19. Ian
19
IAN
“Want to head out?” I asked Maddie after finishing a conversation with the owner of a wig company about two hours into the mixer.
“Sure.” Maddie shrugged, her blue eyes glittering from the soft light of the chandeliers above. “I’m good with whatever you want.”
“Okay, good.” I sighed, the tension I’d been holding in my shoulders all evening releasing slightly at the idea of escape. Because after two hours of handshakes, introductions, and Margot’s relentless gaze, I was spent.
Not to mention the fact that my nerves about tomorrow’s presentation were also creeping in.
So taking Maddie’s hand in mine—a gesture I was starting to enjoy more than I should—I led her out of the crowded room, leaving our glasses on a tray by the door.
“Are you always so popular at these events?” Maddie asked once we’d made it to the foyer that led toward the elevators. “Or do you think you had more people coming up to you tonight because of your keynote tomorrow?”
“I usually talk to a lot of people at these events,” I said as we walked past a painting of a fox in a wooded landscape. “But the line was new.”
“Yeah, that line was crazy.” Maddie looked up at me, and with a teasing glint in her eyes, she added, “Who knew my fiancé was such a hot commodity?”
“Well, apparently you did…since you moved towns and got a new job just to be closer to me.” I winked.
“Do you think Margot bought our story?” Maddie asked in a hushed tone, glancing around quickly to make sure Margot wasn’t following us.
“I couldn’t tell you,” I said with a shrug. “It’s been nine years since we spoke, so honestly, I have no idea what’s on her mind these days.”
“Makes sense.” Maddie nodded, though from her expression, I sensed she might’ve been looking for some reassurance.
So I quickly added, “But regardless of whatever Margot might think, you were incredible tonight. I’m pretty sure Drake will be expecting a wedding invite any day now.”
“Glad I did okay.” She blew out a breath, like she actually had been anxious about her performance.
I gave her hand a squeeze. “You were perfect.”
I let my gaze linger on her face, momentarily lost in how she looked just then. The thought of brushing that stray lock of hair behind her ear had been on my mind all night—a move I could have played off as part of the act, if not for how real the impulse felt.
And having her by my side tonight, steady and supportive, had been a rare kind of comfort. Usually, I attended these events solo, or with my last assistant who was thirty years older than Maddie and who would often turn in after dinner.
But tonight, Maddie had been right there, making everything easier, even if I’d done most of the talking.
“So, what happened with you and Margot, anyway?” she asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “I know she cheated, but were there warning signs?”
“Honestly?” I turned slightly, meeting her gaze. “I didn’t see it coming at all.”
“So it was a complete shock?”
“Yeah…” I was about to go into it, but when we reached the elevators, a small group joined us. So instead of telling her my story with an audience, I instead pulled Maddie close when we got on the elevator—only for our little ruse, of course—and wrapped an arm around her, my hand settling at her waist. I could feel the warmth of her back against my chest as she tensed slightly, and for a moment, I wondered if her little intake of breath was just for show—or if she was having a reaction to being this close to me.
The elevator climbed, each floor ticking by too fast. The small group got off on the fourth floor, leaving us alone. My arm was still wrapped around Maddie’s waist, and though we no longer had spectators for our little show, neither of us moved.
When the elevator doors closed again, Maddie looked up at me, her eyes holding a spark that seemed to match the rush in my veins. And for a moment, all I could hear was the quiet hum of the elevator and her soft breathing, quickening with each passing second.
I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice. “Is it wrong that I like holding you close like this?”
Her lips parted as her eyes searched mine—for what, I couldn’t tell. But then, with a hesitant smile, she shook her head and whispered, “Only if it’s wrong for me to admit I like it, too.”
And that was all it took for the air between us to thicken, my pulse racing faster with every second.
Even though I knew I was pressing my luck, I let my hand glide a little higher up her side, my fingers tracing the curve of her ribs, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath the thin fabric.
