Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Need sent Madison stumbling back. She reached for the rail to steady herself but couldn’t look away. She wanted him so badly she shook. How would she make it through the night without touching him? Through the next three months?
In the silence heavy with mutual longing, the ding of the elevator resounded like a sonic boom. With a jolt, she tore her gaze from Matt as the doors slid wide, opening to the floor-to-ceiling water feature just outside the front door.
Once inside the apartment, the familiar place assaulted Madison. She froze as the unavoidable nightmare of her reality washed all fantasy away.
“Madison?”
“I’m fine.” She had to be. She didn’t have a choice.
Her queasiness returned, and she pressed a fist to her stomach. Nothing had changed. Nothing at all.
Except Matt was beside her. Was it possible he could change everything?
On trembling legs, she forced herself forward. Ethan had made himself at home on the pale gray sofa, his feet crossed on the low-slung acrylic coffee table. A baseball game played on the big screen against the wall, and he had a beer in hand.
When he caught sight of them, he stood and set his bottle on the table. “That was quick. Unit is clean. I wasn’t sure where you wanted me to put the luggage.”
Madison tried to find her equilibrium and breathe again. “I’ll show you both to your rooms.”
“Great.” Ethan downed the rest of his brew, trashed the bottle, then grabbed his roll-aboard.
Silently, Matt lifted his duffel and nodded at her to lead the way.
Since the unit had three guest bedrooms and a barely used study, Madison had choices. She put Ethan in the first bedroom on the left, skipped the study, then gestured Matt into the bedroom farther down the hall on the right.
“Where’s your room?” he asked.
She pointed to the door directly across the hall. “Here.”
“And Todd’s?”
She flicked her gaze to the closed door at the end of the corridor. “There.”
Matt grunted. “Awfully close.”
And he didn’t like it. She heard that in his tone.
“But see these panels?” She pointed to the discreet white pads that blended in with the walls. “Our bedrooms are each fob-access restricted. I don’t think he can get into mine.”
Matt raised a brow. “If you requested the same access on my fob as Todd’s, does that mean I can get into his room?”
“Maybe. It’s possible.”
Something subversive lifted a corner of his mouth as he shoved open the door to his utilitarian bedroom. A white and gray geometrical rug warmed the hardwoods. A charcoal headboard towered over basic white bedding with throw pillows in varying shades of gray. A simple circular mirror hung above. White minimalist nightstands with black reading lamps affixed to the wall flanked the bed. The room’s lone window sported sheer shades. Ethan’s room looked precisely like his except in blue tones.
“This okay?” she asked.
He hoisted his luggage inside. “I’ve roughed it outdoors in Wyoming winters more than once. Comparatively, this is the Ritz. Now, tell me what you remembered.”
It took Madison a moment to understand. A place where they could talk. Right. “Follow me.”
In the few minutes since they’d been in the back of the unit, the sun had sunk under the horizon. Moonlight shimmered through the windows. She took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of red, then turned to him. “Beer?”
“Not when I’m working.”
“But Ethan—”
“Is off duty, and he should be in his room for the rest of the night since he’s taking days. I’ll be working nights.”
She wondered why. Any particular reason? “I didn’t know.”
He shrugged, and Madison got the impression there was more to the story than he let on. But here and now wasn’t the time or place.
Madison retrieved her wineglass and ambled to the sofa, noticing that Ethan had shut off the ball game and disappeared into his bedroom.
She and Matt were alone.
“Um, the unit has an amazing sound system for movies or music. I’ll show you. If you turn it up loud, you can’t hear anything else. Nothing, and no one can.” Todd had once bragged about this method of outsmarting his grandfather…not realizing she’d outsmarted him by using it herself for phone calls from time to time.
Instantly, Matt perked up. “That sounds interesting. Show me?”
Nodding, she lifted the remote from the coffee table, hit the corresponding buttons, then started one of her favorite playlists, jacking up the volume.
“See?” she shouted.
“What?” He grinned.
“Can you hear me?”
He shook his head. “I can read your lips.”
Madison grinned and patted the cushion beside her, then gestured to the remote as if she meant to show him out to use it. He complied and took the device from her hand.
She leaned in. “Can you hear me?”
He nodded.
“If you speak directly into my ear, I’ll be able to hear you.” She pretended to point at the remote for the cameras. “You probably shouldn’t sit next to me for much longer. But I want to touch you so badly.”