Page 76 of Smuggler's Cove
“You as well, Madison Wainwright.” After he hung up, he turned to Diogo. “Well, pal, looks like your old man has a date.”
Diogowoofed his approval, lay down, and put his snout on his front paws. Being Viggo’s only love and center of attention was a lot of responsibility.
* * *
Madison couldn’t believe what she had done. She quickly called Olivia again. “We have a date.”
“Who? You? The captain?” Olivia could hardly wait to hear the details.
“You will be quite proud of me, dear Olivia. I phoned him.”
“Shut. Up. You did not.”
“I did too!”
“I am beyond impressed. What made you do it?”
“The ceiling,” Madison answered.
“The ceiling?”
“Yes. I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, and remembered the time I was in the hotel waiting to meet Lincoln so we could get our clothes and say farewell to Sutton Place. You recently reminded me of how far I’ve come. I thought, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen? He mentions a girlfriend? ’ If he did, then I could put any fantasies away and move on.”
“It sounds like a date to me,” Olivia said with confidence.
“I have the same feeling. It was an easy conversation. Date material.” Madison giggled.
“I am proud of you, my dear. You get a good night’s sleep and have wonderful dreams.”
“I just might do that,” Madison said, smiling, and ended the call.
But in spite of her efforts, Madison could not fall asleep. Her thoughts were on overdrive, and she tossed and turned for hours, drifting off and then waking up. It had been a roller-coaster kind of week, from marina to horrible marina, to dead body, to a handsome Coast Guard Captain, to marina owners, and now, summer renters, in New Jersey of all places.
Madison’s routine had become boring. There are just so many galas one can attend before they begin to blur together. With her white wardrobe, she looked the same from one gala to the next. This was a refreshing change of pace and change of wardrobe.
By five thirty, she decided there was no point in waiting for her alarm to go off. Mario and Luigi had moved to the foot of the bed. With all of Madison’s flipping from side to side, the two cats decided the edge was a safer bet. They stretched and yawned and slowly followed Madison into the kitchen.
“I know, guys. It’s way too early for any of us, but here we are.”
She pushed the button on her coffee maker, opened a can of cat food, and switched on the small television in the kitchen area. Nothing major in the news, thank goodness. The past several years were fraught with lots of natural disasters, wars, epidemics, and a whole lot of political monkey business. She was glad things had slowed to a dull roar.
She finished her coffee and said, “Okay, kids, I am going to get dressed and go to work. See if anything blew up in my absence yesterday.” Mario and Luigi looked up from their bowls, licked their lips, and continued to finish their breakfast.
Madison was behind her desk by seven o’clock. There were a few messages on her desk.Art director needs to see you as soon as you get in.“This can’t be good,” she muttered, dialed his extension, and left a voicemail.This better not interrupt my weekend plans.She snickered. Since when did she have weekend plans? Since yesterday. She grinned.
An hour later, the art director sashayed into Madison’s office. “Dearie, we have a problem with Vanessa.”
Madison suppressed a groan. Models were always a problem. “And what is Vanessa’s issue?”
“She changed her mind about a few photos in the article.”
Madison took a deep breath. “She signed off on them, and the book went to press yesterday.”
“She said she was aware of that, but she also said you could pull it until she made up her mind.”
Madison let out a big laugh. “That would be a big N.O. in capital letters.”
“I figured you would say that, but she harassed me all afternoon yesterday.” He eyed her carefully. “Speaking of yesterday, you never take an afternoon off. Everything okay?”
