Choosing Happy (Madison Square #2) (18 page)

As Sean got down from the net, Pat turned back to face me. “You ready?” he asked, and my knuckles went white as I gripped the railing.

Pat held out his hand to me. I swallowed down the fear and took a step toward him. He pulled the bar back toward us and grabbed it with one hand. “I gotta grab your belt, okay?” he said, cautiously prying his fingers from my hand and taking a hold of my harness. He took a step back and handed me the bar. I held on tight with both hands, taking a deep breath as I tried to steel my nerves
. I can do this
.

“You got this, babe!” Sean yelled from below.

Pat started his count down. “One, two…”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I said quickly, squeezing my eyes closed as my body tensed. I took two breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.

I looked at Pat and gave him a shaky nod. He started his countdown again. “One, two, three.”

I jumped. The feeling was indescribable. I was flying. Wind brushed against my face, adrenaline coursed through my veins…it was incredible. Nothing could compare.

“Lift your legs,” Pat yelled.

I lifted my legs over the bar like Sean did and let go, letting my arms hang below me as I swung back over the net. I could hear Sean cheering, but I was in another world all to myself. I felt freedom and joy flooding through me, and I was completely lost in it.

“Okay Madison, release,” Pat said.

I flipped myself off the bar and landed with a bounce in the net below. The ropes were rough on my shoulders, but I didn’t care. I pulled myself over the edge of the net and flipped myself down.

Sean wrapped an arm around my waist as I released the net. He spun me around in a circle before setting me back on my feet. We were both breathing heavily and grinning like idiots riding the high of adrenaline.

“Did it work?” Sean said, pulling me close against his chest.

“What?”

“Are you happy?” he asked.

I felt the tears well in my eyes, but a bright smile spread across my face. I nodded.

Sean cupped my cheek, brushing a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “We can be happy together,” he said.

He pressed a soft kiss to my lips, but it wasn’t enough. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and kissed him hard, unable to contain my smile as I peppered him with kisses.

***

Having spent an amazing day with Sean and an even more amazing night, I woke up Saturday determined to start fresh. That meant there was one big thing I had to do before anything else. I had to fix things with Margot.

After breakfast I said good-bye to Sean and ran home to change and run a few errands. It wasn’t long before I was standing on Margot’s doorstep. I took a deep breath and knocked. The door swung open, and I held out a bottle of orange juice to her.

She looked down at the bottle then back up to me. “If you are here to apologize, you are going to have to do better than that,” she said with a hand on her hip.

I pulled a bottle of vodka from behind my back and held it out to her.

“That’s more like it,” she said, taking the bottle and stepping aside to let me in.

Margot went to the kitchen and I followed, setting the bottle of OJ down on the counter as she went to pull some glasses from the cabinet.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I know.” She sighed. She turned toward me, leaning her hip against the marble counter. “Me too. I shouldn’t have pressured you into going out with him if you weren’t ready.”

“No, it’s my fault. I was upset and I put it on you. I had no right.”

She poured the vodka in a glass and held it out to me “Truce?” she asked.

I nodded and took the glass, clinking it against the side of hers and tossing back my drink.

Margot and I had been friends for such a long time that we didn’t need to go any further. She was sorry, I was sorry, so that was it, fight over.

“So, what’s been going on with lover boy?” she asked, taking a sip from her drink.

I smiled.

Margot raised an eyebrow. “That good, huh? So, I guess he called?”

“Not exactly.”

I filled her in on what had happened. The drama with Michael. The drunken visit to Sean’s. The conversation in the tub and the amazing day that followed. She listened intently, declaring Michael a bastard when appropriate and generally sounding supportive.

When I was finished with the story, she was quiet, her eyes narrow as she looked me over.

“What?” I asked.

“You have feelings for him, don’t you?”

“What? No!”

“Yes, you do. Your face says it all. You can’t stop smiling, and you’re glowing.”

“I’m not glowing.”

Margot tilted her head and pursed her lips, clearly not convinced.

“I’m not! He’s great, but it’s not anything serious,” I said, taking another sip from my drink. I was hoping I could blame my blush on the booze, but Margot knew me too well.

“Maybe so, but clearly he wants it to be serious.”

I looked down into my glass and shrugged.

“Is that what you want?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I know what I said before, but if this is something you really want, you know I will support you.” Margot reached over and covered my hand with her perfectly manicured fingers.

I looked up at her with tears burning in my eyes. “He makes me happy, Margot. I’ve never felt this…” I paused, trying to work out exactly how Sean made me feel, “free. I don’t feel like I’m pretending. There’s no judgement or expectations. It’s like, for the first time in my life, I have someone who’s interested in the real me.”

“Well, look who’s finally starting to grow a backbone,” she said. “I’m just so proud.” She fanned her face, pretending to be overcome with emotion.

I grabbed the pillow beside me and tossed it at her. She caught it and laughed, tossing it back to the couch before getting to her feet and heading to the kitchen to refill our drinks.

My phone beeped and I dug into my bag, pulling it out to check the message. It was an email from Bryan.

Ms. Buchanan,

As we previously discussed I will be in town next Friday. Are you free for drinks?

Bryan Townsend

Margot dropped onto the couch next to me. “Is lover boy texting you already?”

