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“Reserved?” She shoots me a grin. “I know what happened, Pais, and I understand.”
I’m shocked. “You do?”
“Yeah,” she shrugs, “I mean, I didn’t at first, but once you told me what you overheard my dad say to your mom, it all made sense.” She gives me a little smile. “I was honestly kind of shocked when you still talked to me after I told you I was a stripper.”
Guilt sends my stomach sinking. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
Madison holds up a hand. “You were a kid. You heard somebody say vile things about your mom and you didn’t want them to say those things about you too.” Her expression turns sad. “You weren’t the only one who was affected by the shit my dad used to say.” She shrugs, lifting one shoulder and letting it drop. “But I decided to prove that I didn’t care what he thought about me.”
It never occurred to me that maybe Madison was reacting to the exact same thing I was, just in a completely different way.
She lets out a loud huff. “Men are stupid.”
I glance up as Andre steps out of his office, looking just as devastatingly handsome as he always does. “Yeah, but some of them start to figure things out.”
Madison turns to glance over her shoulder and immediately rolls her eyes. “There’s my cue to go home.” She stands up and grabs her purse.
“You should stay for dinner.” I don’t want her to think that she has to leave the minute Andre comes out to join us.
“Yeah, sure.” She stuffs her arms into her coat. “And watch you two be absolutely in love all night?” She wrinkles her nose. “No thank you.”
“I take that to mean you and what’s-his-name broke up?” Madison started seeing one of her customers as more than just a customer a few weeks ago and it never seemed like a great match to me but, given my own circumstances, I didn’t feel equipped to dish out advice.
“Like I said, men are stupid.” Madison loops her purse over her shoulder before giving me a wink. “Maybe I’ll follow your lead and find myself an older man.”
She nudges Andre with her elbow as she passes. “See ya later.”
Andre watches her go before turning to me. “I don’t think she likes me.”
“I don’t think she likes me much right now either.” I stand up and work my way toward him. “I just made her help me stuff and address two hundred thank you cards.”
Andre snags me by the front of my shirt as soon as I’m within arm’s reach and immediately pulls me close, running the tip of his nose along the side of mine. “Your friend thinks we’re in love.”
I’m not sure what to say to that. “Seems like she does.”
Andre and I have been through a lot in a very short time. I’m still reeling from the loss of my mother and the unfortunate interaction I had with Frederick, so I’ve been hesitant to put a label on the strong feelings I have for him.
Andre slides one hand into my hair, curving it along the back of my head as he nips at my lips. “She’s at least half right.”
Again, I’m not sure what to say to that. “I—”
“Shh.” He rests one finger against my lips, cutting me off. “I have another proposition for you.”
Another proposition?
I can’t question him around the finger sealing my mouth so I lift my brows.
“A trip.”
“A trip?” I manage to work my lips behind his finger, but the words are mostly a mumble. “Where?”
He gives me a small smile, but his expression is a little uncertain. “Miami.”
That explains the uncertainty.
The brother Andre was closest to as a child lives in Miami.
And while Andre has been carefully negotiating the new connection he has with his four other brothers, Beck has stayed completely cut off from him.
