Page 2 of Mad for Madison

“Surprise us? Madison wouldn’t show up here if we paid him,” Tristan said, leaning his elbows on the counter. “I’ve known him long enough to know he’s allergic to fun.”

“Or maybe he’s just busy.” I tried to sound indifferent, but Tristan’s raised eyebrows almost made me regret speaking.

“Busy doing what, exactly?” he shot back, chuckling. “It’s not like he’s told any of us what he actually does. He could be a spy for all I know.”

“A spy?” I smirked, shaking my head. “You’ve been watching too much Netflix.”

“Hey, if the guy wants to keep his life a mystery, I’m allowed to speculate,” Tristan said, grinning. “Though I gotta admit, you seem pretty invested in the enigma that is Madison Masters.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m just making conversation, Tris.”

“Right,” he said, drawing the word out like he didn’t believe me. “Anyway, don’t let me distract you too much. I’ve got prep work to do, and you’ve got all those people to charm later.”

As Tristan headed toward the kitchen, I turned my attention back to setting up the bar. The usual rhythm of the day started to take hold—checking glassware, restocking the shelves, and running through tonight’s cocktail specials in my head. Still, my thoughts drifted.

Madison really was a mystery, even to someone like me who saw him almost every day. He wasn’t rude or standoffish, but there was a wall there, a quiet kind of detachment that made him hard to approach. And yet, I couldn’t help but be drawn to him, like trying to solve a puzzle I knew I shouldn’t touch.

The door chimed as a new delivery arrived, pulling me from my thoughts. I greeted the driver with a smile, signing off on yet another box of supplies. As I turned back to the bar, I caught a glimpse of movement outside.

Madison, stepping out of his building.

He looked hurried, bundled in a dark coat, a beanie pulled low over his ears. Before he could see me, he turned and walked away, his strides quick and purposeful.

Yet I knew the secret he didn’t want anyone else to know. I half suspected everyone knew it in the same way as me. I suspected that we all knew what Madison did when he was away but that we all respected Madison’s privacy enough not to talk about it. I did, at least. If he didn’t want people to know, I wasn’t going to tell them.

My heartbeat returned to normal after a few minutes. The bar was officially open, but it was too early for most customers to come around. So I kept myself busy with all the little tasks that I never got around to taking care of. And as I went around the bar doing these little things, I tried my best not to think too much about the way life had turned out.

It wasn’t a bad life. I loved and was loved in return, which was more than I would have hoped for ten years ago. The fact that my life consisted of home and work was simply how most people lived. Comparing myself to Tristan, who dated a prince, or Madison, who had everything I could possibly want, was an exercise in torment. It was also pointless.

Tristan said he needed to run an errand real quick and disappeared from the bar, leaving me alone.

I returned to my thoughts with a sort of melancholy you kept close to your heart. I wasn’t a melancholic type, but sometimes, these wintry feelings took hold of me, and I was reluctant to let them go too soon. I’d made my choices over the years, and things turned out better than anyone would have expected.

“Anyone working here?” the voice came from behind while I was on my knees near the stage on the far side of the bar, trying to untangle a cluster of cables that had knotted seemingly decades ago and wouldn’t let go of each other.

“Be right there,” I blurted as I got up, turning around to find Madison Masters standing by the bar. My heart lurched, but I kept my features neutral. I was pretty sure everyone reacted the same way around Madison. It was impossible not to flush when his dark brown eyes undressed you where you stood. Or did I just hope that was what he was doing? Not that there was much for him to see, even if he did. I worked out, but I was no model.

As I crossed the space between us, navigating between the tables and chairs, Madison leaned against the bar with his signature swagger and observed. The weight of his gaze wasimpossible to ignore. He was a few inches taller than me, which wasn’t so common given I was six foot two. And it was just enough that I was always aware of the height difference and had to look up when speaking to him. It was a refreshing feeling, exhilarating at times.

“I thought you’d gone somewhere,” I said, hating myself as soon as I heard the words that had come out of my mouth.

Madison’s black eyebrows wiggled playfully. “Good to know I have a guardian angel watching over me.”

Heat rose into my face in an instant. Even my voice was raspy, like it had dried out. “I wasn’t watching… I…”

“I’m teasing you,” Madison said.

I wiped my hands on my black apron and walked behind the bar. With the boards under my feet, I was taller now. Even so, Madison had a way of looking at you from somewhere far above. And when he did that, you felt special for being noticed.

“I forgot my keys,” he said. “And Oakley’s either dead asleep or out already.” He made circles on the counter with his finger as he spoke. “Tris went to Cedric’s to bring his keys and let me in.”

“Too bad,” I said. “Won’t you be late for something?”

He sucked his teeth in reply. “Nobody’s gonna be angry with me for that.”

I asked him what he was having and geared up to brew him a mean cup of coffee when he ordered.

“There’s a party tonight,” I said as thick brown liquid dripped into the small cup. “Mama Viv has a bunch of queens lined up.”

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