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Before I could move away quick enough, Teena came crashing in through the door, nearly hurtling into me. She reminded me so much of the girl that Maddox had dated in college. Blonde and mousy and nondescript in almost every way. Her eyes were red and puffy with tears in her lashes. She took one look at me, and a sob escaped her mouth.
“He’s all yours,” she gasped and then hurried away.
I was momentarily frozen in shock. Teena had just blamed me for a breakup that I had had no part in. But then … hadn’t I? I hadn’t stayed away from Maddox over the years, and he hadn’t stayed away from me either.
Then, Maddox was there. He saw me standing there, and something shifted in him. His eyes went hard and flat. “You,” he growled.
I shivered at that one word from him. I’d never heard him speak like that to me. I held my hands up in surrender. “I came by to say hi.”
“Why?” he snapped.
“Marley actually … she thought we should … reconcile.”
It sounded stupid now. Standing here, I could see that there was no reconciliation on his face. That this could never go back to how it had been. Not after what Teena had thrown at him. Not after I’d married Martin. Not after any of it really.
“Why are you always there at the worst time? Why can’t you let me be?”
“Don’t blame this on me,” I said, my own anger coming to the surface. “You were the one shooting me looks all night.”
“I was trying to avoid you!”
“Maybe you should have acted like it didn’t matter. Because … it clearly did.”
“Of course it fucking mattered, Josie. You … you are always here. You’re always around. You’re embedded in my skin.” He shook his head and stepped away. “And I want you gone.”
My heart panged at that. Still, I steeled myself. We needed to have this conversation. Good or bad.
So, I followed him into the next room.
“Well, I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon, do you? Marley sent me here because we’ll always be together, Maddox. We’ve known each other our entire lives. We’re not suddenly going to stop seeing each other. We need to find a way to live with this.”
“Fuck that,” he spat.
I balked. “What?”
“I don’t want to live like this,” he snarled. “I don’t want to live with you, and somehow, I can’t fucking live without you. I hate it. I hate all of it. I hate fucking seeing you with someone else.”
“You came with someone else too!”
Maddox scoffed. “It’s hardly comparable.”
“Why? Because you were with Teena for four years and never popped the question?”
“Oh, it’s so much better to know someone for six months and get engaged? That worked so well for you last time.”
“When you know, you know.”
He laughed. “Right. And you think Craig Van der Berg is the one?”
My hackles rose at the way he’d said that. “So what if I do?”
“You’re not serious,” he said with a shake of his head.
He paced away from me. I’d never seen him boil over before. He was always so restrained. It had to be the combination of the breakup and me being here with Craig that had sent him over the edge.
“You see what you’re doing, right?” he asked, facing me again. “He’s the son of the owner of the company. The son of the guy who got you your break.”
“So?”
Maddox’s face hardened. “What’s that line? You can’t honestly tell me you’re not marrying him for his money. Oh, wait. Or are you marrying him for his father’s money?”
I narrowed my eyes. I recognized the reference to the famous lines from one of my favorite movies—Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Marilyn Monroe. I didn’t know how many times we’d watched it together.
“Don’t fucking quote that at me.”
“Why not? It’s true!”
“I am not marrying Craig for money!”
“What else does she say? ‘A man being rich is like a girl being pretty.’ It’s a classic Marilyn move.”
“Is that what you really think of me?” I asked, dangerously low.
“I never would have before. When you married Martin, I thought you were a fool for love. But now? Fuck, Jos. What even are you doing?”
I clenched my hands into fists. “You’re out of line. You’re mad and taking it out on me. I am not to blame for your breakup with Teena.”
“Oh no, of course not. It’s never your fault. Nothing is ever your fault.”
“You don’t have to disparage my relationship because yours ended,” I snapped back. “And I don’t deserve this. I’m not going to stand around and let you be an asshole to me.”
Maddox shook his head. “Fine. Then, just leave.”
“I am!” I shouted, turning toward the exit.
My anger felt like a roiling snake under my skin. I saw red at his unjust accusations. I was so furious that I was shaking as I crossed into the other room.
