Two Lives in Waltz Time Read online

  Maddy caught the small curl of her friend’s mouth as the import of what Gino had done sank in. “Thanks, then,” Ava said.

  Gino cleared his throat. “You know…” he started, and Maddy could have sworn she saw the sweat start to bead on his forehead. “Tonight’s…my night off. I thought, if you wanted…maybe we could…”

  Even Ava couldn’t handle hearing the poor guy suffer. “I was going to head over to Cash and Maddy’s.”

  “But you could come too,” Maddy interjected. They could get all the explanations out of the way early, and then have a nice night in. Friends hanging out. It would be a test to see if she and Cash worked with other people around too. “We’ll probably just order in, but you can keep Cash company while Ava and I talk girlie stuff.”

  “You sure?” He was questioning the invitation, but hope lit his dark features. “I don’t want to get in the way.”

  “You could never be in the way,” Ava said.

  His blush was all Maddy needed to know she had done exactly the right thing.

  “Have you gone completely off your rocker?” Cash argued. His brows knitted thunderously together as he stared at Maddy in disbelief. It might not have been so bad if she had mentioned the plans she’d made when she and Ava had returned from the hospital, but here it was, minutes away, and she was only just now telling him. Add that to the fact that she had avoided being alone with him since walking in the door and his temper was more than a little short.

  Maddy’s arms were folded across her breasts, her eyes flashing fire. Ava had done the safe thing and retreated to the bathroom as soon as the first volley had been fired. “I thought you liked Gino.”

  “I do.” In spite of the lingering ache in his shoulder, Cash paced the length of the living room. “But we don’t know a thing about this place, except that someone wants me dead. We need to stay away from the locals whenever we can. At least, until we knew what exactly is going on.”

  “Gino’s as much a threat to you as I am!”

  That made him stop, and his eyes glittered as he glared at her. “That might actually hold water if I had some sort of clue you weren’t planning on stabbing me in the back for what happened last night.”

  Guilt flooded her cheeks, but Maddy lifted her chin even higher. “Maybe if you weren’t such an asshole all the time, the women you get involved with wouldn’t want to kill you.”

  He stalked closer, watching her nostrils flare as her breathing quickened. “You had every chance to walk away last night. Even after. You could’ve turned me down and gone back to your own bed. I can’t say I would’ve liked it, but at least I would have known what any of this means to you. If you just wanted a bit of the rough and tumble, Maddy, all you had to do was say so. I would’ve been more than happy to oblige.”

  She stared at him, so long that he started to feel a little ashamed of his words. He knew Maddy wasn’t that kind of girl, but damn it, he didn’t know what the hell was going on. Had Ava said something to her while she was out? But that didn’t make sense. Ava had always liked him. And she’d been more than pleasant since showing up at their apartment door.

  Then Maddy did the impossible. She whirled on her heel and marched without a word to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

  Cash gaped at the closed door for a long minute before his jaw locked. “Oh, no, you don’t.” He stormed after her, twisting the knob so viciously that he heard something snap.

  Maddy leapt up from where she had been sitting on the edge of the bed. “Get out!”

  Determinedly, he shut the door behind him. “You want to do this at a thousand decibels, I’ve got no problem with that. I’m sure Ava will love having a ringside seat.”

  Maddy’s gaze darted to the closed bathroom door. Taking a long, shuddering breath, she composed herself before speaking again in lower tones. “Get out.”

  “Not until you tell me what the hell is going on. I thought we had something last night. Something not just about the sex, as amazing as that was.”

  Her lashes dipped, and he almost didn’t hear the next. “Yeah, well, so did I.”

  That one stumped him, and Cash came up short as he looked at her in confusion. “Then what’s with the attitude? You act like you can’t stand being in the same room as me. Hell, you proved you can’t stand it with your little walkabout. If that’s not the case, what am I missing?”

  A distant knock made Maddy start. “That’s going to be Gino.” She skirted the room to get to the door without Cash interfering. She was gone before he could stop her.

