Chapter 19 #2
“Seriously? I’ve hugged you more affectionately.” He sits behind his desk and crosses his arms, glaring at me, and it begins to piss me off. “What’s really going on here, Leo?”
“I know you’re engaged,” he says, glancing pointedly at my bare finger. Luckily, Corey didn’t catch it. “But keep your personal life personal. My brother doesn’t need that shit thrown in his face.”
Oh.
So this is about Nate.
Of course it is.
“Leo—”
“Don’t ‘Leo’ me.” He stands, pacing now. “Seeing you with that guy, Maddie? Made me want to deck him. Do you know what Nate would’ve done?”
“LEO!”
He freezes mid-rant. His jaw tight. “What?”
“I’m not marrying him.”
He blinks. “Come again?”
“I’m not—”
He waves his arm, cutting me off. “That was rhetorical. I don’t understand. You’re engaged, no?”
“It was a mistake,” I admit.
He walks over and takes a seat, and I do the same, sitting across from him.
“What’s going on?” His voice softens.
“You switch personalities so quickly. It’s a real talent.”
He smirks. “It’s tiring being dramatic. I don’t know how you women do it all the time.”
My eyes widen. “You did not just say that.”
“Kidding. Kidding,” he says, but quickly falls sober. “Seriously, Maddie. Are you okay?”
I shrug. “Honestly? I don’t know.”
“Does Nate know?”
I shake my head. “This isn’t about Nate.” He gives me a look like he doesn’t believe me. “Truly. I wish I hadn’t said yes in the first place.”
“Well…why did you?” he asks, as if it’s so simple.
I’m embarrassed at how weak I was, falling for Corey’s charm.
“Maddie Grace…”
“Pressure. There was an overwhelming amount of pressure that day. Our families, friends, even photographers. The whole thing was a spectacle. I hated it. Everyone was staring at me. I was so blindsided that I panicked and said yes.”
The weight of it all finally cracks me open, and the words spill out before I can stop them. Holding it in, only being able to speak to Addie about it, has been eating away at me.
He nods in understanding. “You hate being in the public eye. Even I know, something that’s meaningful to you, you’d want to do in private.”
“Exactly.” Maybe it’s because Leo’s known me half my life or because he pays attention, but it just shows how oblivious Corey is.
If it’s not important to him, it’s not important.
“If you didn’t see a future with him, why didn’t you break up?”
I bow my head. “I was an idiot, pretending it was something it wasn’t, and I got caught up in it all.
He was traveling all the time. I was building a career with not much extra time on my hands.
It was like suddenly I blinked and we’d been dating for longer than I realized.
I thought I could make it work. But he was never the one. ”
Leo stands and pulls me up into a hug. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
“Well, I’m sorry I’m getting mascara all over your expensive suit,” I blubber through my tears that come when he soothes me.
Leo has always been there for me as a support system.
Even after Camila passed and Nate and I broke up, he always called, made sure I was okay, and visited when he could.
“I’ll bill your brother.”
That gets a real laugh out of me.
I pull back and wipe my tears. “Thanks for understanding.”
“I might have overacted a bit.”
“You think?” I raise my brows jokingly. “But I love you anyway.”
“So, by the looks of it, you haven’t told him.”
I cringe at the thought of what I have to do tonight. “I was going home this weekend to tell him, but he just showed up as a surprise, so I’m doing it tonight.”
“Does Mase know?”
I shake my head. “I wanted to get it over with before I told anyone.”
Leo’s phone buzzes, and Lizzy’s voice comes over the speaker. “Sorry to interrupt, Leo, but your three o’clock meeting is about to start in the conference room.”
“Okay. We’re almost done.”
“I also accepted a package for Madeline. It’s here for her when you’re done.”
“Thanks.” He looks at me when she hangs up. “If you need to call me tonight, I don’t care what time it is. I’ll answer.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, truly thankful for his friendship.
He holds the door for me and gestures for me to go first, and what I find on Lizzy’s desk puts an instant smile on my face.
Today is the day for gifts, apparently.
“Are those from Mase?”
I nod and pop a piece of dark Belgian chocolate in my mouth.
