Patricia was fussing with the tea set, fully at home in the lush surroundings. Some women were born to be wealthy and while Patricia St. James may not have been bred into prosperity, the role fit her perfectly. It was a long way from Patty Harrison, the single-mother living in a run-down apartment in Minot.
There had never been a Mr. Harrison. Madison imagined her father hadn’t met the high ideals of her mother’s lifetime plan. By the time she was old enough to question the lack of a father-figure, Madison had been busy on the pageant circuit. Besides, Patricia was a force of nature. She was more than capable of taking on both parental roles.
Everything had always followed her mother’s perfectly laid out plans. Madison had been paraded around, skirting the edges of the nouveau rich. Proud mothers throwing away their money on tiny tulle dresses, twinkling with glittery diamantes.
Madison had never been able to compete with the sparkling clothes or the gem encrusted tiaras. But she did have one thing the other little girls didn’t. Looks. Exquisitely, beautiful looks. And Patricia had used them to her full advantage.
It hadn’t taken long for invitations to start piling up in their mail box. Everybody wanted to rub shoulders with a winner. Prestigious catwalk appearances, garden parties, gallery openings and birthday parties Madison imagined were like going to Disneyland. Not that she’d ever been.
Patricia had worked the events ruthlessly. She’d netted two husbands in quick succession, until finally settling on self-made millionaire, Robert St. James. Using Robert’s connections, Patricia had risen up the social ladder. By the time Madison was of a marrying age, her mother was in a comfortable position. Just like she’d planned.
Her attention had turned to the hunt and Logan turned out to be the perfect specimen for her mother’s manipulations. A well-heeled name, good family connections and a predilection for spending money faster than his father could earn it.
Patricia had him over a barrel.
“I have invited the wedding planner to join us shortly. I will confirm the guests and start on the seating arrangements.” Patricia waited until the tea was served before speaking.
“Uh-huh.”
Madison had become momentarily side-tracked by the plate of tiny petit fours. An internal debate was raging as to whether she was actually allowed to eat one, or if they were just for show. For the wedding planner.
Only one way to find out.
She gingerly slid one off the plate and popped it into her mouth. Whole.
Her mother frowned. “I did see that,” she warned. “Anyway, as I was saying, it will take considerable effort to coordinate the seating for the wedding, but obviously the Senator will sit at our table. If I start from there and work my way back… Madison! Are you listening? This is your wedding.”
Startled, Madison sucked in air, holding her fingers to her lips as the sweet biscuit stuck to the roof of her mouth.
Her wedding.
Reality hit and she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“The wedding…it’s over.” The words rushed out before she could stop them. Madison cringed, waiting for the sky to fall.
“Don’t be ridiculous, dear.” Patricia barely batted an eyelid. “Now please. The Parkers are sure to want to sit near the Newboroughs. I believe their daughter, Melanie, has come of age and we all know what a catch Nicholas would be for that family.”
Madison closed her gaping mouth. “Mother.” She tried again. “I’m being serious. The wedding is off. I’m not marrying Logan.”
Patricia’s gaze fastened on Madison, a frown forming between her perfectly plucked brows. After a tense moment of appraisal, she must have come to the conclusion her daughter was telling the truth. Carefully, she set her cup down on the table. Took a breath.
“You can’t be serious,” she spluttered. “After all of the trouble I’ve gone to…sacrificing my life for you.” Patricia got to her feet, one coral-tipped fingernail pointing across the coffee table. “What did you do?” Her voice rose as her composure slipped. “Why the hell does Logan want to end it?”
And there it was. Of course, it had to be her fault. Madison pressed back into the chair under the weight of her mother’s accusations. Logan came from a well-bred family. He knew how to play the game. He was a named fiancé who held the key to blue-blood doors in exchange for a healthy, monthly allowance. Madison’s allowance. Why would he give up money Patricia paid straight into his pocket each month? Surely it had to be something Madison had done to make him break it off.
Except it had been Logan who had broken the rules. He’d cheated. And the only reason Madison was forced to tell Patricia was because by the end of the month she’d be broke—because Logan had all of her freakin’ money.
She took in the pinch of her mother’s lips, praying for Patricia to experience just one small spark of maternal instinct. Her mother loved her, Madison never questioned that, but the fear of losing everything, of being forced back to the trailer park, sometimes drove her to lose perspective.
Madison had always been understanding of that in the past. However, this was one time she needed her mom.
“He cheated on me.” Her voice broke and she could barely meet her mother’s eyes. Madison was ashamed her relationship hadn’t worked. She did feel guilty.
“So?” Patricia’s stiff expression didn’t soften.
“I called it off,” Madison said, raising her chin.
Her mother forgot about etiquette and slumped inelegantly into her chair. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Closed her eyes. Thinking.
“We can fix this.” Swinging to her feet, she paced back and forth, her look cool and calculating. “First, you apologize.” Each word was compounded by the sharp staccato of her heels against the tiles. “Tell Logan it was a case of womanly histrionics. Pre-wedding nerves.” She pinned Madison with a firm look. “You haven’t told anyone else, have you? Thank God.” Her breath rushed out as Madison shook her head. “At least you’re not totally stupid.”
