Two Bar Mitzvahs (11 page)

Hannah tightened her grip on my thigh, but a split second later relaxed her hold.

Kiki scowled. “Sounds more like a hostage exchange than a highbrow tasting.”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I replied, instructing her that I don’t work alone. And that Hannah is more than our resident baker, she’s involved in anything we do with food. So we both go. Or no one goes.”

“Good.” Kendall shot a venomous glare at my laptop, as if she was sending her irritation through the Internet back to Madison.

I glanced at Hannah. “That’s not all. There’s no way I’m going into a room with Madison, with only me and Hannah there. Who else wants to go to the taste testing?”

Kiki’s arm shot up. “I’m
so
there.”

Kendall nodded. “Count me in.”

“Wouldn’t miss being there for the world. We’ll all go together.” Kristen’s eyes narrowed. “Speaking of our suspect. Any new surprises?”

Kiki shook her head. Kendall did too.

Hannah frowned. “You know, I hadn’t put it together until now, but I had a large weekly supply order not show. When I called, they said the delivery had been deleted. He apologized, wrote it off as a computer glitch, and delivered my shipment the following morning.”

I glanced at her. “You need to do the same with your vendors that we did with Invitation Only’s. Let’s not leave anything to chance.”

Her expression hardened. “I have a great relationship with the sales reps of all my vendors. I’ll ask that if anyone contacts them on my behalf, to try and find out who it is. If it is Madison, and she’s messing with my livelihood, this ‘baker’ is going to pull the rug out from under her country club ass.”

I grinned, so damned proud of her. “Agreed. Proof first. Then karma can have at her.”

Think you can handle another night without me?

Another night without Hannah?
No.
I read her text as Ben and Kristen’s husband, Jason, taunted each other at the pool table in my basement.

Having serious withdrawals.

Balls clacked together and two were dropped into pockets as Mase shouted, “Oh, you dog!”

Addicted, huh? Need a fix?

I blew out a slow breath.

Always.

“Cade. C’mon. You’re up man.”

Always addicted or always needing a fix?

I smiled.

Both.

My phone was snatched out of my hand. Mase got up in my face. “Guys night. No girls. Say good-bye to Hannah.” He held my phone in front of me, not moving. I shoved him back a step and grabbed it.

Gotta go. Guys are calling party foul on the phone use. Enjoy your slumber party.

A muffled knock sounded out above, and Ben jogged toward the stairs. “Pizza’s here!”

Starving, because I’d worked straight through lunch without realizing it, I laid my phone on the bar and followed Ben upstairs. I grabbed four plates and napkins while Ben paid the delivery guy.

As we headed back down into the basement, Ben glanced over his shoulder at me. “The other night Hannah mentioned Madison was trying to mess with you. Everything cool there?”

I shrugged. “Who the hell knows? No major catastrophe yet, but we had three separate vendors who thought we’d canceled or changed orders: two with Invitation Only and one with Hannah’s bakery.”

Ben set the two pizza boxes onto the bar and opened them. The moment I put down the plates and napkins, Mase and Jason crowded in.

Jason grabbed a plate, then slid a third of the pepperoni pizza straight onto it. “Yeah, what’s up with that? Kristen ranted about the flower mix-up over the phone to me when I was out of town.”

Mase grabbed beers from the fridge and lined them up on the bar. “How do you know it’s your ex?”

“We don’t. But she’s the prime suspect. Too coincidental for her to show up within days of the mishaps starting.” I grabbed an olive and mushroom slice, then shoved a third of it into my mouth.

Ben took a seat on a barstool, taking a piece from each box. “How’s Hannah with this? She seemed pissed as hell the other night.”

I snorted, then swallowed down my food. “She wants to deck her.”

“What’s Madison’s deal?” Jason leaned an elbow onto the bar counter and folded a large slice with both hands. He glanced up at me. “You guys broke up two years ago, right?”

“Fuck if I know.” I shook my head. “When we broke up, I learned more about her in a few minutes than I had our entire time together. I don’t say this lightly—she’s a bitch. And I wouldn’t put anything past her.” I didn’t mention the new “vulnerable” side of Madison. Or the sex addiction. Because that would lead to talking about my struggle with it. Or the guys giving me shit. Probably both. And I wasn’t in the mood for either.

Ben nodded. “Well, good luck, man. Anything you need, let us know.”

“Actually, yeah. We need to make sure all of Loading Zone’s vendors are tight. Since the issues have gone beyond Invitation Only to Hannah’s bakery, the bar may be targeted too. Let’s send them all emails that any order changes are to be confirmed by our company email. And to give us a heads up if anything suspicious goes down.”

“Done. I’ll do it first thing in the morning.”

As I began to down a second piece of pizza, I thought about Madison. If she was the one behind all this, she’d only been a nuisance so far. But I needed to stay one step ahead of her. To this point, all the glitches had been business related. Shit better not become personal.

My phone began vibrating again, moving it across the granite counter. I leaned forward to see the screen.

Mase intercepted me, shoving me toward the pool table. “You’re up next. We’ve got a game to play. Then you can check the messages to make sure Hannah’s house isn’t burning down.”

I clapped my hands, then rubbed them together. “I’m good. Rack the balls.”

Mase and I played a game. Then Ben and Jason played while we watched. I crossed my arms, glancing at Jason. “You in town for a bit?”

He nodded as he lined up his shot. “Yeah. For the next few weeks.”

