Chapter 14

The restaurant was bustling.

Shane supposed he hadn’t picked the best time to come and see Holly, but, surprisingly, during one of the stints of him watching his niece, she’d asked him why she hadn’t seen much of her mother in a while.

Madison was an interesting little thing.

Shane didn’t have very much experience with children – none, in fact. He and Tommy had no younger siblings, and none of the friends he had before he went away had been old enough to have children.

His brother had been a shining example.

And then, of course, behind bars, there were no kids. Only the whispers of them among the inmates – lives and families left behind. People spoke of their kids like they were goddamned unicorns – fantastic creatures they’d never see again. But then again, Shane had been locked up with a number of felons who had sentences far longer than his.

So, in a way, it made sense.

Shane had never even thought about having children of his own. For a while, he’d thought about Tommy…what a great Dad he’d make and the happy little family he would have. Holly and a baby daughter…

Of course, it hadn’t taken long enough for that admiration to turn to jealousy in the wake of their feud.

But Shane had eight long years to think about what happened between he and Tommy – eight long years to recall what he’d said, and for those words to come back to haunt him. Eight years to picture Tommy and Holly’s little girl, to realize that he was still family, and that one day he might know her.

Might want his own children.

Well, children were a goddamned handful. He’d first agreed to watch Madison to take some pressure off Holly’s shoulders. Shane was quickly learning that it wasn’t as easy as he might have assumed.

His first session with Maddy was spent reinforcing the fact that he wouldn’t allow her to call him Dad. Tommy was her Dad and he wasn’t out to take that away. There were fountains of tears, but Shane held steadfast until the little hellion calmed down and finally said Uncle.

Literally.

After that, things were pretty whirlwind. She wanted to eat, she wanted juice, she wanted help with her homework –he, for the life of him, had no idea why second grade education was so damn redundant. She wanted to eat, she wanted to play- and of course, when she wanted to play, there were few sports or masculine endeavors involved. No, Madison wanted tea parties. She wanted to dress up and she wanted to watch movies where the main cartoon characters looked like failed plastic surgery experiments.

He was a little out of his element, to say the least.

But the fact that Holly trusted him with Madison was enough to make him push through. That…and the fact that it wasn’t all bad. In the past two weeks, he’d watched Madison about five times, and each and every time, he learned something new about her. She loved broccoli but hated Brussel sprouts. She wasn’t terribly scared of spiders – unique for any female, especially one under the age of ten – and her favorite flavor was strawberry. He knew because he was able to bribe her to eat the dinners Holly pre-cooked with offerings of strawberry ice cream.

In fact, he could pretty much get her to do anything for strawberry ice cream.

But, that wasn’t why he’d brought her to the restaurant.

It was obvious that Maddy harbored certain feelings about her mother and her father’s death. He didn’t think she resented Holly, but she might be a little mad at her. So when Maddy asked to see her mother for the first time since he’d been watching her, he leapt at the opportunity.

For not entirely selfish reasons.

The restaurant was packed, and immediately, Maddy pressed close to him, her tiny hand wrapping around his as she gazed up at him in question. “Where’s Mom?”

Shane shot her a small smile. “She’s working, hon. We’re going to find her, Ok?”

“Ok.”

She was a sweet little thing…when she wasn’t trying to get him to wear a dress.

As grateful as Shane was for being able to spend time with his niece, he was elated that he got to see more of Holly. Every night he sat for Maddy, when she came home to relieve him, and a few times besides when he came into the restaurant to pick up food.

Seeing her never got old.

She was fucking gorgeous every single time, and it didn’t matter if she was rushed, in the middle of making sure the kitchen ran smoothly, or just chatting with customers at the bar, the sight of her was enough to get him hard in two seconds flat.

He didn’t see her just now though.

There were tons of wait staff bustling around the restaurant, and Kelly was near the front serving as a hostess. At the sight of them, she waved but couldn’t make her way over. She was swamped with customers.

“Come on, Maddy.” Shane tugged the little girl gently towards the back of the restaurant as she waved back at Kelly. There was live music playing, and people were lined up outside to get tables. More than a few people cast him strange looks – Shane wasn’t exactly wearing formal attire in his blue jeans and black t-shirt, but he ignored them. Maddy didn’t mind holding his hand, and that was all that mattered.

They wove their way through the throng until they neared the back booths and then, all at once, there she was, emerging from the kitchen.