  Another door opening behind him drew his gaze away from Maddy’s exit to see Ava hovering in the bathroom entrance. “Enjoy the show?” he asked wryly.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking,” she said apologetically. “With Maddy, I mean. When she picked me up from the hospital, she was practically radioactive, she was glowing so much. In fact, if ever there was a definition of giddy, she was it.”

  That only confused the matter further. “Did she say something to you?” From the other room, Gino’s muffled baritone became audible, and Cash lowered his own voice so that he wouldn’t be overheard. “Because I’ve stopped trying to figure her out.”

  Ava’s gaze was kind. “I think she’s jealous. She was fine until Gino brought up Pauline.”

  “Who?”

  “The woman who shot you last night. Apparently, the two of you used to be an item. I’m guessing by her reaction that it wasn’t a pretty break-up.”

  His first instinct was to argue with Ava about how ridiculous that was. However, the more he thought about it, the better Cash liked what he heard. A little envy—misplaced as it was—more than explained Maddy’s behavior. Even better, it boded well for the depth of her feelings. There could be something for them, after all.

  His obvious delight in Ava’s answers made her roll her eyes. “Be careful of those britches,” she warned. “Maddy’s going to realize how irrational she’s being soon enough. If you let this go to your head, you’ll ruin whatever chance you might actually have with her.”

  Cash nodded. “Point taken.” Jerking his head toward the living room, he gave her a broad smile. “Ready to go be social?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Maddy was the one who opened the first bottle of wine. When she emerged from the kitchen with the glasses dangling from her fingers, Cash cocked his eyebrow.

  “Looking for liquid courage again?” he asked, taking two of the glasses.

  She flushed as their hands touched and quickly walked over to where Gino and Ava sat awkwardly on the couch. “We’re celebrating,” she announced, a little too loudly. “To good health and good friends.”

  “To good friends,” Gino repeated.

  The other man’s sideways smile at Ava made Cash suddenly realize why Maddy had invited him. This wasn’t a pointless night in as he had originally assumed. She had arranged it with a purpose, even if the so-called purpose was now fidgeting like a blushing virgin. Cash grinned. Ava never fidgeted. When it came to men, she was far more intuitive than Maddy and far less flappable. The fact that she could barely look at Gino without turning a deep scarlet meant that Cash owed Maddy a huge apology.

  If she ever talked to him again, that was.

  When she lifted her glass to her lips for the first sip, Cash stopped her by leaning forward and placing his hand over the mouth of it. “I want to make a toast,” he said. Lightly grasping her wrist, he pulled Maddy from her seat next to Ava and forced her to stand next to him, grateful she didn’t put up a fight. He met her eyes, holding up his glass. “To the women who bring sense to a mad, mad world. I, for one, would be lost without a particular little spitfire who reminds me how life can be glorious every time she walks into a room.”

  Ava’s jaw dropped. Gino lifted his glass and murmured his approval to the toast, but the only reaction Cash really cared about was that of the wide-eyed woman standing in front of him. Leaning down, his lips brushed across her cheek before settling at her ear.
“Are we on the same page again? Or should I be even more blatant about what I think of you?”

  Mutely, Maddy nodded. The moment Cash straightened, she downed her wine in a single gulp.

  Two hours later, Chinese food containers were scattered around the living room, while four empty Merlot bottles sat at the center of the coffee table. Ava was in the process of draining a fifth into her glass, but when it too came up empty, she tipped it up over her head in order to peer up its narrow neck.

  Maddy giggled when a single drop of wine dripped directly into her friend’s eye, causing Ava to begin blinking wildly in an attempt to clear her vision.

  “We told you it was almost empty,” Cash commented in amusement. He lounged in the lone chair, while Maddy had settled herself between his knees on the floor. The warm press of her back against his leg had had him hard all night, and he’d taken every opportunity he could to touch her, ever eager for more of the fire she had been willing to share the night before.

  Playing with the strands of her hair as she and Ava chatted animatedly about clothes.

  Holding her wrist steady as she served the fried rice, feeling her erratic pulse beneath his fingertips as he leaned against her back.

