Page 123 of A Dangerous Proposal

Alex frowned. He must have misheard. His ears strained trying to catch the next words.

They were Madison’s.

“I know.”

Alex choked on his food.

“You don’t have to sound so miserable about it.” Cami gave a little laugh, but it didn’t sound as if she was amused. “Why is that a bad thing?”

“He doesn’t feel the same.”

Alex lifted the monitor to his ear as Madison’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“Are you sure? It sounds like he took amazing care of you when you were sick. That’s major brownie points in my eyes.”

“He was great. We’re partners. Hell, our marriage probably works better than most.”

He heard a rustling and then…

“Oh, Mads, don’t cry.”

Alex’s lungs seized.

She’s crying? Because of me?

“It’s not his fault, Cam. He told me from the beginning that it wasn’t going to be like that. It’s me. I’m an idiot.”

There were a few beats of silence. Alex looked down at the monitor, but the red light assured him it was still transmitting.

“What if you told him?”

“I can’t. He can’t know—It will just make things awkward.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” There was a tone of finality in her voice that made him feel cold.

“Alex likes me. Hereallylikes having sex with me… But he also respects me and what I do, which is huge. He loves Jax, and other than you, believe it or not, he’s my best friend.”

She blew out another harsh exhale. “It’s enough. It has to be.” Her sparkling laugh filled the room. “It could be worse. The man is positively gifted with his tongue.”

Alex wanted to smile, but he felt ill.

“Except, you’rein lovewith him.” Cami obviously wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“Yeah. How could I not be?”

Easily, Angel.

He hated how hopeless Madison sounded. Her next words hit him like a lightning bolt.

“The crazy thing is… I’m proud of him, Cam. Proud to be his wife. The way he made a life for himself apart from his family, the way he stepped in with Jax. You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but he’s actually a natural with Jax.

“We’ve completely blown his life apart—more than we agreed on. He never complains, never throws it in my face that I’ve made his life harder. He’s just there. Supporting me. To be honest, it’s such an alien feeling. I don’t know how to behave sometimes.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Cami said. “It was really hard for me to let James in, to help with all the shit I’m so used to handling on my own. But it’s worth it. I promise.”

There was a squeal, just before Cami’s muffled voice said, “I’m so happy for you.”

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