He bought them for me years ago, and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since, but I’ve never bought them myself.
They cost a fortune, so he imports them for me on special occasions.
“Want one?” I mutter around a full mouth, holding the box out to Lizzy and Leo.
“These are amazing,” Lizzy exclaims as her eyes bulge from the fudgy goodness.
“So you still haven’t forgiven him?” Leo asks as he scans the box looking for the one he wants.
I shrug and chuckle more myself. “I did last week.”
He looks at me, surprised. “So why is he still sending you apology gifts?”
I take another chocolate and say sweetly, “Because he deserves to sweat a little. And I deserve gifts.”
Lizzy laughs. “I knew I liked you.” Then she turns to Leo. “You need to go, you’re already late.”
We say bye to her, and I walk with Leo to his meeting. “Before I forget, be on the lookout for an invitation for our BU Masquerade Gala. It’s in a week and a half. I know it’s last-minute, but besides wanting you there on a personal level, as a new senior employee, we need you there.”
BU, a,k.a. Building Unity is a charity Leo and Nate started to help underdeveloped and less privileged areas in both America and Spain.
“I guess I was on the B list.” I scowl playfully.
“Ha. Ha. No one has been invited yet, despite the quick turnaround. It was planned for a few months out, but with Juliette’s due date soon, she had a total meltdown when she found out, and we needed to move it up.”
I’ve met Juliette before, and I didn’t get the impression she was such a diva, but jeez, she can’t miss one party?
He must be able to read my thoughts, because he elaborates.
“She and Harrison met at our masquerade gala last spring, or some romantic bullshit like that.” He rolls his eyes.
“So when she found out she could potentially miss it this year, she was hysterical, and I couldn’t have her stressed.
Nate somehow made it happen; he pushed up the whole event for her. ”
Oh, well, I take back my last thought.
That is romantic.
And of course, Nate took care of it.
Doesn’t surprise me in the least.
“That’s sweet of y’all. I hope it’s a good turnout, with it being so last-minute.”
“Oh, please, we know how to throw a good party. People will be begging to come, last-minute or not.”
“So cocky.” I laugh and wave him off when we get to his conference room, then turn the corner to head back to my desk, and freeze when I see Nate standing there. As if the universe cracked open and conjured him from the very thoughts I’ve been trying so hard to suppress.
He turns, and we lock eyes. His lips twitch, fighting a smile, while I’m fighting myself to keep freaking cool.
I’ve hated him for ten years, and suddenly my mind has forgotten all about it after one conversation. All I want to do is run into his arms and hold him tight.
You’re still engaged, Maddie.
He’s in dark slacks and a white button-down rolled to his elbows, showcasing his muscular forearms. His navy blazer is slung over one shoulder like some kind of effortless sin, and his hair’s a little messier than usual.
His jaw is sharper. But his eyes…those unreadable, impossibly familiar eyes are locked on mine.
And suddenly, I can’t remember a single coherent thought.
“Mads.”
“Hi,” I manage, my breath catching in my throat.
He studies me as I round my desk, slow and deliberate, like he’s cataloging every inch of me. What’s changed, what hasn’t, and I hate to admit I feel it. The pull. That magnetic hum that exists in the space between us.
It’s alive and thick in the air.
Without a word, I reach for the lip balm in the corner of my desk. A nervous habit I haven’t kicked in years.
My fingers tremble slightly as I uncap it and glide it across my bottom lip, then the top.
Nate’s eyes drop, jaw flexed, locked on my lips as I coat them, and those dang butterflies flutter in the depths of my stomach.
When I’m done, he picks it up and turns it in his hand, reading the label like it’s the most fascinating thing he’s seen all day.
His smile finally breaks, and he lifts one brow. “Cherry?”
I shrug nonchalantly and lie right through my teeth. “It’s the only one they had.”
“I’m sure,” he says, pretty much calling me out on my lie.
He applies it to his lips, and I stand there silent, my lungs refusing to work. “Cherry’s a good flavor.”
He puts the cap back on, and when he places it on my desk, he leans over so we’re face to face, and my entire body goes still.
He licks his lips, dropping his voice. “Delicious, even.”
My breath catches, and he doesn’t miss it.