Madison’s heart sank. She gave up any hope of maternal sympathy stirring. “I don’t want to apologize,” she insisted. “He slept with another woman.”
“I don’t think you understand.” Patricia’s voice sharpened. “We’re not going to do any better than Logan.”
Madison was swamped by helplessness. Climbing the social ladder wasn’t the total sum of her existence anymore. Last night with Cole had been the best of her life. For once, she’d forgotten about status and the number of zeroes attached to a bank account. All of the things that’d seemed important, up until now. Truth was, she had no idea of Cole’s financial situation and it wouldn’t have made one iota of difference.
She looked at the ludicrous engagement ring dominating her finger. Last night had shown Madison that happiness wasn’t going to come from a marriage built on lies.
“I will do better,” she said quietly. “Because I’ll be doing what’s right for me.”
Her mother stopped, anguish whitening her cheekbones. “What have I done to deserve this?” She sank onto her knees in front of Madison, holding her head in her hands. “Everything I’ve done for you. Pulling us out of that horrible, dead-end town. Leaving all of my family behind. For you.” Her expression was bleak. Pained. “And now you’re going to ruin it. You’ll end up having to go back to that.” Her mother dissolved into tears, shoulders shaking. “I can’t face the humiliation.”
“Please, Mom.” Madison shifted so she could wrap her arms around her mother’s shoulders. Guilt wracked her. She wished she could go back and change what had happened. Maybe she had been hasty… “Please. Don’t cry.”
“I don’t know where I went wrong.” Patricia was beyond listening. “I’ve taken care of you, haven’t I? You don’t need to work?” She raised a tear-streaked face to her daughter. “No one cared enough to do that for me. Why do you think we pay Logan your allowance?” She pee
red into Madison’s face. “So you don’t have to worry about managing money. A beautiful woman like you.” Smiling tremulously, Patricia laid her hand against Madison’s cheek. “I’ve taken care of everything.”
Madison closed her eyes against the truth that only told half of the story. If only she could believe her mother’s words as much as her mother believed them. But there was more to Logan getting her money. He had a name for living outside of his means…that was what had attracted her mother’s attention in the first place. It had all been part of her plan.
“Why don’t you give me a chance to show you what I can do?” Madison pressed, knowing her only advantage lay in appealing to her mother when she was vulnerable. “Maybe I can go back to school. I could get a job and work my way up. Just like you did.” After all, she was proud of her mother rising from nothing, to become patron of no less than six different charities.
“You’re nothing like me, Madison.” Patricia let out a small laugh as if the very idea was ridiculous. “And you don’t have to be, not if you follow my plan.” She climbed to her feet. “You don’t have what it takes to be like me. No. What’s best for you is to go back to Logan,” she said firmly. “I’m sorry, but I’m not changing any arrangements, financial or other. He will continue to get your allowance until you go back to him.”
“What?” Madison’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to keep paying the man who cheated on me?”
Patricia’s expression softened and for a moment there was a glimpse of true compassion. Then her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Grow up, Madison. We all have to make sacrifices and I’ve made more than my fair share for you. It’s your turn.”
“But I—”
“We are this close to having everything we’ve worked for.” Patricia scowled, color mottling her perfect mask. “I’ll take care of the wedding planner. Del Arco. You go home and make this right. Get even. Get revenge. Have a string of lovers if that’s what it takes, but do not wreck this chance.” She glared hard at her daughter. “Because you won’t get another.”
Madison shook her head. Her mother was wrong.
She deserved happiness and last night with Cole had proved that.
Chapter Seven
Cole picked up the newspaper he’d gotten with breakfast, compliments of the hotel. One look at the front page and he threw it down again. Bitterness stung his throat and he rested his head against the studded leather seat, trying to ignore the photo of Thomas Langford smirking at him from above the fold.
This was a bad idea. Cole should have left for Wellsford two hours ago. So, why the hell was he sitting here waiting for Madison? His mall development had been his single-minded focus for the last three years, ever since Marcus had brought him in on a few fledging investments.
So how could he intentionally miss the meeting with the head architect?
And what about Jess? Another thing he was supposed to do today. Take her out for dinner in Wellsford. A stab of guilt had Cole reaching for his phone. Then he stopped himself.
He could still make it in time. After he’d talked to Madison.
A band of heat tightened around his balls as he remembered last night. At first, Madison had come across like delicate china. Pretty to look at, but fragile. Breakable. Yet she was unrelenting when it came to her own pleasure; her rapturous gaze as his cock pushed into her, the porcelain perfection of her face flushed with lust, her wild abandon as she’d watched them come together in the mirror… Yeah, she’d known exactly what she wanted last night.
Him.
And for once, Cole had forgotten about holding back. He’d given up the reins of control and let down his defenses. Just been himself.
And that was why he was here, right? Because remembering the proud, passionate woman who’d been in the bedroom last night…well, things didn’t stack up with the Madison who’d blown him off this morning. She’d treated him like he was shit stuck to the bottom of her swanky designer shoes.
