into the credenza with a loud thud, then walk around my desk, as she opens the door all the way.

She’s wearing loose fitting workout clothes, and her silky, shiny red hair is pulled back in a ponytail high on the top of her head. She has the sweetest smile on her lips, and her face has an energized, rosy glow. Sexy freckles line the bridge of her nose, then cascade down her high cheekbones. Her hairline is slightly wet, and she’s not wearing an ounce of makeup, yet she looks flawlessly beautiful. Her tank top reveals a splattering of golden freckles on the tips of her shoulders, then they spill all the way down her arms to her fingertips. I suddenly find myself wanting to play connect the freckles with my tongue.

“Morning,” she says and smiles at me, breaking me out of my stare.

“Maddy, what are you doing here?” I ask, then realize how rude it must have sounded.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was next door at yoga class, then I came here with Kate while she dropped off some paperwork for River,” she says, then her brilliant green eyes fade an entire shade of green.

River and Kate, and their damn yoga studio. I hold equal shares in this company and neither one of them consulted with me or asked my opinion about opening the yoga studio. I think River did it more out of guilt for how he had been treating Kate.
Kate Mason Yoga
is an extension of
Mason Group.
River took it upon himself to lease the building two doors down and give it to Kate. He made it available for all
Mason Group
employees to use for free. I get it, I do. Our business can be stressful, but it would have been nice to have had a say in the matter. I don’t even know how much money River sank into the project either. Has it been profitable or are we taking a loss on it? Knowing River and how he dotes on Kate, it wouldn’t matter to him one way or the other. Truthfully, I would never have been against it. I think it’s a great idea all around. It’s especially good for Kate. Between the yoga studio and her new boyfriend, she hasn’t been this happy since before our parents died. It just would have been nice to be treated as an equal partner for once. I look back at Maddy and guessing by the look in her eyes, she’s ready to bolt.

“No, Maddy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. It’s just so early; the only people here this early in the morning are River and Josh. Come in,” I say, motioning my hand to the chairs in front of my desk.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt,” she says, pointing her thumb over her shoulder toward the door.

“I’m positive, please, have a seat,” I insist.

She eyes me cautiously, looks at my hand, then follows its path to one of the overstuffed, dark, leather chairs in front of my desk.

“I’m all sweaty from yoga. I don’t want to ruin your . . .” she starts to say.

“Maddy, you can sit,” I interrupt, then take a seat on the corner of my desk. She looks at the chair, reaches behind her, then runs her hands over her ass and sits down on her hands. My mouth instantly goes dry, and I swallow a hard lump of air, trying not to think about her hands on her cute little, toned ass. “So, how was class?” I ask, loosening the constricting tie around my neck.

“Great! I love Kate’s classes. She’s an excellent teacher. You should come some time,” she says, adjusting her weight from side to side on her hands.

“I, uh, I don’t know. That’s kind of River and Kate’s thing. I wouldn’t know the first thing about it,” I say, then look down at my Italian leather shoes.

“Well, I’m still learning the basics myself. If you ever want to give it a try, I’m there Monday through Friday at six in the morning in the beginner class.”

“Maddy? Where did you go?” I hear my sister singsong from down the hallway.

“I’ll let you get back to work,” Maddy says, then stands.

I stand, then catch a glimpse of my sister walking down the hallway. She sees Maddy in my office with me, then she ducks out of sight against the wall just outside my door.

“It was nice seeing you,” I tell her truthfully.

“You too,” she says with another sweet smile.

She turns and starts walking toward the door, and I honestly don’t want her to go.
No, let her go. You’ll only break her.
Everyone, especially Maddy, needs to stay as far away from me as they can possibly get.

“Maybe I will catch one of Kate’s classes some time,” I find myself saying.

Why the hell did you say that?

“That would be nice,” she says, turning around. “Hey, I have a client today that’s not that far from here. I always overcook for them and they don’t want extra. Would it be alright if I stopped back around later and dropped off some lunch for you?” she asks, turning around to face me again.

Her innocent smile and twinkling eyes hit me dead center in the chest like a ton of bricks.

No! If you know what’s good for you . . . you’ll stay far away from me.
Like an atomic bomb,
I destroy the lives of everyone in my path. I’m toxic and nothing but a failure, and you’ll only end up hurt or worse dead.