  Stroking the back of her hand every time she twisted to address him directly.

  He was tumbling fast, head over heels in a way he wouldn’t have predicted if someone had asked him. In hindsight, he had probably been half in love with Madeline Cardinale ever since her first day at the museum. But he wasn’t interested in dwelling on what had happened before. The only thing he cared about was what would happen next.

  “So, who’s still hungry?” Maddy asked, moving away from Cash to start poking through the various containers.

  Gino groaned and leaned back into the corner of the couch. “No more for me.”

  “Me neither,” Ava chimed. Her head settled against the back of the couch as her lashes fluttered shut. “I am officially moo-shu-maxed.”

  With a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a tub of noodles in the other, Maddy hesitated for a moment before sneaking a sly glance over her shoulder at Cash. “What about you?” She slithered back to kneel between his legs. The heat rising from her intoxicated body seeped through his trousers, and he wondered if she noticed his erection as she dipped the sticks into the food.

  “I’d rather have dessert,” he said, plucking the container out of her hands and setting it aside. Before she could move beyond his reach, Cash caught her mouth in a hungry kiss, savoring the spice of ginger and soy on her tongue.

  “Do they do this a lot?” he heard Ava ask.

  “Can’t keep their hands off each other,” Gino replied.

  “I knew it.”

  Maddy broke away from the kiss, breasts rising up and down from the force of her ragged breath. It was their first real one since coming to their new understanding, so he didn’t stop her when she leaned in for another, this time a slow slide across his lips that left his mouth tingling.

  “Did you really mean to be the entertainment tonight?” Ava chirped.

  Giggling, Maddy collapsed against Cash’s chest, glancing back at the couch. “You’re just jealous.”

  Gino flushed at the same time Ava did. Though he was more interested in continuing with Maddy, Cash took pity on the other couple’s discomfort and turned her around in his arms. “So, what is the entertainment then?”

  “We could watch TV,” Maddy said automatically. She squeaked when Cash pinched her, eyes widening when she saw Gino’s confusion. “If there was such a thing,” she hastened to add.

  “What about a game?” Ava said. “Charades, maybe?”

  Cash grimaced. “Pick a real game, if you’re going to do that.”

  “You have cards in your nightstand,” Maddy offered.

  Ava stood, weaving slightly as she headed toward the bedroom. “I’ll get them.”

  It took only a moment for Maddy and Cash to realize what she would be walking into, and they leapt to their feet at the same time. “Let me,” Maddy said, cutting Ava off. “Cash is the biggest slob. I’ll bet he has his underwear on the floor again, and you really don’t want to see that.”

  He merely shrugged when Ava looked to him for clarification. “She’s drunk,” he said glibly. “Who knows what’s going through that pretty little head of hers?”

  Maddy emerged in seconds, waving a deck of cards in her hand. “What are we going to play?”

  Gino moved the bottles and cartons from the coffee table. “How about poker?”

  She pulled a face. “I was thinking more like Go Fish.”

  “Poker is good,” Ava said. At Maddy’s surprised glance, she added, “My brother and I used to play for M&M’s. I’m the M&M queen.”

  Casting a surreptitious glance toward Gino, Maddy said, “I’m not sure we have M&M’s.”

  “We can play for something else then.” Ava’s eyes were bright, her hands fidgeting in her lap. “Like…strip poker.”

  Cash laughed out loud at the horror on Maddy’s face. “I think I just got a little more interested.”

  “You’re not helping,” Maddy warned. Grabbing Ava’s arm, she dragged her to the other side of the room. Their inebriation, however, meant her attempt at trying to be private didn’t quite succeed as she might have wished.

  “What’re you doing?” Maddy hissed.

  Cash met Gino’s eyes, and the two men ducked their heads to hide their smiles as they pretended not to listen. It served to make him feel even guiltier about his quick reaction to Maddy’s impromptu invitation. Out of all the history the painting had created for him, this friendship with Gino ranked among the good things. He’d wondered for a while what kind of idiot would plunge the man he wanted dead into what seemed like a slice of heaven on earth, but after the incident with the scorpion, he figured out why. The luxury put the target at ease. Murder attempts could strike with greater force and accuracy if the target was distracted by something else.

