Page 22 of Midnight Secrets

“What for?”

“For reminding me who I am. Some days I forget that Papa is a badass and Mama was a beautiful, strong woman who had the ability to wrap that badass around her little finger.”

Madison laughed and tugged me to my feet. “A relationship is a partnership where both people are equal. However, you need to learn what presses that man’s buttons. He has a cold exterior, but I would bet my best porcelain teapot on the fact that under that surface is an inferno of emotions ready to erupt. Watch him and learn what makes him react, then press those buttons until you bring him to his knees.”

My eyes widened. “What am I supposed to do with him then?”

She winked at me as her lips twitched into a mischievous grin. “Then you can do anything you want with him.” Madison let go of my hand and moved toward the door. “Your papa wants a barbeque, so if you have time, join me in the kitchen.”

Papa liked to stand in front of a grill and pretend he was cooking for everyone, when in reality he merely finished what Madison spent hours preparing. “Give me five minutes to change and I’ll come and help.”

Madison was more than capable of putting together a meal for everyone, but this was her way of watching over me. If I was standing beside her in the kitchen, I wasn’t sulking in my room. The kitchen was huge with drying herbs hanging from wooden racks that operated on a mechanism that allowed Madison to move them up and down. The utility room had two massive fridges and three freezers because we catered for all the security officers on duty. Frozen meals were left in one of the freezers for them to ding in the microwave at any time of the day or night.

While Madison prepared the salads and breads, I created sweet temptations for afterward. There was no time to bake some of the desserts that Papa preferred, but a meringue roulade took fifteen minutes in the oven, and brownies twenty-five minutes, so they would have to do with those, along with cookies, as I had frozen dough that was ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

Madison put on the radio in the background as she finished marinating the meat before she took it outside. I tended to eat more in the kitchen when preparing the food than when we sat down to eat it, and devoured the crispy end of a ciabatta as I sliced it.

The oven timer pinged and I lifted the roulade out before putting the tin filled with gooey brownie batter inside. There was homemade vanilla ice cream in the freezer to accompany it.

“You seem very domesticated,” a male voice said from behind me. Ash.

My ass was up in the air and was not my most flattering feature. I had had no intention of seeing anyone tonight, so put on my black yoga pants and pink vest top. My hair was in a messy bun on top of my head, and I wore no make-up.

I straightened slowly to turn around and face him. “This is my home,” I replied. “Domesticity means home or family life.”

He stood with his hip braced against the counter and his arms folded across his chest. The angel on my shoulder pleaded with me to be nice, the demon on my other shoulder screamed in my ear that he was an asshole and to ignore him. I was stuck in the middle between them in the confused no man’s land.

Ash regarded me with that expression that tended to leave me breathless and searching for words. To hide my confusion, I wandered to the freezer to retrieve the cookie dough I’d made batches of. He watched as I sliced into the cylindrical dough and placed them on a cooking tray. When I made the batches, I tended to make several flavours, so I made extra for the guards to eat later.

I stopped on my way back from the freezer, my hands landing on my hips. “Is there something I can do for you?”

He shrugged. “I have your stones with me.”

My heart leapt, but my pride stood resolute. “I thought everything was cancelled since I hadn’t heard from you.”

His head canted slightly to the side. “Have I hurt your feelings?”

“Not at all.” I gave him my best practiced smile. “I have to have feelings about someone for them to be hurt. We had a business arrangement, nothing more.”

So that he didn’t see too much with those piercing eyes of his, I started to put the salad components that Madison prepared into a large glass bowl. It gave my hands something to do and me the excuse not to engage in conversation. I didn’t possess the emotional tools to deal with a man like Ash. I’d been foolish to even think I did.

“What exactly do you want me to do with all those diamonds?” he asked in a calm voice that sent danger signals all the way up my spine.

I looked up and offered him my brightest smile. “If you invoice me the details, I’ll send the funds across to you.”

His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something but Madison walked in.

“This is a kitchen, Ash, not a social venue. Out you go!” She shooed him out before turning her attention to me. “Sounded like you needed help there before you burnt all your bridges.”

My teeth bit into the side of my mouth. “He had my phone number and never once sent me a message about them,” I defended.

“Francis said he had to pull some serious strings to get you into that jewellery show. It’s okay to be hurt and confused, but it’s not okay to wreck your future.” She grabbed my hands in hers. “You’ve spent years learning to design and craft jewellery. Accept the help offered and take this opportunity for the world to see who you really are.”

I nodded my agreement and returned to my cookies because I felt confused. It wasn’t the first time that I wished I possessed the confidence of Catarina. Ash baffled me with his moods—one moment he was colder than ice, the next, smouldering so hot that he’d burn my fingers.

Papa stood at the huge open fire outside, turning meat on the grill while be puffed on one of the cigars he received from his friend who lived in Cuba. I used the same trick that I used anytime I accompanied Papa to one of his functions, keeping my eyes focused on one point and ignoring everything around me. Right now, I needed to keep my emotions in control or I would either scream at Ash or sink to my knees at his feet.

I set the salad and assorted breads on the wooden bench made from one of the fallen trees from the estate. Jordan sat propped up on one of the loungers, Xavier stood beside Papa, but Ash sat close to the door, his eyes concealed by the dark sunglasses that gave him a dangerous edge. He’d had his hair cut, so it was shorter at the back than it had been the last time I saw him, but it still flopped over his forehead.

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