“That would be nice,” I find myself mimicking her words instead.

I ball my hands into fists when I find my mouth saying the exact opposite of what my gut is telling me to do. This can’t happen. Don’t even let it start.

“Great! Is one o’clock too late?” she asks.

“One will work out fine,” I answer.

“I’ll see you later then,” she says with a bright smile, then she walks out the door. “Kate! Where did you come from?” she asks, jumping back a step when she finds her hiding outside my door.

“There you are. I was looking for you,” Kate replies, looking at me in my office.

I walk toward my door, then watch them walk down the hallway. Kate loops her arm through Maddy’s, then they walk arm-in-arm toward the elevator with Sadie at Kate’s side. Maddy tips her head back and laughs at something Kate says to her, and it sends my stomach for a ride again. River walks past my field of vision into his office, ruining the moment. He walks back out of his office backward and even though I know he can’t see me, his cold, pale blue eyes stare directly at me, then his head turns towards the girls at the elevator, and he listens. I glance at Maddy one more time, then I retreat back into my office to my blinking cursor. The intoxicating scent of Maddy still lingers in my office and instantly sends my cock rock hard.

“So, what was that all about?” Kate asks as we leave Mason Group.

“What was what all about?” I ask, playing dumb, knowing full well what she’s asking.

She stops in the middle of the sidewalk and gives me
that
look. Sadie stops, looks up at me and barks like she knows what I’m up to as well.

“You may think you’re fooling me, but I see it.” Then she gets a huge smile on her face and continues, “Or maybe you don’t even see it yet. Oh my God, you don’t! In that case, this is going to be fun!” she says, letting me go.

“Um . . . OK. I . . . uh, I have to go home and shower before work. I’ll talk to you later,” I say, giving her a strange look.

“See ya,” she says with a big smile, then leans in, and gives me a tight, squeezing hug.

I stiffen while her warm arms wrap around me. She squeezes me so hard my boobs pucker out the top of my sports bra. It doesn’t matter how much my life has changed or how much time has passed, I’m still not used to people showing me affection. It’s not something I grew up with, and I’m not sure it’s something I’ll ever be comfortable having done to me. She releases me, then her and Sadie walk back inside the studio.

I climb into my van that smells like sugar and spice, and everything nice, then I head toward home. I need to be at
California Chef
in forty-five minutes for our morning meeting before I head off to my first client’s house. The entire drive home, all I can think about is how horrified I was when Stephen wanted me to sit down on one of his uber expensive leather chairs. I had some serious ass crack sweat going on! Leather isn’t exactly a breathable surface and if I didn’t cover my ass with my hands, I would have for sure left a line of ass crack sweat on the seat cushion in the shape of a not so friendly smile. All I could do was sit on my hands and pray to God it was enough of a gap so air could circulate and keep the dreaded ass crack sweat away.

I pull into the driveway and park my van, get out, then walk up to the front door. I slide my key into the lock, and it never fails, I always have to pause, take a deep breath, and ask myself three things. Good things just don’t happen to me, and this . . . this house is definitely something good. First question, is this really mine? Second question, is this truly my life now? And third question, when will it all be taken away from me?

I stare at the keys hanging from the lock, and I still remember the day Joss and Nina gave them to me. I had just dented Nina’s van when I hit a mailbox leaving a client’s house. I thought for sure they were going to fire me. Instead of firing me, they gave me a key to their house on a beautiful camera keychain so I could come and go as I pleased.

I pull a solicitation flyer off my door for lawn care service, then walk inside. I walk over to the trash can and toss it in, then smile when I see my camera sitting on the counter. I run my finger over the matte black surface, then run my finger over the frayed, worn strap. I’ve started another camera fund for a brand new camera and one day, I’ll be the proud owner of a never before owned, semiprofessional camera—because let’s not get crazy here, a professional camera is just amazeballs crazy priced—AND it will have a strap that doesn’t look like the garbage disposal ate it twenty times over.

I’ve been taking a photography class at the local community college at night, and I’ve been learning a lot about the technical side of photography. On days I don’t have class after work, I like to go for a walk or a short drive and take as many pictures as my small memory card will hold. When I’m not at work or at photography class, I’m thinking about photography and all the places I want to go, so I can capture everything.