Page 31 of The Love You Win

Jess and Nevaeh have both texted me already this morning, but I haven’t answered because I don’t know what to say. I lied and told them I never made it to the bar, but I can’t keep this from them. Jess works with Blake’s company. She’s bound to hear about our run in. But I’m not sure how much I want to tell them. I need some time to think.

My mind wanders to Maddox and the way he stepped in and gave me an easy out last night. How did he even know to intervene? Did I look as uncomfortable as I felt? And why had he been watching me? It’s not like he’s interested, so maybe it was morbid curiosity? Or maybe I just looked so much less put together and fancy than I had on our date that he’d been staring at me and thanking his lucky stars he’d never have to date a mess like me again. But if that was the case, why did he jump in and help me? Did his friends ask him to?

My phone buzzes again. Sighing, I unlock the screen. They won’t let me ignore them much longer. Except, the text isn’t from either of my best friends.

Maddox

Hey, this is Maddox. I hope it’s okay that I’m texting you. I wanted to make sure you were okay after last night.

Confused butterflies take flight in my stomach. They’re like delicate bumper cars with wings banging into each other. I’m simultaneously touched and confused. Maddox and I exchanged numbers to set up the assembly, but I never thought he’d text just to check up on me. I… don’t know how to feel.

Not letting myself overthink things, I type up a quick reply because it would be rude to ignore him. Plus, after what he did last night, I can’t seem to see him as nothing more than the self-absorbed jerk who made me feel like I was worthless. All of this is very confusing.

Me

I’m okay. A little tired, but that’s because I slept funny. It could be worse. There could have been monsters under my bed.

I stare at the screen as those three little dots blink to life almost immediately. I didn’t expect him to be waiting next to the phone for my reply. And why does that elicit such conflicting feelings in my body? My chest is tight, the way it is any time I’d texted Alex after we split, but those butterflies are still flying winged bumper cars around in my stomach.

Maybe it’s because I’m not sure who Maddox Graves actually is.

Is he the selfish man I met on our first date? Is he the white knight riding in to rescue me like he was last night? Or is he something else entirely? Some nebulous mix of the two?

Get a grip, Isla. This doesn’t mean anything. And you don’t want it to.

Maddox

Thank goodness for that. Sorry the bodyguard service wasn’t in time to save you from having to deal with that asshole last night.

Me

Ugh. Yeah. He was the worst.

Two crappy dates in two weeks. I’m sorry. And I want to apologize again for being the reason the first one was so bad.

He wasn’t a date. He recognized me from a picture my best friend had on her desk. Creepy, right? And you don’t need to keep apologizing. I forgive you. Especially after last night.

I’m startled to realize how true that statement is. I may not know what to think about Maddox, but I have forgiven him. The way he stepped in at Skin and Tonic, the way he carried me out to his car when I fell asleep in the bar, the way he checked out my apartment to make sure it was safe… He’s quite a few levels above Alex and Blake in my estimations.

He carried me out to his car.

The thought truly hits me for the first time, and a hot flush crawls across my skin. No one has ever carried me somewhere when I fell asleep. Not since I was a little girl. Alex would just poke me on the cheek and tell me I could either walk myself to bed or sleep on the couch. If he woke me at all. More often than not, I’d wake up groggy the next morning with a pinched nerve in my neck and Alex snoring peacefully in our bed. Like he couldn’t even be bothered to wake me.

Maddox

That IS creepy. Are you sure it wasn’t a setup?

Me

No, they wouldn’t do that to me. Just a weird, unfortunate coincidence.

Well, I’m glad you weren’t alone with him long. He was a douche. My friends wanted to kick his ass.

LOL! Yeah, he was the worst. Honestly, part of me would have loved to watch them make him cry.

Got a bit of a violent streak?

IDK. Never thought I did, but then again, I love action movies.

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