Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
A lex shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the table, tugging his tie loose as he rolled his shoulders. Work had been the same as always except... The entire day had been off, and he had an unpleasant suspicion he knew why.
He had been looking forward to the end of the day. To going home. To seeing her.
This was bad.
Their arrangement wasn’t about companionship—Alex wasn’t the kind of man who needed that. He was perfectly happy on his own. He always had been.
In his mind, it was simple—Madison needed help with her custody case, and he needed a wife. Their marriage only represented a mutually beneficial agreement.
Yet, for the last several hours, Alex found his mind wandering far too often to Madison and wanting to know what she was doing. To see how she was settling into his home. Wondering if she had everything she needed.
The realization was unacceptable. He would not get attached to her. Attachments were liabilities. They made him weak.
Was she in bed already?
In his bed?
Alex rolled up his sleeves, needing something to do with his hands, needing to shake off the tight feeling coiling low in his gut.
Then he saw her, standing in the hallway watching him with those mesmerizing eyes.
Madison in loose jeans and a fitted, black T-shirt, shouldn’t make his heart beat harder. And the sight of her bare feet and loose ponytail shouldn’t make him forget how to breathe for a second. But it was the half-full wineglass in Madison’s hand and the smile on her full lips that set off the strange tingling sensation in his chest.
“I didn’t know if you were expecting a martini at the door.”
“Only if you’re wearing an apron.” And nothing else.
Alex shoved away the thought and pulled his tie from his neck to toss on the table along with his coat, using the moment to get himself back under control.
“I made some stir-fry for dinner if you want some. It’s nothing special but?—”
“I’ve already eaten.”
“Oh.” Her expression faltered. “Yeah. No problem.” She smiled, but it didn’t completely hide her unease. “I cook something most nights. I didn’t know if you would want some.”
Alex had to banish an image of Madison moving around the kitchen, cooking, Jax playing nearby. He had no business enjoying a domestic fantasy like that. It wasn’t who he was.
But at the slightly nervous look on her face, the words, “That could be nice,” flowed out of his mouth before he could stop them. “My schedule is unpredictable, so it won’t be a regular thing,” he added, when she smiled at him.
The awkward tension was back.
He inclined his head towards her wineglass. “Any of that left?”
She nodded, looking slightly relieved. “In the kitchen.”
Locating the wine bottle, he poured himself a glass while Madison leaned against the island, arms crossed.
“I met Angela today. She’s really sweet. She even helped me out with Jax after the delivery guys brought his new bed.”
Alex didn’t answer because he’d just noticed the black AmEx he’d left on the counter that morning.
Still untouched.
His jaw ticked.
She hadn’t used it.
Of course , she hadn’t.
Alex exhaled slowly, setting the bottle down with a controlled movement before taking a sip.
It shouldn’t irritate him. It really shouldn’t.
But it did.
“You didn’t use the card.”
Madison blinked at him, caught mid-thought. “What?”
“The credit card,” he said, voice cool. “It’s still there.”
Her eyes slid to the card, and then back to him. “Yeah, I didn’t need it.”
Alex’s grip on the stem of the glass tightened. “You needed furniture for Jax.”
“I handled it.”
He exhaled hard. “That’s not the point.”
“It’s not a big deal, Alex. I’m already living in your house. I’m not letting you pay for everything.”
“ Our house.”
Madison huffed a quiet laugh, not a trace of humor in it. “Our house,” she repeated. “Sure. I mean, it’s just like every other normal couple, right? Fall in love, get married, move in together, combine assets. Except, wait—” she snapped her fingers. “We skipped some steps.”
His eyes burned into hers, but she didn’t stop.
“I don’t even know where to put my clothes.”
What?
For a second, he just looked at her, not sure how to address the nonsensical thing she’d just said. Then, as if on cue, Jax’s cry crackled through the baby monitor.
Madison ran a hand through her hair. “Perfect timing,” she muttered, before turning toward the stairs.
Alex watched her go, his grip flexing around the glass. He honestly couldn’t tell if Madison was being contrary on purpose. Was she making some sort of statement about the card? He didn’t give a fuck how much money she had. She was going to be his wife and that meant he would take care of her.
What was left to understand?
Most people—fuck, everyone —just did what he said.
Not her.
Strangely, instead of pissing him off as much as he thought it would—and he was pissed—part of him liked her defiance. A few minutes later, Alex followed her up the stairs. As he passed one of the bedrooms, he paused, catching the soft sound of her voice through the cracked door.
She was singing quietly about the moon, and the soft tones tugged at something he thought long dead inside of him.
Ignoring the foreign sensation, he grabbed the stack of boxes that she left outside their bedroom earlier. Carrying them to the master suite, he set them just inside the door.
Problem solved.
Madison could argue with him later if she wanted, but it wouldn’t change anything.
She belonged with him.