Choosing Happy (Madison Square #2) (4 page)

I couldn’t help but wonder what had caused the change. We seemed to be having fun. She was starting to relax, even flirt back, then Alex and Drew showed up and she reverted back to nervous. Two steps forward and three steps back.

“It was wonderful meeting all of you, but I really should be going,” Madison said, reaching in her bag and pulling out a twenty, which Liam waved off. She gave him a shy smile and tucked the bill back in her bag.

She turned to go, and I reached for her arm. Her eyes dropped to my hand, and I released her as a blush crept into her cheeks.

“Let me walk you out,” I said.

She nodded and I smiled, enjoying the effect I was having on her. She turned and headed for the door as I followed close behind.

When we reached the sidewalk outside, she took a deep breath and turned toward me, nervously shifting her bag on her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said. “It was nice seeing you again.” She turned and started down the side walk.

“Have dinner with me?” I asked before she could get too far.

She stopped in her tracks and turned toward me with a skeptical look on her beautiful face. I was a little taken back by her reaction. Even after all the flirting, she seemed genuinely surprised by the question.

“You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. Have dinner with me?”

“I…I can’t,” she said, turning away and heading quickly away from the bar.

“Why not?”

“Because,” she said. “It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“I’d hardly call dinner with me inappropriate, unless you were thinking it was a clothing optional offer, which I’d be open to.”

She laughed. “I’m too old for you.”

I took a step closer and brushed my fingers lightly across her cheek. I was rewarded with a deep blush, and I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. “I told you,” I whispered. “I don’t discriminate with beautiful women.”

She looked a little shocked and opened her mouth to object, but I stopped her. “It’s just dinner, Madison. Think about it.” I backed away and slowly headed back toward the bar, leaving her gawking at me on the street.

I understood her reluctance, but I was intrigued and no was an answer I wasn’t willing to take.

Chapter 5

Madison

The next day Margot met me at my office for our usual Tuesday lunch date. We gathered around the small conference table in my office, catching up and discussing nothing in particular.

Jeremy came in and dropped into the chair beside me. Margot shot him a glare from across the table, which he returned with a condescending smirk. The two of them had a love/hate relationship in that they both loved to hate each other. They were so much alike that they were in constant competition.

“I’ve been getting some weird texts lately,” I announced in an attempt to break the tension.

They both stopped eating and looked up at me.

“Define weird,” Margot said.

I reached for my phone and read her the messages from my mystery texter.

“Ooh, a secret admirer. Let me see,” Jeremy said, grabbing my phone and scrolling through the messages.

“Do you think it could be Michael messing with me?”

Jeremy laughed. “Please. Girl, he is
not
that clever. He isn’t smart enough to use a different number.”

“Then who could it be?”

Margot bit her lip and refused to meet my eyes. Oh no.

“What did you do?” I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and speared a tomato with her fork. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said with a wicked grin.

“Bullshit!” Jeremy coughed.

Margot glared at him, and he flashed her a cat-ate-the-canary grin. She looked back at me and I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her explanation. She dropped her fork and sat back in her chair with a sigh. “I may have slipped your card to that gorgeous guy we met at the bar the other night.”

“What guy?” Jeremy asked.

“You gave Sean my number?”

“Who’s Sean?” Jeremy asked, his eyes wide, practically salivating over the tiniest morsel of gossip.

“He’s just this guy that Margot was flirting with the other night,” I said, shooting a pointed look at Margot, letting her know I was not happy.

Jeremy’s face fell. His eyebrows drew together, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Wait, if he was flirting with her,” he said, gesturing to Margot, then me, “why slip him your number?”

Margot leaned toward him, her eyes bright as she explained. “I gave him the full treatment, flipping the hair, flirtatious giggling, the whole nine, but he wasn’t going for it. Seems he only had eyes for Madison.”

“Really?” he asked with a devious grin. I rolled my eyes and focused on my salad.

Margot nodded and continued her story, pretending like I wasn’t in the room. “You should have seen this guy. Tall, at least six three, and fuck me, the shoulders. You know the type: thin but solid, not bulky, but strong enough to hold you up while he fucks you up against a wall.”

