Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [24]
“I’m thirty-three, closer to thirty-four with a birthday coming up in August, single, and have never been married and don’t plan on ever getting married.”
Madison lifted a brow. “Why?”
“It’s the accountability factor. I love being single. I like coming and going whenever I please and, with being a writer, I need the freedom of going places to do research, book signings, to clear my mind, relax and to be just plain lazy when I want to. I’m not responsible for anyone other than myself and I like it that way.” He decided not to tell her that another reason he planned to stay single was that he saw marriage as giving up control of his life and giving more time to a wife than to his writing.
Madison nodded. “So there’s not a special person in your life?”
“No.” But then he thought she was special and he had pretty much accepted that she was in his life…at least at the present time.
“What about your immediate family?”
“My parents are still living and doing well. My father works with the construction company my grandfather started years ago. He’s a twin.”
Madison had shifted her body in the seat to search her pockets for a piece of chewing gum and glanced over at Stone. “Who’s a twin?”
“My father. As well as my two brothers, Chase and Storm, and my cousins, Ian and Quade. They are Durango’s brothers.”
“Are they all identical twins?” she asked fascinated. She’d never heard of so many multiple births in one family before.
“No, everyone is fraternal, thank God. I can’t imagine two of Storm. He can be a handful and considers himself a ladies’ man.”
Madison smiled, hearing the affection in his voice. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Four brothers and one sister. Delaney, who we call Laney, is the baby.”
Madison frowned. “Delaney Westmoreland? Now where have I heard that name before?”
Stone chuckled. “Probably read about her. People magazine did a spread on her almost a year and a half ago when she married a prince from the Middle East by the name of Jamal Ari Yasir.”
A huge smile touched Madison’s face. “That’s right, I remember reading that article. Essence magazine did an article on her, as well. Wow! I remember reading it during…”
Stone glanced over at her to see why she hadn’t finished what she was about to say. Her smile was no longer there. “During what?”
She met his gaze briefly before he returned it to the road. “During the time I broke up with my fiancé. It was good reading something as warm, loving and special as the story about your sister and her prince; especially after finding out what a toad my own fiancé was.”
“What did he do?”
Madison glanced down at her hands that were folded in her lap before glancing over at Stone. His eyes were on the road but she knew that she had his complete attention and was waiting for her response. “I found out right before our wedding that he’d been having an affair. He came up with a lot of reasons why he did it, but none were acceptable.”
“Hell, I should hope not,” Stone said with more than a hint of anger in his voice. “The man was a fool.”
“And she was a model.”
Stone lifted a brow. “Who?”
“The woman he was sleeping with. He said that that justified his behavior. He believed he was actually using her so as not to wear me down. He wanted to preserve me for later.”
A dark frown covered Stone’s face. “He actually said that?”
“Yes. Cedric was quite a character.”
Stone didn’t want to get too personal, but he couldn’t help asking, “So the two of you never, ahh, never slept together?”
Instead of looking over at him he watched as she quickly glanced out the window. “Yes, we did but just twice during the two years we were together.”
Stone shook his head. “Like I said before, he was a fool.”
Madison leaned back comfortably in her seat. She was glad Stone felt that way. Cedric had tried to convince her that just because he’d been involved in one affair was no reason to call off their wedding. A model, he’d tried to explain, was every man’s fantasy girl. That