Shane immediately bit back a groan, adjusting his stance so his ensuing erection wasn’t visible to everyone present. She was wearing a black dress – her usual uniform when she was on the floor – and the way that it clung to her curves was utterly mindblowing. Her hair was drawn up in a high chignon off of her face with a few strands no doubt loosed in the mad rush of business. Though she wore flat, sensible shoes, he admired the lines of her legs, longing to have them wrapped around his waist as he plunged into her again and again – until his mind turned to fucking mush.

It was the most inappropriate line of thought in the whole damn world – especially considering that she was obviously busy and he was holding her daughter’s hand – but if he had the opportunity, Shane would hoist Holly over his shoulder, carry her to the nearest secluded place and have his way with her until one or both of them collapsed from exhaustion.

As Holly sent the waiters off with trays off food, he bent down to point across the room for Maddy. “See her?”

Madison nodded, a half smile forming on her face before she seemed to remember something and the gesture faded as quickly as it had appeared. “Ok.” She turned back to Shane, wrapping her arm around his leg to hug him tightly. “We can go now.”

Surprised, Shane arched a brow. “Go? Madison, I thought you wanted to talk to your mom.”

He certainly did.

The little girl shook her dark head of hair frantically. “I just wanted to see her. We can go now.”

Just wanted to see her?

She wanted to come all the way downtown just to see Holly?

Gently moving into an alcove and out of the way of restaurant traffic, Shane pried his niece from his leg to bend down and look her in the eye once more. “Madison, what’s going on? You had us come all the way from your house and you don’t want to talk to your mom? Maybe she misses you too.”

Maddy immediately scowled, shaking her head even more furiously this time. “She doesn’t miss me.”

Shane merely gave her a skeptical look. “Why would you think that?” When Holly was around Maddy, her attention was completely focused on her daughter. Making sure she was fed, entertained, and that all her needs were seen to – never mind that Madison wasn’t exactly accommodating.

“She doesn’t miss Daddy. And she doesn’t miss me either.” Shane felt his stomach clench at the child’s profession. He knew all about why Maddy had run away a few weeks ago – that Holly had exploded on her in frustration and scared the girl into running away. But Madison’s mindset – the idea that because her mother wasn’t languishing over Tommy’s death that she didn’t miss him – was all wrong.

It was evident in the way Holly looked at the pictures around her house, the way her face fell when she picked up lost articles of Tommy’s clothing, and even when someone at the restaurant asked her about certain recipes – she still thought of his brother every day.

And still, he wanted the fuck out of her. He wanted her so badly sometimes that he couldn’t breathe.

Holly was entitled to happiness. Though there was a bevy of unfinished business between Shane and Tommy, his brother was gone. Her husband had died over a year ago, and though the thought was still painful, Holly didn’t deserve to cry any more.

But how the hell was he supposed to get an eight-year-old to see that?

“Maddy, your Mom misses you every second she’s away from you. I promise you that.” He took the child’s shoulders gently, staring into green eyes that were the mirror image of his brother’s. “You’re pissed because you don’t think she loves your Dad anymore?”

Maddy’s eyes widened in a mixture of confusion and surprise. “What’s ‘pissed’?”

Fuck. How many times had Holly warned him about language? “It means mad,” he quickly corrected himself, flushing slightly. “But just say mad, Ok? Never used that word.”

Maddy nodded solemnly and Shane continued, slightly relieved. “Maddy, your Mom still loves your dad. Just because she doesn’t cry or seem upset all the time doesn’t mean she doesn’t think about him. Do you want your Mom to cry all the time?”

This time, when Madison shook her head, the motion was slower, moisture beginning to gleam in her own eyes. “Do you feel good inside when you cry? Doesn’t it hurt?”

He felt like a dipshit for making her cry to prove a point, but it was the only way he could think to show her what feelings did to people.

The little girl nodded, tears now dripping down her chin as she sniffled. “Your mom has to run the restaurant, take care of you, take care of a whole bunch of other people, and take care of herself. If she cries all day, some of those things might get forgotten. You don’t want that, do you?”

Again, Madison shook her head. “She loves you, Maddy. And she loves your Dad too. She just keeps him on the inside and remembers the happy times you guys had so that she doesn’t cry, ok? Don’t you think your Dad would want her to be happy? I know Tommy would want you happy.”

Tommy, who had never had a vicious bone in his body. Whose mistakes came more from his own shortcomings than maliciousness.

