Authors: Melissa Johns
"No, you really don't have to do that."
Carter quickly jumped in. "Maddy, I owe you this, ok? Let me do this for you."
Madison slowly nodded. "Ok."
"Hunter, did you want to join us for dinner then you can ride with us to the arena?"
His eyes moved back to Madison's as he smiled. She felt her heart race again and felt her body respond as his dark green eyes moved over her body. "I would love too."
Madison
turned towards Alicia. "I'm getting cold. Let me grab a sweater before we go."
"Oh, I have a great sweater that you can borrow, be right back." She disappeared upstairs as
Madison followed her into the house. She could hear the guys as they continued to talk on the deck.
"Hunter, I swear to God, you better not make a move on my sister. I see the way that you looked at her."
"She's beautiful. You have seen the type of girl that I’ve dated. They aren't the brightest bulbs in the bunch."
"I'm warning you. She had a crappy childhood due to me and I'm trying to make things right between us. If you try to hook up with her, it will only end badly for all of us."
"I'm not that bad, if I was, you wouldn't be friends with me! Plus, she is clearly out of my league. I’m sure she wouldn’t date an athlete if her life depended on it, thanks to you."
Alicia came up behind
Madison and made her gasp as she yelled out the door. "You guys are unbelievable! She's a grown woman and can make her own decisions. Carter, she's an adult, if she wants to go out and have some fun with Hunter, so be it. He's a good guy, she could do a lot worse and Hunter, if she isn't interested, drop it. This is our family and I won’t allow you to play any games with her."
Both of the guys turned towards the door and stared at
Madison as embarrassment quickly spread across their faces.
"Maddy, I'm so sorry. I'm just being a protective big brother."
She smiled at him. "I know you are but you know what, I'm ready to start living." She stepped back onto the deck and faced Hunter. “I’m sick of living under a rock and I want to see what life has to offer me. So, why not, right?”
He moved towards her and reached for her hand. His fingers traced over her knuckles and he smiled at her. "
Madison, would you like to hang out some evening with me?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes."
Alicia clapped her hands together. "Carter, you are matchmaker and didn't even know it!"
Carter grunted. "She’s here for five minutes and he already has his claws into her, hurt her in any way and I will run you over with a Zamboni."
“Carter!” Alicia exclaimed. “They are adults and he will be a total gentleman or he will answer to me.”
Madison
couldn't help but chuckle. She looked back at Hunter and smiled. He grinned at her and winked.
CHAPTER THREE
As they arrived at the restaurant, Hunter held open the door for her as they were shown to a table that overlooked the water. The waves crashed on the rocks below them as she could feel the warm air through the windows.
"This place is so awesome," Madison said as she took her seat next to Hunter. "What would you suggest for dinner?"
"Any of the seafood is fabulous," Carter said as the waiter placed four glasses of water in front of them. He grabbed his glass and held it up. "I just want to share with everyone how happy I am that
Madison is in my life again. We didn't have a perfect relationship growing up but times have changed and so have we. It's a new era and no one will break up the Sinclair siblings again." Madison laughed and smiled.
"Tell me a little bit about you," Hunter asked after they all ordered.
She took a sip of her water and smiled. "I work at a small office complex in Huntsville and I have a small apartment right in town. This is my first time leaving the country and having a vacation so I’m excited about that."
Alicia tried to smile at her. "What about friends?"
"Jessie is my closest friend, we met in high school but that's it. Our mother never let me go anywhere or have people over so my classmates thought I was strange and mostly kept their distance."
Carter looked down at his empty plate. She reached across the table and put her hand on his. "It's ok. I'm doing just fine, Carter."
"It's entirely my fault. They put so much attention into my career and training that they didn't give you any notice."
Carter turned to face Alicia and Hunter. “Did you know that during my training, Maddy would follow me to all the different rinks and watch? She would put on her ice skates and manage to keep up with figure skaters even though she never had lessons?”
Hunter smiled at her. “So, do you still skate?”
“On occasion I would go to the local rink and skate around. I really love doing it.”
They were quickly distracted by a couple of young ladies who approached the table. They were wearing outfits that Madison would consider very inappropriate for their ages. The blonde quickly rubbed up against Hunter’s shoulder as her friend spoke first.
“Excuse me. Are you Carter Sinclair and Hunter Longo?”
“Yes, they are but we are in the middle of dinner,” Alicia chimed in.
“We didn’t mean to interrupt but we are huge fans, can we ask for autographs?”
Hunter grabbed the piece of paper that they had in front of them and then handed it to Carter. The blond leaned over, revealing her assets to the table as she whispered something in his ear. They giggled as they turned around and left.
Alicia sighed. “People can be so rude.”
Carter laughed. “It comes with the territory but it looks like they wanted Hunter more than me though.”
Madison
noticed that his cheeks had turned a soft shade of red. “Sorry about that,” Hunter whispered.
She shrugged. “It’s ok. What did she whisper to you?”
Hunter moved uncomfortably in his chair and grinned as Carter started to laugh. “Either she gave you her phone number or she told you what she would like to do to you.”
Hunter took a deep breath and laughed nervously. “It was a little bit of both.”