“Ooh,” Jeremy swooned, fanning himself at her description.

“Enough,” I said. “He was nice.”

“Nice?” she asked, feigning shock. “That boy was sex on a stick.”

I laughed and just shook my head at her.

“What else? What else?” Jeremy asked, patting her on the arm to continue.

“Well, he was blond with one of those fake Mohawk style cuts. You know, shorter on the sides but long enough on top to grab a hold of while he…”

“Jesus, Margot,” I said.

“What? You can’t tell me you didn’t think he was hot,” she said, daring me to deny it.

“Of course I thought he was good looking, but he’s way too young,”

“Ooh, intrigue. How young are we talking? Twenty-two, twenty- three? He
is
at least old enough to drink, right?” Jeremy asked.

“He’s late twenties, early thirties, at least,” she said.

“Please, that’s nothing” Jeremy said, waving his hand dismissively.

“That’s what I said!” Margot replied.

“Can we go back to you two hating each other? Nothing good can come out of you two being in cahoots.”

“No one is in cahoots,” she said, shaking her head at me. “Jeremy and I just happen to agree that you could use a good shag against the wall.”

“You’re insane,” I said. “I’m old enough to be his mother.”

“Come on, Madison,” she said, shooting me an I’m-not-buying-it look. “That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?’

“Not if she was really slutty in middle school,” Jeremy sang, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I tossed a cherry tomato at him, which sailed over his right shoulder. Jeremy laughed and tucked back into his lunch. “So, tell me more about the guy. Did you talk to him or was it more of an undressing you with his eyes sort of thing?”

I shrugged. “We talked a little, but Liam scared him off.”

Jeremy pointed at me with his fork, fixing me with his trademark don’t-mess-with-me face. “That boy is cock blocking you in your house. Now he’s doing it in the bar. You need to toss his ass to the curb.”

“Preach,” Margot said, reaching across the table to give Jeremy a high five.

I shook my head. “Unbelievable,” I mumbled, digging back into the salad in front of me.

“So, when do you see him again?” Jeremy asked around a mouth full of kale.

I stayed quiet, pushing my food around, not quite sure how to answer. Technically I had already seen him again.

“Wait. You saw him already, didn’t you?” Margot asked. Bitch saw right through my silence. Damn it!

Jeremy picked up on my hesitation. “Oh, now you have to tell us.”

“I ran into him yesterday.” I sighed. I chanced a glance at the two of them, but they were just staring at me, waiting for more. “I went to The Den after work to talk to Liam and Sean was there. We talked for a little bit and then I left, end of story.” I prayed that they wouldn’t push further, but of course I am never that lucky.

“What did you talk about?” Margot asked, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

I speared some lettuce onto my fork, avoiding her eyes. “Nothing much,” I said, still staring into my salad.

“Spill it, Madison.” I could feel her eyes burning a hole into my forehead.

Without looking up, I quickly said, “He may have asked me out.”

The room went silent. I looked up from my plate to see the both of them staring at me.

Jeremy finally broke the silence simply by saying, “And…” He twirled his fork, signaling me to continue.

“And I said no.”

As if choreographed, Jeremy and Margot threw up their hands and let out a frustrated sigh. I rolled my eyes at the synchronized drama queens.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Jeremy asked.

“I’m not ready to start dating, okay? Like I said before, he’s way too young for me anyway.”

“Okay. First of all, get off the young thing. You are forty-two, not eighty-two. Second, have you seen yourself lately? You look thirty. Third, no one is expecting you to date this guy. We’re talking one dinner and some casual sex just to get back on the horse. This is just a rebound thing. Bounce, bounce, honey! Bounce, bounce,” he said with a tilt of his head. He dropped his fork, having made his point.

“I’m not exactly sure what he said, but yeah,” Margot replied.

I dropped my fork onto the plate and ran my hands over my face. “Look,” I said, “I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. I’ll think about it, okay?”

They smiled at each other in victory, nodding their heads before turning back to their salad.

***

I was working late that night when I got another text.

