Page 16 of The Seven Month Itch
Uh-huh.
Emma regains the composure she lost and digs into her bag for a compact to reapply her lipstick. “It would appear this trip is full of surprises from your past,” she says, her eyes fixed on the mirror.
What now? I sigh. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Madison Monroe is here, and she’s coming this way.”
You’ve got to be kidding me!
“Hello to you too, Justice.” Madison approaches our table with a smirk.
Crap, did I say that out loud?
Yes, you did.
The mere sight of her makes me itch. I’m face-to-face with the thorn who’s been in my side for over a decade. She’s a dedicated roach dressed in Gucci who won’t go away.
How convenient she’s at the same retreat as Terrence—scratch that. It wouldn’t surprise me if she found out his plans and decided to show up. Madison would suck him from the back with bedazzled kneepads on if it meant she could replace his shadow.
“What brings you to Vail?” Who gives a damn? Get out of my face and this hotel.
“The eligible bachelors. There aresomany options here,“ she says with a sigh that oozes into a joker grin.
How much bail money would I need if I pushed her out a window?
She towers over me in her stilettos in a desperate attempt to get under my skin.Not today, cankles. I sit up straighter. “Of course there are. Well, have at it, and best of luck.” With that, I rise to my feet and signal to Emma. It’s time to leave.
“I see Terrence is here,” Madison says to my back.
My body stills, and my lips purse. She wants me to be jealous. I don’t need a reminder that we’re at asingles’retreat. The odds of my ex with another woman are up there with snow in the forecast. What healthy, single man flies to Vail, Colorado, of all places, to invest seven days of his time andnotsee some action? He doesn’t have a low drive, and I’m not stupid.
Terrence is free to see whoever he wants. But if that someone is Madison Monroe, I’ll put them both six feet underground.
Anyonebut her.
They dated their sophomore year of college for a few months—or so I heard—before she dumped him to study abroad in France. Terrence and I met in a history class, and when she came back, our relationship went from friends to lovers. Her desperate attempts to sink her hooks in him because she “had him first” were as appalling then as they are now.
It’s not like I hung around the bleachers in deep prayer he would give me the time of day. I had no desire to be a notch on the bedpost of one of Bodie’s most eligible football players. I was on his radar, but he wasn’t on mine. That was, until we got to know each other and became friends. He was different from the playboy linebacker everyone expected him to be.
Terrence is compassionate and a true family man in every sense of the word. I fell in love with his heart. I never wanted his image.
Maybe Madison thinks I took her man, but that wasn’t the case at all. Yet here we are, still wrapped up in the same college drama almost fifteen years later. The reason why is beyond me.
She’s an attractive woman and a savvy entrepreneur. Her time in France inspired her to pursue fashion and become her own boss. The only reason I know so much about her is because we were cheerleaders when Terrence played football. Even then, I could see her lust for him in her eyes. The one who got away.
Despite my current disdain for the woman behind me, Madison’s beauty is undeniable. She hasn’t changed a bit since college, and she looks incredible. Her thick, cinnamon-brown hair covers the top of her ivory blazer, illuminating her pecan skin. The hourglass curves on this woman put her in a league of her own. Add a hint of a Louisiana accent thanks to her Creole roots, and she’s a woman who can bend anyone to her will.
My pulse pounds in my ears when I turn around to face her.Breathe in and out. We’re not cutting a bitch today.“Yes, he is. I’m sure that makes you happy.”
Her smile widens. She laughs and steps closer. I try not to hate anyone, but she can go straight to Hell and enjoy the ride for all I care.
“Terrence is a good catch. I’m happy to see him back on the market. It was so nice to get drinks last night and…talk.”She pauses to search my eyes. “He was even a gentleman and dropped off the shawl I left.”
If I grind my teeth any harder, I’ll crack a tooth and the vein bulging in my neck. Terrence wanted to seeMadisonthis morning when he came to my room by mistake. That means she’s on the same floor as me. My stomach drops at the thought of them together. Was this his plan the whole time, to be with her?
Don’t think about that. It will take you to a dark place.
Too late.
