by Taylor Hart
It didn’t sound particularly fun, but since she had nothing else to do, she stood. “I’m in.”
After Troy’s bad driving almost killed them several times and they got tired of being cramped in the car, they stopped at Barney’s Diner for a milkshake. When they piled out and got seated at a table, Madison went to the bathroom. On her way back to the table, she saw Damon. His bleach-blond hair had grown longer, but it was pulled back and she could see the scar. He was in the kitchen, flipping a burger.
She paused, not wanting to draw a lot of attention to him or have her friends catch her looking at him.
“Can I help you, sweetie?” a lady at the counter asked. The lady looked surprisingly familiar.
“Oh.” She glanced at Damon, who was staring at her as if he’d been frozen.
“Miss?” the woman pressed her.
“No.” Her heart pounded. “I was just heading back to my table.”
When Madison went back to the group, she was distracted the whole time, knowing that Damon was in that kitchen.
“What is wrong with you?” Engrid pushed her shoulder. “You’re totally preoccupied.”
Troy got up. “Yeah, you’re a drag.”
“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “Madison, I don’t know what’s going on with you this summer.”
Brad and Engrid were quick to agree.
“Well, you can all go.” Madison stayed seated in the booth.
Troy looked confused. “Madi, just get up and let’s go back.”
“No.” Her heart raced, at the idea that she might be able to talk to Damon. “I’m going to walk.”
None of her friends moved from the table.
“I’m a bore, so go.” She knew she sounded snippy, but this point she didn’t care that she was using their words against them.
“Fine.” Chelsea started walking away. “C’mon, you guys.”
Troy hedged, and it irritated her. Damon had been right; Troy thought he was her boyfriend.
“Just go, Troy. Go!” The last word was a bit louder.
Engrid glared at her. “What is going on?”
Madison felt bad, but she shrugged. “I just want to walk.”
Her friends shuttled out, and she sat there, feeling like an idiot. A million things flitted through her mind.
“Would you like more water?”
She turned and saw the same lady as before. “Oh. No, thank you.”
The lady winked at her. “My son asked me to tell you he can meet you out front in five minutes. He’s getting off work.”
Chapter 7
Damon, That Summer
From the moment Damon came out of the diner, his heart was skipping. He’d been unable to think about much aside from her. He remembered the way she’d touched his scar, the way she’d held his waist and leaned her head against him when they’d ridden his motorcycle.
Every part of him had been obsessed with her since that night at the pond a week ago. He knew she was off-limits, so he hadn’t texted her. He’d asked Frankie to put him to work at a different place at the resort because he didn’t want to see her and her friends. Why should he be tortured the rest of the summer by knowing how awesome she was and how it could never be? He’d avoided any way he would see her.
Too bad she was here, sitting on his motorcycle, wearing her swimsuit and a white tank top and jean shorts. Her long, red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Dang, she was beautiful.
Adrenaline spiked through him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said back, grinning.
Unable to resist, he went to his bike, unabashedly nudging her shoulder. “I drive, so you’d better scoot back.”
To his surprise, she leaned up, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his.
“What are you doing?” he asked, automatically pulling away even though his whole body longed to kiss her.
She laughed. “What are you doing?”
He laughed too, all amped up and knowing his mother would be watching from the window.
“Should we go on our first date?”
Damon narrowed his eyes at her. “I thought you couldn’t date me.”
She shrugged. “I want to.”
He hedged. This girl might bring him a whole lot of trouble.
She crinkled her nose at him. “Are you in or not?”
He grinned, throwing caution to the wind. “Want to get out of here?”
He got on, and she slid her arms around his waist. The feel of her against him made him feel invincible. They took off, and he drove for ten minutes, going up a canyon to a trail he knew about. He parked and they dismounted. All he wanted to do was kiss her again.
As they sat on a rock, she smiled at him and took his hand. “Why haven’t you texted me?”
Would it be childish to tell her the truth? Tugging her hand and pulling her closer, he cupped her head with his other hand, loving her smell and the feel of her hair. “I’ve been avoiding you.” His lips hovered within an inch of hers.
“You have?” she asked, her voice low.
He decided to tease her. “I didn’t want you to fall in love with me.”
She laughed, and he knew he was a goner. “That’s a pretty bold statement,” she said, and he felt her breath against his lips.
He jerked back, giving her a brooding look. “You say I’m bold, but you’re the one who kissed me.”
“I didn’t think you would do it,” she said with a grin, “so I had to make the first move.”
Unable to hide his satisfaction, he moved his hand from hers and lightly put it on her hip. “I will now if you want me to.”
She smiled and closed her eyes. “Then let’s get to it.”
Later, as they sat on the edge of the dock, talking and holding hands, Damon asked her, “Are we really doing this?”
Madison linked her fingers in and out of his, playing with his hand. “I think maybe we are.”
