“Good, can I kick your asses at poker now?” She winked and we all burst out laughing. We hadn’t known what we were going to do with Maddie; none of us really had friends who were girls and we had all felt a bit awkward when she had arrived. But she had been effortless, cracking jokes and really trying to get to know them. She really cared about my brothers and I could see her becoming a real part of the family.
“Oh, there is no way you’re going to beat me.” Jared pulled some notes out of his wallet. “Let’s play with large blinds, I feel like making some money tonight.”
“You wish, Martelli.” She smiled at him, and I started shuffling the cards with a content and happy feeling in my heart.
Chapter 10
Maddie
"I'm so excited for you to come and meet my friends and family." I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice as I whispered into the phone.
"Yeah, yeah," Logan mumbled sleepily and I knew that he wasn't as excited as I was. But I didn't mind; I had finally convinced him that this was a good thing. I was still pretty giddy inside at how much he had done to make me comfortable in his home, and I was still pretty shocked at how far he had gone to show me that he liked me and that he was trying to open up to me as much as possible. I truly loved both of his brothers and I felt like I had been welcomed with open arms by both Vincent and Jared, even though I knew Jared didn't particularly care for me.
"Aren't you excited?" I pressed on with the conversation. "And didn't you just love the invitations?"
“The invitations?" Logan's voice sounded even drowsier, and I wished that I was in bed with him at that moment, caressing his sleepy face and tousled hair, while snuggled into his warm body.
"Yes, my mom helped me choose them. We love to get fancy invitations for my end-of-summer party." I yawned involuntarily and stretched out, closing my eyes as I lay there. My heart felt light with happiness and I snuggled into my pillow pretending it was Logan's chest. I hadn't seen him since the night I was at his house and we played cards, but we had spoken on the phone every night before bed.
"Sounds good."
"Are you even paying attention to me?"
"Sorry, Maddie. I'm just so tired."
"What have you been doing?" I had been trying to keep my hurt feelings to myself, as Logan hadn't told me what had kept him so busy all week.
"Vincent and I have been learning some new skills."
"What skills?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Did you ask Vincent if he can make it to the party? I know Jared said no, but Vincent said he would check. Did he let you know if he can come?"
"I think one Martelli at the party is fine, Maddie."
"So he's not coming?" I was disappointed. I had hoped to spend more time with Vincent. I had hoped that he could come to look at me as a sister. We had really seemed to connect on poker night, but I had to keep reminding myself that nothing was going to happen overnight.
"I'm sorry, Maddie, but I don't think this is the right time. I mean, I think your family is already in for enough, what with me being introduced as your boyfriend. I can't imagine that's going to go down super well."
"Well." I bit my lip, not sure of what to say. "Just read the invite properly, okay? Maybe Vincent will want to come then.”
“Unlikely." Logan laughed lightly. "I miss you, Maddie."
"When will I get to see you?" I pouted into the phone. "Before the party I hope."
"Once again, unlikely."
“No fair." I took a deep breath and pulled the covers up over my head. "I wanted to talk about us."
"What about us?" Logan's voice sounded weary.
"What we're going to do when I go back to school." I waited for him to say something. "What we're going to tell my parents."
"I don't know what we should tell your parents. That's up to you." His voice trailed off and silence filled the air as I waited for him to acknowledge and answer the first part of my question.
"So you're not going to say anything?"
"I just said you can decide."
"I mean about us."
"Maddie, can we take it one day at a time please?" Logan sighed. "My head is really full right now. Let's get past the next two weeks and then we can see where we stand."
"Fine." I bit my tongue. I didn't want to push the issue, but I was worried. What if he wanted to break up at the end of the summer? It wasn't like we had been dating for a long time, and Logan was so new to relationships. Yes, it was a feat that he and I were even in this space, but I needed more. I wanted to know that this was going somewhere. But I knew how crazy I would sound if I pushed the issue. Logan didn't want to hear about my silly dreams and hopes for the future. I knew he still didn't even think he was good enough for me. I knew that he would never move forward with me unless he felt that he could provide for me. I'd been shocked to see how meager his house had been. I'd expected it to be a lot different. More opulent, and full of cool gadgets. But it had been pretty barebones, and I hadn't seen anything of real value. The Martellis didn't have any money, of that I was sure. I wished I understood why they were the crime family of the town when they didn't really seem to be criminals.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, yeah, Maddie?"
"Yes, Logan."
"Sweet dreams, beautiful."
"Sweet dreams, handsome," I whispered into the phone.
"Of course, they'll be of you." And with that we hung up. I stared at the phone for a few minutes, upset that I still didn't know what was going on with Logan and how he was spending his days. I thought about pushing the issue like I had meeting his family, but I didn't want to do that again so soon. It had been a very long week ignoring him, and I'd been so scared that I was going to lose him. When he had called and invited me to dinner with him and his brothers, I had started crying in relief. I didn't want to put either of us through the hell of that week again. And I knew he was trying, and I knew that he liked me a lot. He had said as much the night that I stayed over. He had made love to me so sweetly and tenderly that I had almost wondered if it was the same guy who slammed me against the wall in Victoria’s Secret. Just thinking about that day was enough to turn me on. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. I didn’t want to push anything. I was just happy that he was coming to my party and would finally be able to meet my parents. My mom was so excited to meet him; I had been so surprised at how supportive she had been when I had told her I was dating him. Not that I would have stopped dating him if she hadn’t been, but it made it that much easier. Logan Martelli was my boyfriend and it was all I could do to stop from pinching myself. I couldn’t believe it. But still, I wanted more. I needed to know more. I could still sense his slight hesitation and worry, and I was scared that he was going to talk himself out of dating me. He was so worried that he wasn’t good enough for me and that he was going to bring trouble or drama into my life. I didn’t know how to tell him that none of that mattered to me. I just wanted to be with him. I was planning to have a conversation with him on the night of the party. I figured we could get everything out in the open and I could see exactly where this relationship was going.