This woman… She felt too good.
So good that all I wanted to do was pull her close, to let her fit perfectly in my arms. The idea of pressing her gently against the wall, claiming her with a kiss that would linger far longer than necessary, hit me with an intensity that surprised me. If she really were my fiancée, if we weren’t just pretending, I could pull her to me, let my lips explore the delicate skin along her neck, feel her shiver against me.
Unable to resist, I brushed a lock of hair behind her ear—the one that had taunted me all evening—exposing the soft line of her neck. My hand stayed there, hovering as I felt the thrum of her pulse beneath my fingertips.
Was that her heartbeat racing? Or was it mine?
She tilted her head back, her gaze going to my mouth. And the soft, shallow breaths she took were like unspoken words, filling the silence with a kind of plea. The look in her eyes invited me closer, closer than I should be, closer than I could let myself go.
One kiss. It would be so easy to lean in, to let my lips find hers, to get lost in that softness and let go of the self-control I’d clung to for weeks. Just a fraction closer, and I could finally feel her against me, let the scent of her become something I couldn’t forget?—
The elevator jolted slightly, slowing as it approached another floor. Maddie tensed, and I forced myself to pull back, the rush of longing tempered with an edge of frustration as the doors slid open and a man stepped in, glancing briefly at us before turning to press his floor number.
I let my arm drop but kept my hand lightly resting on her hip, unable to let go entirely. She stayed close, leaning into the small space between us as if she, too, wasn’t ready to break whatever had sparked here. The man frowned at the panel, realizing his mistake.
“Oh, wrong way,” he muttered, shaking his head.
I managed a chuckle. “Guess you’ll have the place to yourself in a second. We’re almost out.”
The elevator reached our floor, and as we stepped off, I slid my hand into Maddie’s. Her fingers tightened around mine, and I knew I wasn’t alone in feeling that lingering, electric pull.
As we reached my suite, I fumbled for the key card, stealing a glance at her. The moment hung between us, and I wondered if she was thinking about how close I’d come to kissing her back there—if she wanted me to finish what I’d started.
The door unlocked with a soft beep, and as it swung open, I found myself saying, “Hey, it’s not too late… Want to get cozy and hang out? Maybe watch a movie?”
And I could have done a little dance when her face lit up and she said, “Yeah, that sounds nice. Let me just change into some pajamas first.”
So after she’d slipped through the connecting door to her room, I grabbed a T-shirt and shorts from my bag and changed. Then, for good measure, I went to my bathroom and used mouthwash before brushing my teeth.
You know…just because I liked having fresh breath. Not because I was expecting anything.
Then, stepping back into my room, I took a deep breath and settled onto the couch, trying to look as casual as possible despite the pounding in my chest.
A minute later, Maddie reappeared in the doorway connecting our rooms, wearing a pink cami and shorts, cheeks slightly flushed.
“Sorry, this is all I brought for pajamas,” she said, looking a bit self-conscious.
“No need to apologize,” I said, trying not to stare too openly, though it was difficult. “They look…perfect.”
She tucked a leg under her as she sat on the opposite end of the couch, and I busied myself with the remote.
After a moment, she spoke. “So, you were starting to tell me downstairs… Do you mind sharing more about what happened with you and Margot?”
I glanced over, meeting her gaze. “I guess it’s probably time that I tell you the non-tabloid version of my breakup, isn’t it?”
“Only if you want to share,” she replied, her voice warm.
I leaned back, exhaling. “If you were my real fiancée, you’d probably know everything about it by now, right?”
She nodded. “Probably.”
I took a breath. “All right. So basically, we met in high school and were high school sweethearts and then ended up going to college together.”
“So, pretty serious at a young age?” Maddie asked, her gaze softening.
“Yeah…” I sighed. “Anyway, she was the first girl I’d seriously dated, and so when we’d been together for two years and I was more in love with her than I’d ever been, I decided that the next logical step would be to get engaged.”
