"They'll think you're amazing just like I do." He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "d.a.m.n, baby, you're nervous?"

She turned to face him, their bodies in intimate contact, her gaze close to his. "Your father owns one of the most luxurious hotels in Miami. Your mother's been photographed in magazines with him. She's gorgeous. And you're their oldest son. Yes, I'm nervous!"

He smoothed his thumb over her lower lip, replacing her nerves with desire. "They're going to love you just like I do," he a.s.sured her, his gaze hot on hers.

She swallowed hard, not knowing how deeply to read into those words. They weren't I love you per se, and yet her heart kicked up a silly rhythm of excitement and hope. d.a.m.n, how she hated hope. It always knocked her on her a.s.s. And yet ... it remained.

A forty-minute drive later, thanks to traffic, they arrived at a well-kept home in a regular neighborhood, similar to Franny and Daniel Grayson's. Ian's car was already in the driveway, and Alex pulled up behind him. She stared at the house in silence, trying to process the difference in what she saw and what she'd expected.

"You okay?" Alex asked.

"Yes. I'm just surprised. I thought the place would be bigger."

"Grander?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"Well ... yes."

He let out an amused chuckle. "Galls my father to no end. His home with Ian's mother was like a mansion. It turns out, at first, he put Mom up in a regular house so n.o.body would suspect she was an important man's mistress." He snorted, letting her know what he thought of that situation. "Later, when they married, my mother refused to change her lifestyle or ours. She didn't want us spoiled by money."

Madison shook her head and smiled. "Turns out your chosen career did that instead."

He tipped his head back and laughed. "Never thought of it that way, but you're right. Then it took it all away just as quickly, which is why I appreciate my mother's down-to-earth ways."

"Yet you kept the Porsche," she said, patting the dashboard lightly.

"A man's gotta have his toys and some luxuries."

She caught his wink and grinned, unable to resist him when he was playful and fun. Okay, she was never able to resist him.

"Ready to go in?"

She blew out a long breath and smiled. "Actually, I am."

He led her up the front path, surrounded by perfectly manicured greenery and flowers. He knocked once and pushed open the door.

Alex's mother greeted them as soon as they stepped inside. Madison recognized the beautiful woman from the photo shoot in a local magazine that had spotlighted her devotion to charitable causes.

"Alex!" She wrapped her arms around her son, pulling him in for a motherly hug.

"Hi, Mom." He hugged her back before easing out of her embrace.

"It's been too long," she chided him. "It's about time you stopped hiding from the world. And is this the woman I have to thank?"

Madison blushed, certain she hadn't had anything to do with that change in Alex. More likely, it was Ian's job that had given him purpose again and made him feel worthwhile.

"Mom, this is-"

"Madison! I know. I've heard all about you from Riley and of course from the little I could pry out of my son." She stepped over to Madison and grasped her free hand. "It's so wonderful to meet you."

"I feel the same way, Mrs. Dare."

"Oh my goodness, call me Savannah, please." She squeezed Madison's hand and released her.

Madison blinked. Alex had been right. She liked his mother already for making her feel comfortable immediately. She'd expected a staid, Palm Beach type of socialite. Instead of a set, trendy bob, her blonde highlighted hair fell past her shoulders, and although she wore a sundress, on her feet were flats, not heels. There was no air of pretense to be found.

Instead, Savannah Dare was real. Madison breathed out a sigh of relief and held out the flowers. "Thank you for inviting me today."

Savannah smiled, giving Madison a glimpse of an expression similar to her son's. "These are beautiful." She paused to sniff the fragrant blooms. "Thank you, although you really shouldn't have. Now come inside, you two. The rest of the family is in the great room. Unfortunately, your father had an emergency at the hotel, so he'll be back in a little while."

Alex led Madison inside, his hand on her back, a position she was beginning to antic.i.p.ate and get used to. She relaxed when he laid his hand on the base of her spine, and she'd long since stopped cautioning herself not to, even if the occasional thought did pop out as a warning. She was getting better at trying to accept things when they were good. Not so much at stopping the notion of antic.i.p.ating the other shoe falling.

Alex introduced her to Sienna, his baby sister, now almost twenty-one years old.

The young woman was a bouncing ball of energy, blonde like her mother, with Alex's dark brown eyes. She immediately began a not-so-subtle get-to-know-you session that consisted of her peppering Madison with questions.

"So how old are you?" Sienna asked.

Alex shot his sister a glare.

"My G.o.d, your mother would smack you for being rude," Riley said, joining them. She grinned at Madison.

"What? I'm almost twenty-one," Sienna said, as if that would help.

Madison bit the inside of her cheek so as not to laugh. "It's okay. I'm twenty-six."

"And where did you go to school?"

"I did my undergrad at Lynn University, and I got my MSW at the University of South Florida."

"What's an MSW?" Sienna asked.

"Master of Social Work."

"I'm graduating with a bachelor's in management, but I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I just know I want to experience everything," she said with the exuberance of the truly young and carefree, and who'd nearly lost it all.

"I hope you do. And you certainly have time and options," Madison a.s.sured the girl.

"Oh! Dad's here," Sienna said, waving at the tall man who entered the room before she turned back to Madison without missing a beat. "What about your family, Madison? Are you from Florida? Do your parents live here?"

Madison opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.

Riley's mouth opened in a silent O.

"Dammit, Sienna." Alex grasped Madison's hand.

She pulled herself free. She'd been around enough to know this question came up in different situations. "I was born in Miami, but my parents no longer live here." She smiled to alleviate everyone else's tension.

