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“It’s not huge, it’s dumb,” I maintain.
A warm smile spreads across his face and he wraps his arms around me again, pulling me close and weighing me like a baby. “Love is never dumb, Madison. My girl Madison Hailey doesn’t just lose her head and heart to anybody. She can’t be played.”
“Well, your dumb girl was played,” I utter. “I thought I had it under control, but now I regret ever getting involved with him. I never should have.”
“Don’t blame yourself for opening your heart to someone,” Max comforts me. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think he really played you,” Max says. “When I talked to him at the gala, I had a feeling that he was genuinely infatuated with you, and not just because you’re a bombshell—”
“Max!” I interject, giggling.
“Well, even I can see that you’re a hottie, Madison,” he says, winking at me. “But that’s not it. I can’t bring myself to believe that there was nothing there on his side. I would never have let him be alone with you at the gala if I didn’t think that there was something genuine about him.”
I sigh as I slump down into his embrace. “You’re just a hopeless romantic, Max.”
“Maybe,” he says. “Or maybe, I’m right. I don’t think this is the last you’re going to hear of him.”
“Well, I guess we can agree on that,” I reply, adding a dismissive huff. “I’m sure he won’t let go of his atrocious plan. Which is why I have to talk to my lawyer. I need him to check the paperwork we had with our investors and talk to him about what I can do to get my uncle off of my back, too.”
A long, sad sigh flees my body, as I deflate into Max’s embrace.
“Maybe it doesn’t have to be that way,” he says, his voice cautious and low. “But whatever happens, I’ll be there, you know that right? I won’t let anyone dim your fire, Madison. Remember that.”
I’m sure it’s the alcohol, but I’m so touched by Max’s unwavering support, that another set of tears starts rolling down my cheeks.
“Thank you,” I murmur. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He squeezes me again, and I can actually muster a smile when I free myself from my slumped position in his arms and sit up straight.
“I hate all this wallowing,” I announce. “Let’s watch a movie or something.”
He claps his hands. “Yes, lets! I’ll get us another bottle, while you pick something.”
I cast him a grateful smile as he gets up from the couch, picking up the empty bottle of champagne before he teeters over to my kitchen.
Chapter 43
Chase
The quiet click of my bicycle gears fills the air as I pedal down the sun-drenched streets, my body moving in rhythm with the gentle cadence. Exercise has always been a way for me to clear my head. But I’ve been steering clear of the Tensho, the place where Madison and I first crossed paths, deliberately avoiding any potential encounters.
The thought of running into her fills me with dread; I can almost hear her cutting words in my mind. She has every right to be furious with me.
My mother’s parting words reverberate in my thoughts. She has a knack for seeing through my façade, always hitting the mark with her insights. She left for her flight this morning after offering some tough love.
“If you really like that girl, you should reconsider that whole buyout thing,” she said, a heavy hand resting on my shoulder. “I know you boys don’t like listening to your mothers, but I think she could be good for you, Chase. After all you’ve told me and that fire she showed at the restaurant…” She shook her head then, laughing as she recalled the incident. “She’s a tough cookie. Strong-willed and ambitious, just like you. You know, I never believed in the saying ‘opposites attract’. Every Jack has his Jill—and she could be yours.”
Her words rendered me speechless, and I simply nodded as I kissed her goodbye, before I watched her walk through security.
Could she be right? And how could she think that after only seeing Madison for a few minutes, during most of which she was screaming at me.
Maybe that’s exactly why, I think, chuckling, as I enter a steep curve on my bike. My mother may have seen someone who could handle me in Madison, a partner who can stand up to me and put me in my place when needed. It wouldn’t surprise me—and it wouldn’t be entirely wrong either. Because that’s exactly what I see in Madison, too.
But does that mean I should let go of something that I’ve been wanting for years?
The world passes by in a colorful blur as I navigate the familiar streets, my mind wrestling with the guilt and regret that’s settled within me. Running away from the problem won’t solve anything, I know that. Madison deserves better, and it’s time I find a way to make amends, no matter how difficult this might be.