“How old were you?” she asked.
“It was fall of our freshman year at Yale, so I’d just turned nineteen.”
“Pretty young still.”
I nodded. “My parents, bless them, saw how serious I was and tried to suggest that I cool things off a bit. Trying as tactfully as they could to tell me it might be good to date around a little before pledging my heart to the only person I’d dated for the rest of my life.”
“Which I’m guessing you ignored since, just like me, you thought you knew better at that age.”
“Exactly.” I chuckled. “Parents are never wiser than us when we’re teens. They’re too out of touch.”
“Seriously,” Maddie said, laughing with me. “I mean, sneaking around with older guys is so fun. Only the dumb girls actually get pregnant.”
“So we were basically on the same wavelength back then.” I smirked, liking that we could both joke about the dumb choices we’d made when we were younger.
“Basically.”
“Anyway,” I continued, “Margot and I dated all throughout the fall of our freshman year, and I was so in love. Of course, now that I’m older and have had several more relationships, I know we weren’t nearly as mature as we’d thought we were. But it felt good, and I was happy with her.”
“It’s nice to feel good with someone.”
I nodded. “Then that December, I bought a ring, and the night after our last finals, I took her out to dinner at our favorite restaurant in Eden Falls. And being the romantic idiot that I was, I ended the night by taking her on a walk around my family’s neighborhood to see the Christmas lights, ending in front of my parents’ house where I had the words, ‘Will You Marry Me?’ lit up on our front yard.”
“Aw, that’s actually really sweet, Ian,” Maddie said, looking at me with big eyes and pouty lips, like I was a cute little teddy bear.
“Well, I’m glad you at least think so.”
“Did Margot not like it?”
“I don’t know…she kind of got a terrified look in her eyes. I thought she was just nervous and excited at the time. But after everything that went down, I kind of wonder if she just went into shock and only said yes because she knew our families were spying on us through the window.”
“Did your engagement not last for long, then?”
“We were engaged for about three months before the news broke about her sneaking around with Rhys Applegate.” The professional hockey player who she would go on to date for the next five years.
“And did you not know about her cheating on you until it was in the tabloids?”
“Yeah…” I rubbed my arm and sighed. “Based on some things I’ve heard since then, I kind of think they might have been texting back before we were even engaged.”
“What?” Maddie’s eyes went wide.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I looked like a real idiot.”
“You were in love with her, Ian,” Maddie said, her eyes full of empathy. “It’s normal to believe the best about someone until you have concrete evidence that proves otherwise.”
“I guess. But I don’t know. I just felt so stupid to think that I was actually going to marry her.”
“It happens to the best of us.” She shrugged. “Believe me, I understand that more than you probably know.”
Which made me wonder, once again, about her and her ex. She’d said they weren’t well matched and that she’d shouldered a lot of the workload that came with building a life together, but there had to be more to the story.
“So, did you immediately break off the engagement when you found out about her cheating?” Maddie asked. “Or did you try to make things work for a bit?”
“We actually didn’t have much of a breakup,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“You didn’t?” Maddie furrowed her brow, confused.
“Yeah. As soon as I saw the pictures of her and Rhys splashed all over the tabloids, I cut her off. No calls, no texts. Just…nothing.”
“You never confronted her?” Maddie’s jaw dropped. “Did you even get your ring back?”
“Nope.” I shrugged. “Who knows, maybe she keeps the ring on her dresser as a reminder of what a fool I’d been.”
“So yesterday was the first time you’ve seen her since you were together?” Maddie lifted an eyebrow. “You really didn’t break up in person?”
“Apparently, back then, I was quick to cut people out of my life when they disappointed me,” I said, realizing only in that moment that I’d basically done the same thing with Margot that I’d done with my dad the year before.
“So…do you still just ghost girls, then?” she asked. Her tone was casual, but I could tell she was really curious.
