Dare to Desire (Dare to Love 2)

“Mom, this is—”

“Madison! I know. I’ve heard all about you from Riley and of course from the little I could pry out of my son.” She stepped over to Madison and grasped her free hand. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.”

“I feel the same way, Mrs. Dare.”

“Oh my goodness, call me Savannah, please.” She squeezed Madison’s hand and released her.

Madison blinked. Alex had been right. She liked his mother already for making her feel comfortable immediately. She’d expected a staid, Palm Beach type of socialite. Instead of a set, trendy bob, her blonde highlighted hair fell past her shoulders, and although she wore a sundress, on her feet were flats, not heels. There was no air of pretense to be found.

Instead, Savannah Dare was real. Madison breathed out a sigh of relief and held out the flowers. “Thank you for inviting me today.”

Savannah smiled, giving Madison a glimpse of an expression similar to her son’s. “These are beautiful.” She paused to sniff the fragrant blooms. “Thank you, although you really shouldn’t have. Now come inside, you two. The rest of the family is in the great room. Unfortunately, your father had an emergency at the hotel, so he’ll be back in a little while.”

Alex led Madison inside, his hand on her back, a position she was beginning to anticipate and get used to. She relaxed when he laid his hand on the base of her spine, and she’d long since stopped cautioning herself not to, even if the occasional thought did pop out as a warning. She was getting better at trying to accept things when they were good. Not so much at stopping the notion of anticipating the other shoe falling.

Alex introduced her to Sienna, his baby sister, now almost twenty-one years old.

The young woman was a bouncing ball of energy, blonde like her mother, with Alex’s dark brown eyes. She immediately began a not-so-subtle get-to-know-you session that consisted of her peppering Madison with questions.

“So how old are you?” Sienna asked.

Alex shot his sister a glare.

“My God, your mother would smack you for being rude,” Riley said, joining them. She grinned at Madison.

“What? I’m almost twenty-one,” Sienna said, as if that would help.

Madison bit the inside of her cheek so as not to laugh. “It’s okay. I’m twenty-six.”

“And where did you go to school?”

“I did my undergrad at Lynn University, and I got my MSW at the University of South Florida.”

“What’s an MSW?” Sienna asked.

“Master of Social Work.”

“I’m graduating with a bachelor’s in management, but I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I just know I want to experience everything,” she said with the exuberance of the truly young and carefree, and who’d nearly lost it all.

“I hope you do. And you certainly have time and options,” Madison assured the girl.

“Oh! Dad’s here,” Sienna said, waving at the tall man who entered the room before she turned back to Madison without missing a beat. “What about your family, Madison? Are you from Florida? Do your parents live here?”

Madison opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.

Riley’s mouth opened in a silent O.

“Dammit, Sienna.” Alex grasped Madison’s hand.

She pulled herself free. She’d been around enough to know this question came up in different situations. “I was born in Miami, but my parents no longer live here.” She smiled to alleviate everyone else’s tension.

“Oh. Where—”

“Done,” Alex said, gripping Madison’s hand and pulling her away. “Sorry,” he said when they were alone.

“There’s no reason to be. Those are perfectly normal questions. I have my standard answers. It’s fine.”

He met her gaze, admiration that made her uncomfortable staring back at her.