Page 78 of Smuggler's Cove
Madison crumpled the message and tossed it into the trash can. She was unusually calm. Had the conversation with Vanessa happened earlier in the week, she would have been ruffled. It was definitely a new chapter.
Chapter Sixteen
Making Preparations
Madison thought she would get a good night’s sleep, considering she hadn’t the night before. Unfortunately, and much to Mario and Luigi’s dismay, Madison was all over the bed. At three a.m., she decided a hot shower might help. She didn’t know why she had the jitters. Her date with Viggo wasn’t for another two weeks. She convinced herself she had been in overdrive, and the adrenaline was having its way with her. By four thirty, she was sound asleep.
The buzzer at her door jolted her upright. It was nine o’clock. Her brother and Olivia would be waiting. She bounded out of bed and looked at her cats. “Why of all days did you not wake me?” They yawned in response.
“Coming!” Madison called out. Even though Olivia and Lincoln had keys, Madison always put the safety chain on, so they were not able to get into her apartment. “Coming!” She was breathless when she got to the door.
“Did I wake you?” Olivia asked her.
“Yes, you did.” Madison stepped aside for Olivia to enter. “Last night and the night before, I could not sleep. I took a shower in the middle of the night and finally fell asleep around four.”
“Well, shake a leg, sister. We have a ferry to catch.”
“I’ll be right with you.” Madison dashed into her bedroom and pulled on a pair of jeans, a wide-striped turtleneck, and her new pair of navy-blue skimmers.
“Well look at you, all nautical,” Olivia teased.
“I could get used to dressing like this every day.”
“Ha. I doubt that,” Olivia balked.
“I am serious. Remember that conversation we had last week?” She tied a cashmere scarf around her neck. “The one about my disguise?”
“Yes, and you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Now I am. I told you it can be exhausting keeping up this fashion façade. I am going to make a much bigger effort at taking time for myself. I have spent too many weekends at the office, wearing my white uniform.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“If it is totally necessary for me to go to work, I will wear whatever pleases me. What do you think about that?” She blew kisses at her kitties, grabbed her tote, and locked the door behind her. “Before I forget, here is a check for the rental.”
Olivia blinked. “Lincoln phoned the bank yesterday and asked for an equity loan, and we have enough to cover the check for now.”
“Please, just take this. We can square up once all the finances are secured.”
Lincoln was waiting in a taxi for the two of them.
When they got into the car, Lincoln tapped his watch. “You look like you just got out of bed.”
Olivia chuckled. “She did.”
Madison dug into her bag and pulled out a mirror. She fussed with her hair until she was satisfied that she was a bit more presentable. She turned to Olivia. “Better?”
“Yes. You could use a little blush.”
Madison dug further. “No such luck,” she muttered, but she used a timeless hack and dabbed a little lipstick on her cheeks and smoothed it into her skin. “Passable?”
“Yes, you pass,” Lincoln teased.
The taxi got on the West Side Highway, where they met a major traffic jam. “Oh no!” Madison groaned. “What if we miss the ferry?”
Lincoln laughed at his sister. “I never thought you would be so excited to get to Smuggler’s Cove.”
“Shut it, baby brother.” Madison hated being in a situation where she had no control.
