Beyond Broken(11)

She was just about to shut the car door when something occurred to her. Popping her head back in with a small smile, she said, "My name is Maddie, by the way. I didn't introduce myself."

Caleb finally turned his dark gaze on her. Cold, unreadable. He was still the same man. But even he couldn't extinguish the sense of accomplishment boiling up within her.

So, she continued to smile at him, because she figured that eventually she'd break through that wall of ice. "I won't be late," she told him. And then she shut the door, waving at him before turning towards her apartment complex. Once she rounded the corner next to the leasing office, she heard the smooth purr of his engine as he pulled away from the curb.





* * *





Maddie.

Fuck. A sweet name for a sweet girl.

Caleb fisted the steering wheel, wondering if he'd just made a big mistake as he turned on the offramp for the freeway home. For fuck's sake, what on earth had compelled him to give into her? Again! For the third time in one night.

It wasn't the freckles. It wasn't that damn glorious hair, or her shapely thighs, or the way she squirmed in his passenger seat on the ride to her apartment. And it certainly wasn't because of those solemn looking brown eyes as she thanked him for the ride home. No, it definitely wasn't any of those reasons.

Caleb cursed.

Maddie.

He only hoped that he had enough restraint around her. For her sake.

And for his.





FIVE





"Of all the stupid things for you to do!" her brother, Thomas, railed at her. In the car, his voice seemed louder, probably because Maddie had nowhere to escape to, especially flying down the freeway at 80-no, 83 MPH.

"It's not like I purposefully put diesel into my car."

"I would expect a newly licensed teenager to make a mistake like that. Not a 25-year-old grad student, who has been driving for almost ten years."

"Thanks, Dad," Maddie drawled. "I get it, okay? I messed up. I know I messed up, so you don't have to rub it in." The truth was, Maddie was extremely embarrassed already. More than embarrassed since Caleb Montgomery was the one who discovered just how much of an idiot she actually was. "And where were you last night? I was trying to reach you."

Thomas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't pick up. I was with Lara and-"

"Ugh, spare me the gory details. I don't need to know that my brother was getting laid last night, thank you very much."

"Not so much getting laid, as getting laid into," he mumbled. "Lara and I broke up last night. We were fighting when you called, so I didn't hear it ring."

"Oh, Thomas," Maddie said, her brows furrowing, her irritation draining away. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize things were that bad. I just saw you guys three days ago and you seemed happy."



       
         
       
        

"We were fooling ourselves," he said, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm kinda glad it's over, to be honest. We just weren't right for each other, even though the sex was-"

"Nope, nope. Don't want to hear it," she said loudly, cupping her ears.

Thomas laughed and leaned over to ruffle her hair. "Okay, okay. Hey, speaking of relationships, did you hear that Mom went out on a date a couple nights ago?"

"Yeah, with Henry, right? The guy she met in Home Depot?"

"Yep, the dirty lumberjack," he grumbled.

Maddie laughed. "You need to stop being so hard on the men Mom dates. I'm glad that she's finally getting back out there. And you should be happy for her."

"I just don't trust a man in a plaid flannel shirt and a overgrown greying beard, okay?"

"Well, Mom seems to trust him and that's all that matters. Besides, flannel is making a comeback."

Thomas grumbled. "I still want to meet him before they go out again."

"He has my seal of approval. He's nice and he really likes her, so stop playing the overprotective son and leave it alone. Their relationship is their business."

"We'll see." Judging from his tone, he wouldn't let it go. "Can you really blame me though? I guess I never got to play the overprotective older brother with you, so now I'm the overprotective son."

A little stung, Maddie frowned. She felt her cheeks heat and she turned her face out the window. Staring out at the passing cars, she said, "Thanks for reminding me how single I've been my entire life."

"Ah, Maddie, you know I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you're every older brother's dream, right?" Maddie threw him a glare. "Shit, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant-"