Twin Cupids at Work Daddy Come Home novel Chapter 116

Madeline’s fingers tightened around her purse, her cool gaze fixed on the man acting like none of this had anything to do with him. “I really need to talk to you. What will it take for you to have a conversation with me alone?”

Julian raised an eyebrow, then pointed at a bottle on the table. His lips curled into a slight, taunting smile. “If you drink the whole bottle, you can talk to me about whatever you want.”

Madeline’s brows knitted as she stared at the freshly opened bottle of vodka.

It’s about eighty proof.

Her frown deepened. She stared at the bottle, knowing she couldn’t drink. It wasn’t even an option.

Brady started to say something, but Josh stopped him with a tug. Josh grinned, lowering his voice. “Let them work it out. Couples fight, nothing we can do about it.”

“Is Julian really not worried he’s digging himself a grave here?”

Josh threw an arm around Brady’s shoulders, his grin turning sly. “That’s Julian’s problem. If he messes this up, he’s the one who’ll regret it. We just get front-row seats.”

“Josh, you’re something else, you know that?”

…

Julian watched Madeline from the sofa, his interest obvious. “Madeline, my patience is running out.”

“I can’t drink,” she replied.

“Why not?”

She only had one kidney. Hard liquor was out of the question. An entire bottle of vodka would destroy her.

Madeline’s eyes flicked around the room and landed on the card table. She looked back at Julian. “Let’s play a game. If I win, you talk to me alone. If you win, I’ll drink the vodka.”

Cards?

Challenging Julian like that took guts.

“Alright, here’s the deal. Ten million on the table. Best two out of three. That fair?”

“Fine.”

Madeline lowered her eyes, calmly sorting her cards as a crowd gathered around.

All these men were seasoned gamblers. To them, Madeline looked like an easy target.

They barely paid attention to their hands, not taking her seriously at all.

And honestly, it showed. Madeline made a few mistakes, losing the first round by a landslide.

Josh laughed when he saw her play. “Ms. Monroe, is this your first time playing?”

Madeline didn’t even blink. She held her card, mentally tracking the moves and strategies she’d just witnessed. “No. It’s my second.”