They laughed as Alicia shook her head. “Madison, just promise me wherever this knucklehead takes you that you will keep your eyes open for hockey groupies. They are everywhere!”
“Did you just call me a knucklehead?” Hunter questioned.
Carter laughed. “I think that is an appropriate nickname. I will inform the team tonight at practice.”
Hunter looked at
Madison. “I promise that you will have my undivided attention. Half the time, I forget who they are as soon as they walk away from me.”
Carter grinned at him. “What about the other half of them?”
Alicia jumped in. “Please let’s change the subject! Madison, what type of party would you like to have for your birthday?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been asked that question before!”
Madison smiled as their food arrived.
She enjoyed herself throughout the dinner. They asked her questions and she received suggestions for things to do and enjoy around the area. She thought about her birthday party and for the first time, she felt like she was part of a family.
As they left the restaurant, the night air had cooled down. She wrapped Alicia’s sweater around herself as she stepped up into Carter’s truck. As they drove into the city, Madison enjoyed the view of the big buildings and the bright lights. She was in awe of the city that unfolded before her eyes.
On occasion in the past, she would venture south to
Toronto for a day of shopping with Jessie but she was never allowed to stay past dark or overnight. She was only allowed to visit the shopping mall and promptly return home afterwards.
As they pulled up to the arena, Carter pulled next to the security gate and swiped his card. The gate opened and they drove underneath the large building.
Madison noticed his assigned parking space as he hopped out and opened the door for Alicia.
She followed behind Hunter as she observed all the activities going on around her. She watched as the other players arrived and disappeared into the locker room. Carter started pointing out some the displays that a regular fan wouldn’t be able to see. He beamed as he talked about his team history and seemed to really enjoy where he was in his career. Hunter introduced her to a few of his teammates as Carter snuck in a quick kiss with Alicia and disappeared into the locker room with Hunter.
Alicia grabbed her arm and took her up into the stands. “It’s amazing to be here when no one else is around.”
Madison
nodded. “Yeah, this is a huge arena and it’s just us sitting here. It’s so strange.”
“Carter is so happy that you are here,
Madison.”
“I’m happy too. I always wanted to love my big brother but my parents were so adamant about keeping us apart. Everything was Carter this, Carter that. I’m still convinced that they never really wanted me but it was the social norm to have two children.”
Alicia sighed. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you to grow up in a household like that. Though I do have a better understanding after meeting your parents, I don’t think they liked me much either.”
Madison
laughed. “Well, you are marrying their golden boy. I’m sure they don’t like it because they can’t control the situation.”
“Well, I’m of the mindset that he’s a grown man, we are in love and if they want to be a part of our lives and their future grandchildren’s lives, they will support us.”
Madison smiled. “I need to learn some of that confidence from you.”
“Well, it’s easier for me to say things like that because I’m not their daughter.”
Madison looked towards the ice as the guys skated out and started their practice. It brought her right back to when she was a young girl and had to tag along to all of Carter’s practices. She heard the coach’s whistles and the skates as they glided across the ice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Are you ok,
Madison?” Alicia asked grabbing her hand.
Madison
opened her eyes and nodded. “Just a lot of memories that I tried to bury for a long time,” she paused. “You don’t understand how badly I wanted to have friends and a boyfriend. I wanted to attend my prom and go out with kids I went to school with but if it didn’t have anything to do with Carter, it wasn’t important. I’m not blaming him anymore. I realize that he was doing what he loved and I honestly believe that he was so wrapped up in the hockey world that he didn’t know how our parents overlooked me.”
Alicia squeezed her hand. “Believe me, he has told me his side of the story. Once he was drafted and living on his own, he realized how badly they treated you. He wanted to correct that and make you an important part of his life.”
Madison nodded. “I have moved on from all my issues of my childhood. I just wish there were some things I could change. I would watch Jessie go out on dates and see the guys flirt with her, I wanted that. I wanted to have a guy kiss me at the end of the evening and hold my hand between classes.”
Alicia smiled. “Every girl wants that,
Madison. I’m so sorry that you missed out on that during high school. It’s a rite of passage for every teenage girl.”
Madison
was quickly distracted when she heard another whistle go off as the guys huddled around center ice for a team meeting.
“What do you think of Hunter?” Alicia asked.
Madison smiled. “Between you and me, he’s gorgeous.”
Alicia nodded quickly. “Hell yeah, he is! He’s a great guy too,
Madison. He just hasn’t found the right girl to have a real relationship with yet. He keeps getting messed up with these hockey bunnies and that doesn’t work out for anyone. He thinks every girl is after his fame and fortune but of course you would think that when you only associate with those kinds of people.”
Madison
suddenly became very nervous and started to regret her decision about hanging out with Hunter. “I’m really nervous about spending time with him now. He’s so different from me; our lifestyles, our professions and probably everything else,” Madison paused and took a deep breath. “But I’m ready to start living my life. I can’t keep reading about things in books and magazines, I want to know what else is out there.”
“Don’t worry about differences. It’s actually a good thing, he will learn from you and you will learn from him. I’m so proud of you. Just enjoy the experience but if he oversteps his boundaries, tell me.”