13. Alistair #2
“So you three basically grew up here in the summers?”
“Yeah.” I finished pouring my own drink.
“After my mother was gone, Braeburn became the place where I truly felt at home. When everything happened with the trial last year, I knew this was exactly where I needed to bring Kenna.” I’d never been more glad that Weston and Locke had both already decided to settle here. It made my decision even easier.
“I’m happy this community feels safe after what you dealt with in London,” Madison said.
A muscle in my cheek twitched. This town meant a lot to me.
“I’ve come for the summer festival, and for various other visits, ever since Weston moved back, and I’ve never had a single soul bother me.
Even last year, when the trial was still ongoing, when that guilty verdict was hanging over my head, Braeburn always welcomed us.
I’d escape here for the odd weekend and, for that brief time, all the troubles back in London… none of them existed.”
Madison sipped her drink, regarding me over her glass. “After all that, you still don’t want to invest in the community?”
I considered her words as I sank down on the couch beside her.
Madison twisted toward me, our legs brushing.
“I didn’t say that I didn’t want to invest. Simply that my priorities are elsewhere right now.
” I sucked my teeth. “I just want to show everyone, especially the bloody media, that I haven’t been wrecked by everything. ”
“Is that how you feel?” Madison asked. “Wrecked?”
“No. But I think that’s how everyone perceives me now. And I need to prove that I’m still as smart and capable and good at business as I was before I got scammed by Jessica.”
Madison leaned into the couch cushion. “Does Kenna ever ask about her mother?”
“She did at first, but not anymore,” I said.
“Sometimes I struggle, trying to explain these things to her. The paparazzi. Why we had to move suddenly. But then other times I’m glad she was so young when it happened.
That she won’t carry most of these memories with her.
I just don’t ever want this experience to negatively affect her in any way. ”
“Don’t you think it’s important to get Kenna back out into the world, then?”
I frowned. “What do you mean? She was out today.”
Madison laughed. “Yes, with you hovering over her like a hawk. You only let her out of your sight for a minute because Weston was there.”
“So?”
“So…It would probably be good for Kenna to have more friends her age. She told me she was in nursery back in London.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, but that was before…everything. Before every time I opened my mouth, someone turned around and sold my words to a tabloid.”
Madison’s face fell. “You’re kidding.”
I shook my head. “Wish I was. I learned the hard way to be very careful what I said around anyone because most people have proven that they can’t be trusted. Especially when nosy reporters are waving money around.”
“Maybe in London,” Madison said, sipping her drink. “But you’ve said how great this community is. If that’s true, then I think you can trust them to look out for Kenna.”
I wrinkled my nose. I knew she was hinting that I should look for a new nursery program for Kenna, but I wasn’t interested in that right now. Frankly, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight for an hour, never mind an entire day.
“It’s important for her to have friends,” Madison continued. “I think you know that considering how close you are with Weston and Locke. And I certainly know that.”
“Because of your parents?” I asked.
Madison sighed. “After all these years, I still don’t think they ever understood how much their disappointment weighed on me. You know that’s the only reason I became a paralegal?”
“To appease them?”
She nodded. “Gain their approval. Do something right for once in my life. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t ever going to be enough, especially when their expectations for me were law school and the kind of brilliant legal career I would have absolutely hated.”
“And that’s where your friends came in?”
“They always supported me when my parents didn’t,” Madison said. “Especially Emily. She’s been on Team Madison since we were little girls, spinning around in our tutus.”
I snorted into my glass, envisioning a ballet studio filled with tiny ballerinas and all the pink. “You in a tutu. Say more.”
“There’s not much to say. Ballet was complicated. I was awful.” She downed the rest of her glass. “Like a danger-to-myself-and-others kind of awful.”
I gestured for her to take the floor. “I think I’m going to need a demonstration of this awful dancing.”
Madison pursed her lips. “You’re not serious?”
“Oh, I am.” I grinned as she rolled her eyes.
“Please walk me through the experience.” To my surprise, Madison actually got to her feet, holding her hands above her head as she stretched up onto her toes.
I couldn’t help letting my gaze roam, taking in the soft curves.
I really liked her in these particular jeans.
“This is called relevé,” she said. She bent her legs, dropping her arms. “And this is a plié.”
“This doesn’t seem all that complicated.”
Madison’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me. I was six. And easily distracted.”
“No wonder you and Princess get on so well.” She made a swipe for me, and I chuckled, managing not to slosh my whiskey all over. “How did Emily fare?”
“Oh, she’s a professional dancer now.”
“Mm-hmm. And you’re the cautionary tale.” I grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes, but I could tell she wasn’t truly annoyed.
“Okay, Mr. Big Talk. I’d like to see you give an arabesque a try.”
“Ara—” I hadn’t even finished my question before Madison kicked her foot up, balancing on one leg. Or, well, she attempted to. Her foot actually caught the coffee table and she yelped, stumbling forward. I deposited my glass onto the side table and opened my arms just as she fell into my lap.
With any other woman, this might have been awkward, but I’d wanted to be closer to Madison since that day in the bathroom, and with the alcohol thrumming through my veins, the turn of events was rather pleasant.
“Sorry,” she murmured, cheeks bright red.
“I’m not. As long as you’re okay. You are okay, right?”
She nodded, and my arms tightened around her before she could think to jump up. Warmth seeped through me wherever we touched, and I leaned forward, captivated by the citrus scent. I didn’t know if it was her shampoo or her body lotion, but I was bewitched.
“I think we should cross you teaching Kenna ballet off the list.”
“I’m fine with that,” she agreed.
I couldn’t stop staring at her lips. The next thing I knew, Madison was leaning toward me, chin tilted ever so slightly, and I couldn’t resist meeting her.
My lips caught hers in a kiss, my hand lifting to cradle her cheek.
It was gentle, exploratory, like the both of us were memorizing the shape of the other.
My pulse throbbed in my chest as Madison’s hand twisted in the collar of my shirt, and the kiss became more eager.
She shifted in my lap, and I immediately felt all the blood in my body rush south.
I wanted more—God, how I wanted more. But instead of pressing on, I pulled back. “We should stop here tonight.”
“Why?” she whispered breathlessly, eyelashes fluttering.
I stroked a piece of hair from her face, looking into her eyes. “Because when I really, really want something, I like to savor it.”