Page 57 of Pucking Your Best Friend

But, again, he was too slow. Maddie’s mind seemed to be working a lot faster than his.

“Hey!” she repeated louder and stood in front of him again. “Did you seriously just shove me?”

“No.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Lady, that wasn’t a shove.”

“Oh yeah? Then this isn’t a shove either.”

She pressed her hands against his shoulders and shoved him backward.

Unfortunately, there was a tablebehindhim. And, unfortunately, there were several glasses of red wine on that table. And, unfortunately, the glasses were not nailed to the spotless tablecloth. The only good thing that could be said about the tablecloth was that it didn’t get as dirty as hisfan’ssuit.

Glasses clinked and guests screamed as the man who had foolishly made Maddie angry crashed onto the table. Red wine splattered everywhere. Steak and fish slid from plates ontothe guests’ laps. Horrified waiters rushed to the scene…while Maddie stood with her arms akimbo before finally looking at Matt.

“I’m not apologizing for that,” she said coolly.

Needless to say, they were immediately kicked out.

Alfie departed immediately. He couldn’t handle any more stress since the incident with the leaky scuba hose. No one asked him about it and everyone seemed relieved when he announced his departure. And while Maddie paid her bill – “I don’t think I can ask you to pay, Matt!” – he and Christina waited outside in the parking lot, not quite sure what to say.

Finally, Matt settled for, “Was that exactly the date you were hoping for?”

Christina laughed and shook her head. “Not quite, no.”

“Yep.” He scratched his head. “I’m sorry it was such a disaster.”

“It’s okay.” She waved it off. Man, she was truly polite.

“I didn’t expect the fans to be so persistent. Most of the time it’s not that bad…”

“The fans weren’t the problem, Matt,” Christina interrupted, chuckling.

He blinked, confused. “What?”

“The fans aren’t the reason we won’t meet again,” she explained patiently. “I don’t have a problem with crazy situations. My whole life is crazy and filled with drama queens throwing drinks in each other’s faces. I don’t mind. But I’m not going to keep dating a guy who’s obviously not interested in me.”

He opened his mouth, perplexed. “Christina, I think you’re very…”

“I know.” She waved her hand and her gaze slid to the door of the skyscraper Maddie was just exiting. “Don’t you think you went on tonight’s date with the wrong person?” She smiledencouragingly at him, gave him a quick squeeze on his arm, and then walked off across the parking lot.

A lump formed in Matt’s throat as he watched her for a few seconds before lowering his gaze. Was it that damn obvious? Shit. It was time he purged himself of this ridiculous sexual attraction to Maddie. Maybe then they could finally start being normal friends again…and he could fall asleep without being hard imagining what Maddie was doing in the guest room. He just didn’t quite know how to go about it.

Chapter 15

Maddie had always believed she was a self-reflective person. She knew herself and her moods and was blessed with a relaxed, peaceful disposition. Lucy, on the other hand, was quick to lose it. Not Maddie. Rachel would become loud when she didn’t like something. Not Maddie. Her father would become defiant when he thought something was unjust. But not Maddie!

So, what the hell had just happened?

No matter how long she stared through the windshield at the road ahead of them, she just couldn’t figure it out.

“We were kicked out,” she finally whispered, still perplexed.

Matt grinned. “Youwere kicked out,” he corrected.

“Iwas kicked out,” she echoed, astonished. “Oh my God, I’veneverbeen kicked out of anywhere before. I hate confrontations!”

---