Page 23 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Adam grinned at him and sipped his drink. “Are you ready to tell me what’s on your mind then? I know something’s bothering you. There’s a vein ready to pop out your forehead. Quite dangerous that.”

Matt shook his head at Adam’s brotherly teasing then confided, “Some worrying developments back home. Madi’s been receiving some emails.”

Adam lost all jovialness and frowned at him. “Well, she’s in the public eye now, Matt. It’s to be expected.”

Matt rubbed both hands over his face and avoided his brother’s scrutiny. It was his fault she was in the current position as it stood.

“Look,” Adam continued. “She’s accessible to them. Madi isn’t like your usual women. She doesn’t have money and connections to hide behind, she’s just a normal woman going about her normal life. From the moment your relationship with her became public you knew this was going to happen. She doesn’t have the wall of protection peoplein our circles do.”

“I know this, Adam.”

“You proposed to her, that’s like oil on fire to the media.” Adam said with reproach. “You did that yet you failed to put steps in place to protect her.” Matt’s mouth parted in surprise at his brother’s disapproval. Before he could speak Adam continued with an arched eyebrow. “It’s a modern day Cinderella story, an interracial Cinderella story in the media’s eyes, and Madi is still going about her life as if you’re just a normal man. You’re not, you are a Bradley and our family has always interested the media because we tend to keep our private lives, well, private.”

“I know this, Adam.” Matt replied curtly.

Adam snorted under his breath and shrugged. “I like her, Matt. She’s…she’s different. You should have done more to keep your relationship from the prying eyes of the media, or at least done some damage control.”

Matt sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I asked her to move in with me, but she’s not too keen on doing that right now. I can’t do anything about her career, she’ll always be vulnerable when it comes to that. Bloody hell. The paps were lining the road to her premises when they found out we were engaged, and I still don’t know how they found out in the first place! She’s loathed to let our relationship change her day-to-day life-”

“You need to discuss that with her, Matt. If she’s going to be your wife, she’ll need to make some major changes in her life.”

“If?” Matt asked drily.

Adam rolled his eyes. “When she becomes a Bradley, things will change drastically. You need to ensure she’s able to handle those changes, and for God’s sakes, get her to do her shopping online or employ someone to do these menial tasks for her. If I see another picture of her coming out of a supermarket or store, I’ll go mad.”

Matt let out a bark of laughter. “Madi would never let me hire an assistant. She won’t even entertain the thought of a bodyguard.” His expression darkened then and Adam immediately noticed. They were close after all.

“What?” he asked pointedly.

Matt didn’t answer. He walked over to the table where his laptoprested and beckoned his brother over. “Read that.” was all he said.

Adam picked up the laptop, eyes moving rapidly as he read. He paused once or twice, shooting Matt an alarmed look. When he finished, he simply put the laptop back on the table and sighed.

“You need to call Jonas.” Adam said after a few minutes.

“I have.” Matt replied, gaze focused on his brother’s face. “I’m not overreacting then?”

Adam shook his head. “No, you’re not. That…those things are vile, Matt. Even if it’s just some tosser spouting nonsense…I’d feel better if you had someone on Madi.”

Matt nodded in relief. Adam agreed with him, he wasn’t overreacting. “It’s being arranged. The only problem is she can’t know, she’s adamant about this issue. She believes it’s pretentious and unnecessary.”

“It is pretentious, but completely necessary. Remember when the girls were ten? If Hannah and Stuart hadn’t taken the required steps to ensure their safety-”

“I know, Adam. I was there.” Matt grumbled.

The memory of Hannah’s face when Jonas had notified her of a possible kidnap threat was forever etched in his mind. The twins still had people watching out for them, they knew it was a necessity and rarely complained.

“We protect our family, Matt. It’s our responsibility and if - when you marry Madi, the same rules apply.”

Matt sighed. “I know, I know. She’s not going to be happy about it though.”

Adam shrugged and wandered over to the large windows. “She’ll get used to it. Have you two set a date?”

“Not as yet.” Matt hedged, not wanting Adam to know Madi was strenuously avoiding the date issue. Any other woman would be eager to get him down the aisle as soon as possible. Not his poppet though. Matt needed to change the topic. “What about you? How is your love life?”

Adam chortled at his brother. “Busy.”

“Yes.” Matt mused with a knowing smirk. “I’m sure it is. You should settle down, Adam, you’re not getting any younger.”

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