Sean: Figure it out yet?

Madison: Margot spilled the beans.

Sean: LOL! I figured she would.

Madison: Why didn’t you just tell me it was you?

Sean: This seemed like more fun.

I smiled. He wasn’t wrong. Once I knew who it was, it was kind of flattering.

Sean: Change your mind yet?

Madison: No.

Sean: Why not?

Madison: I told you it would be inappropriate.

Sean: There are a lot of inappropriate things I want to do with you Beautiful, but dinner isn’t one of them.

My face flamed, and a smile spread wide across my lips.

Sean: I can be patient. I know you will say yes eventually. ;)

He was using one of those obnoxious emoji things I never understand. Just further proof that he’s far too young.

I sat back in my chair, going over all the reasons why I shouldn’t go out with him, but the list seemed shorter than yesterday. Sean was charming, he made me laugh, and I couldn’t help but smile every time I pictured that beautiful face.

I thought about what Jeremy said at lunch. It’s not like Sean really wanted anything serious anyway, and it’s not likely to go anywhere. I kept going back and forth in my head, arguing the case on both sides, but in the end I’m just not the cougar type.

***

When I got home, Liam was in the kitchen, making dinner.

“Thank God. I am starved,” I said, looking over his shoulder to see what he was making.

“Stuffed shells,” he said.

I made my way down the hall to my bedroom to change into my favorite pair of lounge pants and a tank. Once I was comfortable, I headed back to the kitchen while pulling a thin sweater over my head. Liam fixed me a plate, and I closed my eyes, breathing in the delicious smell of rich sauce and garlic.

I grabbed a bottle of wine, my contribution to dinner, and two glasses, bringing everything to the table. Liam came in behind me with our plates, and I poured him a glass of wine as he took his seat.

I had just taken a sip of wine when Liam spoke up. “So, you and Sean looked cozy the other day.” I gulped hard to keep from spitting wine at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked, reaching for my napkin to catch the wine running down my chin.

“You know what I mean. He’s into you. That much is obvious.”

“He’s too young,” I said around a large cheesy bite.

“He’s kind of aggressive when it comes to women,” Liam said, taking a sip from his glass.

I stopped, raising an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean aggressive?”

“I’ve seen him with women around the bar. He’s persistent, doesn’t seem to take no for an answer.”

I chuckled. “Persistence and aggression are two very different things, Liam.”

He looked up at me, narrowing his eyes. “You like him, don’t you?”

I refused to meet his eyes. I wasn’t going out with Sean, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t attracted to him. I was not about to admit that to my little brother, though. I am a terrible liar, so I figured it was better for me to just keep my mouth shut.

“Shit! You are into him!” Liam said, dropping his fork to his plate with a clang. It would appear that my silence spoke volumes. “What the hell, Madison? The guy is only a few years older than me,” he said, pointing to his chest.

“I know that. That’s why I turned him down.”

“He asked you out?” Liam asked, shock written clear across his face.

I picked up my plate and headed for the kitchen, having suddenly lost my appetite. I spent sixteen years with a man telling me what to do in my own house. I will be damned if I was going to let it happen again.

“Is that so hard to believe, that he would ask me out?” I asked, dropping my plate on the counter with a clang. I came back into the dining room with my hand on my hip to find Liam just staring at me.

Liam ran a hand over his face and looked up. “No. Of course he asked you out. You are great, Maddie, but this is weird for me, you know? He’s a regular, maybe even a friend. It’s just, I never had to worry about my sisters dating my friends before.”

He had a point. There was such a huge age gap between us that it was never an issue before. “Well, you won’t have to worry about it now either. I’m not going out with him.”

Liam got up and wrapped me in a hug. “Don’t let me stop you. If you like him, you should go out with him.” He gave me a half smile. I could tell the thought still weirded him out, but he was trying to be cool with it for me. It was sweet.

“Thanks, but I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to tell him no,” I said, returning his smile. “I’m gonna head to bed, okay. I’m beat. Good night.” I reached up on my tip toes to kiss his forehead.

“Good night, Maddie.”