I didn’t realize how hungry I was, and the food was excellent. I practically devoured my steak. When I looked up from my plate, Bryan was watching me over his drink.
“What?” I asked, taking a sip of water.
“Nothing,” he said, dropping his head. “I enjoy a woman with a healthy appetite.”
Bryan raised his eyes back to mine and smiled. “You know, Madison, I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight.”
“I have as well. These business dinners tend to be pretty dull,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.
Bryan chuckled. “True. Can I ask you a somewhat personal question?”
“Nothing’s stopped you before,” I said.
“Well, we’ve covered your divorce, the fact that you have no kids, and where you went to graduate school. What’s one more?” he said, grinning like he’d won something.
“True, but everything I’ve told you so far can be found in my company profile,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he thought of a counter argument. He sat up and reached for the contracts I set on the table earlier. He grabbed the pen and quickly signed his name before handing the pen and the contract to me.
“There,” he said. “The business part of the evening is finished.” He shot me a victorious smile. I had to give it to him, that was a pretty smooth move. So I indulged him and agreed to answer his question.
“Are you seeing anyone?” he asked.
Sean popped into my head and I almost said yes, but hadn’t I just told him we weren’t exclusive. “Um,” I said nervously, chewing on my bottom lip. “Not really.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. At the moment, Sean and I weren’t even speaking. Rather than explain a complicated relationship that I didn’t quite understand myself, I went with the simplest answer.
Bryan’s smile widened. “I’m leaving on Friday, but I will be back in a few weeks. I would love to see you again. What do you say?”
On paper Bryan Townsend was just the sort of man I should spend my time with. Successful, charming, good looking. God knows my mother would be thrilled, though I couldn’t really hold that against him. But Sean…
“I…I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, I don’t think it would be appropriate.”
He laughed and sat back in his chair. “The best things in life rarely are.”
I smiled. He had a point.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Next time I’m in town, I’ll give you a call and we will take it from there.”
“I…” I started to protest, but he held up his hand to stop me.
“Just think about it.”
I nodded, and he smiled in a premature victory. I was uncomfortable with the idea of seeing him in a social context for a lot of reasons, the main two being he was a colleague and Sean.
The waiter came by for the check, and I reached for it at the same time Bryan did.
“Please let me get it,” he said.
“Nonsense. Dinner is on my firm tonight,” I said with a wink.
“Fair enough.” He chuckled.
I paid the bill, and Bryan insisted on walking me to my car. I stopped on the sidewalk next to where I had parked and turned to face him.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Bryan,” I said, holding my hand out to him.
He took my hand in both of his and stepped closer. “The pleasure was all mine, Madison. I look forward to seeing you again.” I smiled, and he released my hand to open the car door.
When I got home, I dropped my briefcase and kicked off my heels. I’d turned my phone off before I went into dinner, so I grabbed it and hit the power button to see if I had any missed calls. Nothing. I don’t know what I was expecting, what with my fight with Margot, Liam working, and the ongoing silence from Sean. Who was left to call?
***
Thursday morning, I walked into the office with the same heavy black cloud hanging over my head. It had been four days and still not a word from Sean. Plus the dreaded dinner with Michael was later that evening.
Last night I paced my apartment, trying to decide if I should go down to The Den. I got dressed, had my bag, and got as far as the elevator before I decided not to make a fool out of myself. I ended up spending the night on my sofa in sweats with a carton of ice cream in my lap, wondering if I could become anymore of a cliché.
I missed Sean. I didn’t want to miss him. I didn’t want to care that I hadn’t heard from him, but I did. I couldn’t help myself. I missed his touch, his laugh, the way he called me beautiful. I found myself randomly daydreaming about the little time we’d spent together and hating myself for messing it up. I needed to move past my infatuation with him, but it was proving difficult to get him out of my head.
What I’d said the other night after Gran’s party hurt him. My chest clenched just thinking of those beautiful gray eyes, normally so full of joy, filled with pain. I almost picked up the phone to call him and apologize, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any good. I needed to resign myself to the idea that things with Sean were over.
Maybe it was for the best. As much as I liked Sean, he wasn’t the guy for me. I should be dating a man like Bryan, but besides the fact that I wasn’t even remotely attracted to him, he was a colleague and therefore strictly off limits. I needed to keep him happy, which is why I’d agreed to consider his invitation to go out with him next time he was in town, but I wasn’t looking forward to it.
***
I headed to Blue House after work, not even bothering to look in the mirror as I left. I gave my name to the hostess, who escorted me to a table in the back of the restaurant. Michael and his father stood and smiled as I approached the table.
“There’s my Maddie Bear,” Michael said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. I cringed when his lips pressed against the side of my face.
“I told you to stop calling me that,” I said quietly through my teeth. I said my hellos and kissed the cheeks of both of his parents before moving around the table to take my seat.
Michael smiled as he pulled out my chair for me. I took a seat, and he pushed my chair forward, leaning down to whisper, “You’ll always be my Maddie Bear.” I narrowed my eyes at him as he took a seat to my right.