“No.” Margot raised an eyebrow. “It’s just an email from this developer I had dinner with last week,” I said, setting my phone down on the coffee table.

“Ooh, was he cute?” she asked, handing me another drink.

“It was a business dinner, Margot.” I dodged her question as my face heated.

A bright smile spread wide across her face. “Madison Buchanan, I do believe you are blushing.”

“So?” I said, turning away from her and taking a large gulp from my glass. The vodka burned its way down my throat, and I blinked as my eyes began to water.

“Oh, now you have to tell me.” Margot set her drink down in front of her and turned her body toward me. She leaned in close, eager for whatever bit of dirt I would give her.

“There is nothing to tell.” Margot tilted her head with a smirk that said she wasn’t buying it. I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and dropped my head. Margot was like a dog with a bone. She was not giving up until she got what she wanted.

“Fine.” I sighed. “He’s good-looking.”

“And?” she prompted.

“And charming, and successful, and a big player in this housing development Eric and I have been working on, so don’t get any ideas. Eric just wants me to keep him happy until this deal goes through.”

“Just how happy are we talking?” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Margot!”

“What? There’s nothing wrong with mixing business with a little pleasure,” she said, nudging me with her sharp elbow.

“There are so many things wrong with that statement,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, what did the message say?”

“Nothing.” I set my drink on the coffee table in front of me. “He just wants to meet for drinks next week.”

Margot raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“What?” I sighed, feeling a little exhausted by this conversation.

“He wants to get drinks?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, it sounds to me like he’s interested in more than just a housing project.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed, dismissing her comment.

She set her glass down on the coffee table and picked up my phone. “Well, let’s test my theory, shall we?”

Her fingers flew over the screen as she typed away a response to Bryan’s email before I could even register what she was doing. I tried to snatch the phone from her, but the woman had ninja reflexes and laser focus.

“And send,” she said with a devilish smile before she handed the phone back to me.

I quickly scrolled through to see what she sent.

Drinks sound great. It’s a date.

Madison

I snapped my attention back to Margot. “A date? What the hell, Margot?” I asked, trying to figure out how to retract the email. It was things like this that I needed Jeremy for.

“Why not?”

“This man is holding my career in his hands. If this goes south and Bryan pulls out of the deal, then everything I have worked for the past two years will be down the drain. Not to mention that I’m still seeing Sean.” I dropped my head in my hands and shook it back and forth, hoping this was some kind of crazy dream.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” she said, waving a dismissive hand in my direction. “There is nothing wrong with weighing your options.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You said it yourself, you and Sean are not exclusive. So, what if Bryan has the potential to be something real and you let your fuck buddy get in the way?”

“Sean is not my fuck buddy,” I said, my voice firm and a little angry.

“Lover, Boy Toy, whatever you want to call him. I don’t see the big deal here.”

“I can’t go out with them both.”

“Yes, you can.” Margot grabbed my arms, turning me toward her and fixing me with a firm look. “Madison, you’ve never dated. You married Michael right out of grad school and before that, let’s face it, you were a bit of a hermit. Now is your chance to see what else is out there. Sean was a start, but he’s not the only option.”

“I was not a hermit. I was studying,” I said with a pout.

“Semantics.” She released me and reached for her drink.

I dropped my head to the back of the couch and looked up at the ceiling, trying to navigate through the gray area Margot had laid out for me. I didn’t want to be rude to Bryan, but I also did not want to hurt Sean. Dating was complicated. No wonder I never did much of it before I was married. The whole situation was stressing me out.

Margot dropped a hand to my shoulder, and I rolled my head to the side to face her. “You are thinking about this too much, Madison. Go, have a drink with Bryan. See how it goes. If you like him, great. If not, then you had drinks with a colleague.”

I was not generally a laid back person, so the whole go with the flow, see what happens attitude she was suggesting was not in my wheelhouse, but one drink couldn’t hurt, right?

***

I’d just gotten to the door of my building when I heard, “Maddie Bear.” I froze, my fist clenched. My keys bit into my palm as I turned around to see Michael holding a large bouquet of sunflowers and lavender.

I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight, looking down at my keys as I tried to think of an excuse for a quick exit. “What are you doing here, Michael?”

“You ran out so fast the other night, we never had a chance to talk,” he said, his voice smooth and calm as he took a step toward me.

I thought I’d made myself pretty clear when I left him at the table with a face full of scotch. “There’s nothing left to talk about,” I said, turning back to the door to unlock it.

He quickly stepped forward and followed as I pushed into the building. I kept walking, heading straight for the elevator. I jabbed the button and willed the doors to open.

“I came by last night, but you weren’t here,” he said.

“No, I wasn’t.” I hit the call button again and considered just taking the stairs.

“Where were you?” he asked.

I whipped my head around to face him. “That’s none of your business,” I said. The nerve of him.

“I’m your husband. It absolutely is my business,” he said. His voice was hard. He looked me up and down with an accusatory sneer.

“Ex-husband.”

“Were you with that boy?”

“Excuse me?” I asked as shock and anger raced through my body. Was he following me?

“I heard about your little friend,” he spat. “Jesus, Madison, he’s Liam’s age. It’s embarrassing.”