All Damon knew was that being with her, holding her hand, and laughing with her felt so pure and real. Like this was what his whole life had been leading up to. The problem was that he didn’t know how they would make it work.
“Damon.” She turned to him.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t care about what my parents want, and I don’t care about what my friends will think. I want to date you.”
His heart lifted, pumping with desire.
“I don’t want you to lose your job, so maybe we should just keep it between us.”
That brought him back down to earth. Frankie would be ticked if he found out Damon was seeing her. He winced, thinking about her parents. He’d seen them around the resort, and he didn’t want to get her in trouble. “I don’t know if this will be a good idea for either of us right now,” he admitted.
She let out a breath and turned to look out over the pond. “It’s pretty here.”
He nodded absently, his mind elsewhere. He wanted to live a different life, one where no one would care if he dated her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
Without hesitating, he replied, “I want to be rich so I can be with you.” He hadn’t meant to say it so boldly.
She met his eyes and scooted closer to him, putting her hand on his scar. It was a bizarre sensation, as he’d never imagined he’d be okay with someone touching it. “You don’t have to be rich for me,” she whispered, then leaned in, gently kissing his scar.
He let out a low laugh. “I think I might for dear old Dad and Mom.”
She frowned. “I don’t care about money.”
“Says the girl with lots of money.”
She squeezed his T-shirt. “I mean it. I don’t. Sure, it’s nice, but it feels like Daddy uses it way too much to control me, and I don’t like that.”
Damon nodded. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her head closer to meet his lips. Their kiss was long and sweet and sent fire coursing through his veins.
As he started to deepen the kiss, she pulled back. “Damon, I can’t. I mea
n …”
He knew what she meant. Time to cool his jets. “Okay.”
“I believe in waiting until marriage.” She gave him a hooded look.
That was fair. He knew a lot of people believed that, although he didn’t personally know many of them. Madison was different from any girl he’d ever known. “Okay.”
“Okay?” she asked. “Because we don’t have to date if you … can’t.”
“I can wait,” he said quickly. If this was what she wanted, he could wait forever for a girl like her, and he had to have her. He would have her.
She leaned back and sucked in a breath.
Gently, he took a piece of her hair and pulled it to his nose. He sniffed it, relishing in the scent of vanilla.
“What are you doing?”
He let it go. “Sorry. I’ve just wanted to know what it smelled like.”
She laughed harder, and he found himself laughing too. Time slowed down, and they just held each other.
He studied her. “What do you want to do with your life, Mads?”
“I want to help people.”
“Hmm.” He thought of the social worker that had been showing up to his trailer since his dad left. “That’s great.”
“You don’t seem convinced.”
“No, I do think you’d be great at helping people.” He shrugged. “I just want to help me and my mom.”
Understanding dawned on her face. “You’re good, Damon.”
It was strange, but when she said that, he actually believed it. “Maybe I’ll help you help people.”
She laughed. “So one day, you want to use some of your money to help me help people.” She snuggled back into him.
He put his arm around her and didn’t ever want this moment to end. Taking her hand, he kissed the back of it. “Yes. I’ll be rich and I’ll help you help people. Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 8
Damon, Present Day
In the early hours of the morning, the time between dusk and all the dreams that could have been, Damon sat in his office at his million-dollar estate, unable to believe that the woman he’d never stopped loving had just gotten engaged to another man.
He slammed a hand onto the desk and cursed. “Idiot.” He should have gone to her when he’d gotten out of the service. Heck, he never should have enlisted, nor should he have accepted her father’s money.
When his mother had been diagnosed with stage-four cancer, Damon had really believed they could fight it. His mother told him from the start that she only wanted to enjoy the time she had left with him.
Not long after he’d graduated from high school, his mother’s pain became too bad to be at home. He remembered the day Madison’s father strolled into the hospital room and asked to speak with him. Damon had been astonished to see him there. Of course he knew who her father was, even though they’d never officially spoken—aside from the threats he’d given Damon the night Damon had been dragged to jail.
When her father explained that he knew about Damon’s mother and he had discovered doctors in Mexico who offered an alternative treatment proven to save others with her same condition, Damon was hopeful … and confused. Madison’s father offered to pay for all of it—the trip to Mexico, the treatment, their stay in Mexico—if Damon signed a contract that promised he would never be in Madison’s life, that he would never search for her.
Only then did Damon understand. “Go to hell!” he’d told him, and he’d stormed back into his mother’s room, shaking and wanting to hurt someone.
Weeks later, her father’s card came in the mail. At this point, Damon was desperate to help his mother. He’d finally broken down and made the call, signing the contract that he would never seek Madison out and try to be part of her life.
But forget the stupid contract! He wished he could take it all back. He wished so many things were different. When Madison had sent that letter, he’d been in a bad place mentally. He’d just lost his mom, and he’d hated what he’d agreed to do.