  But Maddy had been a distraction from the moment he’d met her.

  “What’s wrong?” Ava asked.

  “What’s wrong?” Maddy repeated. “Have you ever seen me play regular poker? I’m going to be naked faster than it takes Cash to duck out of work at the end of the day.”

  “You won’t be naked.”

  “Last time I checked, strip means minus clothing. I suck at poker, Ava.”

  “But I don’t. I told you. I’m really good at this game.” Cash had to strain to hear the next. “And have you seen how big Gino is?”

  On the couch, Gino choked on the wine he had been sipping, while Cash coughed to cover up his chuckle. The sounds alerted the girls to their eavesdropping, and Maddy pulled Ava into the kitchen to finish their conversation. Though Cash was disappointed, the fact that it left him alone to talk to Gino in peace was worth the trade.

  “You think I really got a shot with Ava?” Gino asked, leaning forward so his shoulders strained against the fabric of his shirt.

  “She’d have to be completely off her nut not to see what a good guy you are,” Cash assured.

  Gino looked doubtful, and his big hands clenched and unknotted compulsively as he stared at his shoes. “It’s just that she’s such a smart dame. And I’m…not.”

  “You’d look pretty ridiculous in one of those dresses.”

  The joke relaxed some of Gino’s tension, but his head remained bowed. “I keep thinking she could do better than a dumb mug like me, but—”

  He sat up straight when Ava came bouncing back into the room, a thunderous Maddy on her heels. Grabbing the cards, she sat down next to Gino, close enough so their legs brushed against each other, and shot Cash a brilliant smile. “I’m dealing first,” she announced. “Five-card stud?”

  Ava hadn’t been kidding. She won the first hand with a straight flush that came out of nowhere, and left Maddy and Cash staring at the cards in amazement. With a mischievous gleam in her too-bright eyes, Ava turned to Gino and said, “Why don’t we start slow? A sh
oe, maybe?”

  Though he was flushed from more than the drink, Gino obeyed her command, leaning over to slip off his loafer. He was stopped in mid-reach, however, when Ava’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

  “New rule,” she said. “Winner gets to do the disrobing personally.”

  Cash could barely contain his laughter as she yanked off the shoe, tossing it casually aside before returning to her seat. “Then I’m dealing next,” he said and picked up the cards. With a single expert shuffle, Maddy was turning just as red as Gino, and Cash leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I like this new rule. It’s a much better incentive to win.”

  Five hands later, Maddy was minus two silk stockings that had been Cash’s extreme pleasure to take off. She grumbled at first, but when his free hand slipped up her dress, expertly undoing the garter that held it in place, Cash slid his fingers around to her inner thigh, brushing against her damp underwear with his knuckle before sliding the stocking from her curvaceous calf. Her blue eyes widened, and she swallowed so hard that his gaze was riveted on the hollow of her throat for a full thirty seconds. It took Ava clearing her throat to bring him back, and he settled back into his chair with the hosiery dangling from his fingers.

  When he won the second time, Maddy didn’t even wait. She merely leaned back onto her elbows and lifted her leg onto his lap, her tiny toes pressing gently into his erection while she waited for him to do his thing. It took all his control not to sweep her into his arms and carry her out of the room right then and there.

  The kicker to the evening was Ava, though. She won three of those five hands, taking Gino’s other shoe and a sock with a cheery smile. But her most recent win had taken a left turn. When Gino obediently stuck his foot out for her to remove his remaining sock, Ava shook her head. “Nope. Want the tie.”

  A very shocked Maddy and a very amused Cash watched as Ava climbed onto Gino’s lap, straddling his powerful thighs as she began nimbly untying the silk around his thick neck. Gino didn’t move, but Cash saw the way the other man’s hand tightened around the armrest, knuckles so pale they looked as if they were going to pop through his skin. It looked like Cash wasn’t the only one having to fight with his self-control.