Page 103 of Heartless

She looked at me warily and asked, “Do you want to have kids?”

The question hit me out of nowhere, but I managed to stay calm. “Yeah. I… I’ve always wanted a family.”

Madison looked at me like she was waiting for me to continue, but there was no way she knew, right? It was true that the others knew, but they were always so delicate about it, I doubted anyone would say something to her. Not to mention I specifically asked Tyler not to say anything. And she barely saw them. I was there almost every time. Also, she wouldn’t just pretend that she didn’t know. If she knew, she would have said something.

I didn’t want to lie, but I also wasn’t ready to talk about my son. And the timing was awful. It was her birthday party and her entire family was here. It would be a repeat of the Christmas dinner and no one needed that.

“How about we try to find out what’s in that box your sister brought?” I offered with a smile. “Hey, Clem? Time for cake?”

Clem looked between me and Madison. “Isn’t it early?”

Madison shrugged. “It’s fine by me, as long as no one sings ‘Happy Birthday.’ Oh, and I’m not blowing out any candles.”

“You’re a buzzkill,” her sister murmured.

“And the birthday girl. You have to respect my wishes.”

A few minutes later, a waitress brought out a piece of cake for everyone, including Madison.

“Are you going to eat it? Because it looks delicious and I wouldn’t mind eating yours too.”

When she didn’t answer, I looked up and found her and Clem sharing a look.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Lucas answered first. “It’s a raspberry cake.”

“Is that important?”

“It was Madison’s favorite when we were little,” Clem explained.

“A perfectly good cake,” Tyler added and everyone except Sylvia and I burst out laughing.

“What am I missing?”

“Stick around and you will find out. No doubt about that,” Sylvia looked at her children with disappointment.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Madison

Imoved discreetly through the crowd, my eyes scanning the scene, looking for any imperfection that could spoil the day. There was none.

After one last check of the gazebo, I headed to The Pearl to check up on Annie and the bridesmaids. Loud laughter carried from the inside of the villa and I sincerely hoped no one was drunk. I forbade everyone who was involved in the wedding ceremony from drinking more than a few sips to calm his nerves, but working with people over the years had shown me that there was always a rebel that didn’t want to follow instructions.

That was the wedding of my career, and I wasn’t letting anyone ruin a single second of it.

The bridesmaids walked down the aisle. None of them tripped. None of them twerked.

Annie followed, practically floating in her custom gown.

People gasped at the sight of her. The groom teared up. No one shouted inappropriate jokes.

The ceremony came and went and it was just perfect. As the newlyweds kissed at the end, I exhaled quietly, a small sense of relief washing over me. The most official part of the wedding had passed without a hitch.

I couldn’t wait to gloat in front of my mother. Not that she would acknowledge my abilities, but it would feel good to rub it in her face after she so openly stated that I couldn’t handle such a high-profile wedding.

The reception began, and the guests mingled. I kept a watchful eye on everything, ensuring that all the details were taken care of and that everyone was having a good time. Annie and Roger looked so happy together. Their wedding was the perfect ending for my contract. It felt like I came full circle, since Annie was the one that brought me here eights months ago.

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