Dangerous Grounds (23 page)

“Maddie…”

Her eyes snapped open. The tone in his voice had changed, and he’d called her by the nickname she’d dropped years ago.

“There are reasons why we were overprotective.” His voice gentled. “I’m sure you don’t remember it, but something happened when you were just a little kid. Something bad.”

Her gut clenched as she stared at him for a moment. “What do you mean something bad?”

“Do you have any memories, scary memories from your childhood?”

“What? Not that I remember…” Her eyebrows drew together and she shook her head. Something tickled the back of her mind.

Nightmares. She’d been plagued with them as a kid for the longest time before they grew less frequent and then finally stopped all together. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what they were about. She’d forgotten all about them until now.

Madison swallowed hard. “What happened to me, Eric? And why don’t I know about it?”

Eric sighed and looked away. “You were abducted when you were three years old.”

A vision flashed through her head so fast she could barely hold onto it. Being tied up and thrown in the trunk of a car. Then thick darkness and absolute terror.

Sweat broke out over her body, even as a chill moved down her spine. “I was…abducted?”

“Some guy who worked for Dad decided he and his wife would kidnap you and hold you for ransom. You were missing for almost a week.”

Shock rendered her speechless.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much. I was only eight, and Mom and Dad made me promise to never talk about it once you came home.”

“So they paid the ransom?”

“I don’t think so. I think the police went in and found you during a raid. They figured out who’d taken you.”

She finally closed her jaw, which seemed to have lost all gravity. The nightmares, the seemingly ridiculous fear of car trunks…they must have originated from the kidnapping.
Kidnapping.
Her head spun and she pressed her palm against her forehead.

“I don’t know what to say. I wish you had told me. It would have made more sense, and I wouldn’t have resented the protectiveness as much.”

“Come on. This is Maddie Phillips we’re talking about. You would have gotten frustrated whether you knew or not. You’re the most independent woman I know.”

She nodded, a weak smile playing around her lips. “You’re right. I would have still been frustrated.”

“I shouldn’t have told you. The parents would rip me a new one if they knew I’d told you. But I know you can handle it now.” He paused. “And I want you to stop coming down so hard on Gabe.”

The mention of Gabe had her stomach in knots and regret piercing her.

“He kept you safe, what, ninety-nine percent of the time?” He raised an eyebrow skeptically. “The Espresso Bandit was slick, Madison. You can’t blame Gabe for the one time he didn’t protect you.”

“Eric…” she protested, not wanting to hear this right now. Not with trying to digest what had happened to her when she was a toddler.

“No, you need to hear this, Madison. Besides the kidnapping, nothing bad has ever happened to you. We made sure of it. But there was bound to be a time where one of us couldn’t protect you. And it just happened to fall on Gabe’s watch.”

She closed her eyes, gnawing on her lip. He was right. Eric was totally right. But then he always had a habit of seeing the bottom line.
Even when I’m too stubborn to.

“So what do I do?” Her voice grew hoarse. “He hates me now. He has to. I treated him like…”

“Shit? Yeah, Madison, you did.” Eric grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “But I’d wager my next paycheck that he loves you. And if you make things right, you guys can move past this.”

Her pulse doubled. He thought Gabe might be in love with her? Could it be true? Warmth spread through her body, and she grew dizzy with the possibility.

“I will. I’ll make things right.” And she wanted to. Now. Not tomorrow. Not in ten minutes when her brother left. But now.

She grabbed her purse, fumbling for her cell phone.

Eric laughed softly. “You’ll have to wait, Madison.”

She jerked her gaze up, almost desperate to fix things. “Why? Why do I have to wait? I need to make this right. I need to do it now.”

“Gabe’s leaving town for a while. And he’s turned off his phone.”

“What? How do you know?”

“He told me when I ran into him in the house.” Eric gave her a gentle smile. “Take some time. Think about this and make sure it’s what you really want. You’ll see him on Friday night at the rehearsal dinner.”