I’d spent almost twenty years with this man. With the exception of the affair, I could pretty much tell when he was up to something, and the grin that spread wide across his face confirmed my suspicion.
“Gloria, you look wonderful!” I said, addressing his mother.
“Thank you, dear. As do you. I love the new hair. It’s absolutely stunning,” she said.
“Do you like it? I thought it was time for a change.” I instinctively smoothed down the back of my hair. I looked at Michael with a smirk. “I needed a fresh start,” I said, and his smile faltered.
“It’s lovely,” Gloria said.
The waiter approached the table to take our drink orders. I ordered a double scotch and shot a look to Michael. He hated when I ordered scotch in public. He always insisted it was not lady-like. I smiled and raised my eyebrows, daring him to say something, but he remained quiet. Yep, he definitely was up to something.
Big Jim, Michael’s father, told the waiter to bring him the same and a vodka soda for his wife. Most people would consider a man ordering for his wife to be a show of dominance, but in Big Jim’s case, it was just because he knows what she likes. Big Jim and Gloria Buchanan have one of those iconic romances that you only see in movies. I’ve never in my life seen two people so blissfully in love, especially after fifty-three years together. I mean, look at my parents. They barely tolerated each other after forty-five.
When I first met Michael’s parents, we’d only been together for seven months. I was considering breaking it off so I could focus on my degree, but after I met Big Jim and Gloria, I thought that any man who’d grown up with them as an example of how marriage should be could make me happy. Here I was, all those years later, wishing I could go back and slap that naïve coed in the face.
“How goes the wonderful
world of finance, Maddie?” Big Jim asked.
“Good. Busy as of late, but good,” I replied as the waiter set my drink in front of me. “How are things at the firm?” I was well trained in the art of conversation, but that didn’t mean I was a fan. My question had done its job, and Big Jim launched into a story about his latest case. I nodded and laughed in all the right places, all the while counting down the minutes until I could get out of there.
When Big Jim finished his story, I asked Gloria about how the house was coming. She was always redecorating some room or another. I watched her face brighten, and she told me about how she was updating the dining room and downstairs bathroom. I was doing everything I could to keep from checking my watch to see if enough time had passed so I could excuse myself.
Luckily our waiter was very attentive and made sure to refill my drink before the last one was finished. I was still on high alert. The warm buzz from the alcohol was helping me to relax, but I needed to slow down before I got too relaxed.
The waiter set my third round down in front of me as Gloria finished up her story. “And the whole thing will be finished by Christmas,” she said. Her bright smile fell, and my stomach clenched. “Oh, Christmas won’t be the same this year without you.”
“Thank you for saying that, Gloria, but you can start some new traditions this year,” I said, placing my hand on top of hers on the table.
She sent a not so happy pout in Michael’s direction. “Yes, I guess we will have to.” She was clearly not happy about the thought of Michael’s Malibu dream intern crashing her picture-perfect Christmas.
Michael shrank under his mother’s disapproving gaze, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Take that, asshole.
I sat back in my chair and took a sip of my drink. I was enjoying the show. Maybe this dinner wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Well, Mother, you won’t have to rearrange your plans this year. Courtney and I are no longer seeing each other,” Michael said.
I coughed, almost choking on my drink. So the tart left him? That was an interesting development.
Gloria pressed a hand to her chest, pretending to be sad about the news. “I’m so sorry, Michael.” Her lips twitched as she fought the smile from spreading across her face.
“You are not,” he said with a chuckle.
“Well son, you know we never approved of your relationship with that girl, but your mother and I would never wish for you to be unhappy,” Big Jim said, dropping a hand to Michael’s shoulder.
“Thanks,” Michael said, “but I did have an ulterior motive for inviting Madison tonight.”
I knew it!
Michael turned toward me and took my hand from the table. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to pull away from him, but with Big Jim and Gloria here I didn’t want to add to what was already a tense dinner.
“Maddie bear, I made a horrible mistake. The best decision I ever made was asking you to marry me and I threw it all away for nothing, a fling. I know that my chances of getting you back are extremely slim, but if there is any hope that you will forgive me, please tell me. I will grovel, I will beg, I will do anything to show you how much I love you and want you back, want us back.”
He had to be joking! Was he seriously telling me that he wanted me back after shacking up with a nineteen year old skank for almost a year?
I sat there, my mouth agape as I just stared at him, completely frozen.
“Michael, this is not the appropriate time or place for this son,” Big Jim whispered.
Michael kept right on going as if his father never spoke. “What do you say, Maddie bear? Can you give us another shot?”
I glanced at Gloria, who was giving me a pleading look. She knew this had been coming, maybe even encouraged it. Big Jim was shaking his head, glaring at Michael like he was ready to smack him.
Michael raised his eyebrows, his eyes bright and full of hope. I yanked my hand from his and stood. I picked up my drink and tossed the remaining liquid directly into his face. Gloria let out a little yelp of surprise and Big Jim chuckled, pride shining from his eyes as he watched me grab my bag and head for the door.
