CHAPTER 21
When they made it back to his suite, Mila crashed onto a sofa. Maddox wondered if Tiffany had shown up out of the blue. When he checked, no one but Danny and Mila’s mother had reservations in that hotel.
Maddox realized it was a good thing they were leaving. At this rate, Mila wouldn’t be able to avoid her mother, Danny, and Tiffany.
Maddox went to shower while Mila recovered. When he came out in jeans and a T-shirt a little bit later, Mila stared at the TV in a daze.
He walked over and blocked it. Mila’s eyes widened and scanned up to his face. He grabbed her arms and hoisted her from the couch and dragged her back to the bedroom where his suitcase was flung open on the bed.
She peeked into a larger suitcase on the stand and side-eyed him. “Who folds shirts like this? You don’t need my help.”
“I’m not taking those. I only need a few casual pieces. The rest will go ahead to our next stop.” While she assessed the situation, he left to answer a knock on the door and came back with food.
“Didn’t you have dinner already?” she asked.
“Sure,” Maddox said as he bit off a piece of meat, starving after his run, “but that was more for them.” He dictated what he wanted her to do as he ate, and Mila arranged his clothes in the smaller suitcase. “We’ll take a small plane over to France.” He held out something for her to try and wouldn’t let up until she took a bite.
“What’s your sister like?” Mila said, covering her mouth as she chewed.
“More likable than me,” he said between bites. “You’ll get along with her. Don’t worry.”
“She’s also in business, right?” Mila helped herself to another piece of chicken.
He nodded. “She owned a substantial company but sold it not long ago. She likes to do things on her own terms. She and Jalen have that in common.” He examined the bare bone in his hand and tossed it onto a plate.
“What about you?” Mila tilted her head. “You seem like that too.”
He half smiled. “Do I?” Maddox didn’t feel like he was like that at all. He stood and examined her handiwork. “Good job. I think this should do it.”
Mila folded her arms. “Was that a compliment?”
He ignored her. “You can go now. You’ll need your rest.”
After hesitating, Mila said in a softer voice, “Thank you for earlier.”
“You mean Tiffany?” He sucked in a breath. “It won’t help if she finds out about us. I…I mean that you work for me.”
Mila dropped her eyes, but her lips twitched. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said finally and left.
Maddox glanced over his shoulder as the door to the suite clicked shut. He smiled to himself. Things were working out better than he hoped.
A couple of days later, after managing to evade Mila’s relatives, they headed to Provence.
Maddox knew Nikki would love Mila, and Nikki welcomed her to their Provençal home with open arms.
For the first time since meeting up with Maddox in Europe, Mila was in awe of her surroundings. Nikki and her husband, Jean-Baptiste, or JB as everyone called him, had prepared a feast for them.
They ate outside under a vine-covered pergola nestled near their garden with the yellow-colored stucco house above them on a hill. “How’s he treating you?” Nikki asked Mila after serving everyone.
Mila’s eyes went wide, and Maddox stared across at his sister, regretting that he’d told her the truth. “Don’t ask her that in front of me.”
Nikki’s eyes, as dark as his own, glittered. “I want the censored version first.” She winked at Mila. “You can tell me the real story when we’re alone.”
Mila smiled. “He’s not bad as employers go. The pay is good and there are some unusual perks to this job.” She gazed around as if indicating where they were.
Nikki sighed. “Defaulting to money. That’s not a good sign.”
Maddox thought back to making Mila clean his bathroom in the office and focused on his food.
“Things are improving,” Mila added, slipping him a glance.
Maddox hoped she meant that.
After they ate and enjoyed some of the local wine, Mila went inside to settle in for the night, and Nikki trapped him alone outside by the garden. “So, what’s going on?” she asked. “You never want me to meet anyone.”
Maddox hesitated. He’d found some much-needed relief mending things with his sister and realized how much he could trust her. But it still wasn’t always easy for him to open up. “How did you know it was worth the risk with JB? You knew how Dad would react…how I would react.”
Nikki gave it some thought. “We weren’t kids, you know. It wasn’t a whim either. We knew each other and I came to realize I didn’t want to leave him behind. It wasn’t an easy choice though. JB knew what I was dealing with and told me that if I didn’t want to walk away from everything, he would understand and wouldn’t hold it against me. He would hate to lose me, but he would let me go. That’s when I made my choice.” She angled toward him. “You don’t have to make the same decision I did. Dad’s not here anymore. You did everything he wanted. If you’re ready to move on to something else, it’s your choice, Maddox. No one else’s.”
He nodded slowly. That was easier said than done.