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“Moving out.” He muttered,

“I’m not even sure when I moved so much stuff in.” Those pieces should be together. I closed the top drawer and openedthe second. “How was your day?” I kept my focus on the black cushions of all my earrings. Actually. I was leaving all this. Too many pieces he had brought me and over the years, everything just blended together.

Moving to the second bay. If I had a choice, I might have left everything, but that wasn’t fair to the woman he meets. She deserves an empty wardrobe, not one filled with clothes of a woman he only saw as a friend.

“Madeline?”

I turned. Had he said something? By his expression, he had. “Sorry, what did you say?”

He shook his head. “Forget it.”

I forced a smile. “Um, actually, about dinner. Can we reschedule it?” Taking my skirts off the hangers. “I’m on this really strict diet for the wedding and I can’t afford Mom thinking I broke her meal plan.”

“Let me guess, a liquid diet.”

My hand froze on the hanger. Sometimes I hated how well he knew my life.

I nodded. “Broth, always the lowest calories.” I pushed the empty coat hangers to the side.

“When you reschedule, you mean cancel.”

Yeah. I really hated how he knew me so well. “It might just be easier for the moment.” Finally emptying the last drawer. “Anyway, I’m not eating.” I tried to make light of it, but his intense stare just made it harder.

“I’ll help, um,” he looked around the room. “Carry them down.”

I smiled. I was sure if we gave it enough time; we would adjust to this new friendship.

CHAPTER 9

Vince

“The blonde Malibu model is here. I bet she doesn’t even know anything about guns,” Ellie leaned away from me, speaking to Hazel. “How is it possible to be that happy all the time?”

“Well, she is marrying Noah Voss.” Hazel placed her wineglass down on the bar. “He is a complete dick, but one I would ride.”

“She has every man here lusting over her.” Ellie ordered more drinks, “Vincent, are you going to get off that phone at all tonight?”

Not if I wanted to stay sane. I had nothing but respect for my cousins’ wives. If they called me. I would answer. I took an oath to protect them. But the same could not be said for Vivienne’s sisters. Who were fucking insufferable.

“Sorry about that.” Jamison was back. His wife still nowhere to be seen. The bastard left me with them. He might be apologizing to his wife’s sisters, but it should be directed at me.

“Vince!”

Locking my phone, I looked up. Two weeks. The longest we had gone without speaking to each other. Every time I went to call her, I stopped myself.

“Madeline,” I smiled. It almost felt unnatural. She stopped in front of me. I’d missed seeing her smile. “How was your holiday?”

“How did you know about that?”

Because I had a unhealthy addiction to needing to know she was okay.

“I didn’t go. I, um, had a business trip that was more important.” She winked. Gripping my glass tighter. Why hadn’t she told me she was going overseas for a gun deal? She might treat negotiating gun shipments with warlords as normal, but it wasn’t.

All this time, I thought she was on his private island.

Ellie cleared her throat. Seriously, we had been here for an hour, and she had gossiped about Madeline for most of it. Now she wanted an introduction.

“Oh, sorry for being rude. Madeline Thorne.” She turned, giving Ellie a smile she didn’t deserve.