Page 65 of The Seven Month Itch
“I’m sorry if I led you on. I love Justice.”
She winces at her name. Nothing fazes Madison, but this stings, I can tell. “Can I ask you a question, Terrence?”
“Shoot.”
“What does she have that I don’t? I know we weren’t together long, but I still remember what we had. It was pretty amazing. At least, it was to me.”
This is a loaded question. I don’t want to answer, but I need to make sure that after tonight, whatever games Madison played in the past to make Justice jealous end. “She’s my heartbeat.”
The tear that falls catches me off guard. I’ve never seen her cry. She lets out a nervous laugh and wipes the corner of her eye with a napkin. “Part of me feels so dumb, but I’m thankful you told me the way you did. You didn’t have to, and I appreciate it.”
I reach for her hand and try to reassure her with a look that tells her whatever attachment she feels to me will fade. In all honesty, I’m not worthy of it, and I never was. “You’re a good person. I know you’re going to find someone who makes you come alive the way Justice does for me. I hope we can still befriendly whenever we run into each other, but I also need the games between you and my wife to stop.”
Madison studies me and nods. “I’m sorry about that,” she says with a sigh. “I really should apologize to her, but I am sorry. You’re an amazing man, Terrence. You’re so kind and so thoughtful. Only two men in my life have had my heart. You were the first.”
“What do you say we forget all this romance talk and finish off this whiskey?”
Her shoulders relax. “I’d like that very much,” she says with a smile.
We spend the next forty-five minutes talking before I pay the tab and walk Madison back to her room. Justice consumes my thoughts on the way back to mine. All I think about is the woman I adore, the one I can’t live without.
Chapter 30
Justice
Iblink up at the shadows dancing across my ceiling, unable to fall asleep. A long soak in the tub. A bottle and a half of wine.Living Singlereruns. Nothing is enough to slow down my mind.
Is he still out with her?
Does he have second thoughts?
Did she put his head on a spike after he rejected her?
When the hell did I get this insecure?
Unsteady feet take me to the bathroom. Disheveled hair in a messy updo, sunken cheeks, and tired eyes greet me in the mirror. Tomorrow’s hangover is imminent, but at least I’ll feel good in this plush hotel robe.
“Go to bed, Justice,” I tell my reflection. As if she’ll listen. Why did I push for us to not see each other until tomorrow? It’s not impossible to wait until morning. We endured seven months apart. This is light work in comparison, but still.
Forget this.
An idea pops into my wine-clouded mind. The dry-cleaning sack in the closet now doubles as an overnight bag for my clothes and toothbrush. After I’m certain I don’t look or smell like a zombie, I grab what I need and strut out of the suite in hot-pink heels on a mission.
Time to bring my man to his knees.
It takes less than five minutes to reach his room. No small feat with tall heels on and the coordination of a baby seal on a tricycle. I didn’t think I hadthatmuch to drink, but the slant of my steps says otherwise. All I know is, Terrence better be in his room. In bed, alone.
The door swings open. My hand is in midair, and at my new height, my fist almost collides with a face that looks very confused to see me.
What did room service put in my wine? I don’t remember knocking.
Terrence squints at the light from the hallway. Aww, he was asleep.
“Is everything alright?”
My brain stalls at the sight of him shirtless and in a pair of sweats.Gray sweatpantsthat model the outline of that juicy dick I’d like to ride. The gold chain on his neck forces my eyes back up his body before they settle on his deep V-cut abs. I lick my lips to keep what little dignity I have left.
Who am I kidding? It’s gone.
