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The restaurant was a block away. Taking her time, she walked as quickly as she dared in her heels. When she safely reached the restaurant, she felt relieved stepping inside the building.
The woman at the entrance gazed at her like she was a streetwalker.
“Well, good morning,” the woman seating customers said. “Looks like you’ve had an interesting night?”
“Try three days,” she said already missing Adrian and suddenly doubting her decision.
Part of her felt like she was running from something really good while the other part told her she was protecting herself. And yet, she felt like she’d left her heart in that hotel room.
“Breakfast?”
She was hungry. Two days of living on the little food the hotel had left her starving for something substantial. And yet, her heart wasn’t really in the mood for a big breakfast.
“Yes,” she said. “Mainly coffee.”
The woman sat her at a table and then poured her a cup of coffee.
Sitting there, she watched as Adrian came out of the hotel, jumped in his truck, and tore out of the parking lot.
What had she done?
Was this the right path or should she have waited for him knowing it would be an awkward good-bye?
She ordered toast and scrambled eggs.
Just as she finished, Desiree texted her she was in the parking lot.
It was then she saw the text from her father. How he’d gotten her cell number, she didn’t know, but she didn’t need his nonsense right now.
We need to talk. Urgent. If you don’t help me, I’ll go bankrupt.
With a sigh, she texted Desiree she was coming right out. Then she paid her bill and walked out the door.
When she stepped into Desiree’s SUV, her friend’s brows rose.
“This is a story I need to hear,” she said.
Tears welled in her eyes.
As they drove toward Oakdale, Madison filled Desiree in on the last forty-eight hours. Of how she’d done this to help Adrian and ended up falling in love with him. And neither one of them wanted to marry.
“Oh, come on, Madison. If you love the man, why won’t you take a chance on marrying him?”
She’d asked herself that question. “Because he’s been married once and it didn’t work out. And look at my family situation. My father had a second family while he was married to my mother. He cheated on her. My ex-fiancé cheated on me. What if Adrian cheats on me?”
“No,” Desiree said. “His wife cheated on him. She was the one at fault.”
“Men cheat,” she said, remembering her mother crying when she’d learned of her father’s second family.
Her father’s blood ran through her veins. Maybe she would be the one to step out on Adrian.
After Randall cheated on her, she’d made the decision never to marry. Never to give anyone the chance to hurt her like her father had hurt her mother.
“Many of my cousins have found their mates, and I think if you’re happy, you don’t want to hurt the person you love. Obviously, your father wasn’t happy, and he cheated on your mother. Does Adrian make you happy?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “Very much. But he also doesn’t want to get married. Women are after his money, and he said he wasn’t going to take another chance on marriage.”
They rode along in silence.
