Out of Time

Chapter 2

Madison

I drive on auto pilot.

Do I really need this? There is still time to call Piper and say that my car broke down.

No wait, she will send somebody to get me.

I'm screwed. There is no way to go home without them seeing me.

I'll just have to suck it up and meet this man.

Who knows perhaps I'll like him?

Yea, right!

Men my age are taken or broken. At least that is my experience.

Not that I have much experience or many years. Piper tells me that I'm twenty-five going on fifty.

None the less I know what I don't want. No cheaters looking for a quick thrill between the sheets. And no players, who are too self-absorbed to think about anything but their needs.

And hell no to the needy, clingy guys who need constant pampering and attention.

Knowing what I do know is a completely different thing.

I'll know it when I see it.

Watching Drake and Piper together I get nostalgic, jealous even.

Their dynamic is great although I'm not the homemaker like Piper.

Perhaps I could be with the right man...

Who am I kidding, of course I can't be like her. Why? Because I'm also self-absorbed, my life revolves around my work and my art.

Traffic is kind to me so I arrive even sooner than estimated. As I pull to their driveway, I see at least fifteen cars there.

A small dinner...

The night had just fallen so they saw my headlights. Perfect parking spot just waits for me, easy to get in and easy to get out. Plan forms in my head. Go in, meet the guy, get some of that delicious grilled chicken and go home.

My mouth waters on the notion of Drakes grilled chicken. The man can grill stuff! Not much good for anything else cooking wise, but the man can grill.

I get out of the car and hear gravel crunching under somebody's feet.

I bet it is Piper.

"Hey gorgeous!" she exclaims, emerging from the darkness.

We hug in the dim light emanating from the interior of my car.

"You look good!" she tells me as she checks me from head to toe.

"Thank you!"

I'm size 16 and the A-line brown leather dress hugs all of my curves in all the right places. I'm wearing high heels which are completely different from my usual jeans, T-shirt and sneaker combo.

"I've got someone special for you to meet," she tells me.

"He is fucking gorgeous dear. All the women at the party are already swooning around him."

I smirk, if Piper is using profanity, he must be really good looking.

"Wanna tell me his name?" I ask.

"Don't worry, I will introduce you." Piper takes my arm and leads me through the gravel to the house.

Why is she so mysterious with this guy's name? My gut tells me something is off.

We get to the terrace and it is filled with people enjoying themselves. Some of them are sitting around the huge log table, some are scattered through the terrace and a group is sitting further out around the fire pit.

I direct a universal hello to everybody and nobody at the same time and get a unison Hi or hello back.

Drake waves his kitchen utensils occupying his favorite position behind the grill.

Before I have a chance to process the surrounding, Piper appears with a plate filled with meat and grilled veggies.

"Piper, that is enough for a construction worker!" I protest.

"I'm sure that you didn't eat anything today." She shoves the plate into my arms and sits me at the table.

"Sit, I want you full before you speak with him. Otherwise you're grumpy."

The meat is delicious as always, and I'm scanning the crowd for the potential blind date of mine, just to come up empty. All the men here look like they are already paired up so I chat for a bit with the people sitting around me.

My gaze drifts in the direction of the group sitting next to the fire pit.

Aren't they hot?

It's a warm summer night.

Not really registering the individuals, my attention is caught by a familiar smirk.

For a good moment I stare at the man not being able to recall why he is so familiar.

The strange man raises one thick eyebrow.

Recognition hits me like a train.

LIAM!

Fuck, that is my old boss Liam.

Overgrown facial hair covering his face and the distance made it difficult to recognize him at first.

But that smirk and that eyebrow move - is unrepeatable.

He stands and I get the urge to hide.

Liam Carver, self-made billionaire and CEO to jet another unicorn company, is the man most women's dreams are made from.

Tall and built like a brick house, currently wearing a dark T-shirt and dark jeans which are painting the contour of his shapely body.

His dusky, thick, spiky hair always looks like he just got out of the bed.

What used to be a perfect amount of stubble on his square jaw, is now a full beard.

I usually don't like men with so much facial hair, but on him it kinda looks divine.

My ex-boss is walking in my direction and all I can register is how much it turns me on. My panties erupt with wetness.

His freakishly tall and I notice that this is the first time to see him in something other than a suit.

My God he looks fucking great; is the first thought that pops in my mind only to be followed by – Ouh hell.

There is no backing down and pretending I didn't see him after I stared right at him for at least five minutes.

My stomach clenches as heapproaches the table.