I looked at the gift again, nervous. Was I doing the right thing? I thought of it as an act of kindness, the least I could do for Madeline, but how would she take it? How about her mother?

Jett and I had wandered the market for hours, examining every table until we found a gift we thought she would enjoy. I’d purchased a handmade bag that was pink and purple and made out of a fun printed fabric. It was very juvenile looking but perfect for a little girl. I didn’t know what she would do with a handbag, but I thought it would be a nice, bright gesture. Before I’d wrapped it, I slipped a note in the bag, a note of encouragement.

Love is unyielding, loss is undeniable, and love will help you move forward, which will show your true courage in life. Keep moving forward, Madeline. 

Words of wisdom I should have followed myself. I was too far gone to recover. I’d accepted my sentence, but Madeline still had a bright future ahead of her.

“Drop it off, Kace. I’m not going to let you skip out on this part.”

He knew me too well.

With reluctance, I opened the car door and got out, not letting the slam of a door echo through the silent night. I waited until the streets of the city emptied to drop off my gift.

I’d parked around the corner to go unseen. Silently, I made my way to the front of their house, stopping behind a tree to see if their lights were out. The streetlamp was ready to go out. I made a mental note to tell Jett about it so he could get someone from the city to replace the bulb. Jett had connections and could make things happen quickly, even if it was as simple as changing a light bulb.

The house Madeline and Linda lived in was small and quaint with green shutters and peach walls. Potted plants hung in front of the windows, and a cobblestone walkway let me to the front door.

Silently, with very little breath, I eased toward the door and placed the present on the welcome mat. Before I retreated, I observed the bright white door with wrought iron fixtures. The cottage-type house was a classic in New Orleans, warm and inviting.

I started to walk away but felt a pair of eyes on me. I stopped and looked around to see if anyone was eyeing me from their windows. All the houses were dark with curtains closed over the windows, blocking the view of any onlookers. It was dark enough I knew no one would be able to see who I was, but the feeling of eyes on me still felt eerie. I headed back to the idling car.

Once I got in, Jett said, “Did you drop it off?”

I nodded and buckled up. I took one last look at the neighborhood and inhaled a deep breath of relief. One birthday down, an eternity left to go.

Chapter Nineteen

My present…

Pound after pound, pain shot through my head, making my eye twitch and my brain seize. My stomach rolled with each step, but the pain was welcome. After a week of an alcohol-induced coma, I was feeling the effects.

I brought a water bottle to my mouth and relished the cool water that slipped past my dry lips and down my scratchy throat. Jett forced me to eat something, but I was regretting my intake of food as nausea once again embraced me.

I hated that I’d scared Goldie, that she’d feared for me. Jett knew my limits and knew I could slip into a much darker hole than where he found me, but Goldie hadn’t seen that side of me before. She tried to be tough most of the time, but I’d seen fear in her eyes when she’d looked at me today, an expression I never again wanted to see on her pretty face.

Goldie still affected me. From the moment I’d first met her, I’d known she was someone who would be a part of my life. There was no denying it.

The ache I’d had for her died though. The urge to claim her as mine, to tear her away from my best friend, was gone, and a true friendship was developing.

She had latched on to me, and now I had to deal with her worrying about what was going to happen with Lyla and me.

The minute she’d noticed I was coherent, she’d made it her mission to find out what had happened between me and Lyla. I’d spared her the details and said things hadn’t worked out. According to Goldie, that wasn’t a good enough explanation.

The badgering I’d received was the reason for my second wave of nausea and headaches. The little honey-haired girl was relentless when it came to her best friend. It wasn’t until Jett saw I’d suffered enough that he took Goldie away and shoved more food in my direction.

Feeling half human, I sat on the hood of Jett’s black Porsche Cayenne, nursing my water and waiting for Pepper to meet me in front of the hotel. I had one foot propped on the bumper of the SUV and the other on the ground, testing my half-drunken balance. The sun beat down on my back, and the Louisiana humidity made the alcohol seep from every pore in my body. Detoxing was a real bitch.

“God, could you look any sexier?” Pepper asked as she walked up to me, snapping gum in her mouth and sporting a pair of short denim shorts and a low-cut tank top. The girl was looking damn fine. She stood next to me and ruffled my hair. “You really nail that whole brooding man look.” She scanned my easy outfit of worn jeans and a white T-shirt. “Why is it so simple for a man?”

I took off my sunglasses and eyed Pepper up and down. “Why is it so simple for a woman?” I asked in return.

Pepper and I had had our on and off moments, especially after Jett and Goldie had finally started a relationship. We both had demons to fight off, and we found losing ourselves in each other’s bodies was an easy way to forget. It wasn’t until Lyla walked into my life that I had stopped all interaction with Pepper. It had been abrupt, but she’d known going into the arrangement it was just sex, nothing else.

Still, by the way she was eye-fucking me, I knew she wanted to go back to our old agreement. A part of me had thought about it during my drunken stupor. I’d thought about calling her, but I was too twisted to even lift my phone to text her, let alone fuck her senseless. Plus, in the back of my mind, I knew I would be hurting Lyla, and I didn’t want to do that.

Lyla and Pepper got along, but there had always been an underlying tension between the two girls when they were both working at the Lafayette Club. It was noticeable when they were in a room together. It made dealing with both of them that much harder.

“Where we off to?” Pepper asked, blowing a bubble with her gum.

“I need your help picking out a present,” I said, standing and catching my balance. I still felt like I had sea legs. “Want to drive?” I asked, unsure how sober I really was.

“Fuck yes.” She fist-pumped the air.

Instantly I regretted my decision to let Pepper drive. If she drove anything like Goldie, I would be needing a barf bag. According to Jett, Goldie was by far the scariest driver he’d ever been in a car with. Apparently she liked riding on the sidewalks, treating pedestrians like bumper cars, and defying any and all speed limits. With Pepper’s “fuck off” way of life and her free spirit, I could imagine what I was in for.

“Where to?” she asked after we got in, and she started the engine. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and pumped the gas a few times while we were still in park.

Jesus.

“Easy there, Mario Andretti. We’re just driving to the French Market.”

“Let’s see how fast we can get there,” she said, pulling into traffic and slamming on the gas. I flew back into my seat and my hand instinctively went to the “oh shit” handle above the door.

“Unless you want me puking in your lap, slow the fuck down, Pepper.”

Pepper laughed and dropped to the speed limit. “Jett was right. This is going to be fun.”

I should have known Jett had spoken with Pepper. He’d probably told all the girls about my drinking binge and asked them to be extra annoying around me. I wouldn’t put it past him. It would be his way of teaching me a lesson.