I swear my heart forgets how to beat.
My hands curl around the edge of my desk to keep from reaching for him, from grabbing his stupid lapels.
He finally pulls back, winks, and abruptly walks away.
I collapse back into my chair, the scent of him still clinging to the air, my lip balm sitting there like a sign screaming, You’re not over him.
What.
The.
Hell.
Was that?
My phone rings.
Corey.
Again.
“Hello,” I answer flatly and unimpressed.
“Hi, sweetheart. I just got news that I need to be back tomorrow for a meeting. Can we meet earlier?”
I sigh. “I’m working, Corey.”
“That prick of a boss, that hard up, he can’t let you leave early.”
My eyebrows lift in disbelief. “You must be joking. Your secretary’s grandmother died last month, and you didn’t let her leave early.”
He’s silent for a beat. “Madeline. Can you meet, or will it have to be this weekend?”
I glance at the clock. It’s now or never. And I’m already out of reasons to wait.
“It’s rush hour. I can be there in thirty minutes.”
He hangs up without saying goodbye, typical, giving me an extra second to dial Addie’s number.
Dang it.
Where the hell is she?
On my way I text her and still hear nothing.
SOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just as I’m pulling onto the restaurant’s street, my phone finally lights up with her name.
“Ads,” I answer in a rush.
“What’s wrong?” she snaps, breathless. “You better be dying if you’re texting me SOS. I almost lost a limb running out of a building to get service.”
A reluctant smile tugs at my lips. “God, you don’t say much, but that one line just calmed half my nerves.”
“Well, what about the other half? What’s going on?”
“Corey showed up at the office, and I’m on the way to meet him.” I pause. “I’m ending it. Tonight.”
“Ahhh. Are you okay? Do you want me to meet you? What are you going to say? What are you wearing?”
I glance down at my white silk blouse, tucked into my brown suede skirt and knee-high leather boots. “What does my outfit have to do with it?”
“I don’t know,” she says in a dramatic panic. “What if he’s a total cockhead? You need to show him what he’s missing.”
“A cockhead?” I laugh.
“Yes,” she states with absolute conviction, then bursts out laughing.
We both fall sober after a moment, and reality begins to sink in.
My voice softens. “Can you be at my place later?”
“I was already planning on it.”
“I’m nervous,” I admit.
Ending our engagement is the right thing to do; there is no doubt. But it doesn’t make it any easier.
“All you have to do is tell him the truth,” she says gently. “There’s not much else you can do.”
My cab slows to a stop in front of the restaurant. “I thought you’d have a better plan than that.”
“Some plans are meant to be simple and to the point. Don’t drag it out. I’ll be there for you when you get home.”
“Thank you. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I step inside, and my nerves rise.
The warm hum of conversation and the clink of glassware echo in my ears, and the scent of roasted garlic and butter hangs in the air, decadent enough to turn my stomach.
Corey spots me instantly, rising from his chair. The tailored navy suit, of course, fits him perfectly, paired with a crisp white shirt and a faint trace of his cologne.
Subtle. Expensive. Suffocating.
“Hi, sweetheart.” His voice is smooth and too polished.
He leans in and kisses my cheek, and I hug him back a little tighter than normal, not out of affection, but because I know it’s the last time.
A mix of emotions runs through me.
For all his flaws, and God knows there are plenty, Corey gave me what he could. It wasn’t enough. But the worst part? I let it be enough for far too long.
I never gave him a fair chance to prove himself worthy.
I draw in a breath, ready to speak, but a waitress appears with a bottle of champagne—my favorite.
The one Camila got me hooked on years ago in France.
“I know things have been strained,” he says, nodding toward the bottle. “With you moving, me traveling, I thought we could celebrate. Reset before I head back.”
My heart drops. Please don’t be nice to me right now.
The cork pops, sharp and sudden, jolting me back to reality. “I’m sorry,” I say, my voice low but steady. “Can you take that back, please?”
Corey’s brows knit, looking between the waitress and me. The confident set of his shoulders dipping slightly. “Take what back?”
“The champagne.” I grip the edge of the table, the linen bunched under my fingers. “We won’t be celebrating or resetting tonight.”