Page 8 of Home to Me (The Andrades 2)
Nicole blushed. “When you didn’t answer your phone I thought you might still be sleeping. I told Maddy we should wait, but you know how she is.”
Maddy placed the tray and bag on the living room coffee table, then plopped down into one of the chairs. “You’ll understand when you have children. This morning was a scheduled break. I’m am not losing my hour of adult time for anyone.”
Rena settled into a chair across from her. “I’m surprised you don’t have a nanny.”
Maddy took out a muffin and laid it on a napkin, then handed a coffee container to Rena. “Black with sugar. That’s how you like it, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Rena said with surprise. She and Maddy had spent a significant amount of time on the phone over the last several months, yet their friendship was still in the early stages. “Thank you for remembering.”
Nicole hovered, then sat and took her own coffee. “She does have a nanny, but she refuses to let her do much.”
Maddy shrugged. “I whine now and then, but there isn’t a single part of my life that I would change. Richard is doing well with his restaurants. I love being home with the boys. Okay, most of the time. I don’t think there is a mother alive who doesn’t sometimes crave a few moments to herself. I could hand them off to the nanny more, but when they look back at their childhood I want them to remember me more than someone we paid to be with them. That’s how my parents raised me, and that’s how I’m raising my children. I won’t apologize for that.”
Rena sipped her coffee, then said, “You shouldn’t. Your children are lucky to have you.” She turned to Nicole, who was eating her bagel as daintily as if she were visiting the Queen. “How is married life, Nicole? Enjoying it?”
Nicole put her bagel down and folded her hands in her lap. Her eyes misted over as she said, “It’s still unbelievable to me—how much my life has changed in just a couple of years.” She reached out and took Maddy’s hand in hers. “Even Maddy. She is crazy, but I can’t imagine not having her in my life.”
Maddy squeezed her hand and shot her a huge smile. “We feel the same way about you, Nicole. Well, we don’t call you crazy, but you fit into our family perfectly. And Stephan is finally happy. Love can do that.”
Rena took another sip of her coffee.
“Which brings us to why we’re here, Rena,” Maddy continued. “Can you help us find the perfect woman for Nick?”
Rena gasped, choked on her coffee, and started coughing wildly. Nicole leaned over and gave her a pat on the back. “I’m sorry,” she said when she caught her breath. “I swallowed the wrong way.”
“I hate when that happens,” Maddy said sympathetically, oblivious to Rena’s state of surprise.
After a brief pause, Rena asked, “What makes you think Nick needs help finding a woman? He certainly seems to surround himself with enough of them.”
“He’s not happy.” Maddy shook her head sadly. “And look at how hard he’s taking his mother’s illness. You’d expect he’d be concerned, but he’s just miserable with worry. He needs someone in his life he can lean on when times are tough. Everyone does.” She rolled her eyes. “And I’m not talking about the bimbos he’s always photographed with. I’m talking about someone of quality. You know him well. What does he look for in a woman?”
“A low IQ and huge cleavage.” Even as the words came out of Rena’s mouth she regretted them. After what happened last night, I’m in no position to judge anyone. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. Trust me, though. Nick isn’t looking for anything serious with anyone.”
“That’s a shame,” Maddy said and took a bite of her muffin.
“Why?”
Maddy leaned forward and tapped Nicole’s leg. “We should tell her.”
“How are we going to win if we keep telling everyone everything?” Nicole asked with a laugh.
“Tell me what?”
Nicole shrugged and nodded at Maddy.
Maddy wiped her hands on a napkin. “I’ll tell you, but you have to keep this to yourself. Do I have your word?”
Rena looked back and forth between them. “I think so.”
Nicole wrung her hands in front of her. “You have to promise to keep our secret. Stephan wouldn’t like the idea of us meddling like we are.”
Maddy gave an exasperated sigh. “You worry too much about what Stephan thinks. If he gets upset, he’ll get over it. Who could stay mad at us?”