He ran a search for her on his office computer. Her online profile came up, and he saw that her mother posted a video on her timeline of the governor proposing. “You should check your privacy settings,” he muttered to himself, thinking no one should be able to post on her timeline without her reviewing it.
Unable to stop himself, he browsed through her pages. How had she lived in Houston, Texas, for a year? She’d been right under his nose. She was a fundraiser coordinator for the children’s hospital. It jived with what Herbert had said earlier.
Damon grinned. Of course she would be doing some “save someone” kind of thing. She’d always been a tender heart and wanted to save people. Her family had been rich at the time, and she’d been in a great position to help. On the other hand, he’d been dirt poor and only wanted to get rich to help his mother—and, later on, to be with Madison.
He zoomed in on the engagement picture on the stage and stared at her face. She didn’t look happy. Surprised, sure, but he knew her too well—even if it had been ten years. He knew her, and she was not happy.
She’d kissed him back earlier in the library. The slap had been worth the kiss. More than worth it. His heart raced and he tapped on her message button on Facebook.
I’m sorry.
The message was sent. He exhaled and stood, not believing he’d done that. Of course, he couldn’t wait to see if she replied to him.
A trio of dots popped up, indicating that she was reading it. Nothing.
He took his glass of scotch and downed it, sucking in a long breath and moving to his window. The night sky felt close out here on his property. He remembered holding her by the pond as they’d gazed up at the stars. Even though it had been the most uncomfortable position, he’d give anything to go back to that summer.
He didn’t know how long he stood at the window, remembering. Finally, he returned to his computer, seeing no message. Stupid.
He thought of kissing her again. That kiss had stoked the coals that had been smoldering for a long, long time. She was the fuel that had brought him back to life. He closed his computer and moved out of his office, knowing he would fall into bed and dream of her.
Chapter 9
Madison, Present Day
Madison didn’t like that all she could think about was that stupid Facebook message from him. “Sorry”? That’s what he thought he could say?
“Madison.”
She jumped in her office chair at the hospital.
It was the hospital director, Harrison Reed. His grin widened. “Sorry to disturb you, but I just heard the news.” He opened his arms.
She got up. Mr. Reed was an older man, and he’d been amazing to work with. He was so grateful to have her there, helping the hospital raise money. Falling into his hug, she smelled the scent of peppermint on him. He was always sucking those candies. It was a good thing his teeth were dentures, because he would probably have a lot of cavities by now. “Thanks, Mr. Reed.”
He released her. “So, when is the wedding date?”
Everyone was asking it, even the front page of the Houston paper. She hesitated. “Ah, we’re still talking about schedules.”
Mr. Reed frowned, searching her face. “He sprang this on you, didn’t he?”
How did this old man know so many things without being told? She sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Herbert.” He tsked. “Doesn’t he know our girl likes to plan, plan, plan?” He winked at her.
She shrugged. “Guess he’ll learn.” It sounded lame, and she didn’t reveal that Herbert was pressing her to pick a date. She was the one hedging, so much so that they’d gotten in a huge fight the night before.
“I don’t know if he will. I mean, a man like that doesn’t have to learn, does he?”
The question felt contrived. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Mr. Reed gave her a severe look. “You can still get out of this. You might think about it.”
She was stunned to hear those words from Mr. Reed.
He’d always acted like he really liked Herbert. She blinked. “What?”
Mr. Reed waved a hand of dismissal. “Anyway, I got an interesting letter and check in my office today.”
She waited, still confused about his previous comment.
“A million dollars from a Damon Duke. There was a note attached that he’d met you and Herbert at the fundraiser and he wanted to do his part for the children of Houston.”
Madison’s anger spiked. She couldn’t believe it. Had he really given that much?
Mr. Reed searched her face again. “You seem upset. I thought you’d be pleased.”
She tried to mask her feelings. “I am. I mean, every dollar brings us closer to our goal.”
Mr. Reed sputtered. “A million dollars brings us a lot closer.”
“Right, yes.” She thought of that message and then sighed.
He frowned, and she knew he didn’t believe her.
She turned away from him. “Actually, I think he did mention he wanted to donate.”
He let out a low whistle. “Quite a sizable amount.”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Mr. Reed. If there’s nothing else, I was going to finish up this grant today.”
He snapped his fingers. “Right. Thank you. Your dedication is what is going to make this cardiac wing possible.”
Nervousness wove through her, but she plastered on a smile and waved at Mr. Reed. “Thanks, sir.”
He paused. “Would you mind reaching out to Mr. Duke and thanking him personally?”
She tried not to bristle. “This grant is keeping me really busy.”
“Of course.” He nodded, then flashed a grin. “When you’re done with the grant.”
“Sure.” She tried not to be weird about it. Of course she would reach out to a large donor. She always did.
“I appreciate it.” He left, but all she could do was think about that irritating man.
Damon.
Clicking out of her screen, she went to her Facebook messages and stared at his message. I’m sorry.