Fuck.

Maybe he owed his brother a little more credit. Though he was pissed as hell at Tommy for judging him before he went to jail – pissed that he had gotten to be with Holly and had left her with such devastating debts…he didn’t deserve what he’d gotten. And he hadn’t deserved the insults Shane had thrown at him the last night they spoke.

“Mommy!” Unexpectedly, Maddy turned from him to rush for her mother and Holly’s head jerked up in surprise. She reacted in just enough time to catch Maddy in her arms, enveloping her in her embrace immediately as the little girl sobbed.

“Madison, sweetheart! What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”

But Maddy only cried against her mother’s waist, clutching her wildly as Holly stroked her hair, completely unabashed at the looks they were receiving. She knelt to pick her daughter up and carry her towards the kitchens.

Shane watched them go, taking in the expression on Holly’s face. She looked utterly and completely in her element. No matter what Madison did, what scene she made or how she reacted, Holly only knew one thing: love.

What must it be like to have that in you?

Shane couldn’t even fathom.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

Shane glanced over his shoulder, immediately straightening in surprise to see Alex seated at a table in the corner, an empty bottle of wine and a half-finished steak before him. It appeared the man had taken a break from his suits, and wore a fresh white polo and slacks, along with shoes that couldn’t have cost less than a grand. With his tanned complexion and impeccable grooming, everything about him screamed Miami money.

“What the hell are you doing here?” His lips quirked in amusement as he sidled over to Alex’s table to clasp the man’s hand in camaraderie.

“Eating.” Alex chuckled, taking a sip of wine. “Damn good steak. Heard about this place a shit ton but never managed to get down here.” His voice lowered tactfully. “Considering my current line of investigation, I figured I might as well come down and scope the place out.” He slid the sunglasses he wore down his nose, his gaze moving seamlessly from Shane to a point behind him as his expression turned hungry. “And I’m glad I did.”

Shane looked to see what the hell Alex was talking about and immediately smirked.

Kelly was seating a table of four, looking goddamned decadent as always in a black skirt that was probably a few inches too short and her white button up undone enough to show off her cleavage. The father of her party was probably old enough to be her father, but that didn’t stop him from staring at her as she helped his daughter into her seat.

So Alex wasn’t even pulling any punches. “Who’s that?”

Shane could resist the laughter that burst from him as he slid into the booth across from Alex. “That’s Kelly. The best friend. You met her once or twice when we were kids.”

“Are you sure?” Alex rebutted almost immediately, his head turning nearly three hundred sixty degrees to watch Kelly strut away. “I feel like I would have remembered.”

Shane merely rolled his eyes. “Not my fault you were too busy chasing other tail back then.”

“Is she…seeing anyone?” If Alex had called him over to talk, it seemed he had forgotten. He was far too absorbed in Kelly’s assets…no pun intended.

“I think Holly might have mentioned a trader being her most recent flavor.” Reaching across the table, Shane stole an asparagus spear from Alex’s able to much on. It was probably going to be a while before his friend remembered what he meant to speak to him about, so he might as well help himself.

Alex sighed, slapping Shane’s hand out of the way the next time he came for his plate – all without ever taking his eyes off Kelly. “Goddamn it.”

As if she had somehow sensed that she were the subject of their conversation, Kelly turned towards them after seating her next table. When she met Shane’s eyes, her gaze lit in recognition – but when her gaze slid to Alex, however, her cheeks flushed.

She blushed.

Kelly fucking blushed. She never blushed.

Shane gazed from her to Alex and then back again, no small amount of shock on his face. What the fuck was going on here? Usually, when the blonde saw a man she liked, she didn’t hesitate to prance right over to him and start a conversation. She certainly hadn’t hesitated with him, and he’d been in jail for eight years.

However, instead of striding up to Alex, whipping her hair and swinging her femininity like a club, Kelly immediately turned and bolted in the other direction, leaving Shane utterly nonplussed.

Now that was something he’d never seen before. Ever.

“Excuse me.” He continued to watch, his incredulity growing, as Alex threw his napkin down on the table, sliding from the booth in what was unmistakably pursuit. He was going after her. When he knew she was seeing someone else.

The crazy bastard.

But then again, Alex oozed the confidence of the fabulously wealthy and extremely powerful. Of course he would go after what he wanted.

Shane just needed to find the balls to follow in his footsteps.