Two Bar Mitzvahs (No Weddings #3)(65)

Furious, I exhaled slowly, refusing to let her affect me, even though she’d cornered me against a wall between her body and another damned potted plant. The scent of alcohol lingered on her breath.

As she pressed closer, I held fast—instead of shoving her with the body check I wanted to give to her. But no woman deserved physical abuse, regardless of the form, including Madison. So I kept my reaction chilled and my voice low. “Get off me, Madison.”

A slow smile curved her lips as she raised a hand, brushing her fingers over my forehead. She ran them through my hair.

An angry shudder ripped through me. With measured words, I growled in warning, “Back the f*ck up.”

She purred. “Awww, no need to be nasty, Cade. Give in to it. I know you want me.”

I snorted. “You’re delusional.”

“Am I?”

Her hand went straight for my crotch and f*ck if my traitorous dick didn’t twitch in recognition as she gripped me there. (Stupid-ass men’s dicks with minds of their own.)

“I’m warning you, Madison. If you don’t step back, you’re gonna get shoved on your ass.”

Her smile widened, and she pressed into me.

Reining in my temper, because I refused to lay a hand on her, I pinched my eyes shut, jaw clenching.

My eyes popped open the second her lips touched mine. I stared into hers; they were wide open, gazing back as if she knew me. She knew nothing at all.

My hands flew to her shoulders, gripping her hard, right as her tongue flicked across my opening mouth. “Stop this game.”

A whimper sounded down the hall.

My head snapped left.

Hannah stood with a stricken expression on her face, her hand flying up to her mouth.

“Fuck.”

“Ooopsie.” Madison finally stepped back. She looked anything but sorry.

“Kiss your job good-bye,” I growled. Maybe the attorney had dragged his feet. I wouldn’t. I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth, which left a red lipstick smear across my hand.

Madison had the nerve to laugh. Either she didn’t believe I’d carry out the threat or was too drunk to care.

In a blur, Hannah charged between us and shoved Madison hard, knocking her drunk ass to the ground. “Selfish Bitch!”

Madison stared at Hannah wide-eyed. So did I as Hannah leaned over Madison with her hands clenched into tight fists, looking fully prepared to finish what she’d just started.

Tears welled in Madison’s eyes, then she glanced at me. Her vulnerability surfaced. She’d f*cked things up royally, but still, beneath it all, was the girl I once knew. The girl who existed beneath all the impenetrable shields only wanted to be loved. She was just clueless on how to make it happen. In fact, her games had pushed me right to the edge of violence. Although nothing justified a man hitting a woman, it could’ve happened with a man less in control.

Instead of attacking Madison, Hannah whirled around. She shoved a finger at my sternum, tears brimming in her eyes. “You. Just…” She growled and turned, storming back the way she came.

“Hannah, wait!”

She spun around. “No. Leave me alone.”

Approaching slowly, I shook my head. “I won’t do that. This wasn’t what you think. And neither is Madison. She—”

My mind flashed to Mom’s explanation, news I hadn’t yet shared with Hannah. Fuck. Well, it was do-or-die time now. All or nothing. I lowered my voice, “She has more issues than sex addiction, Hannah. I’d forgotten to tell you what my mom shared with me at the Fourth of July party. Madison had an ex-boyfriend in Europe who’d beaten her to the point she had to be hospitalized.”

Hannah’s expression turned pained. Her voice dropped to a fierce whisper as she took a step closer. “You’re defending her? And the list of things you keep ‘forgetting’ to tell me about her keeps growing.”

“No. I’m not defending her. I’m only explaining that Madison isn’t well. And I didn’t realize how messed up she is until just now.”

“She’s crazy.”

“Maybe. Damaged, at the very least.”

Hannah shook her head and pinched her eyes shut. Her tears finally fell.

I moved closer, needed to hold her.

She took quick steps back. “No,” she snarled.

Not wanting to upset her further, I froze in place.

“Don’t. Your instincts ran to keeping me on the outside with everything. All I asked was for you to let me in, make me a part of what you struggle with. But all the little things you ‘forget’ to tell me add up. How can I trust you when you don’t automatically feel that I’m important enough to help you with what you face, what affects you—what threatens us?”

“Hannah, please.”

My heart pounded. A cramp formed in my throat. I’d f*cked up. But not as a major event. I’d failed with all the little things along the way while I hadn’t been paying enough attention. And because of it, Hannah wasn’t slipping away—she threw herself with everything she had in the opposite direction.

“No,” she ground out. Her gaze hardened. “I don’t want to be around you now. Plus, you’ve got her all over your face. When I see you, I see that.” She pointed back toward Madison. Then she spun and strode down the hall.