Friday night. God, it was like five days away. She closed her eyes and nodded. Once again, he was right, though. She did need time to think this through.

“Thank you, Eric.”

“You’re welcome. Now get yourself together, the parents will be home soon.”

Madison held her second grand opening for Ooo La Latté on Thursday morning. She unlocked the door with shaking hands and went inside, locking it again behind her.

She leaned against the glass with a shaky sigh. A part of her was still terrified by the idea of being back. Running a hand through her hair, she let her gaze move over her shop.

This is my future
. Whether or not Gabe decided to take her back, she would always have her shop.

Gabe
…her heart twisted at the thought of him and that moment on the balcony. This week had been hell on her nerves. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was in love with him. And tomorrow night she’d find out if he felt the same.

Madison pushed away from the door and hit the light switch. Walking past all the tables and couches, she went straight behind the counter.

She ignored the acidic feeling in her stomach as her fingers traced over the groove in the wall where a bullet had recently been imbedded. The bullet that had been intended for her. That would have hit her, had it not been for Gabe.

Someone knocked on the glass door, and she jumped in surprise, her heart thudding like crazy in her chest.

Madison glanced toward the entrance, but since it was still early in the morning, darkness still lingered outside. Wiping her damp palms on her pants, she moved slowly to the door.

It was Sarah, her arms folded across her chest as she shivered in the drizzle.

Madison twisted the lock and pulled open the door. “Hey, you. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you came back.”

“What can I say? The pay’s great,” Sarah replied with a grin and slid past her. “And you’re famous now, so that makes me famous by association.”

Madison laughed, letting some of the tension drain away. “Infamous is more like it. But I think it’ll do wonders for business. And we’ll need to do some serious catch-up.”

“No kidding.” Sarah sat on one of the leather chairs and pulled off her jacket. “So, really…are you doing all right, Madison?”

Madison sat across from her and shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I guess. But I’m ready to be back. And I’ll just take it a day at a time.”

“That’s all you can do. And I have to warn you that there’s a media van out front.”

“I know.” Madison ran a hand through her hair and smiled. “I told the reporter hello and promised to bring him out a cappuccino.”

Sarah stood with a laugh. “You’re going to be just fine, Madison. We’d better get ready if we’re going to open soon.”

“Yeah, good call.”

The morning flew by. There were times they were so busy the line formed out the door. Of course the constant media presence was probably most of the draw. But if it brought in new customers, Madison wasn’t about to complain.

After lunch, the rush started to diminish. Madison went into the back to rest her feet and eat some food. As she munched on celery and hummus, she stared at the envelope that sat on her desk. The same envelope Gabe had left with her two days ago. He’d left so fast that he hadn’t taken it with him. Then again, maybe he hadn’t intended to.

She’d glanced inside, seen the photos, and closed it again. Then spent the next hour in another crying episode.

Madison set down a stick of celery and picked up the envelope again. She pulled the eight-by-ten photos out and started gingerly flipping through them.

The one that caught her attention was the photo of herself. It was the same one Gabe had taken at the beach on Whidbey. A beautiful black and white shot, close enough to see the whimsical expression on her face and the blur of mountains behind her.

Just looking at the photo made her feel warm inside. Not only was it an excellent photograph, but the image evoked memories of how happy she’d been that day.

Madison put the rest of the photos back in the envelope, but kept the image of herself out. She set it on the shelf above her desk. Jeez, he had talent. If he forgave her, she’d really push him to display his work in her shop.

She picked up her coffee and took another sip before returning to the front of the store. Her gaze went straight to the man facing away from her in a police uniform. Her pulse quickened, and she grabbed onto the counter to steady herself.

“Brian!” Sarah ran past her and went to wrap her arms around the man.

It wasn’t Gabe. Madison experienced such crushing disappointment that it became hard to breathe.

Of course it wasn’t Gabe. She’d pretty much told Gabe to go to hell. Why would he be in her store?

