Latte Darling: Book Two of The Darling Series

My arm reaches across the mattress and instead of finding a warm sex nymph, I find empty space.

“Maddie?” I grumble her name, reaching out in the other direction but still finding no sign of her.

Rubbing my eyes, I lift my head enough to see the bathroom door open and the room beyond dark and still.

“What the…” I flip back the covers and climb out of bed.

She couldn’t have left. I told her she could borrow one of my cars, but we haven’t talked about which one. And she wouldn’t just up and leave in the middle of the night.

Like I did.

Wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, I’m fully alert by the time I step out into the hallway. It’s still dark, but I can see a faint light filtering up the stairs. And as I near the steps, the scent of food hits me.

I smile. Just like her to be making a delicious meal in the middle of the damn night.

I’m halfway down the stairs, hoping she saved me some food, when I hear voices. Plural.

“Shit,” I curse and hurry my descent.

When my feet hit the bottom step, I hear Brian’s shocked tone. “You’re that Maddie. My Maddie!”

“She’s my Maddie.” My gruff voice startles everyone. “She was never yours.”

I close the distance to the kitchen in a few long strides and stop next to Maddie, putting my arm around her trembling shoulders.

She leans into my side and I tighten my grip.

This sort of face-to-face situation is precisely the thing my girl hates the most. And I’m mad at myself that she’s been dealing with it alone.

Brian wasn’t supposed to come home tonight, but I should’ve warned her that it’s always a possibility. But I didn’t, so that’s on me.

They were bound to meet sooner or later, but not like this.

“You alright?” I whisper into her hair, and she nods.

When I look up at Brian, he doesn’t look upset. Not at all. He looks shocked, but also amused.

“Hold up,” his face splits into a wide grin as he raises his hands, “what in the hell happened here?”

“Jesus,” the word is barely audible, but it draws my attention to the girl sitting next to my son, staring wide-eyed at my mostly bare body.

I hadn’t even realized there was another person here, so I take a second to take in the scene.

They both look settled in, half eaten plates of food in front of them, meaning they’ve been here for a bit.

Gripping Maddie’s shoulders, I shift her so she’s standing in front of me, making it harder for this stranger to ogle me. Then I take the plate from Maddie’s trembling hands and set it on the counter.

“Is that your dad?!” the girl whisper-hisses.

Brian rolls his eyes, “Yeah, and he’s old as shit.” Then he snorts, “But apparently not too old to steal my dates.”

“Wait, what?” the girl looks back to Maddie. “You dated her?”

Brain’s already shaking his head when I say, “No.”

“Yeah…” Brain’s face pulls into a grimace, “I kinda stood her up.”

The girl backhands him in the chest, “You dick.”

“Sorry!” He shifts and looks directly at Maddie, his tone going sincere, “I really am sorry about that.”

She shrugs, her shoulders bumping into my chest, “It kinda worked out for me.”

Brian shakes his head in disbelief, “I guess it did.”

I hook an arm around Maddie’s front, my forearm pressed into her collarbone, but I keep my gaze on Brian. “We good?”

He lets out a breath, a goofy look on his face, “I’m gonna want to hear this story, but yeah, we’re good.”

“Good.” I tilt my head down to look at Maddie, “You want to finish your omelet, Baby?”

Her lips press together, and she shakes her head.

“Alright,” using my free hand, I pick up the leftover half of her omelet with my fingers and pop the whole thing in my mouth. “You kids can clean up.”

Maddie gives them both a little wave as I guide her towards the stairs.

“Have a good night!” the girl’s voice calls out after us and Maddie replies with a “You, too!” over her shoulder, but I keep her moving.

That’s enough excitement for one night.