Page 7 of Tender Offer
Terrence didn’t need to tell me he was reconciling with Justice. Chance might have brought us to the same place, but destiny reunited them.
I had to break a world record with how many times this man rejected me this week. Terrence made no attempt to even text “Hello,” let alone pursue me. Tonight was the first time he reached out in the seven days we’ve been at this retreat. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t to profess his undying affection, but I told my intuition to take a back seat.
I want to be loved by someone who won’t break my heart. The problem with love is that you can’t force yourself into a heart that still belongs to someone else.
I know you’re going to find someone who makes you come alive the way Justice does for me.
I did once, and it almost broke me.
The tear I let fall isn’t for Terrence but in mourning over what I’ll never feel again. What I haven’t felt since the man whose name I refuse to utter eviscerated my heart fifteen years ago.
I still wear the burns of a thunderous glare seared into eyes once soft and affectionate. The merciless lines of his face that traced the contours of his shock and anger.
The choice to stuff away any memory of that moment in Paris is a fail-safe. To remember the beauty of what we shared resurrects shards still piercing my heart. No one else has come close to hurting me, and I won’t keep opening myself up to more pain.
There’s no excuse for what I’ve done with Terrence or for who I’ve become. Tomorrow, I’m turning the page.
And looking up a convent.
Chapter 4
Madison
The melody to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” stirs me out of a dreamless sleep. I reach across the duvet that’s swaddling me in warmth to search for the source of the upbeat anthem echoing across the room.
Vail is a special kind of cold, one New York never prepared me for. My cute winter outfits didn’t stand a chance, which is why I kept my butt inside. January is Januarying here.
I swipe the phone off the nightstand and draw in a deep breath to prepare for Tammi handing me my ass. “Hel—”
“How’d your little dinner date go, Ms.My Best Friend’s Wedding?”
A groan seeps into a yawn when I look at the screen. “This couldn’t wait? It’s six a.m., Tam.”
She clicks her tongue. “First service doesn’t start until nine here. I have time.” Her voice holds no shame about our two-hour time difference. “So, how did it go?”
A laugh slips out when I replay Terrence’s apology. He didn’t want to hurt me, but I knew where last night was headed once we bypassed the restaurant for the bar.
He was back with Justice, and I was left figuring out why I put myself in this situation to begin with.
“I didn’t chase anyone in a bread van,” I say and lie back to inspect the beige ceiling.
“At least you’d have something to snack on while trying to break up their marriage,” Tammi snaps.
“Where’s your grace, First Lady?” I soothe the burn over my chest at the shot fired from Detroit. Cheaters are awful in my book, but here I am acting like a pick-me girl with no home training.
“You get what you get before my coffee. The first lady hat doesn’t go on for another forty minutes,” she says. The hardness in her tone softens. “Seriously. You okay?”
“You were right.”
“Of course I was.” She chuckles at my snort. “How’d it go?”
I tap the screen for speakerphone. “We met for drinks at the bar instead of dinner. Terrence said we needed to talk. Then he apologized and told me he loves his wife.” I shrug. “You called it. I should’ve listened.”
Tammi warned me not to go after him. He only asked me out to tell me he still loves his estranged wife. Deep down, I knew it was coming. All of our run-ins were my desperate attempt to bring us together. Terrence showed me more than once I was never a priority.
“Maddie.”
“Don’t.”