“Madison?” Sarah came hurrying back to where Madison gripped the counter. “I’m going to take my lunch now.”

“Have fun,” Madison called, but Sarah was already halfway out the door. She glanced around the shop—empty except for a couple of customers who were working on laptops and drinking coffee.

Madison knew if she stayed stagnant, her mind would go back to Gabe, and her brain was already fried with too many painful memories.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she’d make things right.

She headed back to the espresso counter, deciding it wouldn’t hurt to practice making drinks.

Madison got ready for the rehearsal dinner with care. She wanted to look good. Damn good. When she laid her heart on the table and begged for forgiveness, she wanted to look good doing it.

She hadn’t been able to shake the slight depression that had taken hold lately. Her shop was up and running, and raking in a ton of money. But even with the success of her business, she wasn’t happy. There was one thing missing in her life. Or better yet, one person.

She slipped a little black dress over lacy black lingerie, and her thoughts reluctantly touched back on her encounter with Gabe last Sunday.

How had she ever thought she could use him for just a casual fling, as a way to cleanse her dating palate? She’d been ridiculously naïve on that one.

Her thoughts turned to some of the things he’d said after he made love to her on the patio. About her expectations for a knight in shining armor. He’d really hit a nerve. Because that’s exactly what she had expected of him.

Which was totally unrealistic for the average man of flesh and blood. Her life wasn’t some medieval romance novel. And even if it had been, she probably would’ve ended up dying of the plague. Now that was reality.

Her talk with Eric had also helped her realize how off her reasoning had been.

Tonight. Tonight things would be made right. Her pulse raced with sudden nerves as she put on a pair of long silver earrings.

She went to find her shoes and winced. Now there was one area where she wouldn’t be making any fashion statements. Her right foot was still in a cast, so she’d been wearing flats or flip-flops all week on the left one. After scowling at her choices, she finally decided on the sequined black flip-flop again.

She glanced at her watch and swore softly. Well, damn it. She was already running late. Rushing her makeup, she grabbed her purse and hurried out the door as fast as her wounded foot would allow her to.

“You’re late, Madison,” Eric called from the front of the room as she rushed down the aisle.

The wedding had been booked in an old, elegant hotel. The ballroom turned into an enchanting location for the wedding.

All the bridesmaids and groomsmen were lined up to run through the ceremony. She averted her gaze from Gabe, too nervous to even look, though she could see him out of her peripheral vision. Everyone stared at her as she made her way down the aisle.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and hurried to take her spot. Or at least what she assumed to be her spot since it was the only gap in the lineup.

The pastor cleared his throat and went on explaining what would happen next in the ceremony.

Madison’s gaze lifted to the man across from her. Her match in the lineup, likely. She had no idea who he was, but he blatantly leered at her and the expression in his eyes went beyond flirting.

She turned away from him and looked around at the line of men and women. Oh God. Now wonder she was attracting so much attention. While everyone else was dressed in jeans and even sweatpants, she had decked herself out to the hilt.

Oh, why hadn’t she taken the word rehearsal a little more literally?

Her posture slumped a bit and she did her best to appear invisible. She finally looked over at Gabe and saw the look of disapproval directed at her. Great, and obviously she was off to a good start with him too.

They’d have time to talk during the dinner. She turned away from his censuring gaze and listened to the pastor.

An hour later they were done with the long and drawn out rehearsal, and had caravanned over to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Her parents had rented out the entire restaurant, which included an expensive buffet of food, along with an open bar to please everyone.

Since the wedding party consisted of sixteen people—not including the bride and groom—the atmosphere in the room had grown fairly rowdy.

Madison sat at a table fiddling with an uneaten piece of shrimp, and stared at Gabe across the room. She’d finally gotten the nerve to approach him earlier, but Christy had sat beside him. They’d been inseparable the rest of the night. He hadn’t even tried to speak to her once.

Her head felt heavy, her throat tight, and tears were just barely held at bay.