Panic welled up inside. “I can’t go out there and pretend to date someone while he’s here.”
Bliss’ mouth fell open. “Girl, bye. It’s twenty minutes. Do what you did with Tim. Act uninterested, and it’ll be over before you know it.” She left me standing in the bathroom.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, took a few deep breaths and walked out of the bathroom. The first thing I noticed was Ryker behind the bar. Not Maddox. I tried to ignore the disappointment I felt in that moment, but I wasn’t doing a great job at anything tonight.
“Maybe I should just make up an excuse and leave?”
“That wouldn’t be any fun.”
I yelped, whirling around to find Maddox standing behind me. The half-smirk, half-smile on his lips let me know he was enjoying my torment a little too much. And the fact that he wasn’t as hot and bothered by my presence as I was by his pissed me the fuck off. Narrowing my eyes, I said, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I guess I could ask you the same question.Courtney.”
My cheeks burned. Because, oh yeah, I’d given him my sister’s name.Yikes. I scratched the back of my neck. “Okay, I lied. I didn’t know you. You could’ve been a…” I sighed, “a killer. Or you… You could’ve wanted to stalk me or something.”
He chuckled and the sound shot straight to my pussy. “And you still make me laugh.”
“The point is I never thought I’d see you again.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “And now I’m here.”
“Inexplicably,” I breathed.
“Ryker is my brother,” he explained. “I’m here for the holidays.”
I thought I recalled Taylar mentioning another brother. But I’d assumed she was talking about their older brother. Wait… “How old are you?”
“Thirty-three,” he replied.
“But, you—”
“My father and Olivia had split up for a little while after Broderick was born. He met my mom during that time. They hooked up, he got back together with his wife, then I showed up.”
The pieces started to click together. Made sense we were on the same flight to Detroit. He was probably coming to visit his family, and I was returning home from a work trip. “Do you visit a lot?” I asked.
“Not lately,” he admitted. “This year is the first time I’ll be in town on Christmas Day.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” And I meant it. Despite my own feelings about the holiday, the best part of the season was time spent with family. I couldn’t wait for my brother, LJ, to come home for Christmas. I enjoyed game nights and good food, laughter and making memories. “I’m sure they’re glad you’re here.”
“Areyouglad I’m here?”
The question caught me off guard. As with everything else that had happened tonight, I didn’t recover fast enough to toss back a witty response. “I’m not sure what you want me to say. A lot of time has passed.”
“You’re at a Singles party. Does that mean you didn’t get married?”
“Oh, I got married,” I admitted. “Then, I got divorced.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
“Definitely good.” I giggled. “Leaving him was the best decision.”
Maddox brushed my cheek with his thumb. “I thought of you often.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Same,” I confessed.
“What are we going to do about it?”
Bliss had asked me the same question. I didn’t know the answer then either. He inched closer to me, and I took a step backwards—right into the wall. And…Shit, I can’t breathe. “I have a date,” I blurted out.
