Page 83 of Kiss & Collide
She set down her phone and turned to him. “I hope it was fun for you, too?”
“Sure. Oh yeah, tons of fun.”
She chuckled. “You don’t have to lay it on quite that thick.” She paused and reached out for his hand, where it rested on his knee. He let her take it.
“Chase.” Madison’s eyelashes fluttered down as she considered something. “I asked you here to see if there was any possibility of this thing we’re doing for show to become something real.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that.” He liked how open she was being, how up-front. But there was just so much hesitation inside him.
She shook her hair back over her shoulders. “See, it’s kind of hard for me to casually date. I can’t exactly go on Tinder. Dating costars is its own kind of hassle. And I’m not going to date randos who approach me in public.”
“I see how that could feel impossible.”
She smiled and shrugged. “But you’re already ‘vetted,’ for want of a better word. I know you’re safe. I know you’ll be cool. You won’t sell my salacious secrets or texts to TMZ or whatever.”
He felt a little bit like one of her game pieces being moved into place. Not in a bad way. It was just … there was a calculation to it that he wasn’t used to. Although seeing how she handled her career, he shouldn’t be surprised she handled relationships in the same way.
“You’re nice. We get along okay. You’reveryeasy to look at. I figured it was worth a shot.”
Chase swallowed over the sudden lump in his throat and smiled. “I, um … I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
Hehadbeen thinking that, but now that he was here, he realized he couldn’t be as calculated about it as Madison. All of those things were true, and he genuinely liked her. But that spark, that heat, just wasn’t there. Not like it was with—
“Except I think you’re already into someone else,” Madison said, squeezing his hand briefly before releasing it.
He paused for a second, which made him feel shitty.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
Again, he hesitated. “I’m sorry if I’ve been distant. I was … kind of casually involved with someone, but it’s not going anywhere, and so I thought I should … you know, move on.”
“Violet, right?”
His eyes snapped up to hers. “How did you know that?”
She shrugged. “Chemistry? I noticed it between you two in Paris, and again in Austin. It’s kind of like you with the press. It’s justthere, a natural occurrence.”
“Okay, yeah.” He exhaled. “It’s her. But … I’m into her and I’m pretty sure she’s never going to want that from me.”
It was a relief to admit it out loud at last, even if it was to Madison. He wanted Violet. For real, officially, out loud. Not … whatever they’d been doing.
“Have you tried?”
He let out a frustrated huff of laughter. “I thought I had? Then she turned around and was with her ex in Las Vegas. She doesn’t like to be pinned down. I know that about her. She’s been very clear about what she wanted and what she didn’t want. So if I’m the idiot who’s hung up on her now, it’s my own stupid fault.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about her ex, but the fact that he exists means she didn’t mind being pinned down at some point. And as far as you and her? I noticed how you were around her, but I also noticed how she was around you. It goes both ways.”
“She finds me attractive. That’s not the issue. It’s … the rest. Being in a relationship. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I can’t believe it’s what I want. And I’m saying it all to you. I’m really sorry, Madison. I’m being a total dick right now.”
Madison laid a hand over his again. “Relax, Chase. It’s true that you’d have made a convenient option for me, but don’t worry. I wasn’t in love with you or anything.”
Sure, Madison was calculated, but she was honest about it. What she wanted wasn’t really all that different from what he and Violet had been in the beginning. In another universe, where Violet didn’t exist, he might have given it a try with her.But Violet did exist, and, however they’d started, now it had turned into something else. Something real.
“You’re great, Madison. You know that, right?”
“I do, but thanks.” She grinned widely at him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should give up on her yet. Talk to her about it before you write her off.”
Even hearing Madison say those words … write her off … made something go cold in his chest. God, he didn’t want to do that.
