AllFreeNovel
Share Us
of me.”
“I’m sorry.” She shifted forward as well as she could, given that the cast covered her entire right arm, shoulder and chest, and puckered her lips for a kiss, which Adam supplied without hesitation. The metal bar holding her unwieldy appendage out at a ninety degree angle bumped against the bed rail and made her wince.
“Stop moving around so much,” Adam said, kissing her again.
“I hate this freaking cast,” Madison said. “My elbow is itching like crazy.” She looked up at Melanie and beamed. “Hey, maybe we should have a double wedding.”
“Yes!” Nikki said, bouncing on her toes. “That would be so much fun! I get to help organize it all, right?”
“Hey, Nik,” Adam said with a tender smile. “How’ve you been?”
“Great,” she said. “Except all my favorite rock stars are getting hitched. First Jacob gets back with his ex-wife, and then Gabe and Adam get engaged. Who’s next to fall—the consummate playboy, Owen? So not fair.”
“Did you say that Jacob was back with his ex?” Madison glared at Adam, who was toying with a strand of her hair and watching the action of his fingers. “Did you know about this?”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t last long,” Adam said.
“You and me both,” Gabe said.
“You aren’t hiding things from me again, are you?” Madison asked.
“Of course not,” Adam said.
Lies came so easy to him. Gabe wondered if Adam would be able to break that habit, even for someone he so obviously loved.
“I think you need to get some rest, babe,” Adam said, “and I’m getting hungry, so I’ll walk these guys out and pick up something from the cafeteria on my way back upstairs. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
His gaze lifted to meet hers, and Gabe watched her practically melt into her pillow.
“I don’t need anything, but I am a little tired. They have me on some very nice pain meds.”
Adam kissed her gently and jerked his head at Gabe to get him to follow.
“Hope that arm heals up fast,” Gabe said in parting, reaching over to give Madison’s good shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You’ll need it to keep this guy in line.”
“He’s not as tough as he looks,” Madison said with an admiring grin at her new fiancé.
Gabe followed Adam out into the hall again while Melanie and Nikki said goodbye to Madison. He was pretty sure they were all exchanging numbers so they could work on those plans for a double wedding, which sounded like a nightmare to him. But if it made Melanie happy, he’d put up with it.
“I hope they don’t have their hearts set on a double wedding,” Adam said. “Ain’t happening.”
Gabe chuckled. “It will if they want it to.”
“Your woman might boss you around, but mine—”
“Has a more subtle means of control.” Gabe smacked him in the center of his back, and Adam laughed, nodding slightly.
“When are you going to tell her about the band?” Gabe asked.
“After I talk to Jacob. If I can straighten this mess out, she never needs to be the wiser.”
“Do you really think that’s the best way to start a relationship with your partner for life, keeping her in the dark about everything that might upset her?”
“I don’t want her to be upset. Ever.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Guys, wait up,” Nikki called from behind them. A nurse shushed her, but that didn’t deter her from racing down the hall. Gabe stopped to allow Melanie, who was walking at a fast clip as quietly as possible, to catch up. Nikki zoomed right past him and careened into Adam, laughing when he caught her by both arms.
“Easy there,” Adam said. “I’m not exactly in top form at the moment.”
“You look great to me,” Nikki said, linking her arm through his and leaning into his side.
Gabe offered Melanie a smile and took her hand, falling in step behind the chatterbox that was her best friend and the broody musician that was one of his.
“So you’re going to fix Sole Regret, right?” Nikki asked. “Because I’ll be devastated if I have to start listening to Nickelback again.”
“I’ll do my best,” Adam said. “Once Madison is out of the hospital.”
“Are you taking her back to your place?” Nikki asked.
“That’s the plan.”
“So I’ll be in Austin for a while too. I can come help you out if you need me to.” She leaned close to his ear and whispered loud enough for Gabe to hear, “I’m sure the lovebirds will want some time alone, if you catch my drift.”
When they passed a waiting room near the elevators, Madison ran up to Adam and grabbed his sleeve.
Wait? How could Madison be there with a fully functional right arm when they’d just seen her in that hospital bed with a cast that went on for miles? Gabe exchanged a look with an equally baffled Melanie.
“Will she see me yet?” uninjured Madison asked Adam.
“You might as well go home, Kennedy. She’s not ready to forgive you yet.”
Kennedy? Gabe actually said oh aloud as he recalled Adam mentioning at one time or another that Madison had an identical twin.
Kennedy’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she pressed trembling lips together. “I’m not going home until she talks to me.”
“She’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”
“Are you leaving?” Kennedy glanced longingly down the hallway.
Adam sighed. “I guess not.” He turned to Gabe. “Thanks for stopping in.”
“I thought you were hungry,” Nikki said, squeezing Adam’s arm and gazing up at him adoringly. It wasn’t the same kind of look she gave Shade. This look was more of a hero-worship thing than a “whoops my pants fell off, what are you going to do about it” kind of look. Gabe didn’t even get bestowed with her hero-worship look. What was up with that?
“I’ll be fine,” Adam said. “I had some of Madison’s tomato soup earlier.”
“I’ll get you something,” Nikki said, and Gabe was at once reminded of the fangirls who jumped to do Adam’s bidding. And then it occurred to him that Nikki was a fangirl.
“How is she feeling?” Kennedy asked. “Is she getting enough rest? You aren’t eating all of her food, are you? She needs to keep her strength up.”
“As good as can be expected,” Adam reported. “She’s about to take a nap now. No, she’s eating plenty. She didn’t like the soup so she gave it to me.”
“You’re Madison’s sister, right?” Melanie asked.
Kennedy nodded.
“Why doesn’t she want to see you?”
Adam lifted his eyebrows at Melanie, and she lowered her gaze.
“None of my business,” she said under her breath.
“I . . . uh . . . sort of told her boss that she was dating a client,” Kennedy said, cringing.
“Hoping that Madison would dump me,” Adam said. “But it backfired, didn’t it, Kennedy?”
Kennedy scowled. “I’m sure I can help her get her job back.”
“She’ll find a new job,” Adam said. “In Austin.”
The elevator opened and several people emerged.
“Don’t bother her while I’m downstairs,” Adam said, “or I’ll call security to have you removed.”
“You wouldn’t!”
Adam’s jaw was set in a hard line and his gray eyes were as cold as arctic steel when he said, “Try me.”
He stepped onto the waiting elevator, and the rest of them scrambled in after him before the doors shut. Adam leaned against the interior wall of the elevator and rubbed both eyes with the heels of his hands.
“Madison has to forgive her eventually,” he muttered. “I don’t like having to play the bad guy and keep them apart.”
“So Kennedy got Madison fired because she dated you?” Gabe asked, having connected some dots.