With a sad smile, Nicole added, “I wish I could see the world like you do, Maddy, but we had very different childhoods. I’ve never been part of a family like yours. They are so loving and supportive. I don’t ever want to do anything that would take them away from me.”
Rena blinked back tears and pretended to reach for a bagel.
Maddy scooted closer and hugged Nicole. “No one is going anywhere. You’re stuck with us.”
Nicole hugged her back and composed herself. “We didn’t wake Rena up for this. Let’s just lay it out there and then let her get on with her day.”
Maddy said, “Rena, you don’t have to swear on a Bible or anything, just keep this between us, okay?”
Curiosity piqued, Rena gave one curt.
“Nicole and I are on the same team . . .”
“Team?”
Nicole interjected, “It all started as a joke at Lil and Jake’s wedding. Then it grew.”
“What grew?” Rena asked.
“I was telling everyone how much I missed Gio, Nick, Luke, and Max, and we sort of all decided that helping them find love would bring them back to the family.”
“You decided,” Nicole gently reminded.
Maddy smiled and shrugged. “Anyway, all the women are in on it. Dominic’s wife, Abby, has teamed up with Marie. Her sister, Lil, is working with her best friend, Alethea. Nicole and I are pooling our resources. Whoever matches one of the cousins up with someone he decides to marry, wins.”
“Wins what?”
As if it should have been obvious, Maddy rolled her eyes. “The right to call themselves the best matchmaker in the family. Until now it’s always been me, and I am not giving up my title easily.”
As Rena processed this, she said slowly, “So Julia, Gio’s fiancée, was your doing?”
Nicole shook her head. “No, none of us knew her.”
Maddy clapped her hands together. “Isn’t that what makes this amazing? She was an unknown and took the prize. . . . It was as if the universe planted its own contender.”
“Planted?” Rena closed her eyes and covered her mouth with one hand as a realization came to her. “Those beautiful women who started getting hired at Cogent . . . you did that?”
Nicole folded her napkin carefully in her lap. “We helped it happen, but not all of them are ours. Lil and Alethea sent the IT woman.”
Maddy slapped a hand on the cushion beside her. “So, no one won round one. Except Gio, because he looks happy with Julia. But we have three chances left. And I think Nick is our best bet. Especially if you join our team. No one knows the brothers better than you do. You could help us hone our choices. Please. Say you’ll do it.”
Is this punishment for the kiss I gave Nick in front of all the photographers? Someone sure has a sick sense of humor. Rena didn’t believe for a moment that Maddy or Nicole knew anything about what had gone on between Nick and her.
And there is no way I’m telling them. “I don’t think—”
Maddy leaned forward to drive her argument home. “Love makes everything better. I’m not suggesting that we force anyone on him. We’re merely surrounding him with possibilities. That’s all love needs—a chance to happen. Look at how much happier Gio is now that he found his match. Don’t you want the same for Nick?”
Rena stood up. “It’s an awful idea and I won’t help you.” I can’t help Nick fall in love with someone else.
Maddy gathered up the leftover food and placed it in the bag. She looked offended, and Rena didn’t see a way she could explain herself without revealing how confused she was ab
out last night. She was worried enough about how she was going to weather the storm that would arise if the pictures surfaced somewhere. “Maddy, I’m sorry.”
Maddy gathered her purse. “Don’t be. I shouldn’t have expected you to understand.”
Nicole took Rena by the hand, leaned in, and whispered, “She doesn’t like the word no. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to her.”
Giving herself a mental shake, Maddy smiled. “Rena, your problem is that you haven’t been around me enough to trust my genius. I’m right about this. When Nick finds someone who loves him for who he is, his whole world will change. You watch. We’ll find the perfect woman for him. They’ll be so damn happy together we’ll see them all the time, just like Julia and Gio. I’m never wrong about this stuff. I can understand why you are hesitant now. But you’ll see. And then you can team up with us to find someone for Luke.”
