39. Tessa

39

Tessa

H arry watches a movie while I stroke Chloe's downy head. She lies across my legs, fast asleep. It's probably a bad idea to let her sleep now, but she's exhausted. We all are.

Between Harry's constant wriggling around in bed, my nightmares, and Chloe's teething, I'm barely getting any sleep.

The brief respite I got from Cin fucking me senseless a few days ago feels like it happened in a different lifetime. To someone else with no responsibilities or worries.

Aside from a few heated glances, Cin and I haven't spoken since. I'm not sure if it's because Madden's banned him from flirting with me, or he's lost interest now he's had what he wanted. Probably the latter.

I reach down to grab my water but it's empty. Dammit. Harry must have guzzled it when I wasn't looking. He drinks a lot of water, preferring it to juice.

Carefully moving Chloe off my legs and propping her body with a cushion, I ease off the sofa and pad into the kitchen. The sky is heavy outside. Gray clouds threaten rain and the trees shiver in a stiff wind.

Fall is almost upon us. There was even a light frost on the ground this morning when I woke.

The house feels empty. Cin left to do some work a while back - I have no clue what he actually does, but it seems to be computer-based - and Madden went for a run.

It's just me and the kids. I have a list of chores to do, such as laundry and tidying up our bedroom, but I don't have the energy for any of it. My legs feel like they're made of lead as I walk across the hardwood floor.

Maybe I should call Stella. We've not spoken for a while. Mostly because I don't want to admit I'm falling for Cin, which is exactly what she warned me would happen. Not that she advised me against pursuing anything with him.

On the contrary. After she looked him up on Instagram and declared him top-tier man candy, she said I had her full approval for a no-strings fling. Sadly, neither Madden nor Kade have Instagram accounts.

At least not the ones I could find with some light internet stalking. I did manage to find an old photo of Madden and Cin standing behind a famous actress as she left a celeb restaurant. Stella agreed Madden was also super hot. She said he reminded her a bit of Brax.

I told her Kade was similar-looking, only he had more tattoos. She declared I had excellent taste in men, Enzo notwithstanding.

We both laughed and then after the call ended, I punched my pillow a few times to remind myself that being attracted to men like Cin, Madden, and Kade was ridiculous and guaranteed to end in tears.

The cupboard where the guys keep the glasses is high and I always struggle to reach it. There is a step stool somewhere, which Cin pulled out for me the last time he saw me struggle. He laughed and said Madden bought it for vertically challenged people like me and Serena.

I can't see the stool, so I stand on tip-toes and reach up. My fingers brush against a glass and I grasp it. Just as I pull it out, the waistband on my pants snags on the drawer handle and my hand jolts. The glass slips from my hand and hits the floor with a crash.

It shatters and shards of glass fly everywhere. Uttering a few choice curse words, I pick up the largest pieces, inadvertently stepping on a small sliver of exceptionally sharp glass, which slices into the ball of my bare foot.

While it's hardly a life-changing injury and I've smashed hundreds of glasses in my lifetime, standing here surrounded by broken glass is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Tears cascade down my face as I slump to the floor. I don't even know why I'm crying; I just know I can't stop. This is how Madden finds me when he walks in, sweaty from his run.

"Tessa? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asks, then he notices the blood all over the floor from my foot. "Fuck, you've cut your foot."

The tears keep falling as he scoops me up in his arms and carries me out of the glass-strewn kitchen.

He knocks on the office door. Cin appears with a startled expression on his face when he sees me looking like a hot mess in Madden's arms, dripping blood all over the floor.

"There's glass everywhere in the kitchen. Clear it up before Harry cuts himself." To his credit, Cin doesn't bother asking what happened. He just disappears like a man on a mission.

"Let's get you sorted, baby," Madden says in a soft voice, one I've not heard before.

"I'm OK," I sniff, feeling stupid for crying over a broken glass. Jesus. Madden must think I'm unhinged. A woman on the edge of a breakdown. Which I kinda am. Not gonna lie.

"No, you're not OK. Your foot is pissing blood, and it's making a mess of my nice hardwood floor."

Great. Asshole Madden is back. I'm tempted to roll my eyes, but I lose focus when he shoves his bedroom door open and I'm treated to my first look at his private space.

Madden's bedroom is dark, not just because the blinds are closed but because the walls are a deep blue. The bed takes up a lot of space, with a timber frame and a pale gray quilt. I spot a few framed photos on the dresser and a couple of nice paintings hanging on the walls.

The decor is classy and masculine, and I love it. His bathroom gleams in bright overhead LEDs. There's a large walk-in shower and a claw-foot tub, along with a vanity unit and storage cupboard.

Madden sits me on the vanity and examines my bloody foot. Then he reaches inside the cupboard for a first-aid kit. "There's a sliver of glass stuck in your foot. I'll get it out and then you should be OK with a dressing on it."

I don't bother replying. My emotions are too close to the surface. One more kind word and I might burst into tears all over again.

Using a pair of tweezers, he carefully extracts the glass and drops it on the marble counter. It's surprisingly large. No wonder my foot pissed blood everywhere. I'm lucky the wound doesn't need stitches.

Once the cut has been cleaned and dressed and is no longer bleeding, he drops the bloody wipes in the nearby bin and looks at me.

"Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I—"

He reaches out and cups my jaw. "It's not nothing. You're the strongest woman I've ever met. Breaking a glass doesn't warrant this level of distress. So I'll ask again, what's wrong?"

His gentle words break down my natural reticence and it all comes tumbling out. About how tired I am because of all the broken sleep. I don't mention the nightmares. There's nothing anyone can do about those.

"I think it's time Harry got his own room. We'll move him into Jake's room. It's all set up for a small boy and he'll love it."

"OK." Part of me worries that Harry won't sleep well if he's not with me, but I'm too exhausted to argue. I guess we'll find out tonight. "Thank you."

He lifts me again and I soak up the scent of fresh sweat and the spicy cologne he likes. It's delicious.

"You're welcome."

I'm not used to a caring Madden; he rarely shows this side of himself. Not to me, anyway. The way he holds me against his broad chest like I weigh nothing at all makes me purr like a kitten. If only I could stay here, in his arms, forever.