“Unfortunately, you’re right.” Leaning back in the chair, I cross my arms as Maddox looks at me. “What?”

“I didn’t think you’d admit it.”

“Why not? It’s true.”

“Just because something’s true doesn’t mean people are honest about it.”

I nod. He’s right about that. “There’s a lot of stuff we can’t change. A lot people keep in. I just…” I shrug. “There’s certain traits about me that are the way they are. Most of them I feel shitty about, so the ones I don’t… it seems ridiculous to hide those.” It’s too much to hide all the time.

Maddox’s eyes concentrate on me hard. There’s a tick in his jaw, but he doesn’t look angry. More curious and I don’t want him or anyone else trying to figure me out. Who knows if he’ll ask me anything or not. Mostly I don’t think so because it doesn’t fit with the quiet guy he is, but I’m also not risking it.

“That’s enough about that.” I push to my feet. “I’m getting antsy.”

Maddox gets up right behind me and walks out the door. What the fuck? Did I miss something here? It’s only a few seconds later that he comes back inside and I feel my body relax. Why I was so tense over him walking out, I don’t know and honestly I don’t like it.

Without a word, Maddox hands me a piece of paper. When I turn it over, I see it’s a flyer with the same picture on it as my sign outside the door.

“You made this?” I don’t know why it shocks me. Actually I do. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to do something like this.

“If I want to learn, we need business. It only makes sense.”

Ah, so there’s the why. “You did this freehand from memory?”

“It’s important.”

“I gave some out before I opened.” I don’t admit that his looks better.

“I’ll give some out at Lunar. My little sister is a waitress. She can maybe sneak and put them on cars at work or something. Laney and a couple of her friends go to the college. I’m sure they can hook us up with some people too.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to mention something about his little sister not really being “little.” They can’t be far apart in age, but then I remember I’m not supposed to know about her. And really, her age doesn’t matter. I’m only trying to distract myself from the fact that he put a lot of thought into this. Yeah it helps him, too, but it still means something to me.

“That’d be cool.”

“I’ll grab the rest of the flyers, then. We can each take some. I also thought it would help to have some specials. Did you do anything when you opened? I have a few ideas that—”

“Whoa.” He’s throwing so many ideas at me I’m getting dizzy. All I can think is he’s trying to take over. He doesn’t think I can do it. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. What’s all this ‘we’ stuff? Masquerade is mine, Scratch. I don’t need you telling me how to run it.”

Maddox steps back, emotions flashing through his eyes that I don’t understand. I cringe, guilt layering my annoyance.

“Keep the flyer,” he grits out before heading toward the door. It would be the smartest thing in the world for me to let him leave, but the paper in my hand makes the guilt burn brighter.

A voice in my head keeps telling me to apologize, but what comes out is, “You give up too easily.”

Maddox stops moving. “You treat people like shit too often.”

“True, but I have a feeling I’m not the only one here who does that.”

With those words he turns around and looks at me. He wants to argue with me. I can tell by the set of his jaw and the tension in his features. Hell, what am I doing here with this guy? We’re too much alike. I think he sees it too. There’s no way this can end well.

“I’m not trying to be a bitch. This place is important to me and I’m protective.”

He nods, understanding lightening his face.

“I also don’t apologize well.”

“I don’t need apologies. They don’t mean shit anyway.”

In that second I realize how different I am from so many girls, because those words are sexy. Brutal honestly is underrated and I can see that he has it, like I do. If I were a different kind of girl—the kind who believed in love—Maddox would be the guy I’d fall for. Though I guess if I really wasn’t me, he probably wouldn’t be what I’d want.

Maddox steps closer to me, close enough that I swear I smell a faint tint of tattoo ink mixed with the scent of man. He looks down at me, strength and anger rolling off him. Not like violent anger, but frustration at the world. Like he’s given up, but not in the way that he wants people to feel sorry for him. He’s real and doesn’t paint the universe as a happy place like so many people try to.

I suddenly want to touch him. To see if the two of us coming together like we did that first night can give the world a little more of the realness that it lacks.

Totally not a good idea and definitely not happening. I step away. “Why don’t we call it a day? I don’t think we’re going to get much business and you work tonight. There’s a lot of trouble we can get into if you stay. Trouble neither of us wants.”

“It pisses me off that I want you,” he says with all the honesty in the world.

“You do pissed off well, I think. And sexy too.”

As he’s backing toward the door, Maddox says, “Yeah… I’ll grab the flyers for you and then I’m gone.”

I’m breathing hard when I don’t want to be. A slow, tingly need building in my stomach. I almost ask him to stay. We could do that—enjoy each other with nothing attached to it, but if it becomes a habit, it could be a problem. It’s important I remember that, so instead of standing here, I go into the back until I hear him leave the flyers before going out front again.

Chapter Six ~Maddox~

The next day I’m sitting on my porch, trying to wake up with a cigarette in my hand. It was a long night at work with stupid-ass drunk people making fools of themselves. It gets tiring after a while. I’ve never been into shit like that. Don’t do drugs and rarely drink. My one vice is cigarettes. There’s something relaxing about the deep breaths in and forced breaths out. I think it was something I did to rebel when I was younger, and I haven’t stopped yet. They keep me busy, as fucked up as that sounds. Maybe I have an oral fixation or some shit like that.

The only good thing about last night was I got rid of all the flyers before Trevor or his brother Tyler could give me shit about passing them out at work. They’re twins even though they don’t look exactly alike—rich kids who somehow own a club at twenty-two. They basically leave me alone, which works for me.

Pushing the end of my half-smoked cigarette into the concrete, I put it out before stuffing it into the old coffee can. As I’m about to go inside, Laney and her boyfriend, Adrian, walk around the corner.

Even though I’m iffy about him, there’s a respect there too. He’s with my sister even though our dad killed his son. He never told her that I hunted him down after he split a few months before and took some of my anger out on him with my fists. It’s not as though he didn’t give it right back to me.

“Hey!” Laney smiles and gives me a quick hug.

I nod toward Adrian. “What’s up?”

He lifts his chin in greeting. Grabbing the door handle, I push it open and they follow me inside.

“Not too much. We’re going to see Ash, but I wanted to stop by and see how things are going with you first.” Laney sits on the couch and Adrian goes down right beside her.

For a second, I look at him. Watch for some flash of anger that I know he has to feel. Ash was his son. Our dad hit him and now they’re going to see him at his grave. For a brief second, Adrian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before reaching over to grab my sister’s hand. Damned if he didn’t make me respect him a whole hell of a lot more. He loves her and doesn’t make her suffer for something she didn’t cause. That’s really all I ever wanted for her—not to lose out because of our parents.