“So you’re coming to Loading Zone’s anniversary and up to the parents’ house, then?”

Before answering, he sank the striped twelve ball. “Yep. Looking forward to it. Work’s been crazy with more traveling than usual the last few months. Kristen’s happy to have me around for a while.”

After Jason dropped his last stripe and the eight ball, Mase walked over to the foosball table. “Get your ass over here, Ben. Best two out of three.” He spun one of the chrome rods.

Jason and I walked over to the bar, and I finally picked up my phone.

The alerts showed one missed call, a voicemail, and seven texts. I went into my text box to see a line of pictures with a comment under each. I clicked on the first picture sent from Hannah, which was a glass filled with frothy pink shit. The text connected to it said:

Specialty drink of the night: strawberry daiquiris!

Another text from Hannah had a picture of a model on her laptop screen.

Missing you. But the girls and I are having a blast.

The third picture and comment was from Kiki.

He’s cut. I want him.

Two separate texts without pics followed.

Dammit. CUTE!

Well, and cut. I’m so buzzed. :)

The fourth picture, from Kristen’s phone, was of a guy with shaggy black hair, a nose ring, and tattoos covering his arms and chest.

Think he’s edgy enough to rock Mom’s party?

The last picture was sent by Hannah. Three condiments were lined up on her kitchen island: chocolate sauce, honey, and caramel sauce.

Fuck.

Her comment said:

Toppings for the only man-candy that matters to me.

I checked my voicemail. Hannah’s low voice came over the line, a bit slurred.

“Hey, baby. Sorry we keep buggin’ you. Miss you. The girls are sleepin’ here tonight. Overdid the daiquiris. No drivin’.”

My chest was heavy. I missed her too. I debated calling her back as Ben and Mase battled it out at the foosball table.

Jason nodded at me. “How are the girls? I got a text from Kristen. Some half-naked guy covered in tats.” He shook his head.

“They’re blitzed. And not going anywhere, so she’s good. Hannah and Kiki sent me texts too. Like twisted postcards.”

“What about Kendall?” Jason pulled his keys out of his pocket.

I shrugged. “I could’ve gone without the model pics—not about to wonder why Kendall didn’t send one.”

He grinned. “I gotta head out, man. Ben’s had a few. If he’s ready, I’ll drive him home.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

Ben roared suddenly, lifting his arms above his head in a victory stance. “Ha!
Score
, loser.”

Mase scowled at him. “Next time you’re here, I want a rematch.”

I said my good-byes to everyone as they headed up the stairs while I cleaned up our mess, bagging the trash. Then I grabbed my phone and turned out the lights before heading up to my room.

Pulling up Hannah’s number, I almost pressed {
CALL
}. But then I had an idea.

I dialed Hannah. It rang twice before she answered.

“Cade?” Her voice sounded sleepy.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. Maybe.” She yawned.

“Where are you?”

She huffed out soft laugh. “My bed.”

“Where are my sisters?”

“Kiki stumbled into the living room and passed out on the couch. Kendall and Kristen are sound asleep on the other side of my bed.”

“Want to see me?”

Her sexy whimper turned into a purr. “Yeah, but I can’t drive.”

“Don’t need to.”

Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Where are you?”

“Out back. Look for the guy in the tent.”

I heard a short gasp. Then the line went dead.

Her back door opened and closed. Seconds later, a flashlight beam scanned the backyard.

She appeared in the tent opening, blinking. “When…how?”

I grinned. “As soon as the guys left, I grabbed Mase’s tent. Looks great in your backyard, don’t you think?”

A seductive smile curved her lips. “
You
look great in my backyard.”

Her long, dark hair was messy, wild. She wore a little black nightie that hinted at her delicious curves beneath.

The breeze caught a corner of the gauzy fabric, whipping it up to her hip. Her thigh was exposed all the way to a tiny lace thong strap.

“When did you buy that outfit?” My voice came out hoarse.

I’d seen her in two states: clothed and naked. Never this in-between phase that made me want to watch her almost as badly as I wanted to touch her.
Almost.

She shifted her weight and rubbed the fingers of one hand absently up her other arm. “Shortly after our first date.”

I tried to remember. “Which first date?”

Her pink tongue flicked out, licking her lips. She pulled her lower lip in with her teeth, biting one side of it, holding it there.

Fuck.
I wanted to suck her lip back out. My mouth watered.

When she released it, the skin glistened, plump. “The very first one. Remember? I imagined you naked, in my cupcake meadow.”

I chuckled. “And you imagined yourself in
that
outfit?”

A slight headshake sent her hair tumbling over her shoulder, baring the upper curves of her breasts. “No, I imagined myself naked with you, both of us covered in frosting. I licked some off of you, you licked some off of me…”

“
Fuck me.
”

A sexy smirk curled her lips. “That
is
the idea.”

I tried to remain calm. My impatient primal side wanted to order her over to me. Demand. Show her everything I craved to do to her, needed her to give to me, repeatedly. But I didn’t. Not yet. The lazy foreplay unfolding between us was unlike any other. And she seemed content on standing right where she was—teasing me.

“We need to add frosting to the list, Maestro. Right beside honey, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and whipped cream.”

Her brows drew together. “Wait. Was there whipped cream?”

I grumbled, “If there wasn’t, I’m adding it.”

She smiled. “Okay. And now frosting. You know we’ll have to make it fresh. Half the fun will be making it and deciding on the colors.”

“The other half will be licking it off.” I frowned. “Wait. That’s not right.”