“Define ghosting…” I hesitated a beat, knowing I was likely about to look bad in Maddie’s eyes.
She shrugged, keeping her tone casual but still curious. “I mean, I know you’ve had…relationships since Margot. But do you just disappear on women if things aren’t exactly what you want?”
“Look, I’m not perfect.” I scratched my neck, feeling a bit of heat. “Yeah, I’ve ghosted some women. If it was just a weekend thing, it didn’t seem necessary to go through a whole…exit speech.”
“Ian…” She frowned, disapproval clear in her gaze.
“Hey, I never claimed sainthood.” I chuckled, raising my hands in surrender. “There’s a reason I earned that ‘billionaire playboy’ title.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, her lips tugging into a faint smirk. “And have you pulled that trick recently?”
“I haven’t ghosted anyone in about a year.” I met her gaze, holding it. “So, consider me a reformed man.”
She laughed. “I guess it’s easier when you’re not dating.”
“Touché,” I said, smirking. But the way her expression softened, her eyes dropping to the floor as if she were turning something over, stirred a different kind of tension.
“So…if I hadn’t shown up at your office that Monday after the club, but we ran into each other again somewhere…” she trailed off, looking up at me through her lashes.
“I probably would’ve asked you out.” The answer came more naturally than I expected.
“Really?” Her gaze snapped to mine, her curiosity sparking something brighter between us.
“Yeah,” I replied, meeting her stare, wanting her to know I meant it.
She paused, then tilted her head, looking almost doubtful. “But if we had gone out, would I have just gotten ghosted, too? Or maybe a polite ‘too busy’ text after a date or two?”
“You think I’d lose interest?” I frowned, surprised that she’d assume that.
She looked away, her fingers picking at a loose thread on her shorts. “I’ve seen the women you date. I don’t look like them. I have a kid. It wouldn’t be hard to assume you’d change your mind once you knew all that.”
I wanted to protest, to tell her she was wrong, but the words caught in my throat. After a moment, I murmured, “I’d like to think I’m better than that…”
She gave a small smile, eyes still lowered. “Well, since it’s all hypothetical and that first date never happened…I guess we’ll never know.”
That thought gnawed at me, and I was about to say as much when her phone buzzed. She glanced down, and her eyes brightened. “It’s Grant,” she said, already standing. “I should take this.”
“You can take it here,” I said, trying to hide how much I wanted her to stay. “I need to look over my notes for tomorrow’s presentation, anyway.”
She nodded, a big smile lifting her cheeks as she answered her video call.
And I didn’t know what it was, but seeing her light up like that at the prospect of talking to her son did funny things to my insides.
“Hi, Grant,” she said, her voice taking on a happy and nurturing tone. “How are you doing, buddy?”
And even though I just wanted to sit there and listen in on her conversation, so curious about what her son was like, I made myself get up from the couch and go into the bedroom area of the suite to look over my notes on my bed.
I grabbed my AirPods from my nightstand, planning to play the instrumental playlist I usually listened to when I needed to focus at work, but instead of turning on the music, I found myself listening to Maddie.
Her laugh rang out, light and warm, and curiosity itched at me. What was Grant like? Did he have her blue eyes? Or did he get his eyes from his dad?
I glanced up from my notes, watching Maddie as she smiled at her phone screen. If I had kids, I hoped they would get her eyes.
Wait. What?
I caught myself mid-thought, feeling a jolt. I was thinking about my kids having Maddie’s eyes?
Man, this fake engagement was messing with my head.
But as she asked Grant about the movie he’d gone to with his dad that day, I couldn’t shake the pull I felt to her. Talking to her son was probably the most relaxed I’d ever seen her. I could tell she really loved him.
How had her ex never married her? The man must’ve been blind or…just plain stupid. Because a woman like Maddie—she was the kind you didn’t let go.
She laughed again at something Grant said, and I just watched her from across the room, feeling the strangest sense of wanting to know everything there was to know about her.