Page 115 of Vacation Friends

Then I see Maddie.

She’s heading closer.

Dear, sweet Maddie. Wearing a frumpy outfit with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

She doesn’t belong in this world.

But I do.

Soon, how she looks won’t matter.

Only survival will.

When I see the look on her face, when she realizes what’s really happening, all of this will be worth it.

I can’t wait.

CHAPTER

FIFTY-THREE

Just as Maddie stepped inside the west wing, she looked up and saw . . . Josh walking right toward her.

He wore a bathing suit and had a towel draped over his shoulders.

Her stomach filled with dread. He was the last person she wanted to see.

Josh paused and raised his chin stiffly. “I was hoping to run into you sometime.”

“Really? Funny, I was feeling the exact opposite.”

A frown flickered across his face. Then he glanced around before lowering his voice. “Listen. Could we talk?”

“I’m not ready.”

More annoyance filled his gaze. “The gala is tonight.”

“I know. Have you told people we broke up?” Because that was what this boiled down to, wasn’t it? How their breakup would look for his career.

Josh shook his head. “I prefer to keep my personal life personal.”

“Everyone is going to find out,” Maddie told him.

“How are people going to find out?” He narrowed his eyes. “Have you told them?”

“Only a couple of people?—”

“You mean your new little friends?” Derision dripped from his words.

“It doesn’t matter who. I have the right to tell people what I’m going through if I want to.”

His gaze darkened, and he looked away shaking his head again. “The timing of this couldn’t be worse.”

Maddie pressed her eyes closed. That was Josh for you. Always thinking of himself and his career and advancement.

The charming person she’d first met had only been an act.

What did relationship experts call it? Love bombing?

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