Cold feet(38)
Author: Brenda Novak

"I don’t think Brianna should spend any time with that guy," Caleb replied, his eyebrows lowered.

Madison chuckled as she watched Danny’s car disappear. "He’s normally not that bad. He’s just bugged that I let you move in. When I do things he doesn’t approve of, it reminds him that he no longer has control over me, which means he no longer has complete control of Brianna. That’s why he’s always coaxing Brianna to come and live with him. His new wife is pregnant, and Danny keeps trying to use the baby as a draw. ‘Don’t you want to live with your little sister? She’s going to miss you when you’re gone.’"

"In that photo album, he didn’t even seem excited about her birth," Caleb said.

"He wasn’t ready for children when we had her. He never got up with Brianna once during the night. Never baby-sat her on his own."

"So what’s changed?"

"I guess he’s grown up. He seems to be a much better father now."

"You can’t tell he’s grown up from the way he treats you."

"Like I said, he usually isn’t quite that bad. I think he was showing off for your benefit."

"I’m not impressed."

"That’s just how he is. Don’t let him bother you. All I can do is save my dollars and cents for when he takes me back to court."

"Which might be sooner than you think," Caleb said. "He mentioned you might not have Brianna much longer."

"He always says that. But I’ll fight him until my dying day, if that’s what it takes, and he knows it." She shifted her briefcase to her other hand, feeling eager to get out of her nylons. She couldn’t let herself obsess over Brianna going with Danny. He’d brought Brianna home safely every time. She had to trust that he’d do so again.

Still, she said a silent prayer for her daughter’s well-being and promised herself she’d call later and check up. "In any case, I’m free for the weekend," she said. "And the break couldn’t have come at a better time. What do you want me to make us for dinner?"

"I was thinking steak and lobster."

"I don’t have any lobster."

He slung an arm around her shoulders. "That’s why I’m taking you out."

MADISON STARED AT HERSELF in the mirror, wondering if she was really daring enough to wear the tight little black dress. She’d bought it two years ago. She’d hoped it would help her and Danny’s love life, their marriage in general, if she transformed herself from "tired mom" to "tempting siren." But Danny hadn’t given her much of a chance to try before dropping his "I’m in love with someone else" bomb. Then the years of struggling to please him, to keep the family together, were over.

It really wasn’t a "Danny" sort of dress, anyway. Formfitting and rather short, with spaghetti straps, it said "sleek and sophisticated," not "hard-core and raunchy," which was much more in line with Danny’s sexual tastes.

Caleb, on the other hand, seemed like a man who’d appreciate a dress like this–and that made wearing it a little risky. But in some ways Madison didn’t care. She was feeling better than she’d felt in ages, probably because she was opening herself up to new friendships. She’d won a small battle with the past when she’d taken her father’s truck today. And she was actually able to laugh at Danny this evening instead of letting him upset her. Certainly that was progress, and it deserved some reward. What more appropriate reward was there than to feel five years younger and momentarily free from all the emotional baggage she’d been carrying?

She applied some glossy pink lipstick, stood back to assess the effect, and decided it was exactly the look she was going for. Then she began digging around in her makeup drawer for a matching shade of nail polish. Tonight she was going to paint her fingers and her toes, go barelegged and dab perfume right between her br**sts.

"I’m getting hungry. Are you ready yet?" Caleb called from the living room. "You looked good before you went back there. What could be taking so long?"

What could be taking so long? Madison smiled at herself. It was just about time to show him.

CALEB KNEW HE WAS in trouble the second Madison emerged from the back of the house. She was all feminine curves, creamy skin and warm smiles, with a little shiny lipstick thrown in for good measure. And he’d been susceptible to her beauty before she’d gone and dressed like some kind of sex goddess.

He allowed himself to indulge in a brief fantasy–where he peeled down one of those skinny straps and let his lips skim her bare shoulder. But then he told himself to get a grip, and shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the fact that she’d had a very immediate effect on him.

"All set?" he said.

"I think so. I just need to find my house keys so I can lock up."

She crossed in front of him on her way to the kitchen, and he breathed deeply as he caught a whiff of her perfume.

"You don’t think I’m too dressed up, do you?" she asked, returning to the living room after she’d found her house keys.

He let his eyes climb her legs to the clingy black dress, her creamy shoulders, pouty lips and wide eyes, and began to say she might want to put on something that wouldn’t interfere with his thinking. But that wasn’t what came out. "You look perfect," he said.

"Good." Her smile seemed to have a direct link to his groin.

Just don’t do anything your mother wouldn’t approve of, he told himself. Fair-minded and conservative as Justine was, he knew that adhering to her standards would keep him well on this side of ethical. But he’d never been very good at listening to other people, even his mother.

Clearing his throat, he opened the door for Madison. "Let’s go."

THE CANDLELIGHT at the restaurant cast everything in a golden glow that added to the surreal quality of the night. Madison reveled in the romantic lighting, the expensive wine Caleb had selected and the intimacy of their little table in the outer reaches of Rudy’s Lobster Bay, an excellent seafood restaurant in downtown Seattle. Waiters and waitresses bustled past in tuxedos, yet she and Caleb seemed almost alone.

"Tell me about your childhood," Madison said, taking a bite of filet mignon smothered with mushrooms. "You told me you grew up on Fidalgo Island, but you haven’t mentioned much about your family. Do you have siblings?"

"Just an older sister, Tamara. And believe me, with Tamara one sibling is more than enough."

"Why?"

"I never liked her much." He smiled ruefully.

Madison sipped her wine. "Seriously?"

"Maybe not completely, but she was a pain. She was one of those kids who had to tattle at every opportunity. No matter what I did, she ran to tell our parents."