The nerve of that bastard! I was fuming as I exited the restaurant and got into my car. I got behind the wheel, shutting the door behind me, and started screaming at the top of my lungs. I beat my hands against the steering wheel as anger flooded through me. I grabbed my phone to call Margot, then remembered our fight. I needed to vent and I needed a drink. So I started the car and headed to the one place I could think of where I could do both.
A few minutes later I pulled up outside The Den. I looked up at the bar, wondering if Sean was inside, and quickly dismissed the thought. Liam was working tonight, and I was not in any condition to go home. I would most likely end up breaking something, and I’d broken enough items in my apartment over Michael.
I pushed open the door, relieved to see that it was relatively quiet. I made my way to the middle of the bar, where Liam was stocking the cooler. I dropped down on the stool with a loud sigh, and Liam turned to me with a smile. His expression quickly turned to concern when he saw the look on my face.
“What did the son of a bitch do now?” he asked, pulling a bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label from the shelf behind him and pouring me a glass. I couldn’t help but glance toward the back of the bar.
“He’s not here,” Liam said.
“Who?” I asked, tipping back my glass and downing the booze in one gulp.
Liam nodded toward Sean’s usual table, which sat empty and silent in the back.
Liam leaned his forearms on the bar in front on me. “You going to tell me what happened?”
“I had dinner with Michael.”
“What the hell, Maddie?”
“He called me last week and asked if I could have dinner with him and his parents. I only agreed so I wouldn’t be rude to Gloria and Big Jim. You know how close we were.”
“Okay, so what happened?” he asked.
“Everything was fine, at first. Uncomfortable as hell, but fine. Then Michael announced that he and the spring break home wrecker were over and that he wants me back.”
“Holy shit!”
“My thoughts exactly. He said it was the biggest mistake of his life and would do anything to get me back.”
“What did you say?” Liam asked, pouring me another drink.
I dumped the amber liquid down my throat. It mixed with the scotch from earlier, creating this wonderful numbing sensation all over my body.
“I didn’t say anything. I just got up and tossed my drink in his face.”
Liam burst into a fit of laughter. “That’s my girl!” he shouted. The few people in the bar turned around to look at us, and I felt my cheeks begin to heat. I pushed the glass back at Liam, and he quickly refilled it, handing it back to me. I tossed back the drink, squinting and shaking my head as it burned its way toward my stomach.
“What did his parents think of that?” Liam asked.
“I didn’t stay long enough to really find out, but I did catch a glimpse of pride in Big Jim’s eyes when I did it,” I said with a half-smile. “I can’t believe he thought that after everything he put me through, I would just take him back with open arms.”
“He always was a bit delusional. Besides, Maddie, you don’t need him. You’re doing great.” I rolled my head to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “Well, maybe not right this second, but you have been doing better since the divorce. You got a new look, you’re kicking ass at work. I mean, you told Mama to go to hell!”
I saw where he was going with this, but he didn’t know about Sean or my fight with Margot, so his opinion was a little skewed.
I was feeling a major buzz and I was in no condition to drive tonight, so I slid my keys across the bar to Liam along with some cash for the drinks.
“I’m gonna get a cab home,” I said, getting up from the bar stool, swaying a bit as I made my way to the door.
Liam came out a second later and flag
ged a cab for me, giving the driver the address and helping me into the back seat. Liam shut the door and thumped the roof of the taxi.
I didn’t want to go home. I was more than a little drunk and feeling like complete hell. I just wanted to feel better, and only one thing came to mind.
I sat up in the seat. “Excuse me,” I said. “Take me to fifty-second and Belvidere instead.”
Chapter 14
Sean
The intercom buzzed, and I set my beer on the coffee table to see who it was. I wasn’t expecting anyone. It was probably a delivery guy hitting the wrong button.
“Yeah,” I said, pushing the button to speak.
“It’s me. Can I come up?”
Even through the static of the intercom, I recognized her voice. “Madison?”
“Yes.” I stepped back from the intercom, staring at the button, trying to decide what to do. It was late, and I knew she hadn’t come to chat. I should have just told her no and gone on trying to get past her, but she was like an addiction. That shy smile and her quiet strength made my heart heavy with want.
I leaned my head against the wall beside the intercom and sighed, leaning on the button to let her in. I knew I was going to end up regretting the decision, but I wanted, no I needed, to see her, even if it was only for the night.
I turned and surveyed my apartment, searching for discarded boxers or socks. I was shirtless and barefoot in a pair of basketball shorts, so I ducked into my room to grab a shirt. I found one at the end of the bed and sniffed it to determine its freshness as a knock sounded on the door.
I pulled the shirt over my head as I went and opened the door. She stood in the doorway, watching as I tugged the shirt the rest of the way down. She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth as her eyes roamed over my body, from my messy hair to bare feet.
I looked like shit after days of no sleep and just missing her, but she didn’t seem to notice. The look in her eyes said she was here for one thing and one thing only. Fuck, this was going to be a long night.
She took a step and stumbled forward into the apartment. I reached out to catch her and caught of whiff of alcohol on her breath. Wonderful. She giggled and straightened, pulling at her skirt and smoothing down her hair, a lazy smile spread across her face. Fuck me, I didn’t need this right now.
Choosing Happy (Madison Square #2) Page 15