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Madison closed her mouth and paused for a moment before she spoke. “So do you think he can get us free lingerie?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
After Eden and Madison arrived back at the apartment, they unloaded Madison’s boxes and carried them up the stairs. Eden was a little worried about where they were going to put Madison’s things. It wasn’t like her apartment had a lot of storage space… or space, period. But they would make it work. At least until they could find Madison a job.
As soon as Eden entered the apartment, she looked around, wanting to make sure the workmen had fixed the things that needed fixing. It appeared that they had done that and more. She had expected the kitchen window and leaky faucet to be fixed, but she had not expected a brand-new window and faucet. Or the crack in the ceiling to be patched, or a new dead bolt put on the door.
Eden tried to call Mr. Pruitt to thank him, but he didn’t answer. So she left a message, and while Madison unpacked, she hurriedly showered and got ready for work. She arrived a good fifteen minutes late to The Lemon Drop, but luckily the bar wasn’t that busy and the manager cut her some slack.
“Just don’t make a habit of it.” Joe nodded at the door that led to the bar. “And don’t make a habit of your boyfriend coming here either. Especially if he’s going to have a bad attitude.”
“Boyfriend? What boyfriend?” She peeked out the door, and her gaze landed on Nash sitting at the end of the bar. His hair was mussed like he’d been running his fingers through it, and his brow was knotted. It knotted even more when he spotted her. She, on the other hand, felt like a giddy teenager. Her face filled with happy heat, and the smile that spread over her face hurt her cheeks.
He’s just your story, she tried to remind herself. But the feelings that bounced around inside her made her realize that he was much more. Still, she tried to calm her emotions as she lifted the gate in the bar and made her way down to where he sat.
“You’re late,” he said.
“What? Are you my keeper now?” she teased.
“You need one.”
“And you’re volunteering for the job?”
He studied her for a second before he got up and took an envelope out of his back jean pocket and handed it to her. “I want you to make sure you give the escort service their percentage. I don’t want anyone touching you again.”
She hated it when her brothers got protective, but Nash’s protective tone made her go all melty inside. She opened the envelope and glanced at the contents. She had never seen so many hundred-dollar bills in her life. She closed the envelope and held it out to him.
“I can’t take this.”
“You can take it, and you will. Then you will pay off the escort service and quit. You’re not working for those assholes.”
“You really are a control freak,” she said. When he didn’t crack a smile, she gave in. “Fine. But I’m only taking the percentage of what I owe the escort service.”
He looked confused. “Why? You earned it.”
“Not when I was the only one who got any enjoyment out of it.” She took out a couple thousand, then folded the envelope and tucked it in his shirt pocket. When she lifted her gaze, he was studying her.
“Who said I didn’t enjoy it?”
Not knowing what to say to that, she grabbed a cocktail napkin and set it on the bar. “Let me get you another…” She examined the drink in his glass. “Jack straight up?”
He hesitated for a second before sitting back down. “Iced tea with two sugars.”
Tea? The man never failed to amaze her. While she filled his glass from the tea dispenser, Cari walked up with her drink orders. She took one look at Nash and got all starry-eyed.
“Hi,” she said in a breathy voice. “After you almost got in a fight with that guy the other night, I didn’t think you’d be back.”
Since Eden hadn’t heard about the fight, she glanced at Nash in question, but he ignored her and flashed his trademark smile at Cari. “I apologize. I’m usually more easygoing.”
Easygoing? Was the man living in a dream world? He was about as easygoing as a rattlesnake. Although he looked pretty easygoing now. His smile was bright, and his eyes twinkled as he flirted with Cari. And Cari was eating it up with a spoon.
“I just love your undies,” she gushed with a bat of eyelashes.
Nash’s smile got sexier. “So you wear French Kiss collections?”
“I wouldn’t wear anything else.” Cari giggled like a schoolgirl as she placed a hand on Nash’s arm. Eden waited for him to pull away, but he just continued to smile. Which really ticked Eden off. When she touched him, all she seemed to get were scowls and… orgasms. Okay, so maybe scowls weren’t so bad when accompanied with orgasms.
“Well, I appreciate your loyalty,” Nash said. “What do you think of the new bra collection?”
