So, that’s where he was headed. Two and a half years ago, when I informed him I was going back to work at La Lune Noire, he told me I’d be giving up any chance of having a family. At first, I thought he meant with him, which I understood and even respected. He went on to explain that the Noires would own me and I’d never feel comfortable bringing a child into that type oflife. I didn’t have the luxury of making that choice, but he wasn’t completely wrong. His viewpoint still pissed me off.
Since then, I’ve watched Mercy’s son, Remy, be loved and doted on, flipping everything I’d fretted about upside down. Maybe it’s not ideal, but she’s making it work, like a lot of the employees do, and her son is thriving.
Aside from that, my grandmother and her friends have no Noire association, so what is the characteristic he deems as the root of their relationship demise? My grandfather left my grandma for someone my mother’s age.
Not everything is black and white.
I cross my arms, closing myself off. “Probably because they married the wrong men, Hunter, not because they were too much.”
That has us engaging in an ill-fated staring contest while the unfettered, mimosa-fueled hoots persevere from the backyard party.
An unfamiliar voice—likely from the table with Derek’s relatives—offers an odd explanation. “Must be because the shirt is off now.”
“Oh, yes,it is,” a girl chimes, and it just about kills me not to investigate what’s going on, but backing down isn’t really my thing.
When Hunter finally breaks our standoff, his words fade to the background as I peer over my shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the chaos and eavesdropping on the commentary from my future brother-in-law’s guests.
“He doesn’t look like Violet’s family,” a red-haired guy muses. “He’s freaking tall, and he has all that black hair.”
Another guy takes a pull of a beer before pointing the bottleneck out to the uproar. “He’s obviously not related. That’s her grandmother screaming.”
“He looks familiar though.” A girl shrugs, like she can’t quite place whomever they’re focused on. “Hopefully, he’s not someone’s plus-one. I kinda like the man bun.”
And that is the comment that wallops me like a nuclear explosion.
Ink. Tall. Black hair. Man bun.
Oh God, no.
I dash outside, scanning the vast yard, terrified I’m about to discover what is sure to be the last thing I want to see at my parents’ house.
My grandmother pops up out of nowhere and envelops me in her arms. “There’s my angel of a granddaughter.”
“So good to see you, Grans,” I rush out, scouring what I can of the acreage. “What are you all hollering about out here?”
“Oh, just the delicious man tossing water balloons with the kiddos out by the grand live oak. I think he’s here for you.”
As the words fall from her lips, I spot him—shirtless, wet, and raking his hands through his fallen strands to tighten his bun. Every inch of him is like art, intricate designs covering his well-defined, lean physique, which is glistening. It’s borderline a porno. At the very least, sultry clickbait. In my parents’ sanctuary.
No, it’s worse. He’s playing with my nephew, Adam. Eden’s son.
The next fifteen seconds are a blur. I bolt past the guests immersed in games of cornhole and horseshoes and storm toward the half-naked fiasco. All while Hunter is hot on my heels.
Maddox’s eyes swing to me, glimmering with excitement, which twists something inside me, even in the midst of this disaster. He flicks his attention past me before trailing his gaze over my curves.
A crooked smile quirks his lips, and his arms go out. “Look at you, baby girl.”
“Baby girl?” Hunter scoffs from behind me. “What the hell is going on, Tessa?”
Hell if I know.
MADDOX
Until this moment, I would have classified my growing infatuation with Tessa as a mild obsession that was simply due to the mess we were entangled in. The stakes are high, and the sexual tension is taut, so it stands to reason that emotions would be complicated.
But as she darts toward me—enraged but secretly thrilled to see me, even if she doesn’t realize it—I. Am. Gone. So far past the calamity we’re ensnared in.
She’s magnificent. Beyond gorgeous.
