Page 95 of The Renegade Billionaire
I glance around the kitchen, waiting for a shoe to drop.
“I’m living in your home, Madison. Why wouldn’t I know those things?”
“I’ve known Cian since I was a teenager, and he doesn’t know those things.”
I inch closer to her, angling my legs so one knee rests behind her. I’m as close as I can get with us both sitting on stools.
“I pay attention.” My voice is low, just for her ears. “I enjoy getting to know all of your likes and dislikes. Is that so bad?”
She hasn’t reached for her sandwich, so I pick up a slice and hold it to her mouth.
“Are you?—”
I slip the crusty corner of grilled cheese past her lips, and she moans while biting down. Her stomach growls then, and she removes the sandwich from my hands to take another bite.
“You didn’t eat.” I see it in her eyes.
“It was kind of a crappy day,” she says through a mouthful. Her impeccable manners are being pushed aside as she surrenders to her hunger.
Reaching into the fruit bowl at the end of the island, I snag a banana in case the sandwich isn’t enough.
“How come?”
She makes a noncommittal noise while picking up the second half of her grilled cheese.
“Because you didn’t tell anyone no or ask them to make an appointment? Your time is valuable, sunshine. You can’t always put yourself last. It’s not healthy.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“Ugh.” She groans. “I ran into Harry today while I was pulling items from the storage shed.”
“You…ran into Harry in the shed?” My hand clenches under the island. If he’s harassing her, I will do whatever it takes to get him to back off. “Are you okay?”
“It was fine,” she says, polishing off the last piece of bread. “Sober Harry is just…sad.” Her shoulders slump forward as another yawn escapes.
I don’t know what to say, so I hold up the banana in offering.
She reaches for it, but I pull it out of her grasp at the last moment and begin to peel it for her.
“Why is he sad?” I ask while focusing extra hard on the banana.
Her body deflates beside me. “When he’s sober is when he feels the shame and guilt of what he’s done. It’s like seeing tiny flickers of who he once was but knowing it will be snuffed out again with his next drink. And today I might have been a little too mean to him when I told him we’ll never have a chance again. I know it sent him right back to the bar, but I don’t know what else to say to him. He doesn’t have to be who he’s become,but I don’t think he’s strong enough to handle the weight of his conscience either.”
“Being honest isn’t mean, sunshine. It’s protecting yourself. It’s putting up boundaries. You’re not responsible for his happiness, his sobriety, or his decisions.”
“I know. I do. And most of the time I hate him for everything he’s done. But there are times, like today, when all I feel is sadness for what he’s done to me and what he continues to do to himself.”
Holding the open banana away from her body, I spin her and pull her into me. We sit with my body wrapped around hers, her back to my front.
When she leans her head back to look at me, I offer her the fruit. She hesitates for only a second before taking a bite.
I was not thinking about how sexy feeding her a fucking banana would be, so focusing on her words becomes nearly impossible.
She swallows, then looks up at me with pure sunshine in her expression.
“Are you okay with how everything went with him today?” My tone is rougher than I’d like, but jealousy coated in fear for her safety is rearing its ugly head and I can’t seem to rein it in.