So, after he’d picked up his ego from the floor and finished congratulating himself on his lucky escape from the pampered rich bitch, Cole had stopped short of leaving. Thinking over everything that’d happened, he’d realized the expression on Madison’s face when she’d ordered him to go hadn’t been contempt. It’d been fear.
No way was he leaving now. Cole had made a few calls and set up in the lobby, telling himself he wanted to make sure Madison was all right. Because the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced something was off-kilter. Nobody visiting their mother for lunch should look like they were about to get teeth extracted with a rusty teaspoon.
Cole knew what went on behind closed doors of the rich and powerful, and he was worried for her. He’d borne the brunt of it once and his sister would always carry the scars. They’d lured him in with promises of bettering himself, then made him a scape-goat so their names would remain unblemished. Cole had learned nothing came free. When his uncle had called in his marker, he and Thomas had made sure to bury Cole right back in the muck they’d pulled him from.
And Jess. His chest tightened at the thought of his sister and the price she’d paid. All so Thomas Langford could stay above the fold in the newspaper.
His glance strayed back to his cousin’s smarmy face and Cole almost missed the swish of the automatic doors opening. Almost. He stiffened at the sound of high heels clicking across the tiles. An indefinable quality in the air changed and the room slowed to stillness.
Madison. He looked up and she froze mid-step when she saw him sitting there. Breath slammed out of his lungs. Her eyes flared, a range of emotions flashing across her face. Happiness, relief, wariness… Embarrassment. Resignation.
The world sped up again as Cole jumped to intercept her. Her pace quickened toward the elevators.
Running from him.
Fuck. Cole skidded to a halt in front of her as she repeatedly jabbed the call button. He could feel her distress in the wild beat of her heart, her uneven breath.
“What happened?” Panic thudded in his own chest now.
“Nothing that concerns you.” Madison twisted away, but there was nowhere for her to go. She raised her hands as if trying to create a physical barrier. “Please.”
It was the crack in her voice that made Cole all the more determined. He rubbed at his hair. She didn’t want anything to do with him—okay, he got that—but he wasn’t leaving until he knew she was okay.
“Someone’s upset you. Your mother?” he pressed. Captain-fucking-Obvious.
“I-I thought you had a meeting.” A hint of desperation crept into Madison’s voice and her eyes pleaded to be left alone.
Not likely. The elevator dinged but Cole couldn’t let her go. Not like this. He ignored her stiffening response as he touched her shoulder. It felt good to lay his hand on her. To reassure himself she wasn’t hurt. She was okay. More than okay. Cole shifted his gaze from the temptation of her lips to her softening eyes.
“I do have a meeting. But I wanted to see you before I left,” he conceded.
The elevator opened at Madison’s back, but she made no move to get in.
“Why?”
Cole took a quick look around, then tugged her along the corridor to the alcove they’d kissed in last night. He caged her in, bracing his arm against the wall behind her, hating the fact she instinctively flinched away when he went to smooth back a strand of her hair.
“I don’t like how we left this morning,” he murmured.
Madison stared back at him. “Me either.” She gave in with a sigh.
Silence stretched as she continued to watch him warily. Being this close to her played havoc with Cole’s senses. He cleared his throat, trying to find the words to explain why he’d put off the biggest project of his career. For her.
“Last night was…something,” he admitted.
The stain on her cheeks deepened. �
�It was just one night,” she said woodenly.
Cole gritted his teeth, not happy with how the conversation was going. Whatever happened over lunch had clearly shaken her. Maybe it would be best to let her leave.
Not an option. He knew before the thought formed that he couldn’t let her go. Something was going on. And seeing Madison now had reaffirmed every good reason why Cole should see her again.
He leaned in and the warmth of her sparked against his skin. “Does it have to be just one night?” he growled softly.
“Yes.” The line of her throat convulsed up and down. She didn’t sound sure.
Cole’s heart thudded harder. “Why?”
He trailed his fingers along the length of her jaw, knowing his touch moved her as much as her closeness did him. Her small sigh told him that. Her blood racing through her veins. It wasn’t enough for Cole. He hungered for the heat of last night. For Madison to remember it as he did. Scorching. Passionate. Unfettered.
“The woman who brought me to my knees…she’s still here. Wanting me.”
“She doesn’t exist.” Madison shifted, subtly raising her chin until she met his stare. Defiant. “I’m not who you think I am.”
And just like that, the Madison Cole remembered returned. Despite her trying hard to hide it.
“Bullshit.”
He nudged her deeper into the corner, his thumb rubbing circles into her shoulder. He enjoyed the sharp thrill of victory when she didn’t move away. His groin tightened as her sweet, cinnamon scent drifted across his senses and he wanted nothing more than to bury her mouth under his. Heat raced in a heartbeat, arcing through his veins as she leaned in, her hand fluttering to lay flat against his chest. Cole didn’t know whether she meant to push him away or pull him closer. Either way, he couldn’t let her go.
Until he saw the ring.
Air slammed from his lungs. He stumbled back, a sick feeling growing in his gut. No mistaking that monstrosity for anything other than it was.
Momentary Lapse Page 6