"Oh. Where-"

"Done," Alex said, gripping Madison's hand and pulling her away. "Sorry," he said when they were alone.

"There's no reason to be. Those are perfectly normal questions. I have my standard answers. It's fine."

He met her gaze, admiration that made her uncomfortable staring back at her.

"Alex, have you offered Madison some of my tea? It's really the best, if I do say so myself," his mother said, breaking into their conversation.

Madison smiled in relief. "I'd love some tea."

"I made it just this morning. None of that premade stuff my son keeps on hand." She wrinkled her nose. "Alex, go introduce Madison to your father. I'll be right back with some gla.s.ses for everyone."

"Come on," Alex said. He led her next to his father, who stood with his brother, Jason. Introductions were quick. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," Madison said, noting the similarities in all the Dare men. Tall, dark, and handsome wasn't a cliche when it came to them.

"I've been looking forward to meeting the girl who has tamed my brother." Jason lifted his gla.s.s to Madison.

Alex rolled his eyes.

"The right woman will do that to you, son. Just you wait," Robert said to Jason.

Then he turned his gaze on Madison. He possessed the same steely-gray gaze as Ian, although his was a touch warmer. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Alex tells me you're working together with the Thunder?"

She nodded. "He's been a real a.s.set with the players and the program we're inst.i.tuting."

Robert smiled. "Wonderful. He needed a distraction from things. And what's this I hear about a television offer?"

Madison's stomach cramped at the enthusiasm in the older man's tone.

"It's just an offer," Alex said. "No decisions have been made."

"I'd think it would be a no-brainer. You love the spotlight. h.e.l.l, you were born for it," Robert said, slapping his son on the back. "Whether it's on the football field or in front of a camera, you love being in the thick of things."

"I was going to talk to Jace about it later." Alex caught sight of Ian making his way toward them. "And I'd rather not discuss it now." He wasn't ready to tell Ian he might leave the team before he'd really begun to make an impact.

He winced at the thought. Just one of the things keeping him up at night. Another was the woman suddenly stiff by his side. She didn't like the idea of him returning to the spotlight any more than his half brother would, albeit for different and, for now, unknown reasons. He'd yet to determine what was really bothering Madison about the possible job. She'd all but clammed up on him, so he'd dropped the subject. Until he made a decision one way or another, he didn't need to manufacture issues between them.

The rest of day went better than he could have hoped. And if he'd waited for a hint of anxiety to overtake him while Madison was accepted by his family, none came. Later, he walked into his place, where they'd agreed to sleep tonight. Though he couldn't believe he'd reached the point in his life where he had a woman's clothing hanging in his closet and his in hers, one look at Madison's expressive, beautiful face and he knew exactly why every d.a.m.ned thing about this was okay.

Which made the talk he needed to have with her now so d.a.m.ned hard. But talking to his brother had helped him focus and see what he wanted and needed in his life. She was a part of that. The biggest part.

Alex tossed his keys onto the shelf near the door and met up with Madison in the living room. "Have fun today?" he asked.

She smiled. "I had a great time. Your family's amazing. You're all so close."

"I know. We're lucky." He clasped her hand. "And you really made an impact. Mom wants you back soon. Jace would steal you if he could."

She laughed at his obvious exaggeration.

"Umm, can we talk?"

"Sure." She gestured toward the sofa, and he joined her, sitting down next to her. "What's up?"

"You know I had a long talk with Jace today, right?"

She nodded. "You two looked like it was an intense conversation. I'm a.s.suming it was about the job offer. Honestly, I'm good with whatever you decide," she said.

"Really?" He hadn't expected it to be so easy, and he wasn't convinced she meant it.

She met his gaze and nodded. "Do it. Take the job. It's perfect for you. You can get back the status and fame you love." She didn't waver, but he could see how hard she fought back showing emotion.

He grasped her hands. "I want to test. That's all. Just to see how I like it. For all I know, it's not for me. Or maybe they'll hate my performance."

She laughed at that. "Not likely."

"You never know," he said with a shrug. "You're really okay with it?"

She managed a smile he sensed was forced. "I do. I get why you need to do this."

"You look like you're trying your best to be enthusiastic, but I know you. What's going on?"

She leaned back against the couch and sighed. "I think we're building something important for players. It'll be a loss there if you leave, but you can't stay with one thing when you'd rather be doing something else."

He narrowed his gaze. He believed their job was part of what was going on in that head of hers, but it wasn't everything. He also sensed she wouldn't be admitting anything to him now.

"Look, I still don't know the details about this gig. It could be football season only. It could be weekends only. Maybe I could do what Strahan does and commute and keep this job too." There were a ton of variables, none of which he knew. Although he'd put a call in to his agent to get them, right now everything hinged on the test.

He hoped that didn't include his relationship with Madison as well.

The ringing of her cell phone jarred Madison out of a deep sleep. She rolled over, knocking the phone off the nightstand before finally picking it up to answer. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Ms. Evans?"

"Speaking."

"This is Darla from the Hudson Arms nursing home."

Completely awake now, Madison sat upright in bed. "Is something wrong?"

Alex stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. "Who's on the phone?"

She held up a hand.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

The woman at the nursing home spoke. "Her son, Eric, came by at an unG.o.dly hour. Since Franny was awake, we let him come in. He upset her terribly. We weren't able to calm her down and had to call the doctor in to give her a light sedative."

Madison swallowed hard. "I'll be right over."