Page 73 of Tomorrow's Never Promised

“Ugh, we should have brought more Prosecco,” Maddy giggles. She is holding up the empty bottle and dramatically pouting.

I decide Killian isn’t a threat anymore and offer to go get it for her. “I’ll get another bottle. Kil ya need anything while I’m up?” I look at him. He’s deep in thought, looking into the fire. “Kil,” I say a little louder.

He looks up at me and shakes his glass. “Another double would be grand if you don’t mind.”

I grab his glass and kiss the top of Madison’s head. “Are you cold, princess? Do you want me to grab a blanket too?”

“That would be aaamazing. Thanks, babe.”

I stare at Madison.The fire is casting a warm glow onto her beautiful face. She is mesmerized by the fire, not saying a word. I wish I knew what she was thinking. I decide this may be the only chance I get to talk to her without Liam or Selena around.

“Happy Birthday, gorgeous.” I smile at her from across the fire pit.

She looks over at me with half-lidded eyes. “Thanks, Kil.”

I lean over in my seat and place my elbows on my knees. “Are you happy, sweetheart?”

“I am.Are you?You and Selena seem to have hit it off again,” she rolls her eyes. “I can hear you through the walls.”

“As I’ve said before, the sex with us has always been great. I’m still a little hesitant to make it official.”

“Why? She loves you, Kil. I can see it in the way she looks at you.”

I sigh loudly and scrub my hands over my face. Can’t she see why I won’t make it official? Madison always knows how to make me feel vulnerable around her. She’d be a nice tool for enemies—with how easily she can extract information without even lifting a finger.

“Because of you. I have tried to accept that you're not mine anymore. To accept that I lost you. But…if I’m being honest, I miss the hell out of you.”

She plays with the necklaces on her chest, still wearing mine.

“I–I miss you too, Killian. But not enough to make me change anything with Liam. I’m sorry, that’s probably not what you wanted to hear.” She shifts uncomfortably in her chair and stares back into the fire. “I miss the sweet Killian. The one who took his mask off around me. You’ve put your walls back up around everyone again. I can’t take these games you play with me. They hurt.” She wipes away a tear.

I get out of my seat, keeping an eye on the backdoor—I don’t want to disrespect Liam. He and I got back to a good place. I need to have one last conversation with Madison aboutusbefore I fully let her go. I crouch down next to her and hold her hand in mine.

“Why do you still wear my necklace?” I look up at her chest.

She uses her free hand to grab the triskelion between her thumb and middle finger. “I couldn’t take it off. It didn’t feel right.”

“Where do we go from here, Madison?” She looks into my eyes, and more tears fall from her face. Her hand slides out from my grasp. She reaches around and unclasps the necklace, placing it in my hand and gently folding my fingers around it.

“I think I am always going to love you, Killian—but I don’t think we are right for each other. I still care about you. So fucking much. But I can’t give all of myself to Liam when I am holding onto pieces of us. We’ve got to let each other go if we ever intend to move on and find happiness again.”

She gets up and wipes the tears from her eyes. Her intoxicating perfume invades my space as she places a gentle kiss on my cheek. Then before I can say anything else, she walks back to the house.

I look down at the necklace in my hand and rub the moisture from my eyes.

“Goodbye, Madison,” I whisper to myself as I tuck the necklace into my jeans pocket.

Liam comes back to the fire after a little while. He hands me my drink and takes his seat back by the fire.

“Madison went to bed. She said she was tired and not feeling well. I have to ask because she looked upset, and I didn’t want to push her…did you guys talk about something?”

I nod and sip my drink, leaning back in my chair. “We just needed some closure. She gave me the necklace back.” I look at him to gauge his reaction.

He sips his drink and nods his head. “I noticed she was only wearing one when she came in. Are you okay?”

“I’m better now. Listen, I’m sorry for the games I was playing these last few weeks. It was childish of me.”

“I understand why you did, Kil. It’s not a normal situation we got in. I think weallneeded our fair share of closure.” He raises his drink to me. “So…what does this mean for you and Selena?”

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