All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [37]
Natalie felt a wave of relief at her words. "Thank God someone believes that." She glanced at Dylan and saw only anger in his eyes. Apparently, he didn't feel the same way. "Do you have something to say?"
He shrugged. "She knew you better than I did."
"Yes, she did."
As Natalie finished speaking, the outer door opened and three teenagers entered. A club employee followed them, helping them to choose their virtual-reality adventures. Dylan waved his hand toward the door, muttering, "Let's take this somewhere else."
That somewhere else was his office, a small cluttered room filled with one desk, two chairs, several filing cabinets, piles of papers everywhere and assorted odd items that Natalie hoped were being used in his magic acts. Otherwise, Dylan had a very kinky side to him. Heck, maybe he did have a kinky side. He'd always been into odd, dark stuff. Natalie had certainly never known what to talk to him about. She'd yet to meet a man who'd made her feel as uncomfortable and awkward as Dylan had. But Emily and Dylan had been very close. He must have been devastated by her death.
Madison picked up a long, twelve-inch feather and held it up. "What's this for? And can I be your assistant when you use it?"
Dylan shot Madison an irritated look, grabbed the feather from her hand, and tossed it onto a pile of hats. For a long minute the four of them simply stared at each other. Natalie didn't know where to start. No one else seemed to know, either. She barely knew Dylan. Cole barely knew Madison. There was no place to begin the conversation. Fortunately, one of the employees came looking for Dylan to solve a problem in the virtual-reality room. Dylan took off with a muttered, insincere apology, and Cole quickly followed, claiming he had something to take care of. Natalie suspected he just wanted to get away from them and talk to Dylan on his own. Which was fine with her.
Pushing a stack of papers to one side of Dylan's desk, Natalie leaned against it, crossing her arms as she took another long look at Madison. "So, where have you been all these years, Maddie? I thought of you in Paris, London, Madrid ... but I have to admit I never thought of you here in San Francisco, with Dylan of all people."
Madison smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she'd done a thousand times before. "I could say the same about you—and Cole. But as for me, I've been here, there, and everywhere, most recently New York. I moved here three months ago because of my job in public relations."
Natalie nodded, not surprised to find out Madison was in PR. She'd always been a good promoter, and she could spin with the best of them.
"Your turn," Madison said. "Wait." She held up a hand. "Let me guess. You're a doctor. You came to San Francisco because you fell in love with the city years ago and because Cole is here."
"Half-right. I am a doctor, but I didn't come here for Cole. And we're not together in any emotional sense of the word." Natalie sighed. "It's all about this damn book. It's been a crazy few days, Madison. Every time I turn around, I see someone I haven't seen in years. And we all want to know the same thing—who is Garrett Malone and how does he know us?"
"Maybe Laura knows."
"I've already spoken to her, and she doesn't. She married Drew McKinney, by the way. Can you believe that?"
Madison raised an eyebrow. "Laura and Drew ended up together? She must have gotten a lot better in bed."
Natalie shook her head in amazement. Madison was as outspoken as ever. "I can't believe you just said that."
"Oh, come on, Natalie. Drew was a player. And Laura was scared of sex. She had to drink three vodka tonics before she let Drew take off her top."
"That was a long time ago. We were all finding our way back then."
"True." Madison walked over to the bookcase. She picked up a photograph of Dylan, bare- chested, in black leather pants, holding a whip and standing next to an awesome-looking tiger. "Now, this