Page 64 of Forever Home

Laughter escapes him as he shrugs his shoulders. “Hey, you can’t blame me for being nosy. I’ve gone years wondering if you two were ever going to get together. I mean, yeah, for sure, I let it go there for a while, especially after high school, but after we all got back together a few months ago, I couldn’t stop wondering if there was more between the two of you.”

“Well, if you must know… I’m taking her to dinner tonight. I have reservations at six.”

His eyes widen with shock at my admission. “Really now…”

“That doesn’t mean you and Callum need to make any more bets,” I reply, giving him a pointed look that causes him to laugh once more.

“Okay, okay. Well, you better get going then. It’s almost five-fifteen.”

Pulling out my phone, my eyes dart to the time. “Shit.”

Waving goodbye, I headed out, my feet moving swiftly towards the car as I climbed in and put it into reverse, heading towards the bakery. The last thing I want to do is be late for the first official date I was to have with Madison. God knows she’d never let me live that down.

The moment I pull up to the bakery, I check myself in the rearview mirror before finally stepping out of the car and heading to the door. As much as I would have loved to knock on the door and do something romantic, she beats me to it.

“Hey…” She says softly, her eyes almost twinkling against the setting sun. Her dark brown hair falls in waves down over bare shoulders and onto the dark blue tea-length halter dress she was wearing. It was form-fitting, hugging her large breasts, tiny waist, and flaring out at her hips. But not too much that it would be considered over-dressed.

“You look beautiful,” I murmur, leaning in as I gently place a kiss upon her cheek. “Are you ready to go?”

She nods, not saying much as we head towards the car. My hands quickly open the door as I allow her to get situated into the front seat before taking my own place behind the steering wheel. It doesn’t take long for us to end up at Ruthy’s steakhouse, the only real decent restaurant in the town of Willowcreek.

As soon as we pull up and make our way inside, the hostess seats us, taking us to a back corner table where the waitress greets us right away, taking our drink orders. I’d been on tons of dates with women in my life, but for some reason, with Madison, it was different. I’m… nervous.

“So, how was today?” I ask her casually, trying to keep the conversation between us going so that it doesn’t make the entire thing awkward.

She laughs softly at my comment, lifting her wine glass to her lips before giving a shrug of her shoulders. “It was okay… I baked as usual. Though it was weird not filming today.”

“I have to agree with you on that. Four days hard at it and then finally a day off from filming, it’s definitely put me off my schedule today.”

“How so?” She chuckles, just as the waitress brings us our salads.

“Well, for one, I woke up early and thought I was running late meeting the producer only to have Knox call me and remind me that I’m supposed to be meeting him.”

“I bet Knox was laughing,” she adds with a smile on her face as I give her a slight nod.

“Yeah, you can say that. But I did manage to go over to Mrs. Kendall’s house before I came to get you. The kitchen is starting to take shape.”

“Oh?” she asks, raising a brow. “Did the counters turn out like you wanted?”

“Shit. They’re better than I expected,” I chuckle. “Honestly, I need to get the details of the craftsman who made them. He did a better job than the ones I have in my kitchen back home.”

By the time the waitress took our main course order and brought it to us, Madi and I were in a fit of laughter, talking about anything and everything. From things we had done since graduation, down to horrible dating situations we both found ourselves in over the years.

My most embarrassing revolving around a brunette who I came to collect one night and accidentally called her mother a sir.

“Oh my God!” Madi exclaimed in laughter. “How could you mistake her mom for a man?”

“Hey,” I interjected, laughing myself. “The lady was drilling me like a father would, and the look she gave me reminded me of my dad when it got pissed off.”

Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head, taking a bite of her steak before the conversation between us quieted. “Speaking of moms… how have things been with yours?”

Madi sort of knew about the issue I had with my parents, but she didn’t know everything. Growing up, I preferred not to bring my friends around. My entire family situation was a mess, and instead of having friends over, I preferred to go out.

“Same as always, honestly. Just family stuff.”

“I get it,” she muttered, giving a small smile. “But I have to admit, I envy you.”

My brows rose at her admission. “How so?”

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