Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“No, it’s silly.”
I shake my head. “Not if it involves your daughter, it isn’t.”
Veronica laces her hands together, turning away from me. “It’s just that Maddie isn’t like me. When people are… I don’t know, short with her?” She turns this into a question. “She doesn’t know how to respond. I’m not saying you are. I just mean… be careful with her.”
It takes me a moment to pick this apart, and then I get it. Veronica is telling me I’ve been a hard-ass toward her, but she doesn’t want to say it outright.
“I’ll be polite,” I say, another lie. Is it polite to maul a woman on a kitchen island, almost lose control in the bedroom, and snap and unleash a crushing wave of lust?
“I guess this means we might see each other again,” Veronica says, and my stomach drops.
There’s too much hope in her voice. She never usually sounds girlish, but she does now, and I wonder if this means Maddie was right. Her mom has a crush on me. I can’t even think about that. I want nobody except for my Madison and definitely not her mother.
“I suppose it might,” I say neutrally.
“It’s fine if it doesn’t,” she replies. “I didn’t mean to push.”
We sit in silence for a while. I watch the city drift by, and then I ask a question I probably shouldn’t, but I have to be sure, especially after Maddie told me she’s a virgin.
“Will Maddie’s boyfriend mind her hanging out with me during the investigation?”
“Boyfriend,” Veronica repeats, shaking her head. “No, Maddie doesn’t really do boyfriends. Sometimes, I wonder if it’s my fault.”
She shuts her mouth quickly after saying this as if she thinks she’s gone too far. It’s the fear I must instill within her, just by being me, absentminded and cold.
“Your fault?” I prompt.
“This isn’t work-related at all.”
“Still, I’m interested.”
“Her father left before she was born. I’ve often told Maddie not to trust men, but I wonder if I’ve been too forceful and scared her away from the idea of romance. But lately…”
She risks a look at me, a smile flitting across her lips.
“Lately, I’m wondering if I had it all wrong. If I was branding all men the same because one man hurt me so badly.”
Uh, oh. She’s looking at me like she’s implying I’m the man who’s brought on this change of mind, which is the last thing I want, obviously.
“Have you told her this?” I ask.
“No, but I will. I don’t want her to be alone forever.”
“She’s young. I’m sure there’s no reason to worry.”
“I want her to find a nice boy, somebody who’d never hurt her, who won’t run out. I want her to be happy.”
A nice boy… That implies, well, anybody but me. In no terms could I be described as a boy.
“I’m sure she’ll find someone,” I say quietly.
“I know she will. She just needs to be more confident. She’s got so much to offer. She’s smart, funny, ambitious, and brave. She’s the best daughter I could’ve ever asked for.”
Veronica looks at me intently again.
“I just wish I had some help, you know, taking care of her…”
It’s like she’s implying I would help, as if Veronica and I are going to get together and support Madison. The thought guides my gaze back to the street.
Madison is mine, despite the age gap, despite this new complication with her mom. She only belongs to me, not some nice boy, nobody else. Only me, forever.
“I’ve been thinking about myself, too,” Veronica says. “About all the years I wasted hating all men. I’m done with that. I can’t let the past rule me.”
“That’s smart,” I tell her, a pit opening in my stomach. Is this another hint?
“I’d date if I had anything decent to wear.”
She laughs shakily. I stare stubbornly outside the window.
A few minutes later, my phone vibrates. It’s the editor who buried the dog-theft story, a woman by the name of Clarissa Garcia. She doesn’t want to meet in private, apparently. She wants to meet in public.
“If we have to do this, I don’t want anything underhanded about it. It’s public or nothing.”
My better nature tells me to back off. It’s not worth it. Then I remember how passionate Maddie gets when she talks about this story, the same passion infusing every word on her website.
The truth—our most important value—is that I’d do anything for her, even if it means risking everything.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Madison
I freeze when Mom mentions Jacob.
“Are you excited about your date with Jacob?”
I’m standing in the kitchen, chopping vegetables, but I pause when she uses the D-word. It’s almost as much of a bombshell as the V-word was back in the apartment after the interview when Jacob basically glared me out the door.
Mom laughs, taking off her blazer and throwing it over the back of the armchair. “Relax. He told me about it today. You’re working on the dog